I've been here in Koli exactly 2 weeks now and there's so many thoughts going round in my mind, so much to ponder...  Many things are emerging here in Koli - the landscape keeps revealing different layers of detail, there's a sense of inner discovery, some art work is emerging and the sessions with the lovely village school are revealing all sorts of treasures and ideas found by the pupils.    There are lots more photos below.

Koli National Park really is a very special place, it has touched me deeply;  there's so much to explore that I want to be outside looking and discovering as much as possible. My urge to collect and my love of light is being explored through taking lots of photos and some film footage as well as gathering up little twigs and bits of lichen and looking at ways of layering and holding these... I've been writing lots and collecting words and thoughts connected to my own responses to walks in the forest - and I'm looking at ways of using those...

With the school we've been looking at the little treasures around us and collecting things in tiny containers and then unpacking these and seeing what we've each found and what we've been drawn to. Lab 13 have given us some wonderful microscopes to use whilst here too so we've been really loving looking at things up in such close detail. And I find it fascinating seeing what pulls the pupils in.

Some really lovely sun here over the past 2 weeks and the children at the school and I have been outside so much -  discovering natural treasures, looking at grains, finding different grasses and exploring shadows; they spent ages trying to grind their own flour too and were really interested in that. I will put a further blog post together soon about my work with the school here, there's so much to say - things that happen as a matter of course here are so different to the UK and it really does leave you deep in thought.

I was incredibly touched yesterday also to get a skype call through to a wonderful school I work with in Nottingham, I've been sending lots of images back to them and its so lovely having contact going back and forth with the UK. It really feels like a proper exchange of ideas and discoveries.

With the school here in Koli and in my own work there's lots of explorations of light and shadow happening.  There are lots of wonderful ideas from the children in the school as they test out different shadows created by themselves and natural objects around them. And in my studio space I've been setting up different natural objects that I've collected and things that I've started making and assembling - and exploring ways those catch both the natural sunlight that floods in here but also lights and shadows I'm projecting. I'm trying to look at ways of layering up my thoughts and observations from my long walks in the forest here and to combine those with collected objects. These are all starting points and more exploring is to follow.

The artists residency programme here is organised by the Koli Cultural Committee who have such a fantastic programme of work happening - and they've been doing so for very many years.  They have been looking after me wonderfully here and made me very welcome indeed.   The residency is based at Kolin Ryynanen which is a hub of culture; its a lovely restaurant café bar with exhibition space and a programme of live music, in the centre of the tiny village of Koli.  The entire upstairs floor is the artists residency space - with a huge studio area that has windows on 3 sides and then a living apartment and balcony looking out to the forest.  There's access to the sauna and fire pit outside (there's a converted barn with b and b accommodation too).  And there's also a wonderful little museum of village life in the grounds here.   

And wonderful today also to welcome a group of delegates from Etela-Konnevesi National Park who have been visiting to find out more about how the artists residency programme works here. It was great to talk with them and talk about how time with nature gives such depth of feeling and generates creativity.

It's so rare to have time to dedicate to creative exploration like this.   Partly because in the UK so much else occupies time - be it the ins and outs of work admin, pressures from juggling so many projects, domestic chores and other things that need attention daily.  So much of my work in the UK is with schools, which I love and am deeply committed to, but it also consumes a lot of energy and time (as well as the physical journey of driving in busy traffic) and the context with schools in the UK is so very different to here.  

I think having the space here is proving to be deeply significant for me - the physical space of a light, big studio with lovely views; but also the emotional space, space to walk and explore and to discover, space to look and listen and think...   And for me, at the moment, space to think and ponder is deeply crucial.  

I'm finding the landscape here is affecting me deeply and bringing about some very intense emotions which, in turn, link to other things and do feed creative explorations.   More ponderings to follow... 

