A really enjoyable workshop on gelli printing using both natural materials and cut out stencils to create layered prints ....it is always a relief when, after showing successful prints in a PowerPoint, you do a demonstration and it works out well! Some great work was produced by everyone.
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| My demonstration. |
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| Confident printing .... |
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| Great experimenting ... |
Our final session for the Moss Hut project saw us get together to look at what we had made, do a couple more writing activities and discuss the upcoming exhibition and the way forward for the project. It has been very successful with a lot of good positive feedback.....watch this space for more ideas.
Thanks to the Wordsworth Trust and The Northern Fells Group for funding and hosting this community project.
Some final pictures....
The other afternoon the sky was spectacular when we were driving home from Caldbeck, so a quick detour via Aughertree was in order.....
I never can resist photographing nice textures....and I'm not identifying the species of lichen and moss!
It's been another busy old week with one thing another - so I am slightly behind with the blog, but on Tuesday afternoon we nipped out to the base of Carrock Fell to see if there was any sign of the now gone over bog orchids - there wasn't but it was nice to be out!
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| Autumn colours: cross-leaved heath; bog asphodel; ling and cranberry. |
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| Angle shades moth - well camouflaged. |
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| Oblong-leaved sundew (Drosera intermedia), although great sundew has been recorded in the vicinity, so I need to check. |
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| A random slug - with horns out. |
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| Nice textures ...deserving of a blog on their own. |
A good day out (Sunday) and nice to be back on the tops! We paked up at the top end of Thirlmere (the north end), nopposite the junction with the minor road that takes you round the back of Thirlmere. The path goes straight up behind Stybeck Farm and is clearly signed ot Sticks Pass. The sharp ascent gets you up quickly and from there on it is easy sailing - so to speak! First we went onto Raise as it was one of my three last Wainwrights before going on to Whiteside, Lower Man and, being as we were up there, Helvellyn. We didn't realise it was the day of the Helvellyn triathlon so there were 'a few' fell runners around, but interesting to see. Rather than go back down to the path that peels off between Lower Man and Whiteside as intended, we went down via the top of Browncove Crag, to avoid the runners coming off Lower man. Highlights included spectacular views, a good view of a merlin swooping below us as we had lunch, good quantities of Salix herbacea (dwarf willow) and other nice alpine plants. Tom gives some more information (which is quite exciting) about this at click here.
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| On the way up from Stybeck Farm looking north. |
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| Various waterfalls. |
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| Raise summit. |
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| Views.... |
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| More views. |
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| Lesser clubmoss; fir clubmoss; alpine ladies mantle and dwarf willow. |
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| Rocky on the way down, posing as usual! |
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| Goats on the way down .... |
Following our two previous 'Moss Hut' sessions, our third and final session was a printed response to the moss hut - introducing participants to the technique of collagraph printing. We had some great results! After we have collected responses, invited more responses and photographed items we will be working towards an exhibition at Dove Cottage in Grasmere - exciting! These sessions were funded by The Wordsworth Trust and held in association with the Northern Fells Group.
As always the plates themselves are beautiful ...
