Week Forty Two
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods; There is a rapture on the lonely shore; There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not man the less, but Nature more... - Lord Byron
There are a lot of bats at Highgreen, and as night falls they come out to hunt. I’ve always had a strange relationship when it comes to bats; I balance on the edge of fascination and fear. The fascination is easy to understand, but the fear is a little more complicated to decipher, perhaps it was all those black and white horror movies I saw as a child...or perhaps it was reading Hunter S Thompson and his ‘bat’ acid trips …whatever the history, I’m still slightly jittery around them.
Apparently bats have an amazing sense of ‘orientation’ in complete darkness. Bat ‘echolocation’ is a perceptual system where ultrasonic sounds are emitted specifically to produce echoes. By comparing the outgoing pulse with the returning echoes the bat can produce detailed images of its surroundings. This allows bats to detect, localize and even classify their prey in complete darkness. At 130 decibels in intensity, bat calls are some of the most intense airborne animal sounds. To clearly distinguish returning information, bats must be able to separate their calls from the echoes they receive. 
Every night I go outside into the darkness and stand with the turrets and the trees…it is a ‘must’ for me. And every night my body slightly flinches when a bat flies to close. The flinching has improved over the last ten months; the once large bodily jerks and flaying arms have now refined themselves to a barely visible motion….you wouldn’t even know that I’m flinching. In my very first week at Highgreen, my co-pilot Heather, recited a tale of a television presenter, whose piece to camera was somewhat disturbed by a bat colliding in their face. The tale has always stayed with me and perhaps even heightened my sense of ‘bat’ fear. In reflection, I suppose it was inevitable with all this fear afoot, something was going to happen, and under a starry sky on Saturday night, I had a ‘skirmish’ with a bat. I’m not sure if it was the black urban ‘hoody’ look, or the Sennheiser headphones loudly omitting rapid high-hats in repetitive succession that caused our altercation…but there was a moment where bat, arm and hood were entangled. For both parties it was a rather unnerving experience, and one I think, neither of us would like to repeat! 
As always it has been a busy week, I worked really hard to get as much as possible ready for the photographers’ arrival, which was a thoroughly exciting experience. Although I have to say I am not entirely enamoured by the end results, maybe its because I’ve seen it all to much, and I’m somewhat ‘image’ blind, some of the images are indeed fabulous, but others don’t necessarily do the artwork justice. I do seem to create artwork that is particularly difficult to photograph. Nonetheless I am retaining the faith that Jilly’s first catalogue will still look exceedingly scrumptious. Andy was with me for a few days and spent a lot of time meticulously proof reading the copy for the catalogue, his attention to detail has always been rather superb. The graphic designer arrives tomorrow, another first for me, as someone else will be designing ‘my’ catalogue. Although being an ex-graphic designer myself, I’m sure I am going to be one of those ‘difficult’ clients!
“The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences.” Alexander Supertramp (Into the Wild)
It was really lovely to be with Andy for the few days that he was here for. His generosity in helping was excellent, and treats of being taken out for dinner or cooked for were welcomingly received. This weekend Andy and his fellow band members were headlining at a small festival in Wales, and truth be known I was rather sad that I was not there. Emotionally it has been rather a tough weekend, I truly missed my ‘Bristol Posse’ (as I like to call them); my heart was rather heavy with their absence, and I wanted to share the joy of Andy playing at a festival with our friends. It’s an odd time really, I am sad at the prospect of leaving here and all the beautiful people that I have met, and I’m also pining for my friends down South. Consequently, I have taken to welling-up and the odd bout of crying at the oddest triggers. 
Certain neighbours at Highgreen I consider to be my friends, and I will really miss them when I leave. I spent an excellent Friday night in the company of Shona and Rich, who bless them, got me through my loss of not being at the festival. They are, although they don’t believe it, exceptionally talented people, and have given me much joy in their company….and I thank them for that. 
Although I admittedly confess to enjoying my own company for large bouts of time, I also value the importance to sharing moments with people, whether they are newly loved friends, old friends or even complete strangers…they are indeed invaluable encounters. I recently watched the film ‘Into The Wild’, which is superbly directed by Sean Penn. It is a heart rendering and poignant film, and a must if you haven’t seen it. It is based on a true story, however the less you know about the story the better. The film reminded me of the value of sharing, but also the importance of ones own personal journeys and passions. I believe it is important to balance time to your self and time for others, I also think it is a complicated balance to ascertain through life’s complexities. This artist residency has given me a real insight into the importance and necessity of both and what new experiences can give you.
“I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God's place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things.” Alexander Supertramp (Into the Wild) Week forty two….done!