Born lucky? Well maybe.
I've been thinking of taking a break or at least slowing down a little as everything has been a bit frantic lately. I just seem to be churning them out (churning is probably the wrong word), but it feels almost obsessive. But then everything I make is true and honest, comes from the heart and means something to me. I blame the weather. It has been so damn nice lately that I loathe to waste good sunshine
When I got up to go to work this morning the weather had certainly changed. After more than a fortnight of no rain (quite unusual in the NW of England), it was absolutely chucking it down. The garden will be grateful and an enforced rest from making anything will do me good. Or so I thought.
Come the afternoon we were back to lovely sunshine and I just can't waste an opportunity.
I have two maple trees in the garden in pots. One produces deep red leaves in Spring and the other pinky/yellowy/orange. They are small and delicate and beautiful. I had in mind yet another circle with leaves pinned to it so that it looked like the flaming sun. Then I was going to enclose it in a box.
After painstakingly pinning the little leaves on the frame they soon became limp and wouldn't stay upright. This wasn't going to work but ignoring what I knew to be true I went looking for a patch of sun to take a picture. I found a place and I couldn't ignore it anymore - this really wasn't going to work. 99 times out 100 I get something, to score a blank is rare for me. So, I thought, what I will need to do is prepare another frame with little struts to hold up the edges of the leaves, that might work and in a few days try again.
As I was out in the park anyway I went to recce different spots to see where the sun hit at this time of the evening when the light is nice. I traipsed passed several courting couples on park benches. Fortunately they were embarrased to see me so the score was one each as I faked nonchalance as I was carrying leaves on sticks! What people make of me I do wonder.
Just before I was about to leave the park I tried one more place, nice spot with the sun in a perfect place. It'll be my luck that the sun won't come out again for a while, I thought, but I can make something here and get a good shot when I next have an opportunity.
Then I noticed in front of me a load of Snakeshead Fritillaries planted everywhere. After never seeing any before now I have seen them three times recently. And next I spy a lovely red maple, so I inspected its leaves. Then the killer - lonely on its own in a corner was the most wonderful japanese maple adorned with gorgeous pink leaves that were much more robust and perfect for what I orginally had in mind. Added to that the light was perfect and these pictures are just as they came out of the camera. I didn't have much time as the sun was dropping fast but where I think I have lost something in quick and sloppy construction I made up for it with fantastic contrast.
It has convinced me to not slow up just yet. The last few years we have had lovely weather either side of the summer - April/May and September/October and in between it has rained. So I must make the most of my opportunities as it is quite a while until September.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Maple Sun
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Circle Cube - Caged Star
Now after spouting allsorts of arty-farty nonsense yesterday I had another idea. Make six circles and join them together to make a cube. Why? Because it might look cool! No concept required just a cool thing to create.
But in the tradition of my land art I did learn a few things today. I learnt that if you mount a sculpture on a flimsy twig then the wind will keep bending it over and you won't be able to take it's photo.
I discovered that if you are unlucky and you want the sun to come out to illuminate what you have made then that isn't going to happen when there is a single stripe of black cloud, with bright sunshine either side and that stripe blocks the sun for a few hours. I noticed the wind was less when the sun was in but as soon as it came out so did huge clouds of midges that would get in the picture (and my ears, nose and down my socks), and they would only go away when the wind started to get up and then the sculpture would move too much to get a picture!
And one final thing I learnt was that not all pictures look best with the sun. After two hours of waiting for it to come out it turns out the best pictures were had two hours previously when the sun was in! Go figure.
Sometimes an object is nicer in real life than in a photo, and sometimes it is the other way around. For me this one is the former. But I have other plans for the cube sometime later.
Sycamore Sun Square
Once again I had no idea what to make so I went for an early stroll around the park and the cemetry to see what was growing. I was starting to feel that no inspiration would come and I would have to go home with my tail between my legs. I haven't failed to build anything for ages. Then I found a coppiced syacmore tree (maybe more than one in a cluster) with wonderful large leaves - each one perfect. I liked the sycamore circles I had done previously and wanted to do something that showed off the structure of the leaves.
Sycamore leaves have a near right angled vein structure. Some have obtuse some acute angles and then there are the ones with a near perfect 90 degree angle. What else to make but a square?
For good bokeh you need to be able to get below the sculpture ideally with a dark background. This presented a problem. The wind was strengthening and as I carried it around looking for a suitable spot the wind was starting to shred the leaves. There was no way I was going to be able to put it up somewhere high as would only last seconds, instead I found a semi-sheltered spot behind some gorse bushes. I pinned diagonal struts across the square to strengthen it and hoped that it would survive long enough for a photo. It seemed ok and when I left it there it was still intact.
