Having vowed to search and explore, as a result of my ‘Best Year Yet’ session over the mid winter break, a visit to the Medieval quay in Newlyn was inevitable. A favourite haunt of mine, the stony beach there throws up such a variety of ‘finds’ all of which are useful beautiful or recycled, so as to decontaminate this fragile marine environment. Brass and copper boat nails and fittings from all ages, as boats have been built mended and dismantled here for a long while, litter the place.
This cold but bright winter’s day, accompanied by a flock of Turnstones and storm tides I searched. Finding quite soon what looks like an artists paint tube. Later thinking that it would be good, via a Google search, to research this, I stopped myself and instead simply imagined a Victorian painter with cold fingers easel slipping on the stones cursing the wind struggling to capture the light on the water. The power of making things up, daydreaming is strong and only a cursory glance through Bachelard’s, ‘The poetics of space’ reminds us of this time slowing magical world we can all access whenever we want. Facts and research have their place, but give me a daydream and I’m happy.
