Drawing on the Domestic

JUNE: Another amazing day at the Rodd to construct some frames for our house structure. It was a beautiful day and we felt competely immersed in the environment of the Rodd and the task ahead. Roger helped us get to grips with splitting and making the mortice and tenon joints. It took all day to make the four walls and the two roof frames. They will be quite a weight to move around once they are finished with the branches added on, which we will do in August nearer the time. Using the wood in this way feels so natural and basic, as people would have constucted houses and barns years ago. I felt a definate connection with a tradiltion of making that follows a long line of rural craftspeople. The light streaming into the barn, the sound of the birds, and the smell of the freshly cut sweet chestnut made for a joyous working day!

A delay in blogging has occurred and I will be compiling events from the last few months into a few blogs now!

MAY: An inspiring exhibition by Frances Carlile at the Bleddfa Centre near Knighton was held in May. I attended the opening which was full of admirers, and was amazed to see such a wealth of prints and sculptures. All of these somehow informed the current project not just by the subject matter portrayed, but also by the actual practical construction of some of the sculptures. This idea of transforming an object through using natural materials was evident in the work and how we would start to think of our installation. It was great to think I was working with Frances for such a project and hoped I would be up to it!