This was going to make the photography much more difficult. So after grovelling around in the sheep poo and gorse thorns this is what I came away with.
My Land Art images are now available on RedBubble. If there are any specific images you are interested in then please let me know.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Homage to the Sand Martin
Another bright and breezy day today and I think I had the best of it this morning. It's clouded over now, the wind has built up and the garden which has been praying for some rain may have it's wish granted.
I wanted to work with mud and clay today and make something with holes, not exactly sure what so I headed down to the River Lune to search for some inspiration. The woods were vibrant with a carpet of bluebells and the air was rich with the pungent aroma of wild garlic. It's on mornings like these that it is a joy to be alive.
I walked down to the crook to see what was left of any previous sculptures and I hunted for a new location to build something. At the back of my mind I thought of returning to the place where I made the Seed Tree but as there is no water there, and the lack of rain meant the ground was hard I decided that I would have to make something near to the river where I could gather clay and water.
I filled my bucket with rich sandy clay and mixed it with river water. Now what I am going to build?
With Spring comes an explosion of life. The air is filled with clouds of newly born insects and this heralds the return of the swallows, swifts and martins and the River Lune is an important site for sand martins. It was thrilling to see them again darting backwards and forwards across the water stripping the air of the swarming clouds of insects. They nest in a very specific environment and this is why the Lune is important. Its steep sandy banks make perfect places for them to burrow tunnels for their nests. All along this section the banks are peppered with nest entrances reminiscent of crumbling buildings riddled with bullets holes in a war zone.
The return of the sand martins from their overwintering in Africa meant that I had to choose another place to create a sculpture. I did not want to disturb any nests or the birds themselves and yet I wanted to use their environment for the sculpture itself. So armed with a bucketful of clay and sand taken from the bank where they nest (not actually near any nests or where the birds were - but the same type of place), water from the river that feeds the life here I decided to head up to the place I originally planned on going. It just meant I would have to take the materials with me. Man oh man that bucket was heavy. Oh how I cursed it as I lugged it up the hill! Fortunately it was still early and no-one was there to spot me struggling.
I selected a dead tree branch and inserted it into a small hole before fashioning holes reminiscent of sand martin nest entrances from the mud I had carried with me. I placed the branch so that it overlooks the River Lune, where the sand martins have returned to and where I collected the clay and the water.
A peregrine flew past and a buzzard with a large notch in its wing was being mobbed by a crow while people walking their dogs trudged up and down the hill.
A few people stopped to ask me what I was doing and we chatted about land art. One lady seemed very interested and came back to chat some more and we discussed the philosophy of land art, Andy Goldsworthy, living in the moment and the joy of being. Her beautiful and cheeky labrador took exception to this, proceeded to dig holes and eat turf then jump up at me as if to say "stop talking! - Why don't you play with me?"
All in all a fine morning.
My Land Art images are now available on RedBubble. If there are any specific images you are interested in then please let me know.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Tornado Cairn
I went back for another attempt at building the diamond cairn. This was about the fourth try, it was quite windy and the previous ones all collapsed when only half built.
The reason I've given it the name "tornado" (other than being pretentious) is because I think it looks like a spinning top or gyroscope. The slight tilt it has, to me anyway, makes it look like it is spinning.
Despite the strong breeze this one remained upright and still was as I walked back.
While I was building it it moved quite a lot but I think this helped. When all the movement is one way it doesn't take much for it to reach it's tipping point and then it is over. With this one it seemed to move over the central balance point but not just one direction, it moved backwards and forwards. I think this might have been important for it to dissapate the force of the breeze and remain upright. Either that or I was just lucky.
It will be cool if it survives until tomorrow.
Another reminder that my Land Art images are now available on RedBubble. If there are any specific images you are interested in then please let me know.
Accidental Landart & Images Added to RedBubble
I finally have loaded up some images for sale on RedBubble. I have received back proofs of my images back from RedBubble to ensure that my monitor is correctly calibrated and what I have received looks fine.
All my photos are large digital files taken on a Digital SLR using Canon L lenses. They are pin-sharp even at the largest size so if you wish to buy any of my images be assured that whatever size you choose the image should be of maximum quality. I have taken some time over this to get it right to make sure that your purchases are as good as they can be.
If there are any particular images that you want me to make available then please let me know and I will do that for you as soon as I can.
Thanks again to everyone for your kind comments and words of encouragement. They really do mean a great deal.
