I took a post Christmas walk around Rivington. It was great to breathe the fresh air heavy with rotting vegetation. Mist hung amongst the skeletal trees. The vegetation within the forest dripping steadily as the ice melted away.
I love saturated moss. It evokes a memory of a soft carpet leading to another world.
I got a great book for Christmas, 'Stickwork' by Patrick Dougherty. Patrick (with a group of helpers) makes fantastic sculptures from sapling sticks. The way he uses the sticks makes the work look like it is alive and breathing. Like Andy Goldsworthy, the pieces decompose over time and return back to the earth.
There is an interesting introduction by Jennifer Thompson which made me think about why I have used sticks in my work. I'm glad other people see their beauty too. 'There is something elemental, almost primal, in the appeal of sticks and their parents, trees; their history precedes our own, and they have been man's constant companion since the earliest days, as shelter, nourishment and fuel.' (excerpt written by Jennifer Thompson taken from Stickwork).
Twig Bowls - copyright Beverley Gee 2009.
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