Star Carr

 The Derwent River

This section of the River Derwent has been canalised, for quite a length. A long straight section, that I'd guess is relatively recent (?)
I stood, and sat here, for a number of hours, soaking in the landscape; watching the wildlife; drinking in the silence.
Close by is the site of 'Star Carr'; where during archaeological digs last century, deer horn helmets/masks were discovered in the peat. These are now in the British Museum. Not, sadly, in either Hull, or Scarborough Museums. Needless to say, they are a highly significant find, and nothing like them have been found anywhere else in Britain.

I saw a hare in the field next to where I sat. Always an amazing sight. No deer, though, although they are round and about that area still.
Did some sketches and took photographs. I'm planning a painting based upon that landscape, which was the reason for my visit. 
Artists have worked there in the recent past, and you can type in 'Mesolithic Interventions' and find the blog for that project; there was an exhibition in York Art Gallery a few years ago.

More information about the archaeology can be found here.

'chicken scratching for my immortality'

The campsite I stayed at had lots of chickens wandering around; they were really tame, and I crumbled up some breadcrumbs for this one, to tempt her closer. The sunlight really caught her colours. 

Mesolithic interventions

Last week we visited York.
It felt out-of-kilter to go on a weekday; normally we go on Saturdays, when the streets are rammed solid with people.
Called into the Art Gallery, where it's always a treat to have a looksee.
I picked up a flyer for an upcoming exhibition there called 'Mesolithic Interventions' - coming up 19th April - 2nd May.
Find out more about it at
http://artistsinthearchive.blogspot.com/

I'm going to make an effort to go. The installation is based on a visit made by the 4 artists, to Star Carr, near Scarborough, which in the mesolithic era was a site pf human settlement. The famous deer antler headresses/masks come from there, and it is a site I've long wanted to visit.

I'm inspired by the overlap between artists and archaeologist. An artist, I'm interested by archaeology, though I would never name myself such, though my bookshelves groan with books on the subject!
One particular book was called 'Seahenge', by Francis Pryor, and it is accessible to both professional archaeologist and the layperson.
He writes about his experiences in Flag Fen, in Cambridgeshire. Based on this book, I put Flag Fen on my list of 'places to visit'.


Whilst in York, I went into a woolshop; and bought more wool to use on my 'knitted book'. This is the final geological layer.....the millstone grit!
The wool is wondrously soft 100% wool, of a red/orange/brown colourway. Not quite the correct colour of millstone grit (or composition!) but a beautiful wool, of the right tonal value.
Once I've completed this final layer of the geology, I'll be able to start doing the images to fit onto the wool pages.
I also bought a couple of other balls of wool. My wool bag is looking rather good these days. I've got quite a few different ones to choose from.