Shadows & Light

Rain....rain....rain....
I feel I'm developing webbed feet!


I've been sewing stitches on some fabric I'll dye later, which is part of the textiles course.
And rinsing out a piece of fabric I've dyed (twice) on the course.


And just got tickets for 'Spem In Allium'; a '40-part motet' by Thomas Tallis. It's a concert that's part of Leeds University 'International Concert Series' .
That's something to look forward to, for June. 
The silver lining on these gloomy rain clouds!


The photo is from the March Artwalk at Westgate Chapel; tea lights in the grounds, and the lamp lights from Westgate Railway Station at the top. Marks of light; lines of light.

Fire & Fleet & Candleleet

 Before the dark fell, the boats could be seen in daylight, floating in the bowl. As the sun dropped, the tea-lights began to glow more evocatively, and crowded together, surface tension making them hug the edge of the bowl.

The weekend after the ArtWalk, we took the remaining boats up to the lagoon near where I live, and lit the tea-lights again, setting them sail with our wishes, and casting off those things which are no longer relevant to our lives.

We said our goodbyes to the tiny boats, and the wishes they carried.

catch up

Due to my computer monitor going on the blink, I'm unable to access the t'internet at home. So I can't upload any photos at the moment. This will have to be a 'read-only' post!

The ArtWalk was interesting; busy; and tiring, as always. 
I took some blurry and dark photos of the tea-lights, in their jars at Westgate Chapel. It looked beautiful.
My friend, Ann, and I went up to the local lagoon, and sailed the origami boats away in the dusk of Saturday evening; the final day of March. An ending, and a new beginning. We set sail our wishes; said goodbye to those things no longer in our lives.

I've got my City & Guilds Feltmaking portfolio back; but although I have been given the grade, I'll withold telling it, until I can illustrate the post with a photo. 

And have begun the process of growing plants in my garden, as Miro suggested! The potatoes are chitting; the pea-plants are in; the bean and tomato seeds are in. And so are some sunflower seeds; continuing Jon's tradition of planting sunflowers in the garden. 

Planting seeds is to have faith in the future.

Fire & Fleet & Candleleet

'Fire and Fleet and Candleleet'

The slideshow projection is ready for the Artwalk tomorrow. So for the rest of today, I shall be busy making origami boats, for people to sail away, powered by tealights!

The title, 'Fire & Fleet & Candleleet' is taken from the folk song, 'Lyke Wake Walk', a walk taken on a corpse road, over the north Yorkshire moors. The version I'm most familiar with is by Buffy Sainte Marie, though other people have recorded it.

Fire Light

On Wednesday 28th March I will be presenting a light show at Westgate Chapel as part of Wakefield Artwalk.
It will involve fire-light, and projected light, and it will be in the grounds of the Chapel. Let's hope it's not chucking it down with rain, as it is today on this very wet Sunday!


There will also be music; the Chapel has just had its organ restored, so the inside of the building will reverberate to air passing through pipes!


Hope to see some of you there! 

'Jack Scout'

On Saturday we went to Silverdale, on Morecambe Bay, to see an outdoor performance called 'Jack Scout'.
The performance included, dancers; singing; music; and a one and a half hour walk through the local landscape. This walk travelled over the limestone pavement (passing by glacial erratics) then we wound our way down to Morecambe Bay, and walked on the sands.
Morecambe Bay is a treacherous place, and we had a health and safety warning before we set off. A few years ago, a number of Chinese cockle-pickers drowned in Morecambe Bay. The performance included being handed a cockleshell right at the end, to take home.

A 'memento mori' of those who have lost their lives on the shifting sands of Morecambe Bay.

At the end, Jon and I were silent; both quiet after the journey we had taken. We remained quiet, for some time after, trying to take in what we had experienced.
For the performance wasn't about us sitting passive in a theatre; we had participated in it; the artists looked at us; we looked back at them; it was direct, immediate communication. We had been blown about in the wind, just like the dancers, singers, musicians.
We had all shared our resources; shared a grapefruit together as sustenance.
We had shared a vision of the landscape, opened up to us through the intervention of the performers.

It was remarkable; and we will look out for other environmental performances by the same team.

It is created by Sap Dance and Louise Ann Wilson Company, and runs from 18-26 September 2010

You can find out about 'Jack Scout' by going to bit.ly/JackScout