After a day working in the school here yesterday (and blog posts about that will follow) the evening was spent deep in the forest gathering lingonberries... And exploring an old, very remote, farm house which is no longer lived in (but possibly someone visits occasionally as there were little signs of visits by a human (or a moomin?)).  I feel so grateful to the Koli Cultural Committee who are making me feel so very warmly welcomed here, they are striking exactly the right balance for me of there being time alone to explore and make and time where they are showing me different local places or gentle experiences.  The warmth and gentle kindness here is bliss.  

​Its really hard to find ways to describe the sense of peace here; it permeates everything and everyone. The 3 hours or so we spent in the depths of the forest foraging yesterday evening were like a deep meditation... I truly felt like a moomin...    Really wondering the land and looking, then looking again and searching and gathering and stopping every now and again to pause and look at the views...   then head down again to continue gathering... 
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I'm here busy working yet the pace of everything is so different to the UK - there's a sense of calm permeating the land, the people, the buildings, the daily routine...

People work hard and are really productive, they're up early doing things and making things, but there's a sense of taking time to do things with care and by hand and with respect and love. Picking berries was a perfect example - a walk into the forest and then a long time spent searching and gathering and deeply looking - for the reward of a bucketful of berries to be taken home and prepared in order to eat later... Why would you buy them - its so much better for the soul to spend time at one with the land gathering them in this way...

Its the last day of August today and I've found myself reflecting back on the summer and the different places,  events and moments which have been inspiring - and these little Shepherds Huts were very much amongst those thoughts.   We all need a little escape and definitely for many of us there is something very appealing about the quirks of tiny spaces - its why so many of us love dolls houses, sheds, beach huts, caravans and Wendy Houses.    And put such spaces into a remote rural setting with views over wide landscapes then so many special things come into play.

​I'm very aware that when in use by Shepherds all those years ago these Huts were rather a basic living space with sacks of straw to sleep on and non of the fancy wooden furniture you find in them now...  but they are incredibly appealing and cosy and they do conjure up so many thoughts.    And there is something appealing in the fact that the huts can be moved around and taken to all sorts of locations amongst fields and woodland and hills...

​These images were all taken at a wonderful location we stayed in very recently, deep in the hills of the Scottish Borders, a gorgeous place which definitely felt very remote and away from it all, just what we needed.  The huts themselves are wonderful and the location is stunning, there were so many little details of textures, colours, patterns and different combinations of these at every turn.    We found ourselves creating stories and anecdotes about everything - as well as breathing deep restful breaths at the lack of "stuff" and clutter...   Its such an interesting experience to live in a small space for a while and to not need so much stuff...    Getting up early and sitting out watching the mist roll over the hills as you sup your morning coffee...   cooking and eating outside, lighting the fire and watching the dusk roll in and night fall as bats and owls flit about and call...    All very peaceful and idyllic.   I'm very aware that its an escape from many other things, but an escape which recharges the batteries and gives strength to return to all the other things. 

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I think many of us need a little time away every now and then to places that fill us with ideas, inspiration and solace.   We each need different things and perhaps the key thing is knowing yourself well enough to work out what you need to seek out to recharge your batteries.    For me its wild landscapes, time immersed in nature, time alone and time with small groups of people I'm close to.     I'm a real introvert and need time away from crowds and noise and anything fast paced, I need time to walk and listen and reflect and ponder and discover.     I crave time to sit and watch the natural world and to focus and notice small details.

​There's a wonderful place in North Wales that a special group of close friends return to again and again, its our own organised retreat full of gentle creativity, experimentation, space to wonder, time to make things, walks, time to watch the light change over the sea, dog walks on the beach, kite flying and really good food.    We've just returned from some time there and the place has woven its magic over us all again.

​I really love being outside in all weathers, and although we did have a lot of sun too, its the wilder days where the colours of the landscape are muted and the wind whips about that I feel inspired by.     I've not altered the colours in these photos, there was such a wonderful colour palette provided by the natural world - with some great additions by the buildings dotted about (and a quirky little steam train!).

