Accession Code: wu0656 Title: Prayer Stick I Date completed: Medium: Prints Material: Etching Height (mm): 1780 Width (mm): 165 Depth (mm): n/a Inscription: Signed, dated, inscribed with title and numbered 23/30 Location Name: Picture Store Location Description: Location Floor:

Lawrence concentrates on depicting natural forms in her prints, watercolours and drawings. She depicts eggs, shells, feathers, twigs and leaves, paying particular attention to their individual natural qualities. Lawrence's meticulous studies of nature are reminiscent of the drawings of the 19th century artist and writer John Ruskin, who painstakingly reproduced found natural objects such as rocks and feathers, in order to concentrate on the beauty of nature.

In Prayer Stick, Lawrence uses long vertical strips of handmade paper, like a scroll, onto which she arranges each element in a balanced geometric order. The Prayer Stick, like the Temple Sticks also in the University collection, is to be the focus of contemplations of the beauty and uniqueness of each individaul element of the natural world and they reflect Lawrence's interest in eastern philosophy.

Lawrence uses the process of etching to produce these prints. An etching is produced by drawing onto a resin covered copper plate with a needle. The copper plate is then placed in an acid bath; the exposed metal is bitten away. Ink is rolled on to the plate so that it fills the lines made on the surface. The plate can be used to produce a limited number of prints.