on being grounded…
Posted: September 10, 2019 Filed under: activ8, the ash tree | Tags: Arte Povera, ecopsychology, Feeling, Meditation, poetry, Prayer, Ritual, Visual arts Leave a comment Arrrrgh, Let me OUT!! (pen on envelope on human head) © p ward 2019
there are some of us
who are accused
of being ‘grounded’:
perceiving the world and our actions
through a balanced, responsible and rational lens
rooted in practicality and common sense.
but then some of us have also been ‘grounded’ as punishment,
our freedom curtailed by a parent or guardian
for actions that often do not lie within preconceived moral boundaries,
boundaries of balance, responsibility and rationality,
often rooted in practicality and common sense
often according to Nature and her Laws
Teignmouth, South Devon; Big Silver Bentley, Gurnard’s Head, Cornwall © p ward 2019
but how we wish to fly
to shed the shackles of good sense
for other and ourselves
in search of learning, perspective and sensual joy
defining new boundaries beyond our knowledge
or otherwise fleeting original experience
before our time is out
in magic
we see
in magic
we live
Trease Mine, Boscaswell, Cornwall © p ward 2019
© P Ward 2019
and yet…
Posted: September 10, 2019 Filed under: activ8, the ash tree | Tags: art and science, Arte Povera, climate crisis, climate emergency, eco art, ecopsychology, Feeling, Interdisciplinarity, Meditation, poetry, Prayer Leave a commentthis climate emergency, part 2
drawing on my face 4: seeing (masking tape and marker pen on human head) © p ward 2019
and yet,
the sun and moon still rise and fall
birds sing
grass grows
everything is somehow in place.
despite imagery evocative of an abrupt demise,
despite rising popular opinion and attendant fearful frenzy,
despite the corroboration of a high percentage of scientific peers,
despite indicative physical, ideological and pecuniary global suffering and conflict,
despite a lifelong personal acknowledgement of our continuing abuse of Nature…
I do not sense
I do not feel
the end.
I cannot sense
I cannot feel
the end.
I do not, cannot
and will not accept
the end.
so what of instinct and intuition (the antithesis of science)?
what of individual response?
what of collective consciousness?
what of the uninformed, the common man?
are we, en masse, running from the ensuing fire?
and anyway, where can we run in this apparent global catastrophe?
if I do not feel it,
if I stand aside the mindful stampede,
am I simply burying my head in the sand
in denial of empirical objectivity,
in fear of the inevitable?
or is it that
I do not know within my power what more I may do?
as I stand on this excellent brink of oblivion, this ending of sorts,
with the knowledge, wisdom and capability of all I have before
there is opportunity
there is technology
and there is love.
I must either believe in the magic and wonder of the human spirit within Nature or not
like every day
like any day
I breath
I choose
I act according to (my) Nature…
drawing on my face 4: seeing (masking tape and marker pen on human head) © p ward 2019
© P Ward 2019
it is like being told I am dying
Posted: August 24, 2019 Filed under: activ8, the ash tree | Tags: Arte Povera, arts research, climate crisis, climate emergency, eco art, ecopsychology, extinction rebellion, Feeling, Meditation, poetry, Prayer 3 Commentsthis climate emergency, part 1
in a climate of overwhelming societal and professional expectation as an artist and an earth being i have struggled to know how to meaningfully and effectively respond directly to this ever-present issue. here are some of my thoughts and feelings expressed through words and an ongoing visual project…
it is like being told I am dying
that I am in the final stages of a terminal disease
after a long chronic illness or complaint
and that if I live the way I always should have,
the way I always have,
the way I have always known I should,
the way I have always said we should,
then maybe, maybe, maybe
I will not die.
it is like being told I am dying
but that everyone else and every other life is dying too.
that we are all dying and that it is all our own fault,
well, maybe not allour own fault
but somebody’s fault, some system’s fault, some thought-form’s fault,
that this beauty, this wonder that we experience on a daily basis
will no longer exist (for us)
because of us
it is like being told that everything and everybody that we love
is going to die, to not be.
it is a just like dying,
my experience of dying and death
in normallife –
we are all dying.
we are all going to die.
we are all living with the knowledge that we are all going to die,
that everything and everybody that we love is going to die
and that we shall experience suffering (and joy)
together.
it is still a shock when it comes.
