Roundwood Fort at Trelissick
You may be surprised to know that despite the challenges of the season I find winter a deeply inspiring time. I especially enjoy seeing the trees in all their naked glory!
To my mind, the beauty of winter trees is one of the blessings of this cold and weary season. When the leaves fall the landscape through the trees is revealed, allowing the low winter light to filter through. I love to see bare branches which seem to allow the character of the trees to shine forth, suggesting limbs and a sentient life inside.
I spent yesterday morning surrounded by the beautiful trees of Roundwood Quay. This is a special place in Cornwall where several creeks meet making it a favourite spot for water babies as well as tree huggers. My interest in the area is further enhanced by Roundwood Fort. The panorama of trees above is a 360 degree shot of trees in the middle of this ancient Iron Age fort. The built up earth walls of the fort are still clear to see. Its impossible to walk through this area without imagining what it might have been like to have lived here during the Iron Age. Even though those ancient people didn’t have the advantages of modern life they had the most beautiful sylvan setting in which to live. I imagine it was a busy and thriving settlement. Did those ancient people love the trees too?
As a child I played for hours in a huge beech tree in the woods near my family home. One of my earliest memories was of climbing up into this tree with great excitement, then getting stuck. I bawled my eyes out until my dad came and rescued me! On a recent trip back to the Old Country I took a walk down memory lane to see the old tree. To my great delight a fellow tree lover had built the most amazing tree house high up in the canopy. Turns out it was built in 2020 by my mum’s neighbours as a lockdown project. What a fabulous thing to do when there’s no school! I’m so pleased that the same tree I played in with my friends is providing fun and joy to a new generation.
No surprise then that trees often feature in my work. Being amongst trees or making them is always a pleasure. I make fully abundant summer style trees and more delicately leaved winter versions. Copper lends itself so well to the aesthetics of trees, its natural colours echoing the warm tones of tree bark. The patinated Verdigris I use captures the verdant foliage particularly well too. A marriage made in heaven!
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Next time I’ll share photos and film of the making process…