Unsurprisingly the acorn cairn had collapsed when I went up to Beacon fell today to have a look. I don't imagine it was standing for long as it was quite precarious. As the hard work of carrying all the stone was already done I thought it best to make another one, more robust this time in the hope that it will remain standing for longer. The rangers told me that people regularly kick down the dry stone walls on the fell, so who knows how long this will remain standing.
Obviously this sort of cairn is considerably easier to build than the ones with a thin base and a wider body, but if I want it to withstand some of the abuse that kids will inevitably give it (one kid started kicking it whilst I was standing there taking photos), and without resorting to concrete or some other artificial means (which is an anthema to me) then a pyramid it had to be. The stone being quite unshapely and difficult to construct also meant this was the best option. Once again I am left with considerable respect for Andy Goldsworthy as I learn quite how difficult his carins built with uneven stone are to make.
What surprised me most of all was the luck of guessing how wide the base needed to be and then finding that I all the stone that remained from the acorn cairn was exactly the amount of stone that I needed to complete it.
It is situated in the trees next to the Sheepfold car park a little bit up the hill from the visitor centre.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Beacon Fell Pyramid Cairn
Friday, February 27, 2009
Added to the BBC artists website
I've been added to the BBC website today in the artists section. My write up can be seen here.
This picture is of Andy Goldsworthy's Clougha sculpture which is what started it all off for me. It is up in the hills a few miles from where I live and one day I was exploring the wild moorland where this installation is located. I had no idea it was there and when I stumbled across it I was stunned. I had no clue what it was or why it was there. The inside of each chamber is large enough to stand in and is amazingly well sculpted. I knew very little about land art and just couldn't fathom what it was at all. Added to the fact it really is in the middle of nowhere and a couple of hours walk from a road just added to the mystery.
Over the following days I asked around and someone suggested the name Andy Goldsworthy. I must confess I had never heard of him but I bought one of his books and was instantly hooked. It all snowballed from there to where I am today.
It is a remarkable sculpture with a lot of presence, and in my opinion one of his most striking permanent installations. Yet it is not well known nor advertised anywhere. There a couple of pictures of them being built in his books but no real information about them. It makes me wonder what else he has built that isn't well known. I have visted quite a few of his sculptures as there are quite a few around this area. But this one is my favourite for more reasons than one.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Dandelion Knot and the Anticipation of Spring
These are two old pictures from a few years ago. Soon there will be more dandelions to create things with and each day as the evenings draw back Spring is more evident all around. New growth and new life gladdens the heart. Lambs in the fields, birds singing and buds on the trees. This Winter may have a sting in the tail yet but Spring is most certainly on the way and soon there will be new life and new growth and many new materials with which to create.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Checkerboard (Accidental Land Art)
I've been blogged a couple of times recently and I just wanted to record the links to those blogs from here, so that there is a record of them.
Thanks very much to the people who have written something about me on their blogs.
Richard
ArtPropelled
Ministry of Information
Ministry of Information again
Land Artitude
Artemesia Studio
Mike Toons
Saturday, February 21, 2009
4 Colour Pebble Bars in a Rock Pool
I was really pleased with the result the first time I tried out this idea and I wanted to build another, larger version.
I forgot to use a polariser to cut the glare but the photos will do.
It was cold out on the beach today and with my hands constantly being dipped into water they were absolutely frozen by the end of it that I had trouble operating my camera!
Beacon Fell Acorn Cairn
Good news. I have recently arranged a long term residency at Beacon Fell Country Park. I have been given free reign to build whatever I like within it's boundaries. I built this cairn a few weeks ago. It took 2 days to complete. I don't know if it is still there or whether it has toppled (with or without some extra help).
This cairn was quite difficult to construct as flat stones were hard to come by. Two sections needed fixing when the cairn was nearly finished and I learnt a lot of lessons (again) on how careful you have to be when building something like this. Constantly I had the mantra "whatever you build now wil have the weight of the rest of it on top so build it true!" going round my head like a stuck record.
I am looking forward to making more sculptures at Beacon Fell throughout this year.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Wool Pyramids
Dull and damp days are not conducive to good photography. Many of my recent sculptures have benefitted from excellent light but not today.
Using wool was quite apt as there were a lot more sheep on the fell and a lot more **** on the paths!
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Farewell to My Cairn
I am glad it was a beautiful day today. I managed to get a couple more good photos before she finally came down. But what will it hatch into?