Spring is lambing season in North Wales and a busy time of year for Sarah Hawkes who helps tend the newborn lambs at a farm in the Ceiriog Valley. We met Sarah online through the Weatherspoon’s virtual Slow Looking series that began in February, and she has stayed in touch ever since, sharing postcard worthy photos from her world. An interest in photography and natural history, not to mention time working at the London Zoo, led Sarah to enroll in an online illustration course years ago offered by the University of Newcastle, Australia. A friendship developed among the class who learned how to render hair, fur, and scales in exquisite detail. Curious about the slow looking trend, this work led Sarah to the Weatherspoon Art Museum and the online programs we launched during the pandemic. Sarah is a careful observer of nature and is fascinated by stories people share when they look at art. Our online programs have offered her a way to participate in these conversations from far away. With the lambs now off onto the hill, Sarah recently shared that she will be turning her attention to moth trapping and her study of nighttime pollinators in the valley.
Images: Ann Grimaldi, Curator of Education, reached out to Sarah via Zoom to learn more about what drew her to the Weatherspoon’s program. Photos by Sarah Hawkes.
