Terroir ~ Broken Stone Winery

Terroir is, in effect, the taste of the place. Though the term can be applied to any agricultural product of the soil, the concept of terroir is recognized outside of France mostly in terms of wine — and, specifically, for its implication of quality 

These paintings and cyanotypes are works conceived and created while participating at the Alchemy Artist Residency’s program “Alchemy Table Settings, 2021”. I was partnered with Broken Stone Winery, Prince Edward County.  Many mornings were spent at Broken Stone Winery documenting the ‘terroir’ and local flora. These photos and sketches were used to create a series of abstract paintings on canvas.

 The terroir was also documented through a cyanotype process. Cyanotype is a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. The process uses equal amounts of two chemicals: ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide.  I utilized found objects on the winery, as well as wild grape vines, Virginia Creeper and garden flowers sourced in Picton. My lack of experience with cyanotype allowed for ‘mistakes’ that worked in the imagery and helped me understand the limitations and potentials of the process. My first successful image used broken stones, strangle weed and wild mustard from the winery, basically the nemesis of the vineyard.