Artist Georgie Pollard is working with The Living Classroom and bio-char expert Ruy Anaya de la Rosa to investigate the properties of both bio-char and charcoal as carbon-based materials.  Biochar is a carbon-rich material that is made by burning residual plant materials in a pit or a vessel in which there is no oxygen (a process called pyrolysis). It is being widely investigated as a material that can sequester carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the ground, where it can also bring minerals and nutrients to soil and improve water retention. Pyrolysis is also the method employed to create charcoal, including artists’ ‘willow charcoal’.

This project explores the production process of both materials. Apart from creating sculptural works and drawings, Georgie is staging workshops that introduce people of all ages to charcoal as an art material and engage them in drawing exercises that explore the value of bio-char and the properties of carbon.

Artists’ Blog