This ‘walk’ suitable for those who find walking difficult, or wheelchair users, should have been called ‘an opportunity to experience Nature creatively’ because it was less of a walk and more of a little ramble.
The group met at St Paul’s Church Parkend where there are some huge oak trees that attract the birds. Did you know that in it’s lifetime an oak tree can host over 100 different species? Forests and woodlands are a key tool for addressing climate change as they have huge carbon storage potential.
We noticed the acorns and the beech nuts and gathered and noted the different shapes of leaves. Making marks with biros, charcoal or ink the group responded to the textures of grasses, leaves, walls and stone. The weather was kind, the only shower occurring when we could shelter in the church porch to share out notebooks. We gathered lichen, feathers, flowers and grasses to stick in our notebooks.
The churchyard provided a wealth of starting points – the first line of a poem, the shapes of stone carved letters and numbers and flowers that provided colour when squashed. As we rambled along the road we used viewfinders to notice the cracks on the tarmac where weeds burst through. These cracks like a city for ants. Suddenly a dragonfly, iridescent blue flew past us. Recording with photographs of surfaces, viewpoints and textures both close up and looking up. Being outside with huge beech and oak trees either side the air felt fresh after the shower and the sounds both natural and choreographed were a delight.
Within moments it was 12.30pm and participants were asked if they would like to continue working, experimenting with materials and approaches or to stop. With a cup of coffee to keep us going we soon started several more pages in our books with paint, inks, sticks and more… until 1.00pm .
A very supportive group engaging with every opportunity fully. Looking forward to the next step in the workshop.
Canopy Creative Network 