when the reality of our imminent passing becomes apparent.
the utter enormity of it
combined with our inherent inability to conceive of such.
and who are we to talk to
other than those others similarly afflicted and condemned,
others who love and feel and care,
those who are afraid of what might become?
so
how shall we live?
how shall I live?
how shall I end this final sentence?
drawing on my face – smile (masking tape and marker pen on human head) © p ward 2019
© P Ward 2019
no light no colour no more
Posted: February 25, 2019 Filed under: eARTh | Tags: Aesthetics, art and science, Arte Povera, Arts, arts research, Cornwall, earth pigments, eco art, ecopsychology, Environmental art, Feeling, indigenous culture, painting, Pigment, Visual arts 2 Commentsfurther material responses to existential emergence, crisis and change
I was reminded recently, while gazing fleetingly into the shimmering turquoise green blue ocean here in West Cornwall, of my early art training based in the classical understanding of colour. colour as light. a systematic mixing together of homogenous materials to represent the colours that we observe in Nature from a set of ‘primaries’: reds, blues and yellows. no black. white in moderation. of hue.
iron board, Praa Sands, Cornwall (Cornish earth pigments on rock) © p ward 2019
our perception of colour, of light and shade, and hence of depth, size, form and materiality, is sometimes explained as the processing and communication of visual information created by the reflection, refraction and absorption of light in relation to materials. working with earth pigments has revealed ‘colour’ as more than just a visual ‘scientific’ process of perception. it is more a holistic appreciation of material presence which encompasses not just colour but texture, smell and a provenance of time and place, of formation and decay, of ecology, history and Nature itself.
we may often associate earth colours with a range of browns, reds and yellows. with this latest set of paintings I have been enjoying a more subtle selection of greys, greens, mauves and whites that I have found, gathered and mixed near my home.
I could say that the stories they tell are unique expressions of their own experience that I have been privileged to bring into contemporary form, but maybe that is for you to decide…
aspects of landscape and love – today it snowed (Cornish earth pigments on board; 51x51cm) © p ward 2019
the beautiful things that people say when they are together (Cornish earth pigments on board; 25x25cm) © p ward 2019
facing up to facing up to (Cornish earth pigments on board; 31x33cm) © p ward 2019
rearranging the furniture (Cornish earth pigments on board; 35x35cm) © p ward 2019
like chopping onions in a northwesterly gale (Cornish earth pigments on board; 56x38cm) © p ward 2019
stones that stand in fields with swans and cows and geese: penwith (Cornish earth pigments on board; 70x68cm) © p ward 2019
simple communication here (Cornish earth pigments on card; 61x51cm) © p ward 2019
house of power (Cornish earth pigments on canvas; 40x50cm) © p ward 2019
nondescript (Cornish earth pigments on board; 27x26cm) © p ward 2019
turning a new leaf with foxes on my mind (Cornish earth pigments on canvas; 61x51cm) © p ward 2019
© P Ward 2019
painting within limits
Posted: January 26, 2019 Filed under: eARTh | Tags: Aesthetics, Arte Povera, Arts, arts research, Cornwall, Earth, earth pigments, eco art, ecopsychology, Environmental art, indigenous culture, painting, Pigment, Visual arts 1 Commentnew paintings from Cornwall – early 2019
For many years I have exclusively used colours from the earth in my paintings, gathering and processing all the pigments myself. Each location offers a unique palette and quality of colour to work with as well as a deeper understanding of that place.
To some it may seem as if creativity is being limited. “How can I paint the sky or the trees?” are frequent questions when running workshops. Working with earth pigments has changed the way I work and my understanding of painting in many ways. It has enriched my perception of colour and the ‘material’ of colour. Black is no longer “an absence of light”. For me it allows a specific expression of place orientated, of course, by my own relationship to being there.
