Wanderings

STEP ON A CRACK…

What strange sayings. Tracing the cracks in the concrete road with these words at Charleston today made me really wonder about the words. How violent they are.

Step on a crack, break your mother’s back.

Step on a line, break your mother’s spine.

Step on a nail, put your father in jail.

STICKS AND STONES

Back to my “Walking With Words” preparation today. Some of it’s going ok… some is not. But that’s the way it goes. I’ll persevere a little more with the idea which is not working out, but I’ll have to keep an eye on time & if it doesn’t work out, I’ll just have to dump it. Time is short. I’m happy with my text pieces on windfall wood & I’ve started making a sign for the spot where I found a fossil (I think I’ve been reading too much Bob & Roberta Smith!) I’m going to have another trip out to Charleston tomorrow to try out a couple of things on-site.

WEATHER(ING)

A little while ago I put out a lump of clay in a tray of water without any specific purpose except to see what happened to it. The weather here has been very dry for weeks and sea level in my tray continually declined. My lump of clay grew hard and dry.

Then we had a day of heavy rain. To accelerate the processes of nature, I put my lump of clay, in its nearly dry tray under the dripping, gutterless eaves of my shed. The tray was nearly filled in a day, but the impact on the clay was disappointingly minimal.

Days have gone by. Dry weather has prevailed. But the processes of nature in my clay & water microcosm have continued. Gradually the clay has softened, cracked and slipped, forming cliffs and caves and crumbling headlands.

WALKING WITH WORDS

So… variety, as they say, is the spice of life. Islands are on the back burner for a few days while I prepare for my “Walk With Words” at The Small Wonder Festival at Charleston Farmhouse next week.

Yesterday I walked the route and collected materials and ideas. Now I’ve got a few days to finalise what I’m going to make.

http://www.charleston.org.uk/smallwonder/outsider….

BEAGLE BLOG

I’ve started following the progress of the Beagle. No not Darwin’s Beagle, but a reconstruction of the voyage of that ship by the Dutch clipper ‘Stad Amsterdam’ & her crew. On board ship are a team of scientists and state of the art equipment including a TV studio from which a year long documentary series will be broadcast.

“Last night we sheltered close by two small barren volcanic islands – the Selvagens. Just one guard lives there, in a tiny hut, to look after the lighthouse… Islands like these have suffered miserably at the hands of myriad sailors over the last few centuries. Being strategically positioned for both European and Muslim explorers… has led to the introduction of a number of invasive species, either as a source of fresh meat to restock a passing ship’s larder (rabbits) or inadvertently from within the ships stores (mice).The combined effect of these creatures has been all but to destroy these islands’ ecosystem. They especially enjoy feasting off the chicks and eggs of the islands’ native birds.”

Christopher Lloyd: “Homo meddlesomosis” (Beagle blog) Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 8:35am

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?profile=1&id=436…