Autumn Cottage Diarist

On the Disruptive Nature of an Artist's Date

The Death of the Virgin - altarpiece segment from the Northern Rhine, 1430-50. Painted and Gilded Walnut.

Anyone who has read Julia Cameron's 'Artists Way' will know that one of the activities which she suggests is that of taking oneself off at regular intervals for 'Artist Dates' - time spent alone at some particular venue which will stimulate your creative juices, so that one's 'well of creativity' can be periodically refilled in order that it can then be dipped into anew.

I had the opportunity to do this two days ago, when I was invited to travel to London to the Victoria and Albert Museum - a temple to creativity - to which my close friend J had been given gift membership last Christmas. As a result, we were both allowed to use the Members Lounge - a quiet room in the upper reaches of the building, accessed via the Glass Galleries...

Exceedingly covetable miniature (not quite 1/12 scale) Bohemian 19th century glass in the Glass Galleries

...and also gain free entry to one of the two major exhibitions open there at the moment -  The Treasures of the Royal Courts, celebrating 500 years of diplomatic and trade relations between Britain and 'Muscovy'

You can read more about the exhibition on the V&A's own website - so this post is not really to tell you about that in detail - but more to notice the disruptive, as well as the 'well filling' effect that such a visit can have. As you all know, if you read this blog at all frequently, I am spending a great deal of time at the moment in the garden, which is gradually taking shape again from a fairly neglected patch of greenery. I love almost every minute I spend there, getting my hands dirty, the rest of me often dirty and wet, making my back and feet ache - but standing back periodically, deeply enjoying the natural world and saying 'yes, at last this is becoming a garden'.

The Troyes Altarpiece, French, 1504 - incredibly finely detailed portraits carved not in wood, but in (painted) limestone

But now - after my Artist Date at the museum on Tuesday (large parts of which I did spend on my own, as my friend and I split up most of the time to visit our own favourite galleries), after immersing myself in the balm of a different kind of beauty, and knowledge, and discourse, why - I am totally disrupted!! I am hankering once again to pick up my books and tickle my brain cells in a different kind of way - be creative in a different kind of way to how I create when I am gardening, and also pursue study of some of the collections in both a broader and a deeper manner. What was the historical background of these items? The particular story of the church in which that carving was placed? What do the symbols and postures of the figures denote? How did the cult of devotion to the Virgin Mary in medieval times encourage certain styles and patronages? There is a beauty, too, in discovering all these details, and more in seeing how these works of art do not come to exist in isolation, but for a reason and within a context. As explanations make sense and pieces fall into place, I think there is much beauty in gaining greater and wider understanding,  But I need to juggle my days around to enable me to fit in both kinds of beauty; I *need* both kinds - otherwise, one life time will definitely not be enough to enable me to appreciate all that is waiting out there for me!

One factor which makes the V&A museum so impressive is its stated philosophy of being a place to stimulate the creativity of all those who visit as well as a place to admire the creations of the past. They have an exceptional outreach programme of classes, courses, lectures, symposia and visits with related online 'subject hubs' - of which their Creative Writing hub immediately caught my notice. It is worth taking a look if you are at all interested in any form of personal writing - six segments with writing exercises in each, using items from the museum collections to stimulate thought and imagination. Not everyone can travel to London, but anyone can browse the V&A collections, so why not do so yourself - and in so doing, give yourself your own little Artist Date with the museum.

And as a final thought - if you could visit, explore and/or study an area, subject or topic in greater detail - what would it be?

Vision Boards, Treasure Maps, and Women of Inspiration

Several members of an (Inspirational!) online writing group, to which I have belonged for ten years now, are working on “Vision boards” in the run up to the New Year. (How are all yours coming along, Fran, Paula, ???). Vision Boards, Treasure Maps – they come in many guises...mine seem to be forming into a Book of Inspiration, to which I continually add.

A4 pages on various topics, at the moment topics that relate to my intentions for 2009 (I never call them resolutions – that way they don’t sit there asking to be broken!), but as wishes, wants, thoughts and ideas change throughout the year, the images will multiply.

