Recently, I got a glimpse of the sea, it’s been a while and I miss it so. Just to take a moment to stare at the water and be under the endless sky. That sense of space and clarity.
The water was so calm, barely a ripple and after days below freezing, 6 degrees felt almost mild.
Just being by the water gives me such a sense of calm. I can feel myself quieten and that’s when my creative thoughts have time to bubble up to the surface.
Mostly, as the lockdown continues, I walk in local parks. Jesmond Dene is a long steep sided valley formed originally by glaciers and erosion, then sculpted and styled by Lord Armstrong in the 19th century to become a landscaped park. He gave the park to the city of Newcastle in 1884. The waterfall pictured above is one of Lord Armstrong’s more dramatic alterations to the natural flow of the Ouseburn. The Ouseburn flows from near Ponteland into the Tyne and one day soon I am going to walk the whole of it from the source to the point where it joins the Tyne. For now, I can walk for several miles, in and around the Dene. This green space is often busy, as it is right in the city, but walk a mile or so upstream and it becomes quieter and a little bit wilder.
I think it takes me about 4000 steps to shake my head clear of thoughts and stresses, then I become more aware of the landscape, the trees, the bird song.
This is one of my favourite trees, an old yew, close to one of the many footbridges that cross the river. I love the way that it circles and twists around, as if it is corkscrewing out of the ground. And here, slicked with rain, it shines and glistens darkly against the vibrant evergreen leaves. I am going to do some drawings with ink and large brushes to explore that tone and form.
The wood and rocks hint at past industry in the Dene; before it became a pleasure park there were farms, mills and quarries. The shapes and textures will make good studies. I think I will expand my Journey Mapping series to include work based on these small but precious journeys through this local environment. Even these short explorations, though, have brought me to places that I haven’t discovered before and offer joyous glimpses of herons, owls and like a rare jewel, the kingfisher. There are otters and even deer here too, though I think I may have to walk further and at the quietest times to find them.
Calmed, refreshed and energised, I head back to my work space ready to push these images out onto paper and cloth.
Donna Cheshire Textiles 