Finland

I went to Tampere, Finland last weekend to meet up with the author Mikael Davies. He writes modern fairy tales set in a world half way between the dark Finnish forests and the woodlands of Devon. A very inspiring trip, I hope I will return.
Mike introduced me to Kalevala, a 19th century work of epic poetry. The story begins with the traditional Finnish creation myth....  the creation of the earth, plants, creatures and the sky.

The Defence of the Sampo, Tempera 1896

  The illustrations by Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931) took me to another world, after a week back in England I feel as though part of me is still there in that landscape.

Pirkanmaa park in Tampere

cardamon doughnut and coffee

view from the doughnut tower

smoked salmon, small white fish(!), grilled veg & garlic sauce from the market

chêne chapelle

This summer i challenged myself to a mini mission cycling a round trip of 220 km in Normandy, France, camping along the way, to pay my respects to Chêne Chapelle an Oak Tree 1,000 years old situated in the sleepy village of Allouville-Bellefosse.
Since a kid I've always drawn, climbed, sheltered under and hidden inside trees. I love trees! Especially the old ones who have a few stories to tell .
In 1669 Chêne Chapelle was struck by lightning making it hollow. A religious villager decided to build two chapels inside with a staircase that spirals up and around the trunk where you enter Chambre de l'Ermite....an old meditation room?  Downstairs there is another chapel named Notre Dame de la Paix (Our Lady of Peace). Chêne Chapelle is fascinating fairytale architecture, Grimm Brothers.... Tim Burton, Guillermo Del Toro... mysterious, dark, intriguing, inspirational! Inside there is a tranquil reassuring atmosphere... you feel as though you could disappear into another world.  
I met a lady the day i visited who's Father had taken her to the tree as a child, she had almost forgotten where it was and how to find it, but had a magical memory of the place. Years later she returned with her son on the anniversary of her Fathers death to reconnect.
  It really was as incredible as I'd imagined.Only problem is i discovered there are two more not far from this one!

tiling to protect

 

an old engraving

exhausted!

one of two chapels inside the tree

i found a hidden valley of thatched homes

beautiful totem poles outside Allouville-Bellfosse 

protective clothing

O unfortunately I didn't go to Burning Man this year.  protective clothing...better to be safe than sorry! for sanding and distressing some box frames I've made with the help of my friend Tom (see tom, i did wear goggles and a mask) of OPIIUM http://www.opiium.com/, he makes beautiful things.

sketchbook

sketchbook drawings i made in a tent whilst on a cycle trip in Normandy

tarot yurt fest

Judgement, The Star, The Moon, Death...

the moon

 the empress

 home... (i wish)

 Death with a redstripe

 the star & temperance

 the high priestess

the moon 

Wallpaper

 i got a bit bored of the white walls...

I was inspired by the artists at  Charleston Farmhouse to paint the walls, the farmhouse is half a mile from Firle village. Virginia Woolf lived in Firle and would walk the old coach road that leads to the Bloomsbury farm.

MEZZOTINT

I took a course in Mezzotint led by Ray Dennis at Brighton Independent Printmakers. It's the reverse of etching...you burnish the light back from the dark on the rocked copper plate. 

Here is a brief description: Mezzotint achieves tonality by roughening the plate with thousands of little dots made by a metal tool with small teeth, called a "rocker." In printing, the tiny pits in the plate hold the ink when the face of the plate is wiped clean.

 I made this print on the course.

 the little picture of the kid with the bear hood is by Ray Dennis. His work is amazing...there is such a lot of detail and delicacy. I bought this from him ...and i love it. Below is a picture of a 'rocker' for creating the surface on the copper plate.

delivering to Avocet Gallery

I now have work in Rye Harbour at Avocet Gallery and Tea Room http://www.avocetgalleryandtea.co.uk/ ... it's a really beautiful area that has inspired artists for years. I delivered my work by bicycle, then went for a bike ride through the nature reserve and found a really cool house on the beach made from two old train carriages... Also recently I discovered the books by Lloyd Kahn and his blog http://lloydkahn-ongoing.blogspot.com/ which if you like wood, trees and natural build architecture like me then feast your eyes over one of his books published by Shelter Publications, -  they are awesome, truely inspiring...my future project will be to build my own house ...first step to build a clay pizza and bread oven

salad days!

I made these for a friends wedding last week, thought they looked nice enough to post ;)

wild rice with toasted almonds

 quinoa tabouleh with wild mint

classic greek salad