 It is becoming a visual journal...and above you can see the page I created last night. I call this one “Women of Inspiration” and the images have been gleaned from the ‘net. Several of Dame Judi Dench dominate – no excuses, I find her HIGHLY inspiring...but see how many of the others you recognise. (UK readers will probably have an advantage, sorry!). Click on the image above to get a bigger version.

Email me to tell me how many of them you know – and if anyone can identify all of them, I’ll send a fun prize! Good luck – closing date is Christmas Eve, and I’ll list all the names (and a winner, if there is one) after that.

Even if you don't want to play, will you tell me who are your own Women of Inspiration? (Watch this space for the gentlemen, later :-))

Talking Pantomime

A strange result of my beginning the Masters course is that I have ended up writing a seminar presentation and essay on Pantomime in the middle of Spring!

This is how it came about. We are able to choose two co-validated modules for the whole course - and one of the modules that I selected was "Fairytale and Gothic Horror" in the School of Film Studies. I chose this because I am interested in Narrative Therapy and the use of Storytelling in Therapy. I thought it would also broaden the course that I am Majoring in - leavening pure Death Studies with something a little lighter (though having studied Fairytale and Gothic for three months, I'm not too sure about that - it can sometimes be pretty gruesome...the fairytales, as well as the Horror!)

We are able to choose the topic which we write about within the module - and as my father was caught up in the world of Pantomime for many years, when it was given as a suggestion in relation to the segment on "fairytale in popular culture", it seemed a natural choice for me.

Because Pantomime is so visual, I feel it is important for my seminar audience to also experience my talk visually, so I am including a number of film clips and images - and phew, have they taken some time! Because of problems with the video card on my main computer, I was not able to use my normal Pinnacle video editing suite, so ended up editing in Windows Movie Maker on my laptop. Much simpler - and I have been very grateful indeed to be able to use it - better than nothing at all.

I've researched the origins of Panto right back to pagan ritual, and have just learned so much in the whole experience - about video editing and scheduling study as much as the topic in hand. Even if I fall at the first fence as far as my module is concerned, the time will not have been wasted.

I have a few more images to scan and a little more text to add - and then it will be ready to present in a little over a week's time. But for today - I am doing nothing at all to it (that's another thing I am learning on this course - its easy to "max out" on study and neglect other things, like sleeping and gardening and cooking and stuff - doesn't time fly when you are having fun!).

Instead, I will play with Lissie and maybe even give her a bath - now that IS bordering on the reckless, don't you think?

Death In Winchester

High upon the Choir Arcade - can you see the coffin of a Saxon King?

Winchester Cathedral  - 5.30 pm on Saturday last. In just a couple of
hours, the cathedral would be filled with the audience awaiting the
start of the St John Passion - but at this moment, I had the cathedral
virtually to myself, along with about four other people.

The light was dropping, all inside the cavernous interior was in
darkness, except for pools of light which fell upon the honey coloured
stone, together with lights that could be switched on to view ancient
paintings and sculptures for just a few minutes.

In my experience, Winchester has never been a bustling tourist
attraction, in the same way that, say, Westminster Abbey is. But I felt
especially privileged to walk around in solitary silence, passing 14th
century knights and bishops, forever in stony repose upon their tombs -
to walk over 13th century floor tiles, surrounding the site of the
Shrine of St Swithun, within the benevolent, gilded, shimmering view of
the arcade of icons looking down upon the shrine from the back of the
choir.

And just before I left, a glimpse of the 12th century wall paintings in a tiny chapel (The Holy Sepulchre Chapel) not far from the grave of Jane
Austen in the North aisle. Kept in gloom, pressing a time switch illuminated them and brought the decorative vitality, as well as the
acts of devotion of this ancient place of prayer vividly to life.

Only a brief visit, but a special one, part of a special day in the year so far. I was spending the day in Winchester to attend an all day series
of talks and performances as part of the "Art and Mind" festival, organised jointly by the University and the Dana Brain Foundation, an exciting organisation which seeks to bring together and discover the commonalties and differences between brain scientists and creative artists from all fields.

Too much to describe in detail, but I was left with a mind expanding series of questions and challenges after listening to such topics as
"When does life begin and end?" "How the dead help the living  - exploring the death beliefs of nine indigenous peoples", "The Mexican Days of the dead" and "Near-death and out of body  experiences" - and enjoying poetry readings and  stunning drama based on the wonderful book "Intimate Death" by Marie de Hennezel.

