Hike and Draw

Hike & Draw is a collective consisting of Saskia Krafft and Melanie Gandyra. The drawing series Seeded Smolder is a collaborative drawing project on one piece of paper.

materials: colored pencil, ink, acrylics, and collage on paper


COLLABORATION AS A SURVIVAL STRATEGY.

The environmental challenges we are facing today do not exclude protected landscapes. Although we are trying to preserve these spaces, human-made threats from a changing climate also apply to National Parks and Forests. The search for an answer to the climate crisis is our ability to collaborate with each other on a global scale.

But how does true collaboration work?

Our sheets of paper act as the site of our interactions, discussions, and compromises.

Through this drawing collaboration with each other and the environment we learned how to let go of control and a specific outcome, trust, and build a supportive partnership.

Acceptance of each other taught us to see through a second set of eyes. We continued to be surprised about how a drawn line of someone else supports and elevates ones own. For us, the drawings on display have developed in many directions, yet seem to all be part of a joint visual dialog.

Inspired by the flora, fauna and grown landscape of Californian giant trees, we were curious to find out more about their inner workings and circulatory systems and bringing these constructs of nature in conversation with those of humankind.

Collectives, Hike & Draw, 2023