​This is the bottom end of the Snowdonia National Park, around the Mawddach Estuary and Cadair Idris, its a wonderful place full of mountains, hills, coast, vast swathes of beaches, wild estuaries and interesting little villages and towns dotted about.   The sounds of the sea and birds and wind rustling through the dunes are still in my head and processing all the photographs I've taken is a really good way of landing back here in Derbyshire and reflecting on what I felt and discovered in Wales.

​We always all bring sets of materials to make things with and its a wonderful opportunity to test out new ideas amongst supportive, like minded, creative friends.   I found myself needing to spend a lot of time outside watching the light change, wondering and photographing.    I also found time to weave, crochet and test out different yarn bindings; it also gives me a sense of permission to experiment and test out new things and since getting back home I've been really busy testing out eco bundle printing (another blog post to follow) which I've been wanting to explore for AGES!

​For me it feels very special finding places that you want to return to again and again, its always a sense of welcoming an old friend and peeling away layers and discovering more and more things.   The land has so many hidden elements, so much that changes and yet also a wonderful sense of solidity - of history that stretches back thousands and millions of years, and to me that feels very soothing.

A truly wonderful winter sunset here yesterday - and I managed to get up onto the Derbyshire moors to a huge starling roost, such a spectacular thing to witness.

We were high up on a moor by an old quarry, its quite an amazing location. There was a little crowd of people gathered towards the end of the afternoon, it was cold, sunny and so still - something very special to share with other like minded people. Really beautiful.  The location is relatively well known locally amongst us wildlife lovers, and there's been some wonderful sharing of the murmeration formations, it does feel that more people are now making sure they take time to witness such special free spectacular natural wonders.

I adore watching starling roosts, you never quite know what might happen - they don't "perform" every night and roosts also shift, so there's no guarantee you'll see anything... which adds to the magic...    You get there in time, you wait and you wait... and you wait a bit more...

As the sun got lower in the sky yesterday, we could spot the odd little group of about 20 starlings passing over... and as the sky got more and more orange-pink, then more and more starlings appeared in little groups. Would they hang around? Would they just pass over? Would they just go straight into the reeds to roost? More and more little groups of starlings appeared and flew over - we all anxiously craned our necks to see where the little groups of birds were going... The little crowd of people fell silent - that in itself was really special, as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting and hoping...

And sure enough, the starlings did their thing...  Gradually the small groups of birds joined together, some had disappeared over the hillside and then reappeared as a huge group...  Soon, there were several large groups swirling and twisting in the sky, very long formations twisting over each other... The clouds were amazing too... And it is really hard to capture the atmosphere in photographs or film, I got some nice images, but it really is one of those "you had to be there" events...

After a really wonderful aerial show by the starlings, they slowly grouped into tighter and tighter balls as if coming to their finale - and then, all of a sudden, they dived into the reed bed to roost...   
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"Isn't nature amazing" said the woman next to me, really quietly, because none of us was quite ready to speak yet...

​She's right, nature is amazing...

The moor was incredibly still and calm as sunset drew close...

Its hard to capture in a still image, the thousands of starlings move about over a large area and twist and turn swooping this way and that...    Its a lovely challenge to try and capture it, but actually, just being present and taking it all in as the birds swoop all around you is the most important thing - and a real privilege.

The sound of the birds as they pass directly overhead is utterly amazing and really hard to describe...    they are all calling to each other and you can hear their wings beat and feel the air move as they swoop over you...    You feel a connection that's hard to put into words...

I had some lovely chats with other people there watching, one woman said to me "its so utterly beautiful, they don't care that we're here, they would be doing this anyway, we are just little specks and they are doing something huge and amazing"...

On Saturday July 30th Katy Doncaster and I ran land art workshops in North Yorkshire as part of the 80th birthday celebrations for the Campaign for the National Parks.

