An Autumn walk through Sherwood Forest

A great lover of trees and forests, I escape the city from time to time..in order to re-aquaint myself with their earthy scent, the beauty of sunlight filtered through leaf, the birdsong, and mysterious magical atmosphere. I'm fortunate to live only an hours bus ride from the famous 'Sherwood Forest' of Robin Hood fame. Sherwood is an ancient forest with a large variety of tree species, but particularly noted for its ancient Oaks. 'The Major Oak' is the largest, oldest and most well known of these, but as you wander through the forest you come across a number of other beautiful old Oak trees.

Song of Robin of Sherwood
As I stood beside the Major Oak, a Robin perched close by.. And sang for me a wistful song, of how it feels to fly
Above the verdant forest green,
Above the forest red,
O'er the forest clothed in bronze..
And when the leaves are dead
To nestle in the branches, await the call of Spring..
When forest shall awaken,
And birds shall sing..sing..sing!

  As I walked the forest on Friday, signs of Autumn were everywhere. There was a chill in the air, with only occasional glimpses of sunshine, yet the forest received me well. I paid my respects to the Old Major, but soon moved on, as there were several people around..so I took a quiet path, weaving between birch groves with golden leaves falling like confetti, and some beautifully gnarled oaks, where I gathered handfuls of acorns. As the end of my visit drew near, I doubled back to bid goodbye to the Old Major, now standing alone in the late afternoon gloom. As I stood in admiration, a sudden trill of birdsong began close by, and I was thrilled to find Robin of Sherwood perched in a thicket and singing loud and clear, the Song of the Forest. It  was the perfect ending to my day in the woods..

Enchanted Forest

The two 'faces' visible in the great trunk of the Major Oak.

  As is often the way of things, the tree effect has been percolating through my mind gently, the first fruit of which is two simple rhymes, inspired by some of the trees in the forest...  

Delicate Birch

'The Major Oak'

,

Dancing Birch

We dance by night ( though not by day)
At break of light we stop and stay
Until nightfall, when stars are peeping
And dreaming forest lies a -sleeping
Then we rise, to dance and sway..
until there dawns a bright new day.

Sunlight on leaf..

Mini Pen and Ink Tiles - 'Murder'

Since I had so much fun creating my mini Rune tiles, I thought I'd have a go at something in a similar vein. So here we have a collection of individual, hand drawn, pen and ink crows..framed together to create my 'Murder of Crows'.

Weekend Project - Paper Rune Tiles

This little project brings together quite a few of my particular 'loves', as it involves messing about with inks, making tiny treasures..and Runes!
  I begin with the hugely enjoyable preparation which involves wetting my watercolour paper, applying a weak watercolour wash, then dropping ink splashes onto the wet paper, and letting it all run together!
  Next comes the boring wait for the paper to dry!
  Once dry I can begin to measure out and cut my tiny 'tiles' which measure about 3 x 2 cm.
  Then its time to begin painting the runes, one on each tile, I use white gouche, which stands out nicely against the dark background.
  Finally, each rune is given an additional outline of fine black ink and some added dots..
Runes done- its time to play! I shall be using these to arrange into different patterns and make 'words'..
  Ideas for similar projects are already bubbling away- watch this space!

Pen and Ink Miniature :'The Shamans Tree'

This little drawing on watercolour paper was created using pen and ink outlines over a watercolour and ink wash, then filled in using ink and gouache.

Double- sided Pyro Art Piece 'Feather'

This tiny Birchwood Tablet measures just 3,8 x 5.5 cm.
  My design covers both sides, with a short verse written around the edge,
  One side shows Eagle in flight across a starry night sky..a feather has become dislodged, and begins to fall...the reverse side shows a megalithic stone under the same starry sky. The falling feather has come to land beside the old Stone.
  Words around the edge read;' Magic occurs between Heaven and Earth'.