eggs have legs and other tales of intimate rebellion…
Posted: April 26, 2019 Filed under: activ8, eARTh, Uncategorized | Tags: Arte Povera, Arts, arts research, Cornwall, earth pigments, eco art, ecopsychology, Environmental art, indigenous culture, Interdisciplinarity, Meditation, painting, Pigment, poetry, Social change, Soil Culture, Visual arts Leave a comment(more paintings from the end of earth 2019)
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.”― Rumi
as I sit with peaceful abandon
far out upon my churlish perch
painting pontifications of intimate expression
in relation with place and time and all,
I have most recently been given good cause to reflect…
beneath me now (Cornish earth pigments on canvas; 30x25cm) © p ward 2019
not only upon an inherent inability for punctuation (and breath)
or the ability of egg (local and free range to boot),
both yolk and white, with most moist unctuous fluidity
to stick and bind and glaze (with a little vinegar to dilute;
PS1: tempera is not a light batter originating in Japan)
but upon movement and change and responsibility
and power and loss (and hence gain) and intent and motivation
and communication and honesty and truth
and (of course) magic and then stories and pictures and love.
the time has come to pick up our arms and dangle our feet
to the tune of an age old heartache – our connection (or lack of)
to life that gives and takes and breathes and yearns to live again.
so, thank you to the warriors,
the shouters and dancers,
the artists who care,
the thinkers who dare
to speak their thoughts for all and all and all,
hand in hand with birds and beasts,
with clouds and sea and rain falling in the sunshine fields.
I am me and you in you.
It is once more… rebellion!
inconsequential wildlife of an aquine persuasion (Cornish earth pigments on board; 40x40cm) © p ward 2019
memories of life after life (Cornish earth pigments on reclaimed wood; 64x18cm) © p ward 2019
heady (Cornish earth pigments on reclaimed board; 30x50cm) © p ward 2019
as loud as a moon – lord and lady muck (Cornish earth pigments on repurposed card; 17x18cm) © p ward 2019
9 cornish earth forms (Cornish earth pigment egg tempera on paper; 48x42cm) © p ward 2019
dichotomous circumstance (Cornish earth pigment egg tempera on reclaimed wood; 45x45x4.5cm) © p ward 2019
walking through time (Cornish earth pigment egg tempera on reclaimed wood; 29x14x4.5cm) © p ward 2019
approaching the ocean; bridleway (on wood); stars and stripes; dark head; track; lake; across the river (Cornish earth pigment egg tempera on paper; various 16x14cm) © p ward 2019
head I (Cornish earth pigment egg tempera on paper; 28x28cm) © p ward 2019
head 2 (Cornish earth pigment egg tempera on paper; 28x28cm) © p ward 2019
oops, upside your head! spring equinox full moon (Cornish earth pigments on reclaimed board; 78x78cm) © p ward 2019
the pigment hunter (Cornish earth pigments on reclaimed board; 87x87cm) © p ward 2019
you are stronger than you think you are – dancing with the goddess (Cornish earth pigments on reclaimed board; 98x90cm) © p ward 2019
consequences of loss I – catering (gaffer tape and glue remnants on repurposed card; 50x25cm) © p ward 2019
consequences of loss II – patellidae (true limpets) (Cornish earth pigments on repurposed card; 36x35cm) © p ward 2019
consequences of loss III – walking with spirit (Cornish earth pigments on repurposed card; 43x28cm) © p ward 2019
earth heads I (Cornish earth pigments on repurposed card; 37x28cm) © p ward 2019
consequences of loss IV – exclusive (Cornish earth pigments on repurposed card; 25x27cm) © p ward 2019
consequences of loss V – holding on too (Cornish earth pigments on repurposed card; 36x44cm) © p ward 2019
earth shield (Cornish earth pigments on repurposed card; 52x17cm) © p ward 2019
riding fox-back in the cloud of cuckoo-land before the almighty deluge begins… (Cornish earth pigments on repurposed card; 55x47cm) © p ward 2019
PS2:
this is not an intellectual activity,
doomed to a critical aloof
or heady reevaluation in words alone,
it is body and blood
co-mingling
conjoined
codependent
striving for and in
action
to survive
© 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
ode to winter
Posted: January 25, 2019 Filed under: the ash tree | Tags: Cornwall, poetry, Prayer Leave a commentPenwith 2019
In darkness, I think of you
And in my thoughts
I cover you with flowers,
A multitude of colours, shapes and scents,
And remove them one by one
To reveal you anew
In beauty and in wonder.