I was also privileged to be asked to join for supper my Course Director,
Dr Christina Welch, who had spoken on Indigenous Peoples, Chloe Sayer,
The lecturer who had spoken about Mexico, and Professor June Boyce-
Tillman - a composer of Liturgical music and an authority on Hildegard
of Bingen. Can you imagine how the conversation ranged? - I just kept my
mouth shut (well, most of the time, anyway!) and sat in awe at the sheer
excitement and delight of having access to such interesting thoughts -
knowledge is such a luxury to me now - and the warmth with which this knowledge was shared so willingly by these encouraging women is such an enriching experience.

The evening ended with a screening of a film - "Ivan's xtc", Directed by
Bernard Rose. Low budget, digitally filmed, it is based upon Tolstoy's
story "The death of Ivan Illych" - and dealt, in this interpretation ,
with the glamorous but superficial and  empty life of Ivan, a Hollywood
film agent, and his death from lung cancer. No punches pulled, but in
the end, amidst all the excess, it was the warmth of a human heart,
extended by the touch of a human hand, which had the most impact, and
unlike all the tinsel of Tinsel Town, of incomparable value.

If you ever get the chance, see the film......it is tremendously moving, and vividly confirms the main reason why I chose to take this course of study in the first place, because studying death is really a way of looking at how we live.

Fairytales in the Snow

I've had my first class at Winchester, and feel as if I am taking an almighty leap into the dark. Literally and metaphorically, since I am studying Gothic Horror (and Fairytale), but I am also studying at a level and in a field of which I am unfamiliar, so there is a lot of learning to do in all directions.

I was a bit taken aback to be requested to choose the topic of my final seminar paper for this module on the first night. I have an initial interest in exploring British Pantomime as a  vehicle for fairytale, but other topics have floated through my head since then. I don't have to present until May - so I have plenty of time to think about it.

Only eight people in my class, so there will be plenty of opportunity for discussion. We also have several screenings of different films. Neil Jordan's "Company of Wolves", based on Angela Carter's story, is scheduled for next  Tuesday's class and, just as excitingly, there are numerous other events going on at the University to feed the intellect.

Next week, for instance, I will attend an afternoon research seminar given by Jack Zipes, professor of German at Minnesota University but
more relevantly an acknowledged authority and widely published author on folklore, myth & fairytale. Unfortunately, (I won't be able to catch
another public lecture given by Mick Aston, who has headed up the immensely popular TV archaeology programme "Time Team" here in the UK for the last 15 years - he will be speaking while I am attending class. So many choices, so many riches - what a luxury!

I would not be honest if I did not say that I also find the prospect of the course slightly daunting, both from the aspect of keeping up academically with the work, but also organising the rest of my life around that academic work (at  the momoent, all I want to do is read and research - the washing up and the vacuuming are being neglected). But then, I always knew it would be a challenge - its just that now I am sitting in the middle of that challenge, rather than viewing it from afar!!

To make things even more satisfying, I am holed up here at home, able to reach you all via the Internet, but snowed up outside with the heaviest fall of the white stuff that we have had for many years - isn't it beautiful? Quite like a fairytale, in fact :-).

Better 38 Years Late Than Never!

Finally, 38 years after I was first eligible, I have become a bona fide
University student! I registered this morning for the Master's degree
and have my first class tomorrow evening.

These are just a couple of images of the cathedral at Winchester, where, if I work hard and do everything right, I will attend my graduation
ceremony in three years time.

But before then, a little reading and writing to do, I think :-)

The Busyness of Life

Lots going on - and I feel as if I have been away from this site for a
very long time.

Since the early part of January, life seems to have been a bit of a
roller coaster. The time finally came when it was necessary for my
mother in law to enter a care home, and for her house to be offered for
sale. As a result, there has been the double emotional turmoil of seeing
her settled into her new residence, a very satisfactory facility with
which I am very pleased. She is less so, but it is inevitable that a
towering physical force of a woman (6') with a personality to match,
should find it an imposition to have to live by someone else's routine.

And along with this, the sorting and clearing of her home - which I feel
is an intrusion, (and I am the one making it), for the best and most
necessary of reasons, but nevertheless, it is having to be done. So not
an easy time.

