Friday 17 February 2012

Woodland Sketchbook

Preparation for my final set of  MA work is now well under way and has required a number of sketchbook visits to Westonbirt Arboretum. These are some of the more recent ones, drawn hastily because of the cold!




While I'm sketching I often write notes and phrases of the things I hear,see and feel. It helps me to develop a fuller image in my own mind of the place. I call these notes 'word walks', and I should warn you that there is absolutley no intention of them being poetry, but I quite like the shape of them. I hope you don't mnd if I try one out.:


Winter space,

A wider path.

Gateway.

Sentinel trees lean inwards, outwards.

Stubborn frost hardens and glitters.

A pale January sky

Silhouettes twisting branches.

Outside world quietens,

Blackbird settles on path ahead.

Rustling in undergrowth,

The dog investigates.

All other sounds are distanced by trees.

Low sun, light pools

Warms hands through gloves.

Trees stand straight,

Or bend and buckle

Throwing theatrical shadows.

Give space, close in

Reach overhead

Embrace the path

Tunnel the exit

Into space


3 comments:

LAC EMP 2020 said...

Beautiful words to accompany beautiful marks on paper. I see the germination of a fabulous artists book of etchings and musings here....

Sue Brown said...

Beautiful drawings and I do love the way you have included the spiral of your sketch book, I know that's me, but was that deliberate and could it be another interesting direction in your imagery? XX

Wendy Rhodes said...

Thank you for your comments.
To Printed Material - I don't think I've got an artist book in me at the moment, just a suite of three etchings!
To Sue - the inclusion of the spirals is just to emphasise 'sketchbook', but I like the thought... will store it for the future!