Procession and the act of walking.

Procession and the act of walking.

Last week I led a group of people in a procession up the ancient Salt Way, to mark the change in season, celebrating the Summer Solstice and the longest day of the year. A day when the daylight prevails and darkness is scarce. The path we take, The Salt Way was a trading route which has views out over Whitstable Bay to the north and the remains of the ancient Northwood of Kent to the south.

Path through the broad bean harvest.

We gathered together at the base of the path, for The Salt Way is interrupted here by the 'Thanet Way' passing over it and gathered ourselves together too. Greetings subsided, chats were finished off, candles for lanterns were lit and we got in line and looked up towards the tree tops on the horizon at the paths summit.

Looking across to The Blean.

Then in order of the colours which we had chosen to wear for that evening, we started to walk. Slowly and mindfully. It doesn't take any longer than 10-15 minutes to walk up that section of the Salt Way and for the affect it gives to those who process along it in this manner, time becomes something else. To walk in a procession with others is a process in itself. Walking slowly is something that feels so powerful, so simple and yet so unnatural amongst the busyness of the 21^st century that I feel we need to practise it all the more.

Midsummer sunset.

Walking at this pace becomes a conscious physical process. Aspects of it such as judging distance, poise of movement, understanding the surface to be trodden on, all play on, along with a constant silent narration keeping up the momentum; 'one side heel...ball of foot...toes, use a small push to take you forward, balance out with left foot heel...ball...toes..'

In doing so a gentle awareness is brought to the regular motion and complexity of this everyday act. Thinking of the feet and their mark on the earth, thinking of those who had all walked before us up this ancient path and all those who will walk here in the future is a very grounding occupation.

By the time I reached the area we were planning to stop and sit in I felt quite different, somehow calmer and more aware of my surroundings. I tried to keep a slow pace that didn't create too much wobbling off balance and the effect of the sun setting behind us casting our shadows into a procession walking alongside us added a wonderfully strange emphasis to this magical moment in time. Up the path through the fragrant broad bean crop we walked slowly one behind another with our shadowy companions.

Fire circle at top of hill.

At the top of the hill, we stopped and sat, gathering around a tiny fire. The home-made sea salt that we had held in our hand as we walked mindfully up the path was now thrown onto the fire with our blessings as dusk finally arrived.

Up there we spoke of our gratitude to have been able to make time to mark time, in this way, at this place on this significant day, Recognising the deep connection we have with people and place, we watched the sun sink lower creating a most beautiful sunset and slowly walked back down the hill.

Walking home.

Our mid year Summer exhibition, will be over the weekend of the 15-16^th of July. So, not long now for us to mount and frame some work, print out cards and other smaller pieces and get some last minute painting done too! (For there is nothing like a deadline to focus the mind!) The doors of the studio will be open from 11-4 on Saturday only when refreshments will be available and all are welcome. The address is 'Lucknow', 67 Northwood road, Tankerton, Whitstable, Kent. CT5 2HB.

Detail of drypoint etching print.

Also for your diaries I will be opening the doors of my beautiful straw bale studio once again this year to exhibit my own and Alison’s work as part of the Canterbury Festival, the theme is still 'The Spirit of Place' and is an ongoing art project based in Kent.

You can keep up to date with our explorations and discoveries by looking at www.facebook.com/EastKentSpiritOfPlace

First woodcut ready for printing.

Open times are 11-5 daily on the weekends from 14-29^th of October. We can be found at house number 25 on the Whitstable trail. Please see the webpage www.ekoh.org.uk for more information.

 I can be contacted on 07432679164 or clare@people-to-place.co.uk

Seasonal Markers, our place in time, location and nature.

It seems hard to believe that it was just a month ago when the Bluebells were fully out and smelling so powerfully fragrant in our woods. Today it is hot, very hot and the season of Bluebells seem an age away.

The way into the wood.

When I remind myself of how it was when I walked into the lush woodland to see and smell such a vibrant and abundant flower it almost seems like a dream. The floor of the wood was covered in this amazing blue, nearly violet in hue and the haze of the colour spread out as far as the eye could see, in bright contrast to the emerald green leaves of the new Beech leaves overhead.

Storing and pressing a few Bluebells for my printing work at the studio later.

I remember Alison Lees, my friend and collaborating artist on the project 'Spirit of Place', sat on a fallen tree trunk and I sat on the damp forest floor observing and sketching the Bluebells, insects and trees and in doing so we felt nestled in, among and part of nature itself.

Painting in situ, on the woodland floor.

Later on in my studio I created a series of Gelli-plate prints coupled with William Blake’s words, celebrating the wonder of this moment. Since then I have also made a very large woodcut print of my experience and a much smaller drypoint etching. These will be on show in our mid year Summer exhibition, which we are planning now for next month. (Dates and place to be confirmed ASAP!).

Detail of the 'reveal' as it happened!

