The Ash Dome, David Nash

"...But one of Nash’s most impressive and widely hailed works can never be moved anywhere. Further down the Vale of Ffestiniog, where he stayed with his grandfather as a child, are four acres of prime Welsh woodland surrounded by grand, dome-like hills. Having inherited this terrain, Nash decided to plant 22 ash trees there in the late-1970s. He chose ash because it is a very resilient tree, forever contorting itself in order to seek the light. And over the decades, with the help of careful pruning, and splashing of faux fox’s urine to keep the bark-stripping squirrels away, Nash has made Ash Dome grow into an impressive natural sculpture that echoes the forms of the encircling hills.
Nash loves working with wood. ‘There’s a profound wisdom there, stretching over millennia,’ he tells me. ‘I take my cue from what the material suggests to me. And this exhibition will reveal 40 years of my research. I am a researcher into the science and anthropology of trees and the wood they produce. For every culture and civilisation, wood is a fundamental survival material for building, defending, cooking and so much more. I’m also a maker of objects that are motivated by an idea, an attitude of a healthy relationship with our outer skin, the environment." (excerpt from interview found here)

see film here

Rural spring

Green, green, green and some brown. And a slight problem above the horizon...

Japanese woodblock session 2

They may look like kitchen towels, but they are woodblock prints. I took the pictures in the afternoon light, it comes through the window of my work space. I liked the way it made the prints look light and floating.

One of the nice things about Japanese wood-block printing (moku-hanga) is that you can do it at home, and you don't need a huge printing press. You use a tool called "baren" (a disc covered with bamboo leaves) to impress the ink/colour into the paper. There are numerous steps to make before you start printing, though... cutting the block, preparing the paper, making the nori (a binder consisting of rice paste and water) ... But it's all very low tech, non-toxic and the technique has not changed much since it was introduced to Japan by Bhuddist missionaries in the 8th century. I like it.

Japanese woodblock session

Today I have done some printing again. Can you see the faint blue colour, fading gradually? It's typical of Japanese prints. Gradation, or bokashi. I'm not a huge fan of it, but it's something that has to be tried. So I tried it today, and it actually worked pretty well. Instead of making multiple prints of the same motif, I use different blocks and make unique prints. It's more fun, and allows for experimentation.

The papers are all wrinkled, they have to be pressed flat inside some heavy book... A little bit like blocking knitted garments.

Life outdoors

The little girl has got a new knitted vest. I got the pattern from Gry on fintfôr. Yesterday a little friend had her birthday party and we were invited on a boattrip to celebrate.

No time to stay inside now. Have to go out and dig in the ground.

Odd selection

A more or less odd selection of pictures. Second picture is a painting by artist Franz Kline. The last two don't really belong in the selection, do they? Or maybe if it's seen like some  - well, journey. First the rock, and then gradually... it opens up, doesn't it..?

Watercolour on the verge of nothing

A couple of small watercolour-drawings made recently. Almost nothing, but still something. I like red watercolour. I like the red colour of barns, it even has its own name in Norwegian "låverød". And I like the uneven structure on old wooden panel. Plus I like being able to hear the sound of the ocean right outside my door.

A walk

Outhouses, barns, sheds

What is it about them that I find so fascinating? These are just some recent photos, I have lots and lots of others. 

studio and outside

Prints and drawings

Some prints and drawings. Finally taken up the Japanese woodblock printing technique that I learnt in Berlin a year ago. The first photo is a print, and the third. Japanese woodblock printing is fascinating, I certainly will do more of this.