Week Twenty Three
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the Eyes of others only a Green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature all Ridicule and Deformity…and some scare see Nature at all. But to the Eyes of the Man of Imagination, Nature is Imagination itself.” William Blake (A letter to Dr. Trusler, 23rd August 1799) 
I sometimes believe that I am at the sea side, I close my eyes and I can hear the crashing of the waves in their rhythmic cycle, I visualise craggy rocks, pure white sand and undiscovered treasure, yet I know the sea is miles away and in reality it is the wind flowing through the trees. Of late, the wind has been so strong that even with a tripod, the camera shakes, or my arm is buffeted so much that it flails around ridiculously by this unseen force. The heather in the distant has been rippling in large swathes, giving the impression it is the effects of heat haze, rather than good ol fashioned wind. Wire fencing fluttering on the breeze catches single strands of grasses in there hundreds, I day dream that they are party streamers bleached by the sun, and they are still dancing with memories of a past joyous occasion. 
Whilst walking up a steep hillside to a patch of burnt heather, I was rather taken by surprise for a moment, I imagined I had walked into one of my drawings; I had to sit down. What made it more surreal was the drawing does not actually exist yet, but there it was, it felt like a part of me, and I was sitting in my own potential artwork, there was a deep sense of recognition and illumination. Bernard Berenson when asked how to develop an eye in art said: “You must look, and look, and look…until you are blind with looking. And out of blindness comes illumination” When I finally reached the top of my steep climb I was greeted with what I can only describe as an orange and black heaven. A sea of burnt gnarled roots and heather bushes ranging from the deepest blacks, silver greys, to deep oranges and blazing burnt umbers, it was a glorious sight and well worth all the effort to witness it. 
“Sounds which stay in one location and don’t change can produce a sonorous sculpture, a sound sculpture that lasts in time. Isn’t that Beautiful?” Marchel Duchamp 
When walking in adverse weather conditions, it seems to me, that those walks are often the most enjoyable and the most humorous. On a particularly misty day where only the end of ones nose and feet are visible, I set out for a three mile walk. Whilst ardently traversing the safe haven of the tarmac, all around, just mist, mist to the right, mist to the left, in front and behind me…..just mist, nothing but whiteness and shadows to let the imagination flurry along to. 
The sounds all around seemed more cacophonous then usual. At times the sounds were delightful, beautiful and some funny to the point of hilarity, there were also strange and somewhat frightening noises that carried me along my route. I began to wonder are their actually strange mythical beasts omitting this new orchestra, and if so, what did they look like? Just at the point of ‘mythical contemplation’ a pack of wild horses streamed past me, the vision literally took my breath away. I wondered if a ‘shirt opened and dripping Mr. Darcy’ might be next to arise from the mist! I spent most of the three miles giggling, dreaming and discovering microscopic wonders. A particularly beautiful spiders web was discovered, beaded and jewelled from the mist, and beautiful lichens that are a akin to some stunning contemporary ceramic glazes.
I went to an interesting talk about lichens in Northumberland. There are apparently 2,600 species in Britain, and a thousand of them reside in Northumberland alone. Lichens are two or three unrelated organisms that form a symbiotic relationship, creating lichen. The usual equation is; Algae + Fungus = Lichen. Evidently they can even be used as dyes, poisons or even eaten as a Japanese delicacy, which according to the lecturer tastes rather foul and is not recommended. 
Although it is still cold you can feel spring everywhere trying to….errrr… ‘spring’. I sense some form of huge cosmic ejaculation is going to happen in the next few weeks. Hormones, pheromones…whatever ‘mones’ are all getting ready to break forth. There is a huge influx of frogs, and depending on your disposition there seems to be two games to play whilst driving….either dodge or splat the frog…personally I’m a dodger! At the moment there are now ten lambs, with a staggering amount due mid April, around 800 are expected just down the road. I got to not only hold a lamb but also to feed some…and amazingly, I didn’t cry, apparently I just swayed and grinned inanely instead. To add to the list of ‘cuteness’ a local shepherdess took me to see some baby goats, or ‘’kids’ for the correct term. They were incredible cute, and incredibly soft and not at all like there bearded adult versions. 
Money is raised for local associations at events often held in the village hall, and I spent such a night Scottish dancing, twirling and twisting to the likes of ‘The Postman’s Jig’, ‘The Gay Gordon’ and an extremely difficult dance named ‘The Morpeth Rant’. I must admit, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and although I still do not know a lot of the dances, I know far more than when I started in October.
The generosity of the community is always staggering, they have ‘pooled suppers’ where piles and piles of food arrive throughout the night, and the generosity of supporting and donating to the events is an inspiration. After arriving late home, I continued my dancing by listening to a more contemporary form of music (‘Reboot’ RA Mix) and danced until the wee hours, it was a night of dancing bliss. 
It’s been quite a ‘twiggy’ week really, I’ve lain under trees and thought of Japanese wallpapers and found more inspiration for drawings. I’ve found roots that look like electrical cabling, with even what looks like a rubber protective covering, and bizarrely I’ve thought of BT engineers sitting by boxes with streams of wire pouring from them. I’ve been ‘drenched’ by a sea of twigs and ‘swam’ in a sea of twig colour, but most of all I’ve let my imagination run free….not a bad week! Week 23 ……done!