It took three attempts to get this photo in Newtons Cove: one single flower in that perfect circle immediately drew investigation. A boy demands what is this for? The family reads the plaque. The girl picks the flower up to cherish. A profusion of yellow and orange old english marigolds above her on the bank unseen.
The tide is out and the moon is up, peeking over the trees onto Castle Cove… bringing a smile and restoration after another very long day.
Setting up sculptures in Jackie and David’s garden for Upwey Open Gardens this weekend. Sorry Jackie, I spent the evening relaxing and having dinner rather than fashioning a bow and arrow..
With thanks to Steve and Wendy – great team!
on the engine shed on the east side of the island. Attracted by the glorious rust, I approached – a few shards of bright terracotta and green glass on the concrete below caught my eye. The black lumps may have been some kind of coal – I haven’t seen them elsewhere on portland.
A visit to Albion stone yard to restock and an opportunity to relish the stacks of slabs mimicking the stone beds in the landscape. On an overcast drizzly morning the warmth of the (already turned) buddleia leaves added an appropriate glow, and after days of hot sun the raindrops left dark spots…
Grateful for this idea just in the nick of time after a very long day – out at The BIll in the last minutes before the sun disappeared. This is a threshold space where earth is just a strip mostly hidden behind the rise of Portland, with only sea and space stretching out before and beside you. The seeds of the alexanders are really chunking up on the stems, leaves already dying away.. a reminder that for much of nature, the important business of the year has already largely been completed.
Two contrasting conversations with walkers: first, a fellow enthusiast for nature’s textures and colours; then, a blank face questioning “what does it mean?” The initial idea had been to trace/embellish the cracks in the cliff top path catching the slanting rays of the sun: as usual I learn’t of all the details which are vital to its success and demand more time and patience than I was willing to give.. a small scale shot rescues the day
Meeting Ruth at Weymouth station on a stunning evening was superb excuse for heading on to the beach. More fun will be had there… several ideas emerged as I played with imprints from a discarded coke can, tiny shell fragments and pebbles… its a micro henge!
John Maine’s ‘Chiswell Earthworks’ beds into Portland’s western slope, and the wind comes in with the afternoon light. Searching for something rigid and pale to wedge between layers.. bleached bramble stems… handled with care.
Something frivolous in Jo’s garden.. this round eroded boulder has always caught my attention. I was feeling weary and unenthusiastic, searching for an easy option. The plastic ball lurking under foliage nearby seemed the perfect (and easy) companion.
Forty Days 