landart sample page - Chris Terrell

Spiral Cairn

procession route, a line of stones and a raked track joining the shingle bank that allows Ynys Las to exist out to the sand bank, soon to be submerged by the incoming tide - standing on the edge of Cantref Gwaelod, the land that was drowned long ago, probably in about the 5th Century AD, when people may still have been erecting standing stones- 20 July

Escape attempt - 20 July

early forms of life may have had to begin adapting to land conditions as pools dried out, the slate bedrock underlying this area was once the silt and mud of rivers and shallow seabeds...

Sand Ball

the qualities of the sand as I moulded it, and the usual behaviour of a ball of sand when dropped were all in mind when I made this...

Worm

the apparently barren sand is a good home for bivalves and lugworms, usually dug up for fishing bait... but what if they weren't so passive? I felt something powerful and energising about making this form, a feeling of energy and resolve came over me as I shaped it and as the form emerged, an aggressive satisfactory feeling on finishing it...

Pattern

freeform drawing with a grass rake, additional shapes by Jean Napier.

This formed a basis for the next day's projects...

Viewpoint 160ft - 21 July

I was interested in making use of the huge space available on the beach to try to get a shape that partially defied the 'rules' of perspective, as well as having a theme of progression and change, a sequence of forms, a meditative formal construction...This was the 'intended' viewpoint and I aligned it roughly North-South as this was the direction that most visitors were coming from the car park...

The six images below show the main elements in distance order...

Head and Droplet

0 ft

Ripple 1

approx 10 ft

Ripple 2

approx 25 ft

Ripple 3

approx 40 ft

Ripple transforming

approx 70 ft

New Level

approx 160 ft

Boundaryshape

freeform rake drawing

Group

a combination of ideas... to do with unlikely balance, formal, megalithic forms and a sense of possible but unknown ceremonial function...

NANTEOS WOODLAND CENTRE

27 & 28 July

River Offering

After walking around different sites in the woodlands... sitting near the river, allowing thoughts to come and go; a few escape down the arm and into the notebook, where they get caught on the page like leaves in a stream:

"water flowing, wood and its many uses, a sense of practical harmony, a dynamic stillness.. one thing becomes another and returns... shelters for imagined beings.."

This piece of wood had a natural channel in it and I wanted to place it where water could flow through it...

...weaving together different elements, some the result of human action on wood, some arising 'naturally'

...balancing conflicting forces, mindful of guiding the water flow with care for the stream banks, the work developed...

Tree Offering

bark, sawdust, bracken fronds, flowers

suspended by bark cord from an overhanging tree

Pages from a Forgotten Wisdom

Naturally-peeled bark, locally-made charcoal, stripped bark, twigs

woven with care by the fire while cooking potatoes in a pot over the embers, the marks made in quiet conversation, sensing ancient books and ambiguous ritual objects and decaying fragments and autumn leaves...

...as I hung it up on a branch in the gathering darkness, already the careful work was coming undone...

National Botanic Gardens

3 & 4 August

Nest

Collaboration - Jean Napier, Julian Ruddock, myself, John....

This island was looking very scruffy, it's on the main tour route for visitors, a roost for ducks and geese...

...the shop wouldn't let us 'borrow' some huge ceramic eggs... never mind!

....well, whatever next?

National Botanic Gardens Carmarthen 6 & 7 July and 3 & 4 August Braided grass path leading from the track to an oak tree - 6 July
Mud, twigs, leaves I was working with thoughts of spaces, concealment and partial revealing, emerging and refuge, the physical and sensual engagement with the materials, the physical energy and effort involved, weaving structures and developing a working technique as I got to know how the clay and mud behaved. All materials came from within a 10 yard radius, the only tools used were a trowel, to make digging the clay easier, and a bucket of water. I wanted to make a long series of increasingly large mud balls leading away from or to the shelter, but ran out of time. Jean added the leaves! - 7 July 3 August... it's still there, the mud's cracking but sound. You can glimpse it from the path, if you turn your head at the right time!
1100 am - 20 July On the walk to our 'base', I stopped to mark the time when we started...
Spiral Cairn procession route, a line of stones and a raked track joining the shingle bank that allows Ynys Las to exist out to the sand bank, soon to be submerged by the incoming tide - standing on the edge of Cantref Gwaelod, the land that was drowned long ago, probably in about the 5th Century AD, when people may still have been erecting standing stones- 20 July


Escape attempt - 20 July early forms of life may have had to begin adapting to land conditions as pools dried out, the slate bedrock underlying this area was once the silt and mud of rivers and shallow seabeds...
Sand Ball the qualities of the sand as I moulded it, and the usual behaviour of a ball of sand when dropped were all in mind when I made this...
Worm the apparently barren sand is a good home for bivalves and lugworms, usually dug up for fishing bait... but what if they weren't so passive? I felt something powerful and energising about making this form, a feeling of energy and resolve came over me as I shaped it and as the form emerged, an aggressive satisfactory feeling on finishing it...
Pattern freeform drawing with a grass rake, additional shapes by Jean Napier. This formed a basis for the next day's projects...
Viewpoint 160ft - 21 July I was interested in making use of the huge space available on the beach to try to get a shape that partially defied the 'rules' of perspective, as well as having a theme of progression and change, a sequence of forms, a meditative formal construction...This was the 'intended' viewpoint and I aligned it roughly North-South as this was the direction that most visitors were coming from the car park... The six images below show the main elements in distance order...
Head and Droplet 0 ft
Ripple 1 approx 10 ft
Ripple 2 approx 25 ft
Ripple 3 approx 40 ft
Ripple transforming approx 70 ft
New Level approx 160 ft
Boundaryshape freeform rake drawing
Pebble ripples
Group a combination of ideas... to do with unlikely balance, formal, megalithic forms and a sense of possible but unknown ceremonial function...
NANTEOS WOODLAND CENTRE 27 & 28 July River Offering After walking around different sites in the woodlands... sitting near the river, allowing thoughts to come and go; a few escape down the arm and into the notebook, where they get caught on the page like leaves in a stream: "water flowing, wood and its many uses, a sense of practical harmony, a dynamic stillness.. one thing becomes another and returns... shelters for imagined beings.." This piece of wood had a natural channel in it and I wanted to place it where water could flow through it...
...weaving together different elements, some the result of human action on wood, some arising 'naturally'	.
...balancing conflicting forces, mindful of guiding the water flow with care for the stream banks, the work developed...
Tree Offering bark, sawdust, bracken fronds, flowers suspended by bark cord from an overhanging tree
Leaning Pole stripping bark from this for 'Pages..', the patterns caught my eye... more work, help from Julian, it joined his work from yesterday.. I remembered Australian artefacts, bark stripped by squirrels and deer, the accidental engineering of fallen trees, props, levers, balancing...
Pages from a Forgotten Wisdom Naturally-peeled bark, locally-made charcoal, stripped bark, twigs woven with care by the fire while cooking potatoes in a pot over the embers, the marks made in quiet conversation, sensing ancient books and ambiguous ritual objects and decaying fragments and autumn leaves... ...as I hung it up on a branch in the gathering darkness, already the careful work was coming undone...
National Botanic Gardens 3 & 4 August Nest Collaboration - Jean Napier, Julian Ruddock, myself, John.... This island was looking very scruffy, it's on the main tour route for visitors, a roost for ducks and geese... ...the shop wouldn't let us 'borrow' some huge ceramic eggs... never mind!

	....well, whatever next?