Along with this, I seem to be starting out on another life adventure,
with my final formal acceptance, just this week, onto a Master's degree
course at the University of Winchester. I discovered its existence just
before Christmas, but it has taken until now for the paperwork to be
completed.

It is an MA in the School of Religion, entitled "The Rhetoric and Ritual
of Death" - which sounds gruesome, but in fact covers very many of my
interests and seems absolutely faaascinating!

I am a bereavement counsellor, so the "Pastoral Care of the
Dying and Bereaved" module  will be extremely useful for my work.But as many of you know, I also run therapeutic writing courses, and thefirst module of the course, beginning next Tuesday is actually in theSchool of Film Studies, entitled "Fairytale & Gothic Horror". Since I often use references to Jungian theory (use of archetypes etc) on my writing courses, I am looking forward to gaining a much deeper and broader insight into the field, which I can then incorporate for use in my courses. Added to which, I have always been fascinated in WHY people are drawn to being scared and terrified. I have my own theories - but won't it be fun to find out what other people think?

Other modules in the course cover the "paraphernalia" of death - theories of mourning, funerary monuments, ritual procedures - all of which will tap into the interest I have had for thirty years, in old churches, Monumental inscriptions, the whole story of this part of people's lives and how it is artistically as well as emotionally
expressed.

I will hopefully be able to glean lots of material to bring to the course when I travel in Italy again in April (What an excellent excuse, eh? - as if I needed one). The photographs today are both from my last journey - to Venice - taken in the Church of the Frari.

The course will take three years, I sometimes think I must be crazy to even contemplate it - but the challenge is there, many people have been so affirming in their belief that I can achieve my goal, "Honourable No. 2 son" will have soon left home - what reason is there for me NOT to do this?

Away, now, to more sorting - and awaiting "the man" who is coming to
repair my stove. From the sublime to the mundane - but that is what life
is all about, is it not?

Who Could Be More Fortunate Than Me?

Just over two weeks ago, I was experiencing Venice - still an
effervescent marketplace of the western world, surrounded by art,
architecture, merchandise, activity. This weekend in contrast, I spent
three days surrounded by  glorious autumnal colours and the wild natural
scenery of the Peak District of Derbyshire - mountains, open fields
bounded by dry stone walls, sheep, few people....and peace.

Staying at the Sir William Hotel in the little village of Grindleford
(with the most comfortable hotel bed I have ever slept in!), I was
there to attend a Writer's Workshop on the theme of "Writing Bridges" -
using our own writing in the exploration of conflict and conciliation -
in which we were both challenged and encouraged by Miriam and Kate, our
two facilitators.

Both Kate and Miriam are ex-chairpersons of Lapidus, the organisation I
belong to which promotes the use of writing for health and self
development - and both of them brought great experience of their own
fields to the workshop. Therapist and writer Kate introduced exercises
using the therapeutic journaling tool of "Dialogues" - conversations
between parts of our selves, in order to explore conflicts within our
own roles - and possible ways of resolving them, whilst poet, writer and educator
Miriam introduced ideas and explorations of creatively writing dialogues
that we may use in our own poetry and prose.

After a morning of these exercises in the unusual and tranquil setting
of St Helen's Church, with the glorious colours of the hills all around
us and light filtering through the stained glass window at the east end,
we walked to the Village Pavilion to eat our lunch and spend the
afternoon in longer sessions of writing, during which we were each given
a valuable tutorial session with either Kate or Miriam.

I have experienced Dialoguing in my journal before - it is included in
the "Journal to the Self" workshops that I run, (for which both Kate and I are
registered facilitators in the UK) - but it was the first time that I
had attempted any fictional dialogue writing - at least since I was in
school! I was encouraged to "move outside my comfort zone" - which I did
with trepidation - especially as there were other writers in the group
who were long term creative authors. Daunting!

"Encouragement" was the word that really applied during the day - encouraged to be brave enough to read out my attempt at dialogue, encouraged to think about adjustments that could possibly be made to my writing, but most of all, encouragement to keep doing it!

Thank you, Miriam and Kate - and the other participants of the group - for creating and fostering, within a short space of time, that sense of community, experimentation, respect and safety which existed on Saturday.

