Female cuckoos and hares and a change of direction.

As soon as we could, I wanted to leave Lewisham and go and see some big sky and some water.  So we went to Tollesbury, which is in Essex,  at the mouth of the River Blackwater.  So much space and a very hot day.  There are lots of channels and creeks where samphire was growing.  There was a lot of marsh lavender there and many, many different grasses.   Being by the briny estuary means there were different sorts of plants than the ones I had been seeing in Ladywell Fields for instance. We walked along the little paths at the edge of the muddy creeks and ended up at the RSPB site.   I heard cuckoos (something I rarely hear these days) and heard and saw a female cuckoo flying over.  The female has a very different call, which I hadn't heard before.  (Here is David Attenborough on Tweet of the Day on Radio 4  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b01sbz27  introducing a female cuckoo).  

We stood at a gate, watching a hare in the field.  It came so close and made the day. 

 


 
Back in the studio I started thinking about these marshy areas.  I have made work about this before, but I am always fascinated by the edges, where the river shapes the land. 

I have been experimenting with making watery backgrounds, which I have also done before, but it was a long time ago and I've forgotten how I did it almost.  I have been having fun playing with gelli plates, printing ink and watercolours to some success, I think.  Early days though, but I feel that I am working towards something and with a bit more pushing and researching, I will make some new work that I am pleased with. 

Over the period when I couldn't get into my studio, I couldn't work properly or think about which direction I wanted to go, but I knew I had to move on to something new. 

Here are some of the things I have been making. I started printing on some long strips of paper that I picked up last time I was at Purcells.  They have a meandering quality to them and so this of course, made me think about rivers.  They have a 'sinuosity' which is a lovely new word for me! 

Always in my work, I hope to demonstrate a relationship with the natural world and the importance of realising we have a responsibility to look after it.  It's a dispiriting time we live in, I'm afraid. 

I leave with words from Joy Harjo: 'Be respectful of the small insects, birds and animal people who accompany you.  Ask their forgiveness for the harm we humans have brought down upon them'. 

(This is from her lovely poem - For Calling the Spirit Back from Wandering the Earth in its Human Feet).