​There was a series of guided walks and land art workshops all taking place in parallel across the UK National Parks, each celebrating and contemplating the distinctive local landscapes.    The land art creations were curated by Richard Shilling and there were artists working in many different venues creating a series of mandalas and other patterns with natural materials gathered on the day. 

​Katy and I were based at the North Yorkshire Moors Visitor Centre, a great spot on the high moorland near Danby, a really beautiful area.    We had a really lovely calm day with some wonderful participants - MASSIVE thanks to everyone for their ideas and gentle creative energy and contemplations.

There's lots more images and text if you scroll down the page - and if you click on the individual photos they should open up as larger images.

We all looked, gathered, collected and selected different natural treasures - the act of looking and gathering becomes a huge meditation and contemplative act and we had some wonderful conversations about this.   I find often its that act of really looking closely and gathering that becomes so significant in sessions like this.  Its wonderful to see what people are drawn to - different people will notice and gather different things and that then brings attention to a whole set of additional elements you might not otherwise have noticed.  

​We spread our collected treasures out and really looked closely at the details in then - empty snail shells, beech nut cases at different stages (each a different colour and texture), lime flowers, hazel leaves, twigs, grass seed heads...  it brings your senses into such a new way of looking and focusing. 

​We created a couple of large mandalas -  one of them began to be woven together as people got interested in ways of pinning leaves to each other... and this led to ponderings about standing that mandala upright to let the sunlight shine through.    So, up it went!   This gave a whole new dimension to it and meant there was a great play of light and shadow, it also enabled us to add to the patterns by weaving in further leaves and seeds.

​People made their own wonderful individual patterns too, one participant sat and drew which was very peaceful, others went straight into creating three dimensional structures and its so special how ideas bounce around and dance about between everyone.    It was a very contemplative space - I think people felt able to both work on their own creations but also to add to the group pieces and importantly to have time just to "be" in the space and spend time taking in the calmness, the natural materials, the sunlight and the atmosphere.   Mindfulness and flow state in true form.

​For me its great when I am able to step back and observe and really contemplate what's going on and photograph some of the ways people interacted with everything.  I was very inspired by the atmosphere of the whole day and we had some wonderful conversations with everyone who took part.

Although we were incredibly careful and respectful in the materials we gathered, it is important to forge strong connections with the natural world through actually touching and using natural materials.   There were certain things we wouldn't pick or use and we had lots of really interesting conversations around plants, plant names and ways of using natural resources.    Common plants such as goose grass (cleavers) take on a whole layer of extra meanings when you realise you can gather them and stick them into all sorts of shapes...  The nearby lime trees had shed lots of flowers onto the ground, each a slightly different shade of green-yellow-gold...   Part of this kind of gathering is about noticing the details in different plants and this then leads to so many wonderful questions and thereby a bond is formed as you investigate.

​Huge thanks again to everyone who took part and everyone involved in organising the day. 

​#happy80thCNP will take you to further images to the other events that took place the same day, the following links also have lots of information

​http://www.cnp.org.uk/38degrees-CNP

​https://parks.38degrees.org.uk/

​https://speakout.38degrees.org.uk/campaigns/1072
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Sometimes its hard to find exact words to describe experiences, especially when those experiences have been so tactile, so deep and layered with so many small moments that add up to quite overwhelming feelings.   Our residential project at Lockerbrook a week ago (June 6th – 10th) was like that and for me.  It was also layered throughout with deep thoughts about what education should and could offer children and adults (as opposed to the extreme pressures, data driven measures and budget cuts now littered throughout the education system and which many of us are now feeling all too deeply).
 
The project was a whole week residential for a group of year 4 and 5 children at Dunkirk Primary School (aged 8 – 10).   None of them had been there before although a few of the children have siblings who came away with us there in March 2015 as part of a week long residential Erasmus funded camp with Dunkirk’s link school in Finland.  Dunkirk is situated just on the edge of Nottingham city centre and although Derbyshire isn’t far really, most of the children haven’t explored Derbyshire and it was another world entirely for them.   Lockerbrook Centre (see link here) is high up in the Dark Peak area of north Derbyshire, an area of high hills, wild moorland, strange eerie rocky outcrops, vast reservoirs and little farm tracks.

