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

Marking Time

Marking Time

Soon it will be Midsummer. The longest day of daylight hours will be celebrated here in Whitstable again as it has been over the past few years when I will lead a procession of people up the hill on the old Salt Way, walking slowly and mindfully.

The Salt Way, Whitstable.

We will remember the history of this place in another time when it was a main trading route which carried salt from its origins on the coast through to the centre of Kent, where it was needed as an essential commodity.

Seawater, handmade clay vessel and small copper fire-pit.

I initially created this event as a one off piece of fieldwork for the MA project I was working on. I wanted to ‘re-enchant’ this overlooked and disused historic path by creating a spectacle that could be both participated in and viewed as a shared experience. Over the years it has become a regular occurrence and now past participants look forward to it.

Midsummer Fire on the Salt Way.

Midsummer day is a natural marker in the year to take stock of what has already been achieved and take some time out for anticipating future developments and clarifying the flow of our own activity on this lightest of days.

The sun setting last Midsummer.

From past experience I know that the practice of walking together in a procession and slowing down to a steady mindful pace does physically mark time for all of us and creates a wonderful and essential sense of connection with people, place and season, outside our busy lives.

Seasonal Senses

Over Easter I had a great break away, staying in a treehouse in Wales. I wrote about it here, two entries ago. What I most appreciated when I returned to Kent was the abundance of fruit blossom that was out in the orchards, amongst the roadside hedgerows and especially in my garden. We have planted many fruit trees here to add to the much older stock that we were lucky enough to inherit when we moved into the house and its garden 20 years ago.

Returning from the beautiful lush, wild and rocky landscape of Wales to suburban Kent was slightly disappointing until I opened the back door and saw that our garden was full of blossom! The pear blossom was nearly finished and didn't smell as sweet as the fresh apple tree flowers that were busy with bees, but the overall view of the garden was one of abundance and beauty.

Apple blossom.

Throughout the year as the seasons change there are always familiar elements to look forward to. In the woods in which I regularly walk, once the white carpet of Wood Anemones has finished, the Bluebells fragrance the air and their vibrant blue colour can become almost overwhelming in its intensity.

Seasonal variations in light and shadow can be appreciated whilst out walking.

These cyclic seasonal changes are reassuring and a great reminder of our place in the world, putting ‘front page news events’ into perspective. I believe that to walk and observe this regular seasonal change connect us to our senses and in fact sometimes are the only thing that ‘makes sense’. It reminds us that we are also part of the flora and fauna of these islands and that in itself is a humbling thought.

Making Sense

We like things to make sense; it gives us a feeling of well-being and security. With the onward march of the terror group ISIS, record and fatally high temperatures in India, FIFA corruption and constant government policy announcements in the news it can be a relief to walk out and use our senses to remind ourselves of the real world.

Walking allows us to focus on reality.

Walking allows us to slow down and observe seasonal changes and as we do so we start to recognise natural fragrances such as Bluebells or leaf litter, learn bird-songs or understand the light and shadow play at a specific time of year. Wild food foraging allows us to connect deeper to our environment knowing when and where to look for specific berries, leaves, seeds etc.

Wild Food Mandala created by Jo Barker and participants of her foraging walks.

‘The Spell of the Sensuous’ by David Abram was one of my favorite books I used when I studied for my MA. Its subtitle was ‘Perception and language in a More-Than-Human-World’. There is a chapter on the 'Ecology of Magic' that includes this quote,

‘Caught up in a mass of abstractions, our attention hypnotised by a host of human-made technologies that only reflect us back to ourselves, it is all too easy for us to forget our carnal inherence in a more-than-human matrix of sensations and sensibilities.’

Walking encourages us to slow down, that in itself is a start to making sense of it all. When we are at a walking pace we are able to observe and recognise the place that we are in. Steadily one step at a time we are able to become more than human.

Last years Midsummer gathering.

Mindful walking, alone or in a procession, creates a sense of enormous well-being and that is why I will be returning once again to the Salt Way at Midsummer, with others, to share a special experience that will help us make sense of it all.