Casey Rubenok |The Kite String|

Oil and pigment on canvas behind plexiglas cover

photo: Victoria Lincoln

Stones, clay, thistles, feathers, bones and moss — these are the natural elements Nicole Watt (@mahlimae) finds on her property to create her 4-inch-high (10 centimeter) sculptures. But they add up to something that feels very otherworldly — and that’s the intention. “I’ve had these little creatures in my head since I was a child,” says Nicole. “Even though I’m a mixed-media artist, I’m inspired more by words than visuals — folklore, myth, ritual. They stir something in me.” Eight years ago, Nicole moved from mainland Australia to remote Tasmania, a wild environment where her art has flourished. “In the city, my connection to nature languished. I grieved for that. When we found this piece of land it brought my creativity back to me. Now I live in the same world — the trees, the mist — that I picture [my sculptures] living in.” And that is the urgency behind these hollowed-eyed mystical figurines. “I see people moving away from their innate sense of connection to the earth,” says Nicole. “We’re forgetting something as people — parts of our history and humanity. For me, they’re a reflection of where we’re at right now. That’s why they’re so melancholy.”