I am very reluctantly abandoning this blog until  later this year. Much as I enjoy my work and studies, pressure of work seems to be taking up  all  my waking hours these days!  But please peruse my previous posts. You will find much of interest about art, artists , earth and environment.

You may be able to keep track of me on www.lindagordon.org.uk , on Facebook, Twitter or on a new site I am soon going to start, primarily for a Walking Art project I’m planning for June. This site is  (and its associated blog on Blogspot) is called ‘Essential Nature’ –  www.essentialnature.org.uk. 

You can also see my pictures on Flickr, where I have AT LAST managed to upload my Korea residency photos. Here’s the link: Korea Photos.

Enjoy!

People tell me there are otters returning to this part of North Devon, though I have not been fortunate enough to see one myself. No longer brutally hunted with dogs and clubs, as in Henry Williamson’s book ‘Tarka the Otter’ (first published 1927),  they are still somewhat at the mercy of us humans:  our roads and motorways often crossing the otters’ traditional tracks and routes, with horrible results.

“Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Two Rivers”  -  surely one of the most intense, evocative and closely observed novels about wildlife ever written.

I first read it as a child, many years ago, little dreaming that I would one day come to live in the Country of the Two Rivers.  I  felt as though I knew every inch of the terrain long before I came to live here, near the Burrows of North Devon. But I knew it, not from the perspective of a detached human being, but as  an animal, a living creature – thanks to the deep and lasting impression this book made upon me.

Just listen to this, from the chapter on the Long Winter – a profound evocation of ‘place’ as well as the ferocity and power of natural forces:

“The otters lay up near a cattle shippen, among reeds with white feathery tops. A dull red sun, without heat or rays, moved over them, sinking slowly down the sky. For two days and two nights the frosty vapour lay over the Burrows, and then came a north windwhich poured like liquid glass from Exmoor and made all things distinct. The wind made whips of the dwarf willows, and hissed through clumps of the great sea-rushes. The spines of the marram grasses scratched wildly at the rushing air, which passed over the hollows where larks and linnets  crouched with puffed feathers. Like a spirit freed by the sun’s ruin and levelling all things before a new creation, the wind drove grains of sand against the legs and ruffled feathers of the little birds, as though it would breathe annihilation upon them, strip their frail bones of skin and flesh, and grind them until they became again that which was before the earth’s old travail.  Vainly the sharp and hard points of the marram grasses drew their circles on the sand: the Icicle Spirit was coming, and no terrestrial power could exorcise it.”  

The story of Tarka is a heroic tragedy in the real sense of the term – the story of a fine animal and his fierce struggle for survival. Williamson was concerned to portray only the truth, and spent seven years writing the book, continually revising it in his endeavours to be more and more truthful. For sure it contains interludes of death and brutality – but one is left at the end with a sense of pure joy and wonder.

 

It has been snowing. I gaze out over the houses below, across to the Burrows.  

 I hear birds and the distant roar of the sea. No traffic. Down below, the snow is blending the houses into the landscape: softening their contours. Even the ‘new’ houses to the far right seem less intrusive –  they are almost harmonious.

From my high open window I survey the scene, and see that things are not quite so distinct and separate as we like to imagine.

“Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.”
  T.S.Eliot – Four Quartets, Burnt Norton 1.

 

Just click on the link!
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1529569286/bctid5524339001

 

And a Happy New Year!

Safe in the quiet woods, I drew breath. I spent the entire morning and most of the afternoon pottering about and walking – getting lost, wading through mud and enormous puddles up to the top of my wellies, slithering down narrow muddy tracks down to the river, listening intently for the sounds of birds, water, distant traffic and humans – all the time breathing in fresh clean air and absorbing the strength and presence of the trees. There was a group of tall upright conifers amongst this mixed woodland: not normally my favourite sort of tree, but these were majestic, graceful and vigorous. I gathered fallen leaves and arranged them in a circle around a particularly handsome-looking specimen.

 

It was a glorious sunny day. All stress drained away, and I felt happy and completely at home. I began to indulge in little fantasies, and as I wandered around, I began to have interesting little conversations with trees, plants, stumps and stones. I thought I would return the next day and sing songs, recite poetry, make a recording… but I didn’t, because there has been torrential rain here, ever since. That’s my excuse, anyway!
 

I am leading a sort of double life at the moment: between home in North Devon, where I like to think I am getting life, family and work into some sort of coherent balance (no chance!) – and my Arts & Ecology course at Dartington in South Devon, which runs on three-week intensive modules.

Both of the two regions of Devon are lovely places to live, with very different landscapes. Next time I will try to post some pictures for comparison – but I can’t seem to put my hands on any at the moment! Now that I have made myself at home here again, I am ready to start Module 2. Here is what I made when I arrived at Dartington for the first module, a couple of months ago… I called it ‘Tree Rings at Dartington – a Grounding Exercise’.

 

Interestingly, Module 1 was very much focused on ‘place’… and I have learned that the prefix ‘eco’ (as in ‘eco-nomy’ and ‘eco-logy’) comes from the Greek word for ‘home’. How did I get through life without knowing this before?

