Thursday 26 November 2020

Lockdown 2 - Make, write, walk, repeat......


 

 

Forgive me if I sound a little flat. For flat is how it feels.

It is lockdown number 2, and I have run out of jobs that need doing that I clearly don't intend to do.

I realise now that the main goal for these few weeks is to get through them in a reasonable state of mental health.

 And to that aim I have three priorities

  1. Make stuff
  2. write stuff
  3. walk

 

 Make stuff

 

I joined an on line art class; 'Where Drawing Meets Words' with The Royal Drawing School

 I wasn't sure what to expect, but the title felt manageable. 

 

Words and pictures, stories and illustration. 

 

I have long hoped to illustrate a childrens' story that I have written about a mountain, and this class seemed like a good step in the right direction.


The book 'Uncommon Genius' was recommended by our tutor as a guide to creativity; I ordered a second hand copy in 'GOOD' condition.

This is it. You can be the judge with regards the condition.

 


 

It tells me that creative people, amongst other things

  • know where their talent lies and play to it
  • make it shine
  • stay loose
  • are not afraid to fail
  • need to know how to facilitate getting into their 'flow' state, where ideas are formed
  • often travel
  • have lots of projects on the go

All of these things less easy to achieve when locked down. 

 

 

We worked on the story of Little Red Riding Hood, making a storyboard as if for a book.

I had forgotten what a gruesome tale it is.

 

dead wolf in cardboard

 

 'Make a cardboard mock-up of one of the scenes, and then draw or paint from that' was the point at 

which I realised that I was not working within my 'talent zone'. 

I made a dead wolf, with stones in his belly. 

He is consigned to the bin.

I never did draw him. 

I did, however see how others in the class were able to make very realistic drawings and to visualise the lighting and shadows for their drawings. 

I am just not there yet....

I decided to make scenes from my mountain story instead. I was being kind to myself, and avoiding total failure..... putting sanity above risk....

I was happier playing with ink.  I made some very nice stones.....



Ink 'stone'

 

 

 My ink rain was a disaster. I blew ink across the paper with a hairdryer. It was a mess.

So I chopped it up, at which point it became something completely new.

 

My blown ink became snow scenes. 

I agree with the 'Uncommon Genius' book that every mistake has potential.

I am also reminded that working in an abstract way is my 'thing'.





 

So for now my story remains without pictures, but I have a direction of travel.

 

Write stuff

 

The writing element of the class was liberating.

Writing about a picture. 

Cutting out phrases from the writing. 

Turning these phrases into poems.




 

I chose to write about this painting by Victor Pasmore. We were asked to describe the scene and also repsond to questions posed by the tutor. Taking those written words and cutting them into phrases I formed a poem.


A Winter morning ( after Victor Pasmore “A winter morning” 1944)



Dawn. 

A paved garden.


Sun low on the horizon

warming the early morning sky


Tangled trees overhang a purple shadowed, dull green lawn.

Fallen leaves spill sideways onto the cold stone path.


Wind whistles in the whip-like branches

A hum of engines from the river beyond.


Indistinct grey-white objects hanging at the distant lawn’s edge appear misplaced. 

Sheets masquerading as headstones in the morning mist.


An upturned terracotta pot lying untidily in the corner wonders  

“why am I abandoned; 

almost invisible in this dark shadowed place?”


Birds on the clothes line and leafless woody stems perch patiently.

Waiting for worm time.


A balustrade enters, stage left

wondering who will pass this way today.


Later, when the warm sky has faded to steely grey

a man in a long tweed coat descends softly into the garden in brown laced boots,

causing the birds to fly away.


He passes silently through


the quiet


the ordinariness


the muted simplicity



of just another winters’ day.

   

****************



A lesson in observation, and ways to find words.
 
 

Walk

 
Which brings me to walking; one of the best ways that I know to find my state of flow, where ideas formulate and I can begin to create.
 
 
I walked in the winter morning light. 


 
seedheads

Stems on a winter morning

 
 I walked the streets picking up litter.
 
 
I walked on the beach picking up litter.
 
 

beach litter

stranded beach plant


 
I have walked more miles in the last month than in any other month this year.
 
The highlight of my walks was a murmuration of starlings.
 
 
 


 
 
 
And where is my other half I hear you ask?
 
Well he is in trouble..... for leaving me alone in our bubble.....