​There are captions on each of these photographs I took which give a little bit more detail about the project.

The staff / project artists involved aimed for the week to be filled with creative experiences all inspired by the landscape and the remote peaceful setting.   We have used Lockerbrook several times now, it’s a stunning location run by the Woodcraft Folk, so the ethics behind the centre are very strong.  The centre is an old farmhouse with a really interesting history and the building itself will have seen many changes over the years it has sat on top of the steep hillside.  The children were fascinated by the idea of the drowned villages underneath the reservoirs – and we talked a lot about how Lockerbrook Farm would have once looked down onto a village and heard the sounds of children playing, people chattering and going about their daily work, whereas now the building looks down onto vast expanse of water.
 
The timetable for the week consisted of a real mixture of opportunities for exploration and learning and we layered so much into everything we did.  There were walks, morning and evening yoga, den building, working outside with clay, stories, cooking on the fire, songs, time to make books and draw and lots of time amidst all this to let the stunning landscape seep into you.    Everything was thought out to provide deep learning experiences, opportunities for rich conversations and language development and endless opportunities to enhance self esteem and confidence. 

A really important part of a residential like this is all the very essential and basic life skills for the children of washing, cleaning the rooms, eating at a table and chatting calmly whilst doing so, unpacking / packing your own case, getting your bag and packed lunch ready for a day outside, working out what to wear etc – all of this takes time and is crucial to wider well-being.   Much of this “everyday” stuff was of huge significance to the children, its things that can be really hard to fit into a 9-3.30 day at school but which provide such crucial life skills.
 
We built a daily routine to hook everything on – getting up, dressing, breakfast together, clearing away, making packed lunch, morning yoga followed by a day of various creative work outside and then the evening meal and eventually bedtime yoga to relax and be ready to sleep.  Of course, as anyone who has worked on a residential knows, all this is then followed by ensuring the children are in bed, helping anyone who might feel a bit strange away from home, checking on the children constantly and then making sure all plans are ready for the following day.  For adults it’s a wonderful week of work but incredibly long hours with no down time at all. 
 
We were well prepared for wet weather but actually it was hot and sunny all week – which showed off the amazing views brilliantly and also gave us a chance to connect with the local population of midges… (maybe that bit of wildlife wasn’t quite so welcome!).  

On the Monday we spent a long time creating dens in the woodland near to Lockerbrook, the challenge for the children was to build a space that would camouflage them.   They also each created guardians for their dens out of clay and natural materials (I’m often asked about the clay I use and feel its vital to point out its real clay that a potter would use and fire in a kiln, its NOT air drying clay which has pieces of plastic in and is not suitable at all to leave outside).    They worked also to animate their guardians (all still outside) and give them a voice using an ipad and a great app which records voices.  
 
Lockerbrook is situated on top of a steep hillside above Snake Pass, so it involves a walk up through a beautiful wooded hillside to reach the centre.   Once up there you can walk for miles along the hills and we were totally spoilt for choices of routes.    On the Tuesday and Wednesday we undertook two walks to take in a variety of different views, history, geography and stories.   One walk takes in the stunning landslip that forms Alport Castles, the other walk took us past Crook Hill and through the wooded hillside to the reservoirs where we could explore stories of the drowned villages.    Each of these walks was about 6 ½ miles, which is quite an undertaking for most of the children; we allowed the whole day for each walk so that we could ensure there was time for breaks along the way: time for stories, for gathering ideas, for making things and sharing thoughts – and also ice creams at one point… 

 
On the Thursday we decided to use the children’s intense fascination with the villages underneath the reservoirs and enable them to explore their ideas around this.   Its been a strong feature of the way we have worked with the children at Dunkirk over the years that we ask them big questions and give them a real chance to shape their learning.   It’s also so touching and wonderful how the children use this to explore some very strong and powerful world issues.   For me too, the fact that last years Protest Art project fed deeply into their thinking on this project was really important.   Some of the children wanted to make model villages to try and flood to see what would happen, others wanted to know what would happen if they tried to create a way of diverting the water so it didn’t flood the villages and another group wanted to make placards, banners and model people to stage a real protest about flooding the villages – they wanted to know what would happen if people were given a voice.
 