COP15 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) is coming up next month. This is the latest UN Climate Change Conference, where the world’s leaders will gather in Copenhagen to reach a deal which puts the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change. We know how crucially important this conference will be to the survival of our species as well as many others. We know too, that our culture of ‘Western industrial capitalism’ has grown monstrous and is responsible for appalling human suffering in Third World countries, and has already caused massive environmental damage.

No one can deny the world is warming up now, and it seems clear beyond doubt that it is linked to unprecedented levels of carbon emissions from the industrialised nations. We have seen its effects already: the horror movies, the floods, the bodies floating down the streets, the gradual extinction of species – their habitat and escape routes gone and no means of survival. What is wrong with our predominant world-culture, that we can destroy the very environmental systems that sustain our lives? What is wrong with us that we can destroy our own home? Have we gone mad?

Things have to change. We cannot go on like this.

photo: courtesy Great Images in NASA

I am so grateful that nearly everyone I know is working quietly, each in their own way, to change the situation, and to find wholesome and sustainable ways forward for us all. And, in the run up to COP15, this momentous conference, millions of people around the world, who wouldn’t normally do so, are taking action and making their voices heard.

Myself, I tried to do a solitary walk for the delegates – but it didn’t feel right, so I am writing this post instead. I shall do the walk for the Earth and all its creatures. And I shall take part in a special event organised by our Arts & Ecology group at Dartington on Dec 5th.

My wish for COP15 is that our leaders talk less and listen more, make wise, fair and compassionate decisions and have the courage to carry them out.

‘The Age of Stupid’ which I have mentioned before on this blog, is a great climate change film. There is also a huge number of videos online – good, bad and mediocre, but here are a couple I picked out as worth watching…

This one is ‘Climate Change Video’ from Oxfam:

more about “Climate change video“, posted with vodpod

 

more about “A Way Forward: Facing Climate Change …“, posted with vodpod

Most of the artists I have mentioned in this blog have been working for years in relation to the natural world : ecological artists, like the Harrisons (see http://greenhousebritain.greenmuseum.org/), Alan Sonfist ( www.alansonfist.com), Brandon Ballengée (Throughstones post), and Jean-Paul Ganem.  There are many others that you can find on sites such as Green Museum and WEAD (Women Environmental Artists Directory) . And there are also others who are connecting and touching hearts one by one, at an ordinary everyday level. It is not necessarily size that matters. I am thinking particularly of ‘Walking the Land’, a small artists’ collective in UK.

And whilst I am on the subject, I would like to pay my respects to all those, who work without fuss (unlike myself) to restore and maintain proper relationships with the Earth… I am thinking at the moment of farmers, gardeners, those who protect wildlife and complex eco-systems, and those who keep vital traditional crafts alive, such as dry-stone walling, thatching, earth-building and hedging. Also those who are just kind to animals and little children, and always have time to stop for a friendly chat.

Here is a clear and brief overview of the UN Conferences on Climate Change – from the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit of 1992 up to today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Framework_Convention_on_Climate_Change.

And the UK Gov Department for International Development publishes some excellent articles on climate change topics. (www.dfid.gov.uk). In particular, see their section: “Climate Change and Copenhagen” for latest videos, photos and news.

Neither of these is my normal sort of reading – but they do give a useful frame of reference for all that confusing and conflicting information out there.

Finally, there are a few COP 15 links in my sidebar that might be of interest. There are many, many others worth investigating, on the internet.

Here are two important links:

The Wave | Stop Climate Chaos Coalition.

The Wave

Devon is a county with a wonderful diversity of landscapes – it has Dartmoor and Exmoor, undulating green fields, rocky coastlines, large areas of woodland… but the way you know you are really in Devon is by its hedges.

Much of the county is inaccessible by public transport, and I can never forget my shock when first moving here three years ago, at just how long it took to get from point A to point B by car. The whole county seemed to be covered with mile after mile of meandering green tunnels – up and down hills, endless hairpin bends – high shady trees and hedges in various states of growth and maintenance – however beautiful in themselves, I felt impatient, exasperated .

And away from the wooded areas the country lanes were narrow, and claustrophobic, flanked by savagely-cut, high hedges impossible to see over the top.

Well, one cannot stay exasperated for ever, and I grew more patient – deciding that other species had needs as well as my own. I knew of the importance of hedges to wildlife, as habitat or as corridors, and I began to pick up a few snippets of other information. I wanted to know more.

The annual Devon Hedge Week has just taken place, so I took the opportunity to go along to the Halsannery Countryside Centre for a morning’s event with Tom Hynes from Northern Devon Coast and Countryside Service. Autumn leaves of vibrant reds, golds and yellows were strewn along the edges of the track as I approached the house. It was very good to breathe the fresh leafy earth-scented air.

Tom told us a little about the history of Devon hedges, and how they have evolved. I was amazed to learn that about 20% of them have been established as long as 800 years, and many more are very old indeed! A typical hedge is formed along earth banks, often supported by dry stone walling. Plants and trees establish themselves along the top of the banks, providing a wealth of resources for wildlife. Brambles and bushes lower down the banks are especially favoured by dormice.

