The Artist in Studio Hundy

Voices heard

“Gently powerful”

After many weeks of devising, sound designing, editing and rehearsing, CAN I BE A BUTTERFLY was performed in front of an audience of over 70 at the Duns Play Fest on Sunday.

Preparing the space – warming up

Performance

Clare’s devised solo play was about Chronic Fatigue and its possible message to a fast world. Using movement, poetry, sound, song and text, she wove her own story around the fairytale of Briar Rose accompanied by the voices of others who have experienced ME and Chronic Fatigue.

It was very well received, with really positive feedback from those we were able to speak to after the performance. A few examples of comments we’ve received subsequently:

It was a brilliant show, thank you for presenting your situation so well. Really memorable and well written. You are a very talented woman. LB

An excellent, mind stopping soul reviving performance. Thank you. RS

MASSIVE congratulations and well done. Too much to review in a text. The sound/editing/narrative was so well done – how it was interwoven with the physical performance. Structure, story, movement and sound so authentic and strong. J said the performance was “aptly pared down but also so rich”. A-LK

I’ve been working collaboratively with Clare on the sound design to produce a range of audio effects for the show. The sound desk did us proud, after just an hour’s tech run early Sunday morning. Many thanks to Marc on sound and Kirk on lighting; we were delighted with the sound reproduction in the main stage area.

The voices that we’d included from the 4 interviews were crystal clear and, at moments, it felt as if there were 5 people present in the theatre space speaking about their experience of Chronic Fatigue.

One of the sound effects I’d created accompanied Clare’s movement peice, depicting the hedge growing on the outside of the castle, whilst Briar Rose slept in the tower on the inside. Listen on headphones if you can.

SFX 8 – Hedge growing sequence

The recordings of the Duns and Smailholm singing groups performing “Curl Up and Dream” were very atmospheric.

SFX 7 -“Curl Up and Dream” – Duns singing Group

SFX 10 – “Curl Up and Dream”- Smailholm singing Group

The two poems written, read (so beautifully) and recorded by Lucy fitted seamlessly into the performance.

The Epilogue poem – The Stone – written by the late Jay Ramsay, encapsulated so much of what was being explored within the play and felt like a fitting memory to Jay’s special interest in the alchemical.

The golden butterfly prop is shown here on the cover of his collaborative book – Alchemy of the Invisible. A sequence of paintings by Jenny Poretzky-Lee with poems by Jay Ramsay.

Thanks to Duns Play Fest and to all those that came along to Clare’s solo show to witness a small window into the world of Chronic Fatigue.

Programme notes/credits

See more at Clare’s Many Threads

A view from the sound desk

Dress rehearsal – Can I be a butterfly?

Wednesday saw our final rehearsal of “Can I be a butterfly” in the local village hall, with a small audience in the round.

Using my vintage Sony amp (bought in July 1977) and 4 speakers, dismantled from our hi-fi system at home, we created a “sound in the round” effect for the 11 SFX audio files that are now part of the show.

The 6 audience members gave us very complementary feedback after the performance. This was extremely encouraging for the last few days before the play receives its debut on Sunday 28th April at Duns Play Fest.

A short audio clip, that did find its way into one of the final sound effects, brings together the voices of 3 of the 4 interviewees. This forms part of a sequence towards the end of the show, as Briar Rose wakes from her long sleep and “hears something new”.

From SFX 9 – “shift”

If you are in the Scottish Borders this Sunday (28th April) come along to Duns Play Fest at 6.15pm to see the show. Duns Play Fest Tickets – Can I be a butterfly?

In collaboration

A solo play about Chronic Fatigue and its possible message to a fast world

During the last 6 weeks I’ve been busy creating the soundscape for a devised solo show that my partner, Clare at Clare’s Many Threads, has been working on since January.

Clare will be performing Can I be a butterfly at the local Duns Play Fest here in the Scottish Borders on 28th April at 6.15pm Duns Play Fest 2024

Can I be a butterfly? is a semi-autobiographical, part imagined, solo play about Chronic Fatigue and its possible message to a fast world.

Using movement, poetry, sound, song and text, Clare weaves her own story around the fairytale of Briar Rose accompanied by the voices of others who have experienced ME and Chronic Fatigue.

Creating the soundscape has been a collaborative project that has accompanied Clare’s devising process. We have been working with 4 very profound recorded interviews. Each of the interviewees gave us permission to use their voices as part of the play.

It has involved a lot of intense listening and a painstaking process of cutting and weaving together their stories and experiences – often similar and sometimes very different. Trying all the time to honour the uniqueness of what each person expressed when they spoke to Clare during the interview/conversations.

As well as the voices from the 4 interviewees, the collaboration has gone wider, incorporating into the soudscape recordings of the singing groups in Duns and Smailholm, performing a song Clare composed for the show.

A full run through this week at the local village hall went well, but was not without its fair share of technical glitches.

Some of the early sound editing work has not made its way into the final play. “Colour of Fatigue” is one such clip. We couldn’t find a place for it, despite the fact that it encapsulates the gravity and humour expressed in the interviews:

What’s the colour of fatigue?

