Vidya’s Blog

Yes, that’s me, the visual artist. I have actually done my fair share of writing in recent years, mainly by way of a personal journal but also the odd piece of poetry or prose for limited consumption. I ventured off for the workshop I mention here on saturday and spent a somewhat damp but worthwhile day taking field notes in the grounds of Northcourt, a manor house nestling below the Downs in an enchanting and historical location. The writing was interspersed with yoga exercises and a bit of singing and dance to connect with nature.

 I was actually able to see the world from both an artist’s eye but also merging that with the scientific as I tried to follow the brief for writing through objective observation . I feel the need to inflict a little snippet of writing on my readers. After all that’s what bloggers do! To set the scene we are at the final stopping point around the grounds with the rain beginning to set in:

‘The rising dampness of the slope takes us to the ’storm beech’, a monolith standing erect  against the cold grey sky. At its side an angry anvil of branches has been brought down under their own weight. Rhododendron encroaches with its saturated green leaves and buds firm as bullets. Yew and Pine are also close enough by to provide an evergreen screen to frame the view. Moss has replaced grass under foot and the air is suffused with  earthiness and wild garlic, melded together and lingering on the air downslope as we wind our way back to the house. On the doorstep are the ever faithful stone lions, sentinel, moss-ridden and enduring all weathers in order to see our return.’