Hello!
Last night I ventured to Ashford to the fairly new Picturehouse cinema where there was a one off showing of a film I had been intrigued by and looking forward to for a while.
(See photos no 2 and 3 in this newsletter.)
'A Year in a Field', by Christopher Morris was filmed completely on his iPhone over a year from The Winter Solstice 2020 to the Winter Solstice 2021. It is basically a documentary about a specific Menhir- a 4000 year old long-stone in a specific place- a farmers field, near Lands End in Cornwall. Personally, I thought the compilation of his daily images, thoughtful narrative and freedom to combine this with a back catalogue of his friends music created quite a beautiful, unpolished gem of a film. Do get to see it if you can, if nothing else, it could inspire many more of us to experiment with creating more imaginative output from our mobile phones. I will write more about it on my new Substack account later this week- here you can find a link to my last post- 'starting a new winter routine'.
I thought that 'A Year in a Field' was similar in feel to 'The Nettle Dress' that I watched last month. This too was a film of reflection, observation and the pure art of paying attention. 'The Nettle Dress', as its title suggests focuses on a final outcome from a long process and the storytelling accompanies this journey. In 'A Year in a Field' the ancient stone itself is the focal point but the process is that of the filming, the recording of its context within time, place and season. Both are about bringing something so 'ordinary and overlooked' to our attention, whether that is the humble nettle plant or an anonymous standing stone. When we are able to really pay attention to that that is outside of us, really outside of our own understanding then we can far more easily become enchanted. We become viewers of the extraordinary.
The poet Mary Oliver often refers to this presence and attention in her work, she writes 'attention is the beginning of devotion'. I love her poems, they can both inspire and comfort, do look them up, you may recognise them for they are often quoted, especially in these busy, trying times.
I have been enjoying the process of reincarnating our glass lantern artwork- 'The Beacon of Hope' over the last month. Originally the artwork was created to celebrate 'the small things' that myself and a couple of other Whitstable based artists, (Mary Stockton-Smith and Alma Caira) noticed on our weekly walks. A practice that we have prioritised over mundane everyday chores and other work for quite a few years now.
The images that we chose to illustrate on the original glass panels were quite site specific- we knew we would be displaying the artwork as part of the Canterbury Festival at the ancient Greyfriars Chapel in Canterbury's Franciscan Gardens. (See second to last photo on this newsletter to see it in its original form.)
So with this in mind we created panels with images that included the 'cheeky squirrel' the gardeners were fond of, a ladybird that represented the many we saw in Spring 2022, that were coming out of hibernation and congregating on the inside panel of a window in the chapel itself and a brown trout, again, one of many that swim through the grounds in the River Stour.
Now we have created an array of new panels, ready to hang for the celebration of Midwinter. Originally we were hoping to hang the piece in a disused church on the marshes but the fee and logistics were limiting, so a much smaller event will be offered for a couple of hours on the Winter Solstice. The panels look enchanting, we have chosen to concentrate on illustrating images that represent the light and dark, so we have celestial bodies- sun/moon/stars/comets and more earth based ones- candlelight/bonfires and wintery trees and the magical creatures that inhabit these spaces- hares/owls/robins.
(See first and last photo in this newsletter.)
We have hung a few glass panels in the woods to take photos of our work and so far we are really pleased with the progress, but to see them all assembled in their final positions, hanging from the lantern will be quite wonderful.
I will be taking a break for a short period of time from the Winter Solstice and hope to return in the new year with more clarity of my work, its offers and my desire to make a living from what I feel is important work. So far in 'Dwellbeing' I offer group walks, 1:1 mindful walks and nature journaling sessions as well as creative mini-retreats. These activities invite others to connect a bit deeper with place, nature and creative reflection, I believe wondering and wandering go hand in hand.
I am still (!) in the process of creating a virtual Dwellbeing mini-retreat. watch this space or go to my website for news on it and other projects I am involved in, that will be exhibited soon.
Contact me directly on clare@people-to-place.co.uk if you would like to be added to my email list or use the simple button below to join my Facebook group. I post daily during the week and try to share the most up to date interesting, inspiring and heartening articles, images and my own Dwellbeing offers.
And feel free to call or text me on 07432679164 to talk if you have any questions.