Tonight, I will lead a group of people in a procession up the ancient Salt Way, to mark the change in season, celebrating today the Summer Solstice and the longest day of the year. A day when the daylight prevails and darkness is scarce. The path we take, The Salt Way has been written about many times in this blog, for I used it as a case study when I studied for a Masters a few years back. It is a trading route which has views out over Whitstable Bay to the north and the remains of the ancient North Wood of Kent to the south.

Summer Solstice procession.

From the point at which we stop and sit, gathering around a tiny fire as dusk finally arrives we have a 360 degree view of our surroundings. Once again nestled down in nature and on this significant day, amongst friends, we mark time, recognising the deep connection we have with people and place.

The Salt Way continues on from this point at which we are seated, to Canterbury and beyond as it has done for thousands of years. To step out literally from this seemingly highly chaotic and busy world we live in and take time to slow down, the notion of the path connecting people to place over generations and more recently seasons has a very calming affect on us all.

Long may it last.

A finished Gelli-plate print.

Our mid year Summer exhibition, which we are planning now for next month will have its date and place confirmed on the next blog. In the meantime for your diaries I will be opening the doors of my beautiful straw bale studio once again this year to exhibit my own and Alison’s work as part of the Canterbury Festival, the theme is still 'The Spirit of Place' and is an ongoing art project based in Kent.

You can keep up to date with our explorations and discoveries by looking at www.facebook.com/EastKentSpiritOfPlace

Open times are 11-5 daily on the weekends from 14-29^th of October. We can be found at house number 25 on the Whitstable trail. Please see the webpage www.ekoh.org.uk for more information.

 I can be contacted on 07432679164 or clare@people-to-place.co.uk

Our place; in time, location and nature.

I need art. I think we all do. Art in its widest description: that is creative writing, film making, poetry, dance, performing arts and visual arts such as photography, painting and printing, land art, sculpture...the list could go on and does.

Peacock butterfly basking in last Octobers sunshine.

 With the horrors that have been in the news recently it can be difficult to know what to do, think or behave. But society has always had a place for art and if you have a think about other cultures and their perception of art, this could include the fascinating Wabi Sabi of Japan, delicately illuminated Celtic texts or the raw songwriting and performance art of Icelandic Bjork.

Dandelion clock covered in morning dew.

A sample of last years Artists Open studio work on display

But one way I have been keeping sane amongst the chaos over the last year has been to produce more art, attend more workshops and share my knowledge and skills with others. Art can allow you to be in the moment, to achieve something in the time given and encourage you to see a clearer, brighter picture of the world.

Last October I exhibited my artwork as part of the Canterbury Festivals', East Kent Open Houses trail. Lots of people came to view the work, with only one person this time asking if it was a hobby.(!)

I had many different types of artworks on display, from pewter casts to printing and painting as for the last year I had been working hard, in collaboration with another artist, Alison Lees on a project entitled 'Spirit of Place'. This had led us to explore more deeply the places in which we live in Kent.

Tiny feather underfoot.

Alison lives inland in a rural area with the undulating downs and ancient woodlands on her doorstep. In contrast I live on the coast, by the pebbly beach that is endlessly shaped and reshaped by the tides. The subtle changes in the seasons are less conspicuous here. I am possibly more likely to recognise the build up of tourists visiting the coast at certain bank holidays, than I am to notice the Seakale sprouting through the pebbles or see the first Swallows of the season.

Flint, Chestnut and leaf collection from a seasonal walk.

Creating a Cuttlefish mould for a Pewter cast.

Alison is surrounded by the endless physical changes that our agrarian calendar enforces onto nature as well as the consistent pattern of growth and decline that is nature itself. A walk up the path through the field opposite her home cannot be achieved without understanding exactly which season we are in and even what part of that season; asking ourselves questions like 'are the Skylarks rising yet?', a walk in the woods can indicate exactly the timing, speed and quantity of seasonal growth. As we walk we comment on the abundance of delicate little Wood Anemones, the deep violet blueness of the Bluebells, the birdsong and our amazement at the sheer force of nature that powers the plants up and through the deep leaf litter that covers the floor of the wood.

My exhibits included an 'Cabinet of Curiousity'

What I wanted to achieve in the October exhibition was a contrast of work, to show the difference of the places. I did this by consciously walking the land, picking up and collecting 'treasures' from the walks, which I used to create new artworks that allowed other people to share my insights and hopefully get them out there seeing with an artists eye and appreciating our place in time, location and nature.

A linocut print entitled 'Blue Coast'

I will be opening the doors of my beautiful straw bale studio once again this year to exhibit my own and Alison’s work as part of the Canterbury Festival, the theme is still 'The Spirit of Place' and is an ongoing art project based in Kent. You can keep up to date with our explorations and discoveries by looking at our facebook page

Open times are 11-5 daily on the weekends from 14-29^th of October. We can be found at house number 25 on the Whitstable trail. Please see the webpage www.ekoh.org.uk for more information.

 I can be contacted on 07432679164 or clare@people-to-place.co.uk