We visited Bolton Abbey in the midst of Autumn on this latest Yorkshire Excursion. Bolton Abbey sits amongst the 30,000 acres of land owned by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. The land comprises of moorland, woodland and agricultural land, where seven miles of the River Wharfe runs through. We walked through the rather darkly named Valley of Desolation, up some rather steep climbs (well for me, as I have been having some trouble with my legs, thank god for hiking poles), through woods graced with the splendour of autumn colours, and across the River to get ourselves a well earned cuppa. We took Mickey (my dog) on this trip, and he really enjoyed the walk, getting muddy and being outside in the fresh air, this city dog simply loves the countryside. Back home, he’s now fast asleep by my side.

One of things I do seem to find myself drawn to are the geometric lines I find in nature and the division of land we create. Patterns are a recurring theme in my photography.

Landscapes

Dogs and their walkers

Family day out

Nature up close

It’s been a while since I blogged. A few injuries and less exploration with my camera has lead to a very quiet few months.
However I am preparing for an exhibition with fellow photographers, opening in October. It’s part of the Love Arts Leeds 2016 festival programme. Exploring Yorkshire, selects photos from our trips out with our cameras, into the beauty that is Yorkshire. Capturing people, landscapes, weather in all seasons, details, wide open spaces, the quirks of the British. Our exploration keeps us well, being outdoors and taking notice are just two of the ways to wellbeing.

Below are a selection of my images, looking at textures and our interaction with our environments. I am fascinated by patterns, tones and hidden details. 

 

 

 

As a special LPE trip in conjunction with my birthday celebrations this weekend, myself and some of the members of the Leeds Photography Excursion group decided to take a steam train to Haworth and step back in time.
Commemorating all things 1940’s, there are attractions such as vehicles from WW2, a Spitfire, talks, 1940’s songs and dances. Many of the visitors join in with the dressing up, lots of victory curls, army fatigues, and tea dresses were on show. Below is a snapshot of the days visual spectacular.

Travelling by steam train

Classic buses took us to the top of Haworth Village

The many costumes that make up the visual spectacular that is 1940’s weekend

A really rather busy Main Street

Details and landscapes

 

The current exhibit at The Tetley is No Quiet Place. 

Using a spectrum of approaches to production, exhibiting artists share an interest in mixing visual and sonic elements within their work. Some installations embrace the cacophony of contemporary culture’s accelerated pace, whilst others lament it, wistfully dreaming of a time and place reserved for quieter contemplation.

I am really interested in using our different senses when creating art work, and finding ways to inspire the imaginations of the participants. So the idea of using sound to create visual art work really appealed to me.

The idea of Sound Weaves (catchy name for a workshop, I thought so too!), was to listen to the sounds that were broadcast in the room, rummage through the many different materials that were on offer and create their own unique weave. I visited Scrap, located in Sunnybank Mills in Farsley, before the workshop, and picked a plethora of materials, different textures, colours, fabrics; as well as foraging for sticks and bits & pieces that nature had thrown down for me (living near the grounds of Kirkstall Abbey, this was an ideal location to find what I needed).

The participants also had a choice of creating a frame for their weaving from sticks and string, or to use material I had bought from Scrap (offcuts and trade waste), which fitted perfectly for what we where doing.

Above, a young participant creating their loom using natural materials.

Above, inspired by the sound of the sea.

Above, the finished result, embellished with fish and sea creatures, and making good use of the catkins I’d picked up from underneath a willow tree, as sea plants.

Above, inspired by the sounds of Australia, birds, the sea and lightening.

Above, the sound of someone running up the steps; 70’s music; african drums represented by the red; flowers from a british meadow; leather representing cows mooing (a very literal interpretation); green fields; tartan of the flying scotsman steam train.

Above, a collaborative creation by a mother and a daughter.

Above, finished piece, which will hung proudly at home.

If you want to listen to the playlist (of odd sounds, globally inspired music and natures soundtrack) you can here:

Sound Weaves, YouTube playlist

I enjoyed the workshop, and want to do more things involving different materials, and being inspired by using different senses.

 

 

Well! The sunshine hampered us beating our record attendance at the last workshop. But, it was steady enough the whole day, and the participants really enjoyed the activity (some families stayed for a while and created a number of pieces).

The popular technique this session was embossing. And many of them were inspired by the palm trees of Roger Palmer’s exhibition.

 

 

Holy Week 2016