As for what I wrote? Well, the 1906 Ladies came with me again - I played with their words as expressed in the journal, I played with their characters, I played with their possible thoughts, beliefs and ways of being, giving me ideas for a book, a play, a film? I notice that the word that appears three times in the previous sentence is "play" - and  that's what I did - and it was both nourishing and fun.

I left with a notebook full of ideas and thoughts for further developments in many different directions, but also memories of an extremely enjoyable and satisfying day in the company of interesting and stimulating women.

Who could be more fortunate than me?

Quenching the Thirst For Knowledge

Absolutely thrilling to attend a lecture this evening by one of the
foremost scientists in the UK, Neurobiologist Professor Susan Greenfield, first woman Director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain and a passionate advocate of the presence of women's voices in scientific investigation.

Her present work at the Templeton Foundation in Oxford "investigates whether science can elucidate the nature of belief and its effects on human
consciousness".

Her lecture tonight, presented at running speed and with
great enthusiasm and passion, considered the neurobiological
foundations of consciousness. It related directly to part of my studies
which is concerned with the phenomenological approach to human
perception and was quite fascinating for throwing light onto a whole
area of understanding with which I am just becoming familiar.

I have grown up in a world where science on one hand, and philosophy, religious
and spiritual beliefs were often on opposite sides of the fence, with
little discourse between the disciplines. Now there is an intelligent
and exiting movement of exploration growing, led by people such as
Professor Greenfield, people who are prepared to say "this phenomenon -
belief, emotion, feeling, etc exists - let us look at it from many different directions, let us bring all our skills and ideas to bear and see if we can understand it more by our sharing of ideas".

It seems natural and logical to me to approach enquiry in a spirit of open mindedness, and this lecture tonight really illuminated the possibilities for the growth of knowledge and understanding that can arise as a result of this ecumenical approach.

Pursuing my Passion

Just received the schedule of the 6th LAPIDUS conference, which I will be attending at the end of the month - and I'm beside myself with
delight at seeing some of the workshops that are on offer - I want to attend every one!

Lapidus is an organisation whose stated aim is that of encouraging
personal development through the literary arts - so the attendees are a stimulating mixture of all shades of poets, writers, and health
professionals, all of whom come together in smaller local groups
throughout the year and annually at this conference.

I first attended last year, when I had the pleasure of meeting Kathleen Adams, Director of the Centre for Journal Therapy in Denver, Colorado. I
am a certified instructor for journal writing workshops based on Kay's
book "Journal to the Self" - so it was a rare treat to meet her in
person last year when she presented the Keynote speech at the
conference. She radiated the same integrity and whole heart living in
real life with which her books and work are imbued.

Along with Kay, I met many other people who were enthused by the same
ideas as myself, of how powerful the written word, sometimes combined
with visual imagery, can be. I have felt the same way when visiting
quilting exhibitions, or visiting the theatre. It is enriching to enjoy
practising any of the arts at home, alone, but oh how much more
stimulating and encouraging it is to meet with others who are similarly
lit with the light of enthusiasm from inside.

How they "get" what you are so exhilarated by, rather than having to
explain it! How their enthusiasm then rubs back off onto you. Wonderful
cross fertilisation! And of course, this goes for any enthusiasm, arts
or sciences (and what folly it is to draw a dividing line between
nowadays - I would rather just celebrate all knowledge).

It was through attending the last conference that I was really struck
with the *power* of poetry that is being written here and now,
especially in live performance. Each evening is given over to an "open
microphone", with the freedom for anyone to get up and perform their own
work - so poets, storytellers and singers are all welcome. It will be a
year or two before I am courageous enough - but if I was tempted this
year there is a workshop on presentation skills for anyone that wants to
do just that.

My own interests lie in the  values of journal/biblio/poetry therapy -
so those are the sessions that I will seek out. But the other half of
the pleasure will be in sitting at mealtimes with total strangers, who
will share their knowledge and not stay strangers for long. I'm looking
forward to meeting some particularly gutsy characters from last year,
and to joining in the circle dance on the last evening. I am enthused
about stretching my imagination and my own boundaries. Oh, the
anticipation is such a delicious part of it all!