Creating a model of our local water catchment area- Commissioned by Streamscapes and Lawpro

At the end of 2025, I was asked to create a mobile working model of a water catchment area that could be transported to schools for educational purposes. I took the opportunity to spend time studying the local mountain landscapes, looking closely at the strata and how these forms have developed. Although I’ve often run and walked across this terrain, I had never observed it in this way before—and I’ll likely never see it the same way again.

Priests Lepe -County Cork

I created the model initially out of clay building up the layers from a map projection.

Clay model of Coomhola Borlin water cachment area

The model needed to be lightweight and easily transportable, while also capable of demonstrating water flow, so resin proved to be the most suitable material due to its durability and water resistance. To capture the fine detail I had sculpted in clay, I created a mould using a paint-on silicone, reinforced with a fibreglass resin shell.

silicon mold

Once the resin was cast, I continued studying the landscape to understand its seasonal colours, settling on the deep greens, browns, greys, and purples of late summer. This process led me to imagine how the landscape might once have looked when woodland was more abundant. A temperate rainforest would have had a profoundly beneficial effect, with tree roots stabilising riverbanks and creating meandering pools where fish could thrive and breed, supporting life further up the food chain.

To illustrate this, I added a section of forest to the model, made from dyed sponge. When water is poured onto the model, the sponge demonstrates how trees absorb and filter water, helping to prevent flooding and subsidence.

Sponges demonstrating how trees filter and soak up water