Life and Reflections from Kielder
Weekly Journal of life , nature and creative encounters
Life and Personal Reflections
Been quite hectic in getting everything together for 2027 , lots of planning and thinking along with research. I would recommend not using Google AI Search Summary to find equipment : It was planned to use my Fuji X-T50 camera for my youtube video and obtain a Gimble ( Thingy ! ) which i typed compatible Gimble for my camera and non of the recommended products were compatible ! The only few i found which were compatible were very expensive and for a less than £150 more i could be a specific DJI video camera which seemed better for me. My whole premise of camera’s were lightweight , no tripods and easy to use within a woodland. I am telling a story of a place and guiding noticing nature not making art photography or seeking awards.
Next year i will be visiting two beautiful locations within the Kielder expanse and each week i will be visiting and alternate one. My reflections each week will be of that place along with daily blogs of something observed and youtube silent vlogs. To help me my journal is being simplified to one place per week but i have plans to add some more ideas of content into it.
I have been having lots of doubts ! The past does not define your future but there is obvious insecurity that the same patterns repeat especially when your pour your care into something and nobody actually looks at it . Publishing blogs and galleries feels like Instagram , where a picture of something mundane , AI slop or a mindless meme holds a higher value than art or something of wonder and poetical in nature. I have a hope that people become more interested in human endeavours than materialism and my work can be discovered.
I had a dream in which i had to explain about my thoughts of creating your own connections by having your own plant names and stories as Folklore has been pressured and filtered over thousands of years. Quite surprisingly later on in the week i was explaining what my website does which my Neuro-divergency struggles to find the exact words in a way to encapsulate my ideas. This has been something which has created difficulty in communication with neuro-typical world in my past where you get labelled not knowing what you doing ! Mindfulness and nature has taught me that you do not have to explain yourself , and if someone does not get it , thats their issue not yours. Once upon a time this created upset within me triggering anger that someone is not understanding me , whether deliberately or not. This upset , is an attachment , i have no idea how deeply this goes : the need to be understood is a surface condition but beneath this is many many causes developed in my early life. The work for myself as i have no access to my past is learning to be OK in those situations , noticing the feeling , pausing and allowing to respond calmly , and noticing afterwards the thought patterns which appear causing distress : Learning to witness the emerging feelings and negative thoughts which follow without judgement , letting them be , not trying to fix and allowing the energy flooding your body dissipate.
Hareshaw Linn
I find curiosity in one Alder tree still in leaf and the catkins plump and a mile further into the woodland it is now empty of leaves and catkins. Last year was very different , once the leaves had left the tree the catkins remained dangling like Christmas decorations highlighting the abundance of Alders within the woodland.
During this period the attention widens in appreciation of natures transformative colours. The Beech trees are magnificent burning oranges and golden yellows brightening a dimly lit woodland. Soon the Tannins will turn them into burnt umbers and these will remain until the beginning of February.
Easy to miss Ferns look endearing as the reddy browns colour over the now transparent chlorophyl reduced greens. When saturated they seem other worldly. Ferns have a special ancient presence and even though their strong forms protect wildlife during summer they can be over-powering but during spring when they first appear as Fiddleheads and at the end when nature colourises them they sing out old songs that only the initiated can hear.
As you wander the path from the carpark to the woodland the verges are lined with old gnarly hawthorn trees , once opaquely covered in dark greens to be filled with berries and along with Birch they are the first to transform in Autumn : but now , instead of bare branches with red baubles these tree have another moment to share as they are coated with bluey green lichen as if they were leaves themselves which the complimentary red berries pop out. It feels like the tree is showing off its remaining berries to the birds staying the winter.
Bakethin Nature Reserve
Due to having Aphantasia i cannot visualise places i have been to but i remember a narrative of beauty at this time of year along the Reserves pathways. A good phrase for Aphantasia is “ I’ll know it when i see it ! “ and it certainly delivered my expectations. I was worried that the lack of water over summer may of reduced the benefits of sunshine we had in manifesting autumn colours. But , here we are , once again, enjoying something most special and never to be missed transformation of the trees.
The trees are holders of wisdom , once known and sung by people. The art of knowing yourself , being yourself , showing yourself and being able to let it all go knowing abundance lives within you.
Late Autumn and Early Winter hold artistic qualities as plants die back and reduce their forms leaving exquisite shapes. This inspires my art , the movement is freeing and when you put pencil to paper and allow yourself to be that movement you are dancing natures dance.
Hidden in a corner there is still remembrance of the summer , pretty delicate flowers are still forming in a sunny place which was once concealed by dense foliage.
Each time , during autumn i am hoping to discover the sumptuous bright red leaves of the Blackberry bush as it fades back into the woodland wild verges . I wonder how some leaves contain the red making Anthocyanin and other do not. But , i love that it does as there seems to be a melody of colours along the blackberry bushes which dominated large areas of the wild verges along the Reserves pathways.
Weekly Field Sketch
Bull Crag Peninsular
Huge Beech and Chestnut trees line the top path from the Waterside towards the peninsular. The “Conkers” have been shaken off the Chestnut trees but both spectacularly display their autumn colours majestically which i have to admire with reverence by spending a moment just to look.
Spending a few moments to witness and honour the beauty of nature is reciprocity !
Even though the large trees are striking and command attention its the small and the unseen which i am drawn to , the beautiful colours melting into itself creating calmness , its the last remaining plants re-imagined as spiders homes and the particular details on a mushroom. Just because a flower has flowered it doesn’t mean it is not beautiful in all of its guises.
In the Quiet of the Wild
It still appeared like dusk at 8am walking into the Forest and i felt the cold misty rain on my face as i made my way into the woodland. An hour later the light had not found itself into the forest and those mist like droplets of rain became more pronounced and began playing with my paintings offered to the Forest. You could here the water droplets as they found the painting play a tune but i left them until it was time to finish and leave for home , laying them down for a while is my ritual offering of reciprocity. I want the Forest to witness that i too create life.
When the light is dim within the Forest it seems like the colours meld into the landscape reducing its contrast into subtle tones and mysterious earthy colours. I want to respond to this with my small encounters with a dark limited palette and just find forms that invite me into their world. But , i cannot resist adding a moment of something else onto the paper. I am not here to copy but to create.
Colours do not just represent whats before me , they can be energies , entities , emotions and emerge from me instinctively as i take whats in front of me into a new realm of all possibilities . My Aphantasia guides this process as i have no visual memory and therefore i can keep on returning in a different state and something new happens. I stopped being focussed on taking a specific palette with me , i want the moment to show me not my thinking mind dictating. The preparation is taking it all so i can feel it all.
Once you have got past your thoughts the darkened forest is not intimidating but quite comforting which you can sense its welcoming : if you sit down , be still and just breath , you feel its presence being curious of this being sat with them and after a while they remember you , began to be your friend as the trust deepens. Let the feelings within you find new emotions and thoughts of friendship rather than foreboding folklore. If you come with love you will be accepted with love.
My gestures are not
motionless
they shift each and every
moment
directing my attention
to something
mutable
impermanent
which my eyes cannot
see
but my marks can
christopher evans
Small Encounters | Small Responses
pencil & watercolour on A4 , Sketchbook & A3 Paper
Larger Responses | Felt Senses
Pencil , Charcoal & Watercolour Mono Print on A2 Paper