 
 


Alone in a bubble


I am alone in a bubble

Other half’s in trouble


he’s left me on the shelf

all by myself

locked down

in Bromley town


while he’s on a plane

for ‘work’ (again)

it’s been so long

he’ll no doubt explain

Dubai, no less.


I must confess

I lack the will

to lie very still

on a posh sun lounger

in stifling heat

looking over my shoulder

for covid 

or corona

virus;

is it worse

here or there?

Do I even care?


Either way

I’m much better off

at home

alone

in this half empty bubble

Waiting for a needle

to release us

from this overrated story;

this year of purgatory.


Roll on 2021.

 

 

 

 

But I have got so much done while he has been away for just a few days.... 

 

I have nothing to do but make stuff, write stuff and walk......

 

 The art classes are over, but I am filled with new ideas. Christmas is coming and the gold paint is out.

 

 

 


 

 

I leave you with a poem/drawings based on a work 'Tremolo' by Agnes Martin

 

Agnes also liked a bit of gold paint, along with her pencils.


 

 

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/38280?artist_id=3787&page=1&sov_referrer=artist
Agnes Martin| Tremolo| 1962

 

 

Tremolo booklet  (after Tremolo by Agnes Martin)


 

 

Tremolo   

(after ‘Tremolo’ by Agnes Martin 1962)





idea


ruler


pencil


mathematical calculation


 and a blank white sheet.


evenly spaced graphite journeys


with irregular endings


minor imperfections


unintended gradations


pencil lifting


border shifting


stop thinking.


a vision


of living


above the line


in happiness and love


___________________

________________________


I wonder how often she sharpened her pencil?

 

 

 

 


 

 

I wonder how often she sharpened her pencil?


 

Not long until we are unlocked.

Until then I'll keep walking.....

 

 

 

Saturday 10 October 2020

Quarantine is bad for health

Vancouver sunset
 
 

Here I am, in quarantine again.... as I am now returned from visiting my family in Vancouver. 

To say that this is hard would be an understatement.

Another 14 days of being confined to quarters, with nothing to do but talk to my other half (OH), weed the garden, and consider my navel.

The lack of anticipation of big hugs all round makes this second 14 days feel like a very different experience.

Quarantine is bad for my health.
 
Not to mention the health of the airlines. 
 
This is Calgary airport international terminal.
 
My flight to Gatwick was the only flight listed on the board.
 
 

Calgary airport in the time of Covid-19

 
Before I left England I wrote to my MP asking why I had to quarantine on my return when there is much less Covid-19 in Canada than in the UK. 
 
He replied saying that he is too busy to reply. 

I think it is something to do with Brexit.....

Meanwhile I am quietly losing my marbles and the airlines are quietly going bankrupt.


Here is the arrivals area at Gatwick.






Anyway, apart from being just a tiny bit miffed, I am well and had a wonderful time in Vancouver with my family. 

All activities were outdoors, and on some days we could almost forget about the pandemic.




 

 

We walked the seawall. 

We cycled the seawall.

We swam in the sea, in mountain lakes and walked in the forest. 

All were cool and refreshing.


 


There are a lot of pine trees in Canada. 

 

 

 

 

 

And bears...... 

This is classic bear country.



 

Not to mention cougars......


 

Canada is a dangerous country.......

Or so my inner voice tells me whenever I try to walk alone in the forest.

Best to walk in a group. 

Which makes contemplative landscape photography almost impossible for one who is easily spooked.

Playing with a snow shovel on the beach and making pirate ships out of driftwood was much more appealing.


In Harrison Hot Springs I found the Sasquatch less of a threat.....



The Sasquatch is a much revered creature with a conveniently sized 2 metre arm span.

The hot springs were closed...... not so convenient. 

As were the kayaks and bicycle hire.


But my son and I did find ourselves on the set for a new movie 'Solitary'.

On asking, we were initially told that they were filming 'a movie' . 

But we were persistent. 

We dug deeper... and were told that it is about ' a man who has been in solitary confinement for 7 years and is then released into the world in the grip of a covid-19 pandemic  and social isolation'. 


I for one can't wait. Who needs 007?



Social distancing advice from the Sasquatch




When walking alone I decided to 'notice what I notice'.


I am known for noticing traffic cones and small things.


I cannot be the only person to think that the cones of Vancouver have been renamed for the pandemic.










The other thing that I notice in Canada is deciduous trees; mainly because there are so few of them.

I miss them when away from England. They are mostly found only in parks and gardens.


I enjoy the changes of autumn. The beauty of a single leaf left on the tip of a branch.







