Category: CSM MFA – Progress Blog
Protected: Unit 3 Assessment
Over hills and dales
For my birthday, my fella took me to the Yorkshire Dales. We stayed in a beautiful hotel on the Bolton Abbey Estate, a place I chose because it is near the Strid, which is relevant to a future painting I have in mind.
The Strid is a section of the River Wharfe which is considered the most dangerous stretch of river in the world. It is said to have a 100% fatality rate for those poor souls who end up in it. It is also said to have earned its name from those with a fancy for daredevilry who attempt to leap or “stride” across its banks.
Such striding is possible because, despite the majority of the River Wharfe being 30ft wide, the Strid is a narrow 6ft channel of limestone rock that forces the mighty Wharfe through its stridable gap. Water prefers to stick together and go down, so instead of carving a wide expanse through the limestone, the waters of the Wharfe have carved out a crevasse to a possible depth of 60ft. As the water plummets and churns its way through the Strid, trillions of air bubbles strip away lifesaving buoyancy and cause a tumult so vicious that no tender-skinned, air-breathing creature that breaches its surface can survive.
There are numerous stories of people who have come-a-cropper in the Strid. The most famous being that of William de Romilly whose devouring by the Strid was immortalised by William Wordsworth.
This striding-place is called THE STRID,
A name which it took of yore:
A thousand years hath it borne that name,
And shall a thousand more.
And hither is young Romilly come,
And what may now forbid
That he, perhaps for the hundredth time,
Shall bound across THE STRID?
He sprang in glee,–for what cared he
That the river was strong, and the rocks were steep?–
But the greyhound in the leash hung back,
And checked him in his leap.
The Boy is in the arms of Wharf,
And strangled by a merciless force;
For never more was young Romilly seen
Till he rose a lifeless corpse.
The Strid is terrifying, and approaching it with your wits and the will to live is imperative. My fella and I paid two visits to this kelpie’s abode, and I have say I was mighty pleased when we left. It is a truly ominous place and seeing it will likely be one of those experiences I will never forget.
Another fascinating place we visited was Ingleborough cave. I’d never been in a cave before, so I was completely wowed by the experience. What a fascinating place. The cave, once solid rock, was carved out by water, which eventually found a different route through the limestone, allowing human navigation through the cave. I found being inside it truly inspiring, and will definitely investigate the phenomena of caves further.
We also visited was the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It’s a massive area, and took us quite a while to walk around. To amuse ourselves we had competition to name the sculptures, from which my fella rose triumphant with this pearler: “Harea 51”.
The rest of our trip was mostly spent tootling around the Yorkshire Dales, stopping wherever took our fancy. It is indiscernibly beautiful, and being very lucky with the weather, we were able to see it to its best advantage.
Beep Beep!!
I am very happy to report that I am now a newly minted driver. My test was utterly terrifying, but all my lessons must have paid off, cause I passed! Since then, I have been tootling around the countryside singing to Elton John (the only cd I can find).
For my first solo outing, I went to Bride village, initially with the intention of visiting a spooky well. I’m not sure what happened there, but it always gives me the heebie-jeebies when I pass it, so I thought I’d go and have a good look. Unfortunately, it was pouring with rain, so, not wanting to get wet as well as hebbie-jebbied, I decided to go to Bride Tearooms instead.
As well as passing the time eating cake and reading about hares, I took the opportunity to write out the postcards for the members of the artist collective I belong too. The collective is made up of alumni from a residency we all did at the New York School of Visual Art. We decided to send each other artwork postcards that we will then exhibit in our respective locations. I thought I might exhibit the ones I receive at my Open Studio during the Isle of Man Art Festival in September.
Speaking of the Art Festival, the group that organises it recently had an exhibition at the Manx Museum, in which I showed a collage and a painting. As part of the promotion for the exhibition, Manx National Heritage commissioned a series of videos of some of the participating artists, of which I was one. Here is my video. You will note the camera (read: Lindt chocolate balls) adds 10lbs.
The exhibition has now finished, and as I sold neither of my pieces, we had to go and collect them. As the painting is rather a biggin, my fella tried to hire the huge van, but, unfortunately, there wasn’t any available. Never fear, my fella’s Pa (aka Special Projects Manager) fashioned a transporting frame which he tied to Dorris (his trusty Freelander) and hey presto, we got the painting home in one piece!
