Twenty Seven
“Our civilization has placed cement between us and the earth, pollution between us and the sky, technology between us and the seasons” Lucy Lippard. 
It seems more and more peculiar every time I go into a town or a city. I feel at odds with the hustle and bustle. I have lost my former gusto for shopping and giant superstores now leave me with a dazed expression, and, a dire need to exit as soon as possible. The dulcet tones of “…cashier number four”…”cashier number two” etc…amused me more than usual as I stood in the post office in Hexham. As I left the establishment chuckling, it struck me how many different situations one can be immersed in. 
Albeit my speedy jaunt to a large town for supplies, my immersion has been purely sheep and art this week….and even if I say so myself, my amateur shepherdess skills are improving. I’ve herded sheep twice this week; have spent several hours feeding lambs in the ‘hospital wing’, and to my delight….I’ll say that again ….to my delight, I’ve cleaned out the old pens for new ‘patients’ arrivals. It is quite humbling to discover at the tender age of 46, that you not only enjoy shovelling shit, but you’re also quite a dab hand at it. 
Once again the Aldous Huxley book ‘Island’ comes to mind, characters in it are separated by their innate skills to suitable work. So for example, I would be hopefully given a physical and creative line of work rather than a desk job with a calculator. Anyhow I’m digressing….back to sheepy sheep and art. 
It has been a real pleasure to witness the skills of the hill farmers and their dogs as they work the sheep, and to get a better understanding of all the complexities of lambing. There is still a problem of not enough grass around because of the winter conditions, so not only the hard toil of the lambing has to be taken into consideration, but the feeding of the sheep in general as well. I still have not witnessed a lamb being born, and I am hoping to do so before lambing finishes in the next few weeks. However I am unfortunately witnessing quite a few deaths. If a ewe loses a lamb, an orphan lamb will be given a ‘fleece jacket’ taken from the dead lamb, this hopefully enables the ewe to accept the new lamb as a substitute for its lost one. It’s wonderful when it works even though the dead carcasses look somewhat gruesome. 
Whilst making a coffee at the McCracken’s farm, I noticed a fluffy leg falling out of the kitchen range lower door, I’ve heard stories of lambs being placed in ovens to warm them up, but was still surprised when I opened the door fully to find a tiny lamb there.
It was so small and still shivering even though a cosy little nest in the oven had been made for it. I’m sorry to report though it still didn’t survive all the rescue methods it received. However amongst the many deaths there are lots of strong lambs skipping and jumping around the fields. They are getting more bouncy and playful by the minute, they are running around in little gangs now, head butting each other and generally mucking around. It’s great to watch! As the buds slowly open here, there seems to be a new playfulness in the air generally. Large groups of chaffinches especially seem to be ‘mucking’ around more than normally. There favourite game if you drive past them is…fly along side the car. 
“It is the attitude toward the land, the artist’s sensitivity to the place that determines the effect of the imagery” Lucy Lippard. 
I am wondering how much the fell will change over the next few months. It is still looking rather ‘parched’, but there are signs of a new greenness coming through as you walk. One glorious sunny morning, even though it was bitterly cold, the humpy bumpy grass looked divine, in all of its bumpiness. I do absolutely love it, even though it doesn’t make for easy walking. I am intending to make a field of bumps for my final show. Like walking, art is a journey into the unknown and I’m again at the stage where I seriously need to edit my ideas. I worked out the other day there were eighteen pieces I want to make and only four months left to do so…..arrrrrggggghhhh! However I am in a good place in my mind, I have a sense of what I need to do, but I am going to have to accept some will just have to wait for another time. 
By the end of next week, I will hopefully have completed my drawing project ‘the eight fold path’, a series of drawings joined together in long panels. They are stapled, stitched, barbed and tied together depending on the difficulty of the journey (either physically or spiritually…depending which way one views it). As they are not hung yet and without the use of large ladders, I am afraid it is hard to take proper photographs of them, so you may only get an indication of what’s happening…apologies therefore. 
I am excited to move on towards some bigger sculptural pieces that I really want to try and make. I have been struggling for ages with how, or even if, I would show my daily drawings of each walk that I do, thankfully though, the idea came to me in a flash, I could see exactly what to do. I am so excited about it, it felt like my ‘eureka’ moment. The artwork will be called ‘walk the line’, and the series of drawings will be adapted (all will be revealed later) to form a large sculptural installation….and…. its going to be fabulous! 
Realistically I am going to have to work long and hard to complete a fraction of what I would like to do. I am also contemplating how artworks could be displayed; I am trying to grapple with the fact, that the way artworks are displayed can change the outcome of how they are viewed, and what kind of artwork it is then perceived as. Blimey, so much to do….so little time. I really do not know how bloooogy blog will pan out over the next few months, but I will make every attempt at continuing them. I think they may get shorter and shorter as my time gets less and less……time will tell hey! Week twenty-seven done!