Mountain, tree, leaf.

Sources of great pleasure.














Enough.  Time to stop writing.

I am in quarantine and have lots to do.....

OH has gone out to do real things like sailing and walk on the beach.

He has left me with some potatoes. I will feast later.


For now I have just had a delivery from the postman; a new book.

'Japanese book binding' by Kojiro Ikegami.






I shall spend the rest of the day learning some different types of Japanese and Chinese bindings.


I will leave you with my video '14 days'..... from my first quarantine.

They really weren't so bad!





Saturday 19 September 2020

Confined to quarters in a Canadian Covid-19 quarantine



Calgary airport. a log fire.

 


Welcome to Canada!


A fake log fire and view of Moraine lake at Calgary airport. 


When I saw this I felt I had arrived. Flying to Vancouver via Calgary to see my family for the first time in many months. 


But first there must be quarantine. 14 days. No going out. No shopping. No visitors.

So I set myself up in an air bnb beside the sea, in the belief that being able to see the sea would keep me sane. Which it has. Almost.


All flights to Vancouver had been cancelled. So I immigrated through Calgary. I had a tense discussion with the immigration officer as I justified my visit.

She told I must stay put. 

I told her I knew that I must, and would...... 

She advised me that people would check up on me. Others also advised that officials would check up on me. Twelve days into the endurance test I am still waiting to be checked up upon. Not a peep.

So while I wait I am being obedient. And not having to wear a mask for 14 days is a treat in itself after wearing it for almost 24 hours on the journey over. 


The airport was eerily empty.

Cafes and shops closed.



Calgary airport . a mountain

When I finally arrived in Vancouver on a hot sunny evening it too was deserted.


Luggage carousel

I arrived to an early September evening in full sun. 


The view from my balcony blue and calm.


The view from my balcony

The quarantine had begun.

And the smoke from the wildfires had yet to arrive. Two days later everything was grey, visibility poor, and so it has remained for the last 10 days. Apparently the air quality is such that I am smoking the equivalent of three cigarettes daily. Luckily it is not permanent... all we need is some wind and rain, which will come soon enough.


So how does one occupy oneself for 14 days when not allowed to go for walks, shopping, talking to friends or visiting the forest that lies tantalisingly around the next bend in the road.


I can only say that somehow the days seem to pass.

Opportunities for photography are very limited. I have never been that interested in photographing indoor scenes.

I photographed my novel. only because it was brilliant. 

Lanny; by Max Porter


And the light at the window.

Before the sun disappeared.....


But my heart was not in it.


I decided to make a daily sculpture.


That plan lasted 2 days, as I had no access to materials, and didn't want to use garbage ( when in Canada.....).


berry and driftwood quarantine calendar

So I resorted to making small books with paint and ink on paper.


I have with me a supply of paper, a few tubes of paint and a couple of bottles of ink.

They have sustained me through a selection of dodgy creations, all looking remarkably similar; lines, dots, grey and red..... I am stuck in a rut.







And when not making books I am keeping fit . Thanks to Youtube I can take classes in ballet, yoga, meditation, cardio work outs and for a mad 10 minutes some good old fashioned line dancing.


My food delivery turned up, and I am now eeking out my rations for the last three days. Breakfast is taken on the cutting mat, surrounded by paper and glue.

Lunch is a picnic on the balcony with my book, and dinner a Netflix TV affair. 

I have learned that some things on my 'to do' list are never going to get done. 

And if they don't get done here, they will NEVER GET DONE. 



I have photographed some prints from book pages and worked them into imagined landscapes.

It all seems quite dark.... the pandemic lurking behind every corner. 



Horizon book

Imagined landscape  1

Imagined landscape 2


I have tried to write a daily Haiku, without much success. 

I have drawn a picture of a cave with pack rats for my grandson.


I made a video on how to make a book..... but couldn't sum up the energy for episode 2.

You can view it here..


I have also created a video for yesterday's book "You are the Sky".

I came across these words by Pema Chodron on a yoga video, and  they resonated strongly with my isolation situation and changing moods. 

"You are the sky. Everything else- it's just the weather"



Anyway, the time is passing and I am still well. If I were quarantining in some other other countries I would have been allowed out for a walk, or even to buy food. 

But I am in Canada so I am not.

14 days it is, even though the incubation period of covid-19 is much less than this.

And don't get me started on the need to quarantine when I return home....


Next time you hear from me I will be having an all Canadian Covid pandemic adventure. 


I can't wait!!