a sense of leaving filled the last few days at the farm
that separation of me from place began early I think
in a bid to hang on to the simple beauty of following the rhythm of the light I gathered materials that lay at my feet and began to work with them
grasses were printed by pressing them onto a pigment ink pad and in turn onto the pages of a small book I had made in the preceding days
an acorn cap was also pressed on to the same ink pad and then holding on to the stem end it was twirled over the page, the tiny marks finding a pattern of their own
a very scruffy sketch of a young oak tree Maggie, the alpaca liked to stand beneath and quietly watch me come and go
a very old, almost falling apart bird house on a faded fence, the branches of a nearby evergreen providing a beautiful backdrop
flowers pressed and smeared on the page, the acorn cap for marks and show-through marks from a print on the next page
a print of grass on the right, a sketch on the left
another sketch, this time a lichen covered oak twig
almost all of this was done in less than an hour
seems I'm no longer as intimidated by the blank page as I used to be
I think that's a direct result of my daily evening sketches... there is that new-found confidence that once I start I can work with what I've got, the first marks are just the beginning and perfection is not required
home now, though I did bring some gatherings to make ink, paint and dye with and will get to work on that this week
this little book is not yet full
3 comments:
Your prints turned out really well. They look great juxtaposed with the sketches. I think, although leaving, you will have minimised the separation by bringing home your memories in this way and in others we have seen. Lots to process and develop... exciting times.
a sense of leaving filled the last few days at the farm
that separation of me from place began early I think
I agree that there is odd adjustment to time when we know we are leaving a special place; it hangs about and sometimes over us. I often describe it as "we have turned towards leaving..." or something. It is a definite thing and it does take up space in your head. I like that you tried to hold onto those slow time feelings and rhythms. How to capture them and keep them is a constant investigation for me. I hope your return is going well.
"No longer intimidated by a blank page" - that's good to hear, it means you can concentrate one what you want to put on it!
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