Week Fifteen
It appears that a lot can happen in 48hours, and to my astonishment and somewhat relief the ‘big melt’ began. I could not be more surprised at the difference the melting had on the surrounding landscape and myself. Firstly, the tarmac was back, like a long lost lover returning to me I wanted to embrace it. 
I am, I confess, still rather enamoured by the road; it’s shape as it ascends and stretches towards the horizon, and the colours and textures it adorns as natures changes at its edges. I know its only tarmac; nevertheless I have discovered tarmac has life and I have befriended it! 
I suppose in some sense, it is also freedom, freedom to travel outwards if one so requires. I now no longer feel so reliant on the four by fours to get my precious onions and other such exemplary vegetables. 
Tarmac aside, it is however nature that has made my heart beat faster. With the melting came ‘technicolor’ in the most subtle and beautiful way. With all the past ‘white’, I am unsure whether my eyes are now playing tricks or they have been so deprived of colour, that my hungry eyes now see it everywhere. There are the subtlest hues of reds and purples tipping young silver birches that stand in front of the dark greens of the coniferous trees. The vibrant reds and oranges of dogwood stems, quite frankly, look like someone has dyed them. I am still unconvinced they are natural! 
The grasses on the fells are now reappearing, and strangely they have materialized in little circles and humpy bumps (as I like to call them), so it looks like some weird landscape heightened by the white still surrounding them.
The sodden grasses are drenched in a rich multicoloured palette that has surprised me, its ‘grass’ for goodness sake… should it have so many spectrums? 
“I walk in the land to be woven into nature” Hamish Fulton “We learned, or were taught by the ground, how to walk without premeditation: turning corners when they came, following bends in the valleys, our paths set by ancient contingencies of geology and the immediate contingencies of footfall, our expectations quickened – ready for surprise when it happened.” Robert Macfarlane 
I found myself wandering across the fell and following the dark rushing stream of Hollinhead Burn, I had no where in particular in mind to go, I just, as Robert Macfarlane suggests, let the landscape take me for a walk instead.
It was heart-warming to see happy sheep chomping away at the exposed grass. I came across a sheltered spot by the water where there was an inordinate amount of sheep poo in one small area, it was quite staggering. It led to a tree by the bank, which had had half of its bark removed, exposing a vivid orange underneath (although the photo does not show its actual brightness). I realised that some sheep must have been camped there over the last six weeks, snow bound and eating anything they could. 
I am however, finding quite a few sheep carcasses on the fells where obviously they hadn’t been so lucky. 
Even though walking in the natural surroundings never fails to uplift me, I have experienced rather an up and down week creatively. I found my ‘mojo’ had gone on vacation, and felt that my ideas were to many and to scattered, flitting from one to the other. We also had no water for two days, which made my studio experience discouraging. Having now realised I need to focus and streamline my projects more, I have decided to spend a week on each idea to decide on there fates. 
This starts tomorrow (hurray) and I now sense this is a step in the right direction and can feel the mojo returning. Nonetheless here is a preview of possible further forthcoming attractions, these are two drawings I completed over the festive period. On a creative high however, I spent two days helping a sculptor called Julia Barton making paper roses for her commissioned memorial installation. 
Her work is fabulous; she is indeed, a rather lovely and talented artist. It has been excellent to connect with her and she also lives quite locally. You can check her work out at: www.julia-barton.co.uk/ 
This week has really emphasized to me the importance of relating to other artists, I feel it is a vital component to ones creative practice. Isolation is fantastic to do the work in, but you still at times need the creative banter the flow of ideas and the feedback. It takes time to establish a good network of creative people, ones in which you admire there own creative practices and appreciate their comments, inspiration and knowledge. I am indebted to all those have emailed me support and inspiration over these past few months, but this week I have particularly missed all my creative friends back down south, especially ‘top-tool’ and the cake ladies. I feel privileged that I know all the creative people that I do, I also feel privileged that I am now beginning to broaden my creative network here. Week fifteen done!