Haring and thereing
On Saturday evening, my fella and I went hare shooting, of the photographic variety. We knew exactly where to go, as we’d often spotted hares there as we were driving past. Sure enough, almost as soon as we got out of the car we started seeing hares, and to our great delight we also saw some boxing, as they are apt to do in March. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get very close before they sniffed us out and ran away. Luckily, my fella’s camera is a good’n, so he was able to get these lovely shots (as well as the money-shot above).
Speaking of lagomorphs, yesterday we found a distressed bunny on the side of the road who was ridden with myxomatosis. We moved him somewhere more comfortable and let nature take its course, which mercifully didn’t take long. We left him to have one last night under the stars and then gave him a good send off today.
Along with all my hare-fancying and rabbit-burying, I have been painting Manx cats. According to local folklore, Manx cats, which are unique to the Isle of Man, came about due to the mating of a hare and a cat, which is said to be evident in their no or stumpy tails and elongated legs, which gives them a hoppity gait. I think they’ll be a good addition to the paintings, as they, like hares, also suffer from bone/joint related aliments. Plus, who doesn’t like the odd cat in a painting.
You can never have too many books about hares!
I am a fiend when it comes to buying books on subjects I love. Hares are no exception. I now have four and counting. As of this morning it would be five, as I came across a wonderful lecture about the Three Hares motif, and when I discovered that the lecturer had written a book on the subject, I thought it would be perfect for my collection. But alas, the book is now out of print and remaining copies are upwards of £140. 00. I like a hare book as much as the next lagamorphile, but that’s beyond extravagant. Thankfully there is a great website all about about the book, and even a form you can fill out if you’d like a copy of the book, so they can gage interest for a possible 2nd printing.
The Three Hares motif is very interesting and shows up in many places around the world, including a heap of churches in Devon, Synagogues in Europe, caves in China, and on various object in Iran. No one really knows what the motif means, but as with hares in general, is thought to be associated with magic, the moon, and femininity.
I am still painting hares, as well as bones and lace, and am still trying to figure out the confluence between the 3 motifs and the degree realism I want etc. Progress is slow, but I am enjoying the process.
I am also working on a painting made up of different sections, that when all put together will make one big painting. Its conception and composition is very similar to the big canvas painting I had to abandon. For some reason, painting separate sections makes it a lot easier to keep a handle on things. Also, this one is on paper, which is better than canvas for this kind of painting. Here is one of the sections I have been working on:
The life and times of Chicken-Geoff
Chicken-Geoff, my fella’s name-sake, lives at my friend’s allotment. When he was born on my birthday last April, he was going to be called Rebecca, but the tell-tale yellow spot on his head indicated he was a male, so he was named Geoff.
Chicken-Geoff soon grew big and strong, due to his fondness for mealworms and treats. However, he was a gentle sort of fellow and would get pecked-on by the other cockerels, so it was thought best to put him in with the hens, where he soon made himself at home.
Chicken-Geoff adapted so well to life with the hens, that he recently took to the nesting box and laid an egg.
Along with Chicken-Geoff’s exciting news this week, I am pleased to say I have been running every day for Run 62 Miles in March for Cancer Research UK. So far, I have raised £450.00 which is well over my target. Of course, getting out of bed at 5.30 every morning hurts a little, but I wouldn’t feel too sorry for me, because this is where I am running:
Also, my lovely fella gave me some very fancy ear-pods, so I have been running along listening to Audible. I am currently listening to a series of lectures on The Pagan World, which I am thoroughly enjoying. The lecturer has a slow, methodical way of talking that makes him very easy to follow. I highly recommend the series for anyone interested in the subject.
Before the lecture series, I listened to a wonderful book about hares, and have bored my fella silly with what I’ve learned. I even had a dream last night that I was telling someone all about hares.
Yes, I am still nutty about hares, and can’t seem to get enough of them. To my utter delight, my fella and I saw a hare the other day. It was having a snack on the side of the road, and we managed to get a really good look at it. We then noticed a few more in a nearby field. They were too far away to get a really good photo, but if you zoom in, to the wee fella on the left, you’ll see his black-tipped ears, which means its a brown hare.