In the final stages of rehearsing and refining the play, we’d both like to acknowledge the collaboarative contributions of the 4 people who were interviewed (Gill, Lucy, Adrian and Eula), the poems Lucy recorded for the show and the singing groups in Duns and Smailholm.

If you are in the area on 28th April come along to Duns Play Fest to see the show. Duns Play Fest Tickets – Can I be a butterfly?

Clare’s Many Threads is the Artist name of Clare Watson. She is an interdisciplinary practitioner living in the Borders, who works with theatre practice, walking, creative writing, textiles and song.

Candlemas

Jewels of light

Candlemas on 2nd February occurs between the mid-winter solstice and the spring equinox. Imbolc in the celtic calender. North East on the medicine wheel it is the “gate of birth”; between Earth and Air and between love for others and spiritual love. As with all these “in-between” gateways, within the cycle of the year, it holds a sense of great mystery.

Looking to nature we see the flowering of snowdrops at this time of year. Like jewels of light covering the darkened ground, they bring a sense of hope for the year to come; an uplifting contrast to the often dreary, grey days we frequently experience throughout January.

I am enjoying reading a beautiful book I chanced upon late last year: Nature’s Calendar The British Year in 72 Seasons.

Inspired by a traditional Japanese calendar which divides the year into segments of four to five days, this book guides you through a year of 72 seasons as they manifest in the British Isles.
From Sleeve notes

In a facinating entry for the micro-season 15th-19th January one of the authors, Rebecca Warren, links the emerging snowdrop to the festival of Candlemas. In Italian the plant is named fiore della purificazione (flower of purification) and in French it is sometimes know as violettes de la Chandeleur (Candlemas violets).

I thoroughly recommend this wonderful book. It can be picked up every 4-5 days for a topical, often thought provoking essay by one of the 4 authors, capturing some aspect of the natural phenomenon we can experience through observation in our immediate surroundings.

Although we may well not have seen the last of the snow this winter, the emerging snowdrops aways remind me of this lovely poem I discovered many years ago:

Last Snow

Although the snow still lingers
Heaped on the ivy's blunt webbed fingers
And painting tree-trunks on one side,
Here in this sunlit ride
The fresh unchristened things appear,
Leaf, spathe and stem,
With crumbs of earth clinging to them
To show the way they came,
But no flower yet to tell their name,
And one green spear
Stabbing a dead leaf from below
Kills winter at a blow.

Andrew Young 
_{born Elgin 1885}

Swallows & Martins on the move

Summer visit almost over

“The preparation” – Pastel & Charcoal sketch 2023

As September begins, a sure sign that summer is coming to a close is the change we see in the patterns of the Swallows and House martins. A subtle change that accompanies the transition of the light.

Their early morning flight in large groups, their congregating on telegraph lines, their loud chitter chatter – all signalling that they will be departing soon for distant shores.

For me there is a sadness that accompanies this time, captured in the lines of Mary Webb’s poem:

Within my spirit is a voice that grieves,

Reminding me of empty autumn skies.
“Swallows” by Webb, M. (1930) The collected works of Mary Webb. Poems and The Spring of Joy. London: Jonathon Cape, 1928.

In a small attempt to celebrate these wonderful migrant visitors that bring such joy every year, I have put together a short video clip. It is fairly basic, using limited equipment/resources, but for me it catches something of the anticipatory mood inherent in the “jubilant” activities of these beautiful birds.

Video clip: Swallows and Martins on the move

LIVE BORDERS CREATIVE WORKSHOPS – September 2023

ART AS A MINDFUL PROCESS with Ian Wiggle
At Old Gala House – Galashiels

I am running three themed, process inspired workshops during September in the Scottish Borders. They can be booked independently or in any combination.

These workshops are about slowing down, taking time, becoming aware – a kind of “listening” with the eyes. No previous artistic experience is needed as I will gently guide participants, creating familiarity and confidence with the art materials and process.

CONVERSATIONS WITH COLOUR

A 2 hour well-being painting workshop.

This workshop is less about “how to paint”, but rather the emphasis is on experiencing and enjoying the artistic-creative process itself.

It is about exploring the qualities and moods of colours, individually and when in “conversation” with each other. You will use an oil-on-paper rag technique as a way of connecting directly with the colours. All art materials provided.

6 Sep / 13.30 – 15.30 – Conversations with Colour – £25

NEW ENCOUNTERS WITH PLANTS

A full day workshop (10.30 to 3.30) set in the gardens and Scott Room at Old Gala House.

It is a creative blend of science and art exploring the mysteries of plants; seeing the plant world not only with the eyes, but also with the heart.

The emphasis is on experiencing nature creatively through a journey of exploration.

We will use guided observation, drawing, charcoal and colour (pastels) as the tools for participants to arrive at their own unique creative expression of the chosen plant.

All art materials provided. Bring your own snack for lunch.

13 Sep / 10.30 – 15.30 – New Encounters with Plants – £50 (full day)

GROWING IN THE LIGHT

A 2 hour well-being drawing workshop.