The paintings here respond to the nature of earth colours and experiences in West Cornwall…
distance what we have become (Cornish earth pigments on canvas; 60x40cm) © p ward 2019
big red wolf moon that I did not see (Cornish earth pigments on board; 76x28cm) © p ward 2019
to run aground an island (Cornish earth pigments on card; 27x15cm) © p ward 2019
estuary (Cornish earth pigments on wood; 20×14.5x2cm) © p ward 2019
untitled I, II, III (Cornish earth pigments on board; 25x26cm; 25x28cm; 25x26cm) © p ward 2019
offcuts homestead (Cornish earth pigments on wood; 29x24x3cm) © p ward 2019
at fault (Cornish earth pigments on board; 80x26cm) © p ward 2019
fairy queen (Cornish earth pigments on canvas; 25x30cm) © p ward 2019
© P Ward 2019
living within limits – an affirmation
Posted: January 26, 2019 Filed under: activ8, the ash tree | Tags: ecopsychology, poetry, Prayer Leave a comment(Thanks to Mat for a good conversation about politics, age and forward thinking)
while the universe may be perceived as infinite,
as our imagination does allow,
this world (upon which our existence depends) is not.
there is life
and there is death.
beginnings and ends.
throughout our history, especially in certain cultural geographies,
there has been a gradual shift towards arrogance as our understanding has increased.
with our own permission, in the names of progress, evolution and survival,
we have plundered, transferred and transformed the dynamic integrity of earth.
yet for us, as humans, omnipotence is not a possibility.
and while we may have broken it
and know how and why
we are not capable of mending it
beyond abstaining from activities and attitudes
that may perpetuate such demise and hopefully promote a self-sustaining recovery of sorts.
the universe is quite simply too vast, too diverse for us to knowingly manipulate or predict.
although we may want more,
whether that is peace or possessions or power,
there is little more to be had.
there is already more than enough.
we are simply regurgitating past revelations in a different guise,
re-appropriating wisdom again for our own selfish ends.
to be grateful
to be thankful
to appreciate what there is and what we have
to strive for less
to recognize our own limitations
and to live within them
while not profitable or fashionable
may provide and define a feasible space for creativity, for resourcefulness, for compassion and for joy…
but then, who am I to say?
trellisick trees; cot valley, cornwall © p ward 2018
levant mine, cornwall © p ward 2018
© P Ward 2019
Painting with Earth – Cornwall: new home, new works
Posted: November 30, 2018 Filed under: eARTh | Tags: Arte Povera, Arts, arts research, Cornwall, earth pigments, eco art, ecopsychology, Environmental art, Feeling, indigenous culture, painting, Pigment, poetry, Visual arts Leave a commentNovember 2018
despite the wind
despite the weather
despite the winter
despite the sense of vulnerability
this raw and new found exposure
despite the twisting and turmoil of our times
despite love
and loss
despite it all
this earth still shines
Before I embark on a new phase of experimentation, combining different binders with the Cornish pigments, I would like to share a few paintings that I have made in my new home – a caravan on a dairy farm in the coastal hills of west Penwith, Cornwall.
West Penwith, Cornwall – Morvah, Sennen Cove, Cot Valley and Chun Quoit © p ward 2018
Here, I am surrounded by the historic land markings of the ancient peoples who populated this extremity of the British Isles. Stone walls, reportedly demarcating some of the oldest working field networks in the world, built 5000 years ago. Iron age hill forts, burial mounds, settlements and wells set in the denuded coastal wasteland of heath and moor. It is at times bleak. After the rain and wind that lashes fresh from the vast Atlantic ocean, the colours of autumn shine. The constantly changing hues of the blue and grey and turquoise sea. Rainbows sitting in our laps. The sky heavy and clear and dark and brooding. Salt water permeating. The animals are exposed by their hunt for food, by the lack of cover afforded by the stripped land. It is a place of spirit and history and life, right now.
Penwith dream forms (Botallack black on paper); fogou (Cornish earth pigments on wood) © p ward 2018
mineral, vegetable; mist (Cornish earth pigments on wood) © p ward 2018
dance on the shore (Cornish earth pigments on canvas) © p ward 2018
virtually vertical; community (Cornish earth pigments on wood); earth bound (Cornish earth pigments on canvas) © p ward 2018
pigment drift (Cornish earth pigments on slate) © p ward 2018
I am slowly learning to listen to the language of the colours here. The earth pigments, their qualities, their sources are unfamiliar. New to me. They are similar in colour to those of North Devon, that I have been using for a long time but very different in other ways. Their formation. Their nature. They have not been part of my own story, until now. The marks and stories they suggest are gradually revealing themselves. Their relationships unfolding. Their dynamic. And despite my attempts at integrity to their provenance and the spirit of this place in which I find myself, it is the freedom of my children’s paintings and drawings that are inspiring me…
noah, agnes, noah, agnes (pastel and paint on paper) 2018
two heads (Cornish earth pigments on wood) © p ward 2018
eventual remediation (Cornish earth pigments on wood) © p ward 2018
looking for love (Cornish earth pigments on wood) © p ward 2018
Cornish Folk Tale I (Cornish earth pigments on wood) © p ward 2018
Professionally, I am working on an Arts Council National Lottery Project Fund proposal in association with Geevor Tin Mine to research the creative and educational potential of the pigments. Through recent projects and contact with the staff at the Mine I have started to appreciate and become really excited by the rich historical, geological, chemical and social provenance that the colours carry. After the far-reaching and ongoing success that Painting with Earth – North Devon has brought, let’s hope I will get some real financial support to enable the continuation of this rich seam of work ;-).