Each evening there was time for reflection and to imbed what had happened during the day.    There was drawing, guided visualisations, making books, sewing (making puppets and more), time to read, time to chat, time too for table tennis and football.   I lit a fire (in my favourite spot over looking the reservoir) and we all sat around: we cooked, we sang and we shared thoughts.   Event the night when the midges were at their most active we still sat out (if briefly) with midge hoods on – rather a strange sight!  
 
There was yoga each evening before bed (as well as each morning) led by drama / yoga practitioner Parmjit Sagoo, its such a powerful and wonderful way of the children finding calm, gathering thoughts and winding their energies into either a place ready for work or a place ready for sleep.  
 
A huge driver in the work I do is about finding places for stillness and contemplation in nature – and thereby ways of igniting curiosity.  This is crucial for my own practice but I think its vital too for children and adults who often are pushed in a fast paced education system full of intensity.   Its often incredibly hard to find places where you can sit and think and observe – and in most school days this is very rare indeed, yet learning and imbedding of knowledge come through times to consolidate and through tactile connection with the world. It’s a kind of mindfulness that is central to well-being. 

Lockerbrook is a place that provides so much wonderful space to spread out and find gentle nurturing spaces for observing the world around you (and thereby your inner world too).  When making dens or clay creations etc, its all the subtle other things that can be just as (if not more) important – the finding of intriguing leaves and sticks, the gathering of resources, the sitting under a tree and listening to natural sounds, the feel of the breeze, the realisation that moss is soft to sit on…   All this takes time and it needs adults who can facilitate a space where this is valued. 
 
On our first day whilst making dens, two of the boys discovered fallen fresh pine needles – they were totally fascinated “look at these claire, what are they?   They are like little hedgehogs, they’re bright green and they smell good and they bend and they are all a bit different – and here’s another and another… look… more of them…”   Their den making turned into a wonderful exploration to hunt and gather fallen pine needles and we had a great discussion about why it had to be the fallen ones they collected and not those still growing on the trees.   Because we were there all week they were able to keep revisiting this, they carried a selection of the pine needles around with them all week, they kept finding new ones and thereby making all sorts of amazing observations about trees and soil types – and from high up on the hill tops where they could look down onto the woodland they were making some great discoveries about the trees in the wood, how the land was managed and why…   it went on all week with more and more observations and questions.    By the last morning they were still picking up fallen pine needles and comparing them – it’s an utter delight to be on a journey of discovery like this with children.    I think as adults it can be all too easy to dismiss the small details that fascinate children – and if you don’t stop to look and question you miss SO much.    But if children are surrounded by adults who DO stop, look, value the tiny details and share the wonder, then they receive a message that their curiosity, interest, ideas and questions are valued. 
 
Another example of this was the reeds growing in many places around the centre.   Again, on the first day, when a child had found one I showed them how you could carefully peel away the outer green coating to reveal the wonderful white inner spongy world of the reed – and we talked about how people had used these as candle wicks.   The challenge to peel them caught the interests of several children but then also they discovered so many sculptural qualities of the reeds and spent ages looking at different ways they could link together.   This was still going on by the last day with more and more new discoveries being made.
 
One of the class teachers who came along made the observation about how you see such different qualities in the children on a project like this.   That it’s often the children who might struggle to sit behind a table all day and focus on desk-bound tasks (and thereby be seen as struggling in a classroom) who totally shine out as enthusiastic learners and who are completely focused on the world around them.   I feel very privileged that over the years I’ve been able to work on creative projects which enable this side of children to shine out. 

