Canopy Creative Walk with Clare Balding
On Thursday, February 9, writer and broadcaster Clare Balding was welcomed onto Canopy’s monthly artist-led Creative Walk to record a Ramblings programme for BBC Radio 4 going out in early March.
Sara Rickard, local textile artist and volunteer for Canopy, invited Clare to the Forest of Dean as she thought the Creative Walks she plans for Canopy would make an interesting radio programme. Each carefully planned walk invites participants to respond creatively through writing, photography, sketching or simply ‘being in the moment’.
To start, Sara provided the small group of walkers and artists with a notebook & basic drawing materials for recording their ideas along the route before heading across to the platform of Parkend Dean Forest Railway Station. There she read aloud a poem by local composer and poet, Ivor Gurney whilst the group reflected on his life alongside the bench dedicated to him.
Once over the bridge, the footpaths led up to St Paul's Church where the group were invited to take out their drawing supplies and indulge in some simple mark making exercises which Sara demonstrated. Paper view finders were distributed to look closely at the surrounding scenery before using them to take three minutes to sketch or write about the landscape through the aperture. Moving into the church ground, artists took rubbings of carvings and lettering on the gravestones which they found interesting.
Clare and the group then shared a few of their written words and drawings with each other.
Sara said she was 'very impressed with the work created with the very limited supplies - from the rubbings to the ink to the graphite and biro through to some colour and writing coming through.'
Lyn Heyler, Bill Otto, Clare Balding, Peter Dunford and Roger Drury each delighted the group with poems inspired by the walk so far.
Whilst meandering up through the forest to Oakenhill Nature Reserve, Sara led the group in creative exercises designed to mindfully connect with nature, whilst Clare spoke with various members of the group about their experiences of the walk. Sculptor Dorota Rapacz spoke about how allocating a time to enjoy rambling through the woods helped her to relax and recharge without worrying about the time spent doing so; painter Sharon Harvey expressed how the exercises inspired her work upon returning to the studio; artist Tanya Gaffney-Greetham spoke about the mental and physical benefits of the walks and Canopy's head of marketing, Charlotte Sparks illustrated how valuable these organised walks are in terms making friendships and building strong communities between local creatives who otherwise often work in isolation.
Towards the end of walk with leaves brushing underfoot and the birds singing in the canopy, the group walked silently back down the hill, observing the trees shimmering in the sunny winter light where they were pleasantly surprised by the enchanting sound of the flute drifting up somewhere within the trees… with thanks to Karen Stevens who had secretly slipped ahead of the group!
Intuitive abstract artist, Charlotte Keating says, 'It was wonderful to spend time in the woods observing it from a different perspective whilst making new friends. The experience was inspiring and I particularly enjoyed scratching images with the ink and feather provided and the unexpected magical sound of the flute.'
To book on the next Canopy Creative Walk on Saturday, February 25, go to canopynetwork.co.uk, subscribe to the newsletter or follow Canopy on social media.
Canopy is a volunteer run, not-for-profit event organiser, bringing together creatives in the Forest of Dean with festivals, artist talks and creative walks.
