Ladybird fly
There are storms, high winds and heavy rains predicted - but today just now it is calm and warm. The sense of Autumn deepens - the view here from my workshop changes almost daily in tone and movement.
I see it in the behaviour of wildlife too, the thickening of fur, the feeding up. The scurrying seems bolder and more purposeful. The food caching postures, the searching for hollows and burrows. These stirrings, shorter days and lower temperatures in turn lead to my movements altering, and the forms I’m shaping. My surroundings influencing my chisel.
During bouts of carving, I notice lots of flying insects in the warm air. As I look more closely I see they are Ladybirds, hundreds of them - a swarm. Their flight seems erratic, but I’m certain has purpose. Occasionally I see them land on the stone around me and also on the wood doors of the workshop. I wonder if they hear the distant thunder and gales and seek security and dry.
The movements around me, seasonal moods, shifts in the air, the changing light and weather bring new direction to my sculpture, the shapes beginning and the wildlife holding my attention.
The sculptures progress, guided by the advancement of Autumn. They move, the shapes showing themselves, becoming clearer, alongside the deepening richness of leaf colour and earthiness in the air.
A small group of carvings will be shared shortly.
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