THIS is a special post as it’s my first anniversary of writing posts for Cumbria 24, a whole year has passed since I began this adventure and what a year it’s been!
Whilst a lot of things have changed there are also things that haven’t, or have maybe taken a bit of a sideways step. I’m still able to carry on sharing my skills through workshops it’s just that now they mainly take place via zoom or on video. Hopefully next year I’ll be able to resume ‘in person’ delivery but until then I’m grateful to be able to make the most of the technology available. I’m also still able to show my work and that’s what I’d like to tell you a bit about in this post.
I’m very excited to be exhibiting (in real life!) at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Caerlaverock reserve. I love to visit this reserve and it’s a particularly good time of year to go at the moment with spectacular flocks of geese and other wetland birds. I feel like we have a strong connection to the reserve as it is only a few miles from our home and we often see some of the reserves residents and visitors flying over or even on ‘our’ beach. I’ve called my exhibition ‘Whither Shall I Wander’ inspired by the (rather sinister) nursery rhyme ‘Goosey Goosey Gander’ as the reserve is famous for the visiting flocks of geese and because my work is largely inspired by what I see whilst out on my wanders.
I’m always collecting bits and pieces on these walks and wanders which I refer to as treasures (but I think Mr. Stitches has another name for them…) These treasures sometimes find their way into my work as in the case of some of the feathers and shells but my walks also strongly influence the colours I use in my work and, of course, there’s the birds and animals I encounter whilst out and about.
I really like showing my work at nature reserves as it feels like a good place for my pieces to be; many of them are inspired by trips to various reserves and the work in this show focuses particularly on the nature of this area. I recently had a close encounter on the beach with a fox which inspired me to get my (many) bits of rust dyed fabrics out and create a portrait of the fox. It was good to be using fabrics dyed by items found on the beach to make a portrait of one of the beach’s visitors, I like that sense of connection.
One of the things that I enjoy about having exhibitions is that it gives me an incentive to get pieces finished, there’s nothing like a deadline to focus the mind! I will be showing a couple of older pieces in this show but there will be quite a lot of new work too, including several pieces made especially for this show. The exhibition opens on Sunday 8th November and runs until 23rd January next year so there’s plenty of time to hop over the border and visit. Due to Covid restrictions you do need to book before you visit which you can do by visiting the centre’s website. If you do go and visit I’d love to hear what you think so do drop me a line and let me know.
Helen
