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.
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| 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.
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| Dandelion clock covered in morning dew. |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Flint, Chestnut and leaf collection from a seasonal walk. |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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 14-29th 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.
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