Art in the Autumn Woods

Posted on October 24, 2015 by throughstones

I stood in a shower of leaves that came clattering down like heavy raindrops. Later on I saw them gliding through the air like a flock of birds. I gathered up some of the brightest yellow ones as I wandered… and by the time I reached my chosen site, some of them had already turned quite brown. Here’s the work I made, called ‘Fall’.

fall_lindagordon_151028_045_LR600

A few days later, I’m back in the woods again – to catch the one day of the week I knew would be warm and sunny.

Always the underlying peace and silence amidst the multitude of quiet woodland sounds – wind, air, water, leaves birds…

Bucks Valley Woods: walking into the autumn sun

Walking into the blinding sun, its rays tangible, like a white ghost

Walking out into the warm autumn sunlight at Bucks Valley WoodsWalking out the other side,  I feel the sun’s warmth on my neck.

Coming back down the steep track was hazardous – the ground thick with slippery wet leaves, puddles, mud and nasty-looking stones.

I stopped halfway down and spent an awfully long time collecting golden leaves. Then I goldleafline_lindagordon_151102_0004_LRwent off elsewhere and spent another awfully long time collecting some more. Then I spent an awfully short time making the piece pictured below. I soon saw I hadn’t got the poetics quite right, and planned to come back the following day to do a better version: Version 2.

I didn’t, of course.

 

 

 

 

 

About throughstones

I am primarily an environmental artist, living on the North Devon coast, a still beautiful, semi-rural area in South West England. I am interested in the eternal movement and cycles of life, and in full engagement with place - particularly as it relates to what we call 'nature' or 'the natural environment'. It is a way of making myself at home in the world.
This entry was posted in Art, Environmental Art, nature, North Devon, place, trees and woodland and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

14 Responses to Art in the Autumn Woods

  2. VocareMentor says:
    November 20, 2015 at 1:02 am

    All of these are really nice images! I was surprised by the first one, ‘Fall.’ So simple. – Excellent!

    Like

  3. artistatexit0 says:
    November 16, 2015 at 7:22 pm

    Lovely to find you in the woods again! Like Jann, I really like the leaves on the tree trunk piece. Our autumn, has not been as colorful as in year’s past.

    Like

  4. Carla Saunders says:
    November 15, 2015 at 3:21 pm

    wonderful! I saw this on Sydney’s blog 🙂

    Like

  5. sydney says:
    November 10, 2015 at 12:34 am

    Reblogged this on sydney lancaster: hand & eye and commented:
    A lovely post on ephemeral land-based work from an artist ‘across the pond’. Deftly captures the magic that is making in this way: the active conversation that takes place between the maker and the environment, the moments of just-the-right-light or the-perfect-colour that makes this type of work an active collaboration.
    A good way to start the week.

    Like

    • throughstones says:
      November 10, 2015 at 11:57 am

      Thanks so much Sydney for your appreciative comment and for reblogging… It means a lot to me, and warms my heart! This sort of work is definitely a collaboration with the natural world, rather than an imposition. I have been looking at your recent posts (York), and resonate with many of your themes, although in a very different setting – like the importance of places of sanctuary. I keep going away to think about your work, then forget to come back to comment…. but I will definitely be in touch about it soon!!

      Liked by 1 person

      • sydney says:
        December 10, 2015 at 4:33 am

        Thanks so much for your comments as well. I welcome your thoughts on YORK, and any of the other projects I have up. Beginning to bring a new project together – it will take some time and a good bit of work before I can actually make the work, but it’s exciting to think about the possibilities already. Yes, there’s something so important in the particularity of place, and of the things thin that place. The way the land and the objects in/on it have a very specific sequence of connections. Each place allows different things, has its own voice. It’s such a privilege to work within that dialogue.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Jann Wirtz says:
    November 7, 2015 at 10:45 am

    love particularly the leaves down the tree trunk… but how did you get them up the top?? do you carry a ladder around with you?

    Like

Comments are closed.