© P Ward 2018
painting a parish future – Pendeen in St Just, Cornwall
Posted: November 29, 2018 Filed under: activ8, eARTh, educ8 | Tags: arts research, Cornwall, earth pigments, eco art, Ecology, ecopsychology, Environmental art, indigenous culture, Interdisciplinarity, Mining, painting, Painting Together, Pigment, Visual arts 2 CommentsESRC Festival of Social Science, 10th November 2018
background
I met Dr Joanie Willett at a ‘Melting Pot’ event at Exeter University’s Environmental Sustainability Institute at Penryn Campus in Falmouth, Cornwall. The purpose of the event was to provide opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaborations. Dr Willett was fascinated by aspects of the geology behind earth pigments, particularly of those connected with mining waste, and of the potential for public engagement that my workshops provided. I was intrigued by Dr Willett’s studies around Parish Councils and how to promote public engagement in the political process, reminding me of conversations I had in Australia around the ecological basis of Aboriginal tribal councils.
After a further meeting, held as a walk along the ‘Tin Coast’ in West Penwith between Pendeen and Botallack, we decided to organize a public workshop exploring these principles. Funding was obtained from the Economic and Social Research Council and Exeter University as part of the Festival of Social Science, a national event making Social research accessible to the general public.
where the personal becomes POLITICAL: the idea
Our personal experiences, knowledge and perceptions of the places we live are all valid contributory factors to the cultural truth of a place. In Western democracies the starting point for policy decisions are ideally based in such cultural truths. Parish councils, of which there are some 10,000 in the UK, are the gathering places for the diverse cultural perception of our local communities. Beyond this such cultural perceptions are strongly influenced, if not determined, by the geographical identity, the physical ecology and resources, of a place.
painting a parish future offers a creative space to cultivate and share personal experience, knowledge and future visions of the places that we live.
It is hoped that the creation of such a space within a working Parish may encourage a spirit of commonality and cooperation within groups that may too easily become competitive and detached from the truth of a regions imminent ecology, in respect of all its inhabitants.
painting a parish futureis a collaborative research project led by politics lecturer Dr Joanie Willett and ecological artist Peter Ward in association with Exeter University’s Environmental Sustainability Institute. The project will utilize a shared knowledge of local political process and creative environmental engagement.
An initial enquiry will gather local people, parish councilors and experts to walk and share experiences and knowledge in a reflective process in the Parish of St Just in west Cornwall. The daylong event will culminate in a communal painting using gathered materials to express a shared vision of the future. The painting and further documentation of the event will be exhibited at the ESI at Penryn Campus and at a local venue in St Just Parish.
painting a parish futurewill run alongside ongoing national and local initiatives ‘Going Wild’ with Cornwall Council and the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and the St Just and Pendeen Neighbourhood Development Plan.
The project will provide a model for further actions in local communities across the UK, international research with Indigenous communities in Australia and the basis for an academic paper in relation to such activities, as well as a real focus for community action in the place it is performed.
in practice
The event was advertised locally in the Parish ‘Outreach’ magazine, through flyers in local shops and on notice boards and through personal invitation to relevant experts. It was hoped that we would have a group of about 20 people for the event. In practice, we were fortunate that a County Councilor expressed her interest from an early stage, inviting a simple presentation at a Town Council meeting in St Just to further promote the event. On the day, 2 people who had signed up did not show leaving us with a group of 7, including Dr Willett and myself. While the response was a little disappointing, and indeed raised a very important discussion regarding public engagement, the small number did allow for more focused time and intimate space for discussion and sharing and better engagement with the process.
