Talking Practice: Monika Scarrabelotti

Monika Scarrabelotti is a Sydney based sculptor and she also teaches at Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School. We caught up with Monika about how she has found the COVID-19 lock down period.

“Over the past eight weeks I have had the privilege of staying at my childhood home in Werri Beach. I set up a small studio space in the garage and kept myself busy mould-making and casting. Using a silicone mould has meant that I have been able to cast the same figure many times over, altering the composition slightly each time, and casting in different materials. The repetitive practice of casting has been soothing and meditative, easing my mind in this stressful period.

The ability to reproduce the same piece has also given me the freedom to experiment without fear. Casting the sculpture in micro-crystalline wax was very successful, and has encouraged me try my hand at resin. More recently I have been casting test pieces: cement fondue mixed with different sand and shells from local beaches, as well as using found objects: shells, bones and driftwood in my practice.

I feel very grateful to have been given the opportunity to turn this strange period of isolation into an inspirational little art residency. I have been influenced by the dramatic landscape around me, rugged coastline, high cliffs, rolling hills and the crashing ocean, as well as the nostalgia of returning to old childhood haunts. And I can feel my work shifting and responding as a result of my time spent here and am excited to see where it takes me.”

Monika Scarrabelotti, May 2020