The opportunities for exciting interactions with all kinds of wildlife were everywhere at Lockerbrook.   I’m quite “nerdy” about flora and fauna and get excited by the huge variety of things surrounding us…    I don’t feel its always vital that accurate names are placed alongside each bird and plant, more that its crucial to be aware of just how many different species are around us, how they connect up and how they are part of a rich ecosystem.   We were surrounded by singing skylarks, by calling curlews (one of my favourite sounds), by buzzards mewing, by swallows swooping and chattering, by so many other birds…    There were hares grazing right outside the centre early in the morning – and this in itself held huge fascination; the children called me over early one morning from inside the building where they were looking out of the window “look Claire at that rabbit” they said – and they were utterly intrigued when I said it was a hare, they had never heard of one before…  “what is a hare?   What does it do?”   
 
There was a cuckoo calling early in the morning near the centre too, a sound so familiar from my own childhood but now a rare sound - and for very many children it isn’t a common feature of their childhood. 
 
At dusk bats were flying around and a woodcock roding too… and as darkness fell tawny owls called loudly (the children were asleep by then!).
 
All sorts of tiny and intriguing insects were around and I was delighted to find an elephant hawkmoth drying itself out on the grass on the last morning.  A couple of the children caught sight of a lizard out on one of our walks and they were totally fascinated by this and desperately trying to find more.    We could have spent the entire week searching for creatures and only scratched at the surface of what was around us.
  
I’ve been resident artist / forest school leader at Dunkirk for 9 years, which has involved many different projects and partnerships and for the past few years has involved being at the school 3 days a week working with many classes on a number of initiatives.   It means I know the children and staff well and we have developed an incredibly strong working relationship and it has meant that creative projects like this can be cross referenced with all so many other strands of work at the school.  My time at the school is now changing but hopefully there will still be opportunities to work in this way with the children and staff.  Its been an incredibly special journey and I’m endlessly inspired by the ways the children are fascinated by the world and by the questions they ask.

I've been wondering and exploring in many places throughout August this year, gathering inspirations, ideas, thoughts and impetus for future projects.  Because a huge part of my work as an artist / project facilitator / forest school leader (long job title!) is with schools, it means that work with groups calms down in August and I am able to take time to undertake lots of research and project planning - as well as tackling mountains of paperwork and sorting out resources etc.

As well as the wonderful artists retreat I was part of in Snowdonia (see previous blog post), I've also made time to explore some other UK coastal areas and to gather a whole set of ideas that I want to develop throughout the coming months.

I've spent some time this summer in North Norfolk, an area I adore and have been visiting since I was a child; so it has lots of memories and associations.  I also was part of a wonderful project there with Katy Doncaster a few years ago: we worked with the Norfolk Coast Partnership Trust on a project alongside Wells Carnival, so there are many layers to the ways I've explored Norfolk.  I spent part of my time in Norfolk exploring the colours in the landscape at places like Brancaster Staithe, Titchwell Marsh RSPB reserve and on many different beaches.  I was also really inspired by places such as the woodland tree house children's area at Holkham Hall and the vast orchard of so many apple varieties at Thornham.   

I've just returned from Northumberland, an area where I spend a huge amount of time and uncover more and more layers to its remote places each time I visit.  I love the vast beaches there but also the expanses of moorland, the hills, the ancient monuments, the woodlands and the different buildings tucked into the landscape.   This time my visit included tea in a vintage caravan, songs by candlelight in a cave and gathering driftwood as rainclouds moved across the vast sky...

I'm greatly inspired by remote places that are empty (or almost empty) of people, places that have connections with the past and places where layers of pattern, colour and textures are found in subtle details...  I adore spending time watching the birds move across the land and sky, to see fleeting glimpses of stoats scampering ahead of me, to finding unusual caterpillars crawling slowly across the moor...