I have been busy in the studio painting untold hares. I am attempting to find the right balance between the different components of the paintings – i.e., hares, lace, water, bones.
I am also trying to figure out the level of detail I want in the hares themselves, so I am trying lots of different things. I really like having see-through passages of paint.
I am currently subscribing to the more is more philosophy of aesthetics. I am aware of the criticism that too much detail in a painting can be suffocating and that breathing space is important in a composition. However, I would counter that a sense of suffocation is precisely what I want in the paintings, to convey the sense of being underwater/drowning.
I’m desperate to see a hare!
Spring has almost sprung, and top on my list of things to do this spring, is see a hare. My fella’s Pa saw one on the top field near our house, so I have a good chance of seeing one if I head out at dawn or dusk, keep down wind, hide behind a bush, be very quite, and don’t move. If I’m very lucky, I may even see them boxing, as it will be breeding season, and to fight off unwanted male attention, the females give the fellas a clip around the ears, quite right too!
Hares have become one of the central elements in my paintings, and the more I learn about them, the more they rightly deserve that place. There are currently 4 visual elements in the work that I am trying to weave together: Water, Bones, Lace and Hares. There are also two conceptual elements: Pain and Receptivity.
The Manx word for hare is cleaysh liauyr – which means good listener (also: slow to answer, forbearing person, long-eared). I love this meaning associated with the hare, and would like to incorporate it in my paintings somehow.
Hares are a very important animal in Manx folklore. They are associated with witches/wise women, or “they that have the charms” (as my Manx family do). Hares are also thought to be inhabited by the souls of old women. For this reason, as in other Celtic lands, hares are not to be eaten.
Here is a delightful recording of Johnny Crellin talking about Manx folklore regarding hares.
I’ve got the t-shirt, now I have to do it!
The other day, while scrolling in bed, I came across an ad for the Cancer Research UK Run 62 Miles in March challenge, and in a bid to allay my napping-in-the-daytime guilt, I signed up. Post-nap, and failing to rope my fella into it, I considered not doing it, but then a Cancer Research t-shirt arrived today, so now I have to do it. To be honest, the t-shirt is a little snug, so, not only do I have to run 2 miles everyday in March, I also have another challenge – to fit the t-shirt by the end of it.
I have been all over the place with my painting this week. One minute I love the big painting and feel committed to finishing it, the next I think it’s going in the wrong direction, and I seriously consider abandoning it. I oscillate between these two points of view a few times a day. I am quickly approaching the point of no return, and will have to make a decision soon and stick with it.
In the mean time, I have been painting my folks.
My fella came home from his work travels last Monday. It is so lovely to have him back, though now he has a fancy job, we don’t have as much time for day drinking. A spot of day drinking and hearing each other’s newes is one of our fondest gettogethers. The most memorable occasion was the time we were in Tuscany, and we ordered a Moscow Mule – which is vodka and ginger beer and one of my favourite tipples. When relaying the recipe to our Italian waiter, something got lost in translation and he bought us a vodka and gin. Naturally, we drank it to be polite. Sure, it packed a punch, by the end of it, it didn’t taste too bad at all.
Hare hare!
It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the studio. I started the big painting, and as with the experiments for it, I go from confidence to doubt regularly. I will continue for another couple of weeks, and if the current idea I’m working on doesn’t pan out, I may return to the experimental works on paper, and work things out a bit more. I can always show some of the paper works for the exhibition in June. Hopefully, the big painting will work though. It’s a good idea, and could be a really good painting, if I get it right.
I get a break from the painting when I stay at my fella’s on the weekends. Instead I take my sketch book, and doodle away while he plays video games (which he assures me is for work). I am still obsessed with hares, so they have been getting top billing in my sketchbook.
I just found out today that hares can swim if need be. Here’s one a guy filmed in Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire:
Last week I gave a presentation of my paper (on the Ars Moriendi) to the class. I was very anxious about it, but it went better than I thought it would. I’m glad it’s done, because now I can just concentrate on the painting.
My fella is away for two weeks – first London, then L.A. I miss him terribly and hope he brings me back lots of presents!
bexODESSA 