We walked over the fields to look at hedges that had been restored at various times in recent years, one very recent and one awaiting work, and at each hedge Tom told us about methods of hedge management. I soon learned there was much more to all this than there first seemed , depending on fitness of purpose, geographical conditions and so on. So each hedge would be unique, depending on its history, current use, and importantly, its position in the landscape.

 

Tom gave us a great demonstration of the traditional craft of hedge-laying (steeping), and at the end of the morning, I came away with a new appreciation of these hedges that cover so much of the county.

Regarding the question of whether or not flailing is a good thing – have a look at Paula’s brilliant  post on the Locks Park Farm blog.

I still have many more questions, but on a visit to a friend’s farm today, I was able to recognise a well-laid hedge when I saw one, and its many benefits to humans and wildlife, and just how much these hedges hold together the fabric of the Devon landscape.

More info: www.devon.gov.uk/devon_hedges

Korean Nature-Art Association YATOO

LINDA GORDON 

Recent works made at Wongol, South Korea

Geumgang Nature-Art Centre

187-1 Jungdong, Gongju, Chungnam

TEL 041)853-8828

yatoo@hanmail.net

First time I have managed to get my head up. It’s good to come back to my dear old blog, and you guys! Thank you so much everyone for all your supportive messages and comments that I have never managed to answer….  just what I need to keeep me going during these pre-exhibition jitters! Very best wishes to you! Linda

This is by way of a (temporary) farewell post, as I am shortly off to rural Korea on an artist residency with YATOO Korean Nature Art Association. It is a highly-regarded organization internationally – established 28 years ago, and still run by the original artists. Their approach is to work in harmony with nature, trying to find a balance rather than impose particular ideas or concepts. It can take the form of spontaneous performances, short-lived installations or simple drawings, using found materials. Often the work is only ever seen in photographs. But the photographs are potent, because they reflect a moment in nature that is deeply familiar to us all.

© Ko, Seung-Hyun: DOOR WAY 1985

A couple of days after I get back, I shall be making an installation for Organic Arts at West Town Farm, Devon – then soon after that, I am planning to begin an MA course in the relatively new field of Arts & Ecology.

Why am doing this – at an age when most people are thinking of retirement? Because I have to. Because I feel that working collaboratively and bringing together the best of creative and scientific ways of thinking is our only way forward in resolving our extremely serious environmental challenges. A sort of fusion of left and right-brain activity, perhaps. I think humanity as a whole must take a huge evolutionary leap forward as a matter of urgency, and this is my personal leap.

Which brings me to the subject of: ‘So what am I doing flying halfway round the world, pumping out carbon emissions for the sake of an artist residency?

There is, in fact, quite a debate amongst artists at the moment on this very topic. Of course I can give you many good reasons for my choice, just as I can find many reasons against it – and of COURSE I did some long and hard soul-searching, and talked to colleagues before deciding to go ahead. I think, in these matters, it has to be up to individual conscience. After all, which of us can ever know all the factors that are at play in any person’s choices?

For me, this is not just any old residency – otherwise I would not go to so much trouble. I have long admired the ethos of Yatoo, and their approach to nature. I have a lot to learn there, and a lot to give.

© Hae-Sim Kim: GLABELLA 2008

So here, especially for William Shaw, editor of ‘RSA Arts & Ecology’  is a ‘quote’ from Ko, Seung-Hyun, president of ‘YATOO’:

“I want to be a part of the nature and do my best to do so.
I feel the nature in itself is in a perfect state without any addition and without subtraction.
As an old poet did, I think about what I will do for the Nature.
Breathing in the nature is my pray and staying there is my faith. I want to follow the nature’s providence and reasonableness rather than apply my ideas to the nature.”

I kneel at my open bedroom window, gazing out across the estuary , absorbing the sounds of small birds and occasional quiet voices. Down below a postman crosses between the houses and a dog barks in recognition.

I look down at the gardens all around, bursting with life and fertility: one neighbour’s sweet peas, another’s runner beans, and our own overgrown bushes and rambling roses. I am not much of a gardener, though I mean well. I don’t like to tidy up nature too much. Maybe that’s why we have so many slugs and snails. White gulls are drifting in front of my eyes. In the distance I can see slow white waves moving across the water, and low-lying hills beyond that.

In front of me, little birds have congregated singig on the telephone wires, and our lavishly green bushes are waving in the breeze. I remember the gull chick, a couple of years ago, who fell on to the kitchen roof just below me here – and how I watched closely throughout the summer, building up a respectful relationship with him until he eventually managed to fly away. And I think of Fudgie , a more recent and less fortunate casualty, (the chick with the bad dress sense) who fell out of his egg on our high chimney, and landed under the car. (L blows nose).

Blimey, Linda, you are only going away for a month or so. Time to go.

I will try to send through the occasional snapshot or bit of news, and will try to keep up with yours – though I am not sure how much time or internet access I will have. Meanwhile, have a good summer and thank you everyone for all the warmth, love and laughter you have given me.