Part Two, continued from yesterday.
At each location I gathered something that grew there in abundance; that seemed to characterise that place. Luckily I was able to find something different for each … and then, at the next place I made a four-letter word using the plant material. Each word would have some relevance to the place where I found myself or how I was feeling at that moment. So, like last year's action where I took earth or water from one crossing-point and tipped it out at the next, it made a strong link around the boundary. I found after the first day that I wasn't convinced that this idea was really working, but kept going with it as it's probably better to judge its validity later on. Even if it doesn't work as 14 photographs forming a 'boundary', some of the individual ones are quite nice I think. Others feel somewhat contrived – sometimes it was difficult to find an appropriate word with just four letters in it.
Thinking more about words, I decided to do something with runes. This is very pertinent to Norfolk as an eastern county. It's often forgotten how strong the Scandinavian/Germanic heritage would still have been – both in place names and probably something more intangible – in medieval times. So, at each crossing-place I drew a rune marked on a stone from a special bag, and placed it on the puddle of beer in a seemingly-significant ritual action. Then I scratched the same rune in the earth of that place.
Lots to do at each crossing-point; lots of scrabbling about in bicycle panniers for the equipment; cold fingers yesterday that eventually rebelled, but on reflection it was worth it, definitely. It both feels like the end and not the end at all, as there is A LOT to do to actually make something of all the stuff I've collected along the way. Not to mention a final edition of Kalender.
www.world-tree.co.uk/festial
imogenashwin[at]yahoo[dot]co[dot]uk
The last festival of my medieval year has happened! It was Trevor's idea to repeat the first festival again at the end of the project, and I was very happy with the prospect. For one thing, Rogationtide is a three day event so there's plenty of time to really get into it. It's a significant commitment of energy too, but the rewards include an enormous feeling of achievement – and masses of material to work with later. Plus, I enjoy working with Trevor. He was magnificent! All the documentary photographs and video are his – I just had the ideas and performed them.
It was fascinating to see the differences in the landscape from last year. 'You can never step into the same river twice' said Heroclitis, and how right he was. Rogationtide fell earlier this year as it's linked to Easter, but the differences in vegetation and feel of the various locations seemed to go deeper than that, and not only because of the vagaries of the weather.
The first day was gorgeous sunshine, the second was kinda on and off, ending up quite chilly, and the third was sunny again, though incredibly windy.
Deciding what to do at each of the 14 crossing-points this time, I knew I wanted to incorporate sound, words, ritual activity and an action that involved taking something from one crossing-point and doing something with it at the next.
So, at each site, I played a note on my treble recorder. There were 15 of these (including the first crossing-point twice to seal the circle at the end), and this lent itself to travelling up the octave and back down again, finishing with the note I started with. I'm hoping to edit the result into a video. I chose a recorder as it's related to medieval instruments and also I liked the idea of 'charming the fields' like the Pied Piper. I held the note for as long as I had enough breath to do so, so the video will amount to 15 of my breaths.
Then there was the ritual pouring of a mugful of Festial Ale at each crossing-point. This looks quite strange in the video footage. I hope it evokes libations and other kinds of territorial marking(!). When it came to the last pouring the mark of the first was still visible on the road, and it felt very good to be able to hit the same spot.
It seems an incredibly short time since I was collecting the Palm Sunday Kalender last Friday, but I found myself at the printers again after work today, collecting the Easter edition. I like its egg yolk yellow cover, and the printing itself is better this time, too!
As for the content, well, as I remarked wistfully last time, it was great being at art school and getting that critical feedback. Any students out there, I would definitely advise you to make the most of it as you'll probably miss it afterwards.
Anyway, there's little time for critical reflection right now as the time for double helpings of rubberstamping, putting as yet non-existent free gifts into bags, stapling, guillotining and inserting flyers draws nigh. Not to mention mailing out the 30 copies of each to press and gallery contacts.
Oh well, at least the two issues can be mailed out in one envelope.
All went to plan and I collected Kalender on Friday afternoon. After several rather dark issues (I mean in the sense of printing darker than was planned rather than any analysis of their content!) the Palm Sunday Kalender is almost unfeasibly light. It's nice that the publication is meant to reference cheapo fanzines and crappy parish magazines – so, no problem.
Although the print quality leaves something to be desired, I'm quite excited by the potential in the collages I'm starting to develop, even though I go through bouts of self-doubt about them. Those art school crits were useful! But anyway, now that the images exist I can always go back to them once the madness of the Kalender schedule is a thing of the past. And madness it is.
Despite saying in my last post that the weekend would be spent rubberstamping and stapling, in fact none of that has even started and I have so far failed to source the sugar flowers I'm committed to providing as the 'free gift'.
On a more positive note, somehow the Easter edition is practically ready to pdf for the printer … how did that happen?? Probably ia combination of the recent pritt stick frenzy, Trevor nobly documenting a new performance to make a photo-story for the centre spread, and spending the whole day and part of the evening yesterday on those 'final details'….
Oh yes, I don't think I mentioned that the Palm Sunday Kalender is now online –
I feel as if I've been writing about this Palm Sunday kalender for weeks – and probably have! But at last all is ready for the printers, and I hope to be able to collect the 180 finished copies tomorrow afternoon.
Meanwhile, I've been getting on with the Easter edition … and the pritt stick has come out again.
Also, it seemed like a good idea to put a flyer for the exhibition that will follow my Gresham's residency this Autumn into each copy of Kalender. The mentors would be proud! Anyway, that was put together this morning with Trevor's help so we're on track for another feverish bout of rubberstamping and free gift attachment this weekend. Never a dull moment.
www.world-tree.co.uk/festial
