Found and ground

It is a joy to find what we need on the ground beneath our feet. ‘Making good use of the things that we find, things that the everyday folks leave behind…’ British folks who were kids in the 1970’s will remember the Wombles, wonderful resourceful animated characters who lived in Wimbledon Common and were proto up-cyclers, foragers and green champions. The show should be brought back, it would be so on-trend.

I’ve been finding some great materials this year, here’s a few pictures.

IMG_2500Red Devon clay, as I found it on a rainy day it formed these useful lumps.

foraged materials basket

Starting my wild basket in the woods with a ‘god’s eye’ of split hazel withies, followed with long strands of ivy.

Here’s my latest improv basket, made in the woods of Wiltshire. It’s just the right size for gathering nuts and berries, roots and leaves, which is what I was living on for four days. More about that later!

 

New courses coming soon

I will be teaching short courses on natural materials over the coming winter and into the spring. These will teach you how to make oak gall ink, quills, brushes and tools from feathers and sticks, natural watercolours, gouache, distemper, glair an tempera paints, how to source and grind natural pigments, how to sew books to paint in, and so much more. I also aim to offer classes on birch and ash bark box making (great for storing those natural materials and tools), charcoal making for drawing, natural cordage making, pouch and bag making with buckskin, and how to paint on buckskin to decorate it. Alongside these ancient skills, I also offer life drawing tuition, colour theory classes and bespoke art sessions for young and old, details to follow soon. Get in touch if you are interested. Classes will take place on The River Thames, near Hampton Court. There is nearby free parking, and great local public transport.

Life drawing class

I’ll be teaching life drawing at the great art club at Café Canela @Canelacafeartclub in Hampton Court, starting this month on 20th October 2018. Come along for drinks, cake, a great model and tuition from me to get you drawing, cost £12. No experience is necessary, just bring a drawing pad and something to draw with. We will have exercises to get started followed by some longer poses. As soon as I get on Instagram I will link there, I know I am late to the party but I tend to live life in the real world rather than online, so bear with me. For now, have a look here. Contact canelacafeevents@gmail.com to come along.

3 mins

3 minute drawing, warm up.

New Dark Mountain site launches today

Have a look at the new DM site, it is great to see the new home for our friends looking so beautiful. I was a bit surprised quite how much of my artwork, images, materials and even my face is all over it, so if you haven’t overloaded already… go and enjoy the website, full of beautiful images and food for thought.

Also have just been sent some lovely pictures from the participants in the May course in Ireland, and I will post a few here soon, the first is below.

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Me ‘at work’, drawing on the last day of Wild Twins. Not a Dark Mountain course per se…

 

 

Foraging treasures

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Eagle feathers and deer antlers found for me in Aberdeenshire by Anneke. The feathers adorn my boat, the antlers will make a variety of things, tools for flint-knapping, a peg board, and possibly another toggle, for a new buckskin bag I am planning. Once the skins are finished… That’s a big job, and I hope to get round to it next week. In the shell is the gum exuded from wild cherry trees, which I use in place of gum Arabic to make watercolours.

Also found this week, lots of fresh water mussel shells left by the rooks, which I use for palettes and mixing ochre paints with the gum.

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Wild Twins head home

Thanks to all who came and made this course so great. There’ll be much more on this website soon, but for now here’s a few pictures. Paul’s Wyrd School is launched, and Wild Twins was everything we’d hoped for and more, as the folks who attended brought so much expertise, enthusiasm and openness. Paul brought his wild writing, and I brought a very large bag of rocks and feathers… and we worked all week in a light-filled room 12 feet from the edge of the ocean, pulling apart our old notions, listening to the land and water speak, watching the sea otters watch us back, and responding freshly with our materials of earth.