Richard
Ps. This photo was taken out the back of Williamson Park near to The Colonnade at Standen Park. I think the plastic sheeting is laid down to grow courgetttes or other produce. When I spent six months picking the alien nasty things that they are (I am not bitter about picking them 7 days a week for six months honest) this is what was on the ground. Still I prefer to think that the farmers round here have an artistic bent and are making a statement to the world that everything must be stripey.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Diamond Cairn
I am totally fed up with Spring now, all those flowers and leaves and colours are really getting on my nerves! (just kidding)
It was a bit overcast this afternoon so I went for a stroll in the hills. I wasn't sure what to build so I just messed around seeing what took shape.
The square rock serving as the base under the point of the diamond wasn't flat and gently rocked if pushed. Each new layer had to be added two at a time to counterbalance. I was really surprised to get it to stay up first go but it didn't last long, 5 minutes and it toppled.
Monday, April 20, 2009
4 Colour Sun Wheel
4 Colour Sun Wheel, originally uploaded by e s c h e r.
Back at work today. And it was dull, dull, dull. So of course I day-dreamed of land art. I wanted to bring together the experimental ideas I have been trying out recently. Colours, circles and sunlight. I wanted to take more care and be more precise too. Fortunately rhododendron leaves are robust and can take a little more abuse than the fresh new leaves but still I cursed every time I snapped a thorn or stuck one into the end of my finger.
We are fortunate to have wonderful park in Lancaster, full of diverse plants, hidden nooks and crannies, sandstone outcrops and magical hidden corners. Unfortunately the windless evening proved popular with the midges too and they were really in their element nibbling my ears.
I seem to be blessed when it comes to finding the right conditions for photography. The light was perfect and the background quite striking and in a few short minutes I had some nice pictures recorded. The low evening light meant that the high constrast look I like was achieved without any post processing. These are just as they came out of the camera apart from a little cropping. Fortunate indeed. A few minutes later the sun dropped enough so that the wheel was no longer illuminated, I had arrived at exactly the right time.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sycamore Circles
When we got home from Coniston it was still early and I wanted to do something else before finishing up for the day.
This Spring for me has been really interesting. Most years I go trekking in Nepal for the Spring but this year I have stayed at home.
I don't know whether I do this every Spring or whether this is something new but I am noticing so many more colours and things growing than I ever have before. Either I do this every year or all this land art has attuned my senses to what is happening all around. I don't really know the answer but all the same I am really enamoured by all the wonderful plants that I have been noticing, the flowers and interesting leaves and a plethora of colours I thought were reserved for Autumn.
One thing in particular I have noticed is the huge quantity of new trees below existing trees. I have never noticed this before but just about every sycamore and beech I have looked at has dozens and dozens of tiny saplings sprouting underneath. Perhaps when the parent tree has its full covering of leaves these saplings are starved of light and disappear. I do not know but this discovery is fascinating to me all the same. I guess this has always been true and I just haven't noticed before but it makes me think what other hidden wonders there are to discover.
So following the current theme of sunlight and leaves I made some little stick circles and pinned fresh sycamore leaves to them. I considered trimming the extra leaf around the edges but I liked the shape of the whole leaf so I kept them intact.
These seemed to be particularly fragile. I wanted to take them up to Baines Crag at Littledale but didn't think they would make it that far so this picture was taken in my garden as I didn't think I would be able to get anything else.
When I went back out there later they were still fine despite the breeze so I went up to Littledale anyway. (Hi to the cyclist I met up there who was looking for directions to Clitheroe but meant Caton. Bit of a slog from there)!
Despite breaking one on the walk up there they did eventually hold together whilst gently flapping in the breeze. I left them up there so they can enjoy the view and gradually go back to where they came from.
I imagine this would work better with older, tougher leaves but by the time they are more robust the twigs will have stiffened and will be more difficult to coax into a circle.
Coniston Windmill Stars
We went to Coniston water today in the Lake District.
Early on it was quiet but it wasn't long before the idyll was disturbed by a motor boat doing zig-zags without much consideration for the broken peace and quiet. (sigh)
First of all I built a caged rock out on a little rock island but the water was so cold it really hurt my feet so I gave up with that one. Later on the water warmed up as was much more pleasant.
More families with kids and dogs in tow appeared and we were entertained by one dad who stripped off to his Marks and Sparks pants (shorts for you guys over the pond) and decided to spend his time doing cartwheels! It was quite graphic and it was one (well more than one actually) of those things I wish I hadn't seen!
The pebbles at the edge of the lake were quite uninspring being a uniform grey colour and the only other materials available were dead bracken, dead oak leaves, grass and thorns. Not very inspiring and I struggled for ideas. At the moment I am really enjoying the fresh new growth but there was little of that to be had where we were.
This is what I came up with in the end.