Part of my personal motivation for the event was to begin to learn more about the place that I live. Both my own background research about the area and the process of organizing the event provided interesting insights into the present social dynamic and historical roots of the parish. Another part was to establish contacts within the community and with relevant organizations for future projects.
Poster/invitation for painting a parish future – Pendeen in St Just; 7 Cornish pigments, earth colours used in communal painting © p ward 2018
Participants included an artist, a politics lecturer, an environmental educator and project manager, a childminder, County Councilor, Town Councilor and a geologist, providing the basis for lively, diverse and informed discussion throughout the day with many thoughts for positive action being shared.
The morning walk took us through the village of Pendeen to the recently restored leat (a community project initiated by a member of the group), through the historic mining community of Lower Boscaswell, to the medieval ‘holy’ well and then through remains of Geevor Tin Mine and ancient field networks down to the coast, before heading back to the Parish Hall for lunch. Conversation within the group flowed easily between the whole group and individuals and covered topics from local planning policy, local history and geology, the influence of the environment on agriculture, national environmental and political attitudes, interspersed with a shared appreciation of the natural world, and in particular the local environment. Lunch was a homemade vegetable soup, made using exclusively local produce from the community farm, along with local cheese and bread and a splendid array of cake.
Pendeen Parish Hall, photo courtesy J Willett
The process of painting (interesting for my part for the lack of ‘artists’ in the group) took participants a little out of their comfort zones but allowed us to ground our thoughts in a meaningful and enjoyable way. The pigments themselves offered further insights into the local environment, as well as paint making. The painting itself was structured through an approximation of the evolutionary process, starting with imagery around geology, then land use and flora and fauna and lastly human intervention. Despite the initial discomfort, participants recognized the value of the process, at whatever level individuals felt able to contribute, and enjoyed the end result.
painting a parish future – Pendeen in St Just, photos courtesy J Willett and M Ward
conclusion and further action
Despite the somewhat disappointing public response to the event, it was agreed that it had been a useful and inspiring day with everyone feeling they would use what they had learnt in some way. Some said they ‘had never participated in anything like it before’ and that it had revealed a new way of working in the public sphere. I was personally encouraged by how everyone got involved with the process and in particular how the act of painting with local pigments was enjoyed and valued.
As a facilitator, whenever I approach an event such as this I will necessarily fill my mind with any relevant information I wish to share and a structure I aim to run the day through. In practice, especially when working with adults, it is essential that such plans are held merely as guidelines and that the process and dynamic of the group are allowed to express themselves for a satisfactory outcome to be achieved. Indeed, it is inherent to the process that the day is allowed to progress organically within any practical limitations, such as time, space, numbers and sustenance, to be true to itself. What is exciting about such a process is exactly those surprises or unknowns that arise, leading us to new ideas and future actions.
Through contacts made at the Town Council presentation, it is hoped that the painting and research will be exhibited at St Just Library, while also being shared with the Town Council and Local Neighbourhood Development Plan as an example of public engagement. Discussion has already begun regarding further collaboration with Dr Willett with the possibility of developing the event in other areas. Business and public groups in the area have also approached me to run similar workshops for upcoming events.
painting a parish future– Pendeen in St Just, communal painting, earth pigments on board © p ward 2018
Thank you to everyone who participated in the event, for the support and interest of the local community and especially to Joanie for her contributions and collaborative insights.
© P Ward 2018
burnt CARN
Posted: August 31, 2018 Filed under: A BUNDLE OF STICKS, the ash tree | Tags: arts research, Cornwall, Cornwall Area of Outstanding Beauty, Ecology, ecopsychology, Environmental art, Feeling, poetry Leave a commentPendeen, Cornwall 190818
a howling man dressed in black set fire to the hill (carn) behind Pendeen…
burnt CARN, Pendeen, Cornwall 190818 I-III © p ward 2018
burnt CARN, Pendeen, Cornwall 190818 IV-IX © p ward 2018
burnt CARN, Pendeen, Cornwall 190818 X © p ward 2018
burnt CARN, Pendeen, Cornwall 190818 XI © p ward 2018
it has been a while since I have felt watched,
since I have felt the company of an-other.
the scent of burnt earth
forms distorted by fire
a thick sea mist blowing through the hilltop
silence…
© P Ward 2018