May your world be full of light and joy,
Inspiration, warmth and love
porthmeor farm, penwith © p ward 2019
peregrine; zennor church; godolphin house, 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
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
with sadness (and in love)
Posted: November 13, 2017 Filed under: the ash tree, Uncategorized | Tags: #GNAP France 2017, Arte Povera, Devon, Ecology, ecopsychology, Meditation, North Devon, poetry, Ritual Leave a comment.
at times of loss and grief
we may turn to Nature for solace,
to water, wind, fire and earth
to rocks, soil, fungi and trees
to insects, animals and birds
.
for guidance
for resilience
and strength
.
we may immerse ourselves
in the mundane, in the everyday
in routine and simplicity
.
not to avoid the pain
but to live with it
to feel it without distraction
.
we may assimilate our feelings and thoughts
through our work
through creative activity
through cathartic acts
through play
.
I sit in the flowing river
the cool water moves around my stationary working form
touching my legs, ankles and hips, hands and forearms,
I feel connected to life
once more
.
or through physical activity
where the rhythm of movement,
of muscles and breath and heart working in time,
lift us to an alternate state
.
to see our situation anew
in a different light
not with mind
but with body
.
and in fantasy and dreams
the world becomes larger
not illusionary but more real
past present future revealed
.
through our actions we may sense
the wonder of each passing moment
of being alive with our pain
of feeling at all
.
and with thanks
we can move forward
and in love
.
la grille d’entrée, Les Perrières, France © p ward 2017
les crânes et les plumes, Les maison troglo de Forges, France © p ward 2017
pic vert, les Perrières, France © p ward 2017
graffiti, Ackermann champagne vaults, France © p ward 2017
morning lake, Offwell Woods, Devon © p ward 2017
pollen path, Coombe Woods, London © p ward 2017
blocks, The Lizard, Cornwall © p ward 2017
blue butterfly, Hele, Devon © p ward 2017
mine shafts, Penwith, Cornwall © f owen/p ward 2017
Portland Place, Ilfracombe, Devon © p ward 2017
Croyde Bay, Devon © p ward 2017
.
© P Ward 2017
terms of engagement
Posted: November 12, 2017 Filed under: activ8, the ash tree | Tags: Arte Povera, arts research, collaboration, dialogical aesthetics, eco art, ecopsychology, Interdisciplinarity, poetry, Social change, social sculpture Leave a commenta conversation of sorts 121117
Q:
“What’s the difference between a social or educational project and an artwork?”
uncomfortable orchids, London © p ward 2017
A:
each may indeed have much in common and much to share.
it is the means and manner through which they communicate,
in which they engage, inform and sometimes transform that renders them effective or benign.*
.
an understanding of an audience, a demographic, an ecology
may encourage participation and transformation
reaching out and beyond those and that originally targeted.
.
the artist, teacher, social worker and ecologist intuit a means
to estimate, interpret, facilitate and hence empower (oneself and others)
literally, pictorially, intellectually, imaginatively, actively, physically, emotionally and most skillfully
.
the aesthetic that directs whatever intent motivated the craft,
that manipulates, interferes with and informs the intrinsic (or created) dynamic
towards a specific end or beginning or…
.
it is not necessary to determine how or when or what
those (or that) which experiences may take away
or if anything further does become
.
but it is in relationship that one may experience and affect movement
from one moment to the next
.
from one breath to another
.
so different too
that a tension reveals
swinging back and forth and around
.
we are all children in this world
vulnerable
unknowing
.
dancing under the stars
of this earth
that we share
.
pavement, London; pavement, Nantes © p ward 2017
© P Ward 2017
(* yet how we may quantify such effectiveness is another matter.)