Again, this workshop is less “how to draw”, but rather the emphasis is on experiencing and enjoying the artistic-creative process itself.

It is about exploring the dynamic qualities of light and dark, their inter-relationship and connection to the plant growing in nature.

You will use charcoal as a way of experiencing the polarities of light and dark and the subtle gradations in between. All art materials provided.

20 Sep / 13.30 – 15.30 – Growing in the Light – £25

BOOKING DETAILS can be found on the Live Borders website using the following link: Live Borders – Art as a Mindful Process Workshops in September @ Old Gala House

Related pages: Art as a Mindful Process and Art for Health

Four seasonal mandalas

Responding to the changing light – Autumn / Winter / Spring / Summer

Accompanying the change of light throughout the year, a small group of us have been taking the same walk to a nearby woodland, making seasonal mandalas with found materials provided by nature.

We started at the Autumn equinox in September 2022, repeating the same walk on the Winter solstice and then again in Spring, and finally on the Summer solstice that has just passed.

We tried to be sensitive to the qualities of the day light at each of these 4 points in the calendar, as well as the weather, atmosphere and to the changes we observed in surrounding nature. Responding to these we collectively choose a spot, in or near the woodland, making our mandala using the variety of materials that nature provided at the time.

Photographs do not do justice to the 3 dimensional, sculptural forms that we created. They can only hint at the different locations, materials and qualities that each of the four mandalas revealed.

Autumn Equinox

A large expansive mandala formed, within the woodland itself, beneath the canopy of leaves still present on the trees. The transition here from the dominant light of the summer – diminishing to meet an equal proportion of darkness in the night – felt significant as a backdrop to our form. Similarly the differentiation of light and dark within the mandala was so subtle that it seemed to merge with the natural undergrowth on which it had been created.

Found materials reflected the summer growth that had not yet come to a complete hault, and yet we could also feel the movement in nature towards winter.

Winter Solstice

In contrast the site for this mandala was nestled within a cluster of now bare birch trees.

An old mossy stump centred in this small grove was our focal point. A moist misty day gave plenty of opportunity for using mosses, lichens, rotting leaves, ferns and more. Whilst the mandala was concentrated on the tree stump, it rayed outwards beyond the cluster of trees as if dissolving into the rest of the woodland.

To acknowledge the time of least daytime light, we placed a small lantern in the centre and lit the candle.

Spring Equinox

Our chosen spot for this mandala was on the edge of the woodland. On the boundary between bare branched deciduous trees and the “devastation” in the open area, fairly recently cleared of (mostly) pine trees.

This position felt more open and bright compared to inside the woodland and suited the sense of an increasing light, growing into and through the spring equinox. Our mandala gradually formed out of crumbling bark, cones, branches, feathers, stones, moss and lichen.

Summer Solstice

Finally we returned to the same woodland at the summer solstice. We were aware as a group that we found it hard to find a place or focal point for the mandala. We explored the area for some time before agreeing to use a large upturned stump of a pine. This was in the open area of “devastation” from previous felling. The bare barky ground now beginning to “green”, populated with small creeping plants and other seedlings.

The beautiful stump, with its gnarled roots protruding skywards, acted like an “altar” on which we placed, wove and threaded our summer finds.

A rhododendron bush, growing on the boundary, provided flashes of colour amongst the greenery, grasses and ferns.

Four seasonal mandalas created collectively, without much planning or discussion, responding to nature’s rhythm within the cycle of the year. Thanks to the freinds that participated in this creative, and quite magicial process.

Chattering cheerfully

Twitter …natter …chatter

For the last month – or more – we’ve been hearing the cheerful chatter of martins and swallows at the front and back of the house. Flying high overhead in the clear blue skies, skimming low over crops in nearby fields, and swooping and turning with dynamic aerobatics, down and up to their nests in the eaves. Their characteristic twittering, uttered on the wing, is even more pronouced as they land on, or enter into the nest.

This year we are “fortunate” to have a nest right outside our bedroom window! So in the early hours, when they are busy catching insects and returning to the nest to feed their young, we are treated to the sound of their constant nattering. I wonder what they are “saying”?

SOME SERIOUS TWITTERING

A riot of colour, texture and form

Nature’s palette in June

The garden at this time of year suddenly brings colour, texture and form in abundance. The borders have grown tall and plants are competing for their place in the light.

Some have reached their full flowering potential, whilst others are still emerging from buds. Echos of spring can be seen in swelling seed pods.

What a delight it is to walk quietly through this palette of nature, drinking in the changes that occur each day.

Forthcoming workshop series

In the Scottish Borders – “Gathering the Light”

As part of my Art as a Mindful Process, these 4 workshops will explore, through colour moods, the quality and movement of the light, as day passes to night and re-emerges at dawn.

We will be using a wet-on-wet watercolour technique as a way of experiencing the changing light.

These workshops are about slowing down, taking time, becoming aware – a kind of “listening” with the eyes. No previous artistic experience is needed as I will guide participants, creating familiarity and confidence with the art materials and process.

Local to Hawick in the Scottish Borders? …. and interested, go to: Live Borders Creative Spaces to book a place.