They’re Back
and they are so orange, rust, and a pigment called sinoper dont quite cut it, just so ORANGE but an earthy orange not like a bird of paradise, or terrcotta ……….earthy man, a living ORANGE.
So it’s the return of the Long Horns.
The men who count butterflys must have brought them back a couple of days ago.
It feels complete again and all is well with the world.. I saw four altogether, three with horns and one without. They were right in the thickest part of the trees.
I made a slide show for the festival in power point! It was really easy to modify a previous blog idea to produce a ‘Walk in the Blean’. A dog walk in the woods coveyed through slides, less than a minute and half long aimed at families on festival day. The men who count butterflies are very happy with it.
Below is a link to the flier advertising the festival.
http://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/pdfs/WoodFest%2011-9-10%20poster%20A4.pdf
The ritual thing I dont understand.
I have continued with wrapping wool around sticks as a colour summery of the month. So I have four sticks with a lot less mauve in this time, but still green with yellow creeping in as things are just starting to dry out and turn brown.
The selection and collection of sticks followed by wrapping, and the return to the woods and placement of the new sticks and photographing them feels ceremonial and ritulistic. But has no meaning as I am by my self? If I had done this with a class of children or a poetry group I could justify it. Seems unconected without social meaning as if sharing this activity would validate it?
The result will be a calender if I carry on for 12 months round to June it will be, I think its worth doing it for that.
I also found myself running around in this meadow on the fringe of the woods with my camera following a butterfly hoping it would land. You know 150 – 200 yards type of thing. I dont even know what kind of butterfly it was?
The Green Man of Bamberg
He looks so cross with the human race.
I was thinking trees…….. about oak trees and inevitably ended up looking round a book shop for stuff on green men etc and shocked myself as I realised that ‘research’ into this subject had brought me to a very small section of the bookshop for palmistry, alternative therapy, witchcraft and what my mother may have described more generally as mumbo-jumbo.
I cant really describe how odd that makes me feel. Another revelation came my way as I realised bringing sticks home from the woods, decorating them with wool and taking them back to the woods and photographing them is actually some kind of ceremony.
This is a little disconcerting, like you’ve found out that you are addopted or severed human hand rolls out of your bag when you didnt know it was there.
Trying to Establish an Artist in residence position.
I have contacted the Kent Wildlife Trust who own alot of these woodland areas. I have arranged meetings with them and have had success in establishing that an artist in residence at the Blean is good, interestiing and possible. I have been collaborating with the community engagement officer and of course we now need to apply for funding grants etc, As the organisation is already a charity we are unable to apply to the same source twice. The Trust has a section for fund raising bids and their advice to us is get other organisations involved to strengthen our case for funding.
So……..will this be valuable outreach work with engaged stakeholders working in partnership or a set of randoms thrown in. Either way this has got past first base.
I have also been asked to produce ‘something’? for inclusion in a woodland festival fairly soon and I will be paid a modest sum for whatever that may turn out to be. Which is very encouraging and non prescriptive. My Long Horn cattle and Konic Ponies have been requested for display at this event already.
At this point ‘natural habitats’ is a common phrase, running parralell with this I will soon be starting another project in Ebbsfleet where it is all about new communities and human habitation. I’m Balanced…….. sustainable…… venacular ……..harmonious……circular….. and bio diverse at the moment!
A Walk in the Woods
A medley of short videos, taken on a walk through the woods the other day.
Looking out from the edge of the woods across a field of hay bales.
