This was the first Creative Walk meeting up with a bus route and held mid week rather than the usual Sunday, led by artist and walk-leader Sara Rickard.
Two participants jumped off the bus in Soudley to meet up with Sara and others who were ready for the walk . Sara said it was really lovely to see five familiar faces of creative people who had already been on a walk with her in the past year and that’s hat these creative walks are about – building connections with nature and like minded people through shared activity and exploration.
The weather was muggy and warm with a little drizzle in the air but mostly perfect for a stroll around the lower pond. Each person received a small sketchbook and pen. After a little warm up task where everyone was asked to make marks to fill a page, they looked at the trunk of a splendid sweet chestnut tree. Sara suggested that individuals respond through written words, photography and/or sketching. Photocopies of pen and reed drawings of trees by Van Gogh were shared specifically to appreciate how he used mark making to create beautiful textures. Further on down the path Sara showed the group a picture of a painting of tree trunks in a wood by Gustav Klimt.
With wax crayons to the ready, Sara reminded us how to make an effective rubbing of woodgrain from a seat, leaves, seedheads and even a metal grid. At one point, everyone sat on fallen trunks to look up into the woods just to feel the magic of the place. ‘A little like walking through the back of the wardrobe’ , a reference to CS Lewis’s ‘Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’, into another world.
Crossing a small bridge to admire a cormorant grooming itself, the walkers used view finders to select a part of the pond to study in 3 – 4 minutes. Each sketch or activity was speedy, with little time to dwell with the aim of providing participants with lots of different ‘starting points’ that can be developed or extended another time. Participants were encouraged to pick up sticks, make a wish and add them to a pile that had already been started… just for the fun of it! With conversations flowing about the issues of Cannop ponds, how to make ink from blackberries and the beauty of the place, Sara gave everyone all a tiny piece of paper asking us to write or draw on it.
During the last part of the walk, everyone was asked to stop talking and use their senses to sniff the air, feel the breeze on their skin and listen to whatever was in the wind or under our feet. To finish the day, there was a little ‘surprise’ organised as an interesting addition to a Creative Walk in Nature… what it was, remains a well kept secret!
Canopy Creative Network 