Interesting buildings and dwelling places have featured very much in the places I've explored this August - beach huts, castles, sheds, caves and old caravans have all been a delight to find.   I've been in several harbours, spaces that I'm incredibly drawn to because of the patterns, colours, textures and stories found there.  I've also had some wonderful beachcombing experiences, with finds that have ranged from newly washed ashore driftwood and jellyfish to many different sandcastles and creations left by previous beach users...

So now, as September begins, a new term starts and new projects get underway... the September sun is shining upon some crab shells and a stone with a hole in it... 

I've been further exploring ideas gathered in Wales - and there's much more experimenting I would like to do with all of this, for me this is about gathering ideas and testing out different things, rather than creating finished pieces.

I've been playing around with found words, layers of colours, adding to lino-cuts that I began in Wales (working onto old books I gathered there), mono-printing to make tiny books and sorting through the photographs I took to gather thoughts, impressions, words and colours.

The colours of the sea-scapes have really seeped into me and I'm really drawn to the subtle ways these layers of colours shifted and constantly changed as you gazed at them.  It really is like a form of meditation.  The soundscapes of Wales were really strong for me too - the waves, the bird calls (there were so many), the pebbles being pulled and churned by the tide, the breeze, the buzz of insects on the coastal plants, the grasshoppers, the sounds made as plants swayed...  there were so many gentle layers of natural sounds.

Its incredibly special to make time to work with other artists in this way - to share ideas, thoughts, resources, inspirations and musings.  Because we are all working with groups a huge chunk of the time its vital to keep your own ideas fresh and to test out new things - but equally its really easy to let this slip if you don't create dedicated time for it.  And much as you can make time to work in isolation I do think that you benefit in a far deeper way by sharing time with like-minded souls; a process of osmosis takes place and ideas seep between you.  Your attention is drawn to new things because of what the others around you notice and by pooling your thoughts and reflecting together I think you are pushed to explore and experiment with greater depth than you might alone.

Working with groups is central to my beliefs as an artist / educator, I feel so strongly about the importance of time for children and adults to connect with nature, to connect with their own creativity, to share and to celebrate.  By testing out new ideas I hope I can thereby bring new techniques, inspirations, ideas and new starting points to groups. 

Am just back from a week long retreat on the coast of Snowdonia with close friends who are all artists; we’ve been sharing ideas, discussing thoughts and work related issues, making new things, experimenting, exploring and gathering inspirations.   Such a precious way to spend time – and something that feels vital but is quite rare to make time for.

We’ve found a cottage that we’ve returned to (a wonderful thing when you discover somewhere like that); it has a truly inspirational wildlife-friendly garden with perfect views of the sea and mountains.  There’s hills behind with red kites, ravens and buzzards soaring so close at hand, and at the bottom of the garden at sea are so many interesting wading and sea birds – with the added delight of seals and dolphins.  My binoculars were close by constantly and there was so much to be found in the details in the landscape around us.

I really love living in Derbyshire, but the sea is a huge pull for me and to spend days on end gazing at a vast expanse of waves has been incredibly special.  Its incredibly meditative watching the landscape like that, the colours and lines in the sea, clouds and distant mountains changed constantly.  

We all created a huge range of work in response to our time there – and also in response to the ideas we were sharing together.  Textiles, old books, paint, photography, printing inks, yarns, words, found objects, drawing and stitching all wove themselves together as we worked and gathered thoughts. 

In vast open landscapes like that I find myself drawn to the bigger sweeps of colours and textures – but also to the teeny tiny details that hide away, clinging to the crevices and nooks and crannies.  The cottage beach was a treasure trove of drift wood, pebbles, crab shells, seaweed in a rainbow of colours and little plants such as thrift growing in tiny cracks in the rocks. 

Amongst other things I began a series of lino-cuts whilst there and am now working on these back in Derbyshire.  I'm also further exploring working with old books and found text - adding words onto drift wood and pebbles and making tiny books out of old books.