A Day in Kent

Last weekend we decided to leave London for the day and head towards the Thames Estuary to discover the Medway. 

There are several circular walks you can do in and around this area. As the point of this mini expedition was to see the sea we made our way to All Hallows by Sea.

An open desolate landscape with a similarity to Dungeness, a power station looming in the background and a carpet of long grasses with a scattering of yellow daisies popping out. 

We began the 4.5 miles walk having to steer clear of two herds of cows along the way.

Here are a few images in memory of our fresh breezy day on the Estuary.

A Day in Dungeness

My day trip to Dungeness a couple of weeks ago with Alie. 
The main aim of the day was to collect clay at low tide from Littlestone beach a few miles down the road. As we had to wait until late afternoon early evening we had a good chunk of the afternoon in Dungeness.

During the hours spent at Dungeness we both began to search for treasures. Flint is easy to come by but the larger more abstract forms were still buried under water as the tide was fairly high.

Littlestone Beach: The concrete cube embedded within the sand tilting upwards immediately caught my attention. I felt as though I had stumbled across a piece of sculpture or land art. The water marks perfectly created a visual divide across the form. 

How long had it been there?
It was too heavy for the incoming tide to wash it away.
With that in mind it then becomes a piece of art. It may change with time, it may move slightly, it transforms from being visible and then disappearing again with each day. Perhaps someone will come along and take it a way one day.

I would have been that person had it not been for travelling by train or at least had the energy to carry it all the back home. 

I hope it remains there for a while for some one else to stumble across.

And finally here are the days findings! 
It's always quite interesting once you return home and take a closer look at what you have collected and in many cases different moods or mind sets can change your focus. 
For some reason I decided that I was going to hone in on black and white (with some grey thrown in there.) I'm particularly pleased with the beautiful white piece of bone. 

We were also successful with the clay…. new tests will be posted soon. 

The Red House

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to take a visit to William Morris's Red House. Having been to Kelmscot Manor several years ago I was intrigued to see this iconic house nestled in the middle of Kent's suburban landscape. 

The Red House in Bexley is William Morris's first house Commissioned by Morris and designed by Philip Webb in 1859. The furniture and other household artefacts were also designed by both some of which are on display inside the house. 

For the past 10years The National Trust has owned it and are working hard to restore it back to it's original vision. 

The garden is going to be slowly changed back to it's Arts and Crafts style as it was originally divided into outside rooms a traditional layout for gardens during this time.  Sissinghurst and Hidcot Manor are prime examples of this particular style.

 There is currently work taking place upstairs as some wall paintings have recently been discovered behind the paintwork. Revealing more of an insight into how these rooms would have been used during this period and Morris's time at the Red House. 

The red brickwork is outstanding and this continues inside throughout the large impressive fireplaces. Made with Rubber Red bricks these low fired bricks were sanded into beautiful soft rounded forms creating a focal point within the rooms. 

The stained glass was designed by and Burne - Jones 

Paintings recently discovered in the rooms upstairs. It has been understood that these rooms were used for studio spaces. Where ideas and designs were developed by painting directly on the surface of the walls. 

This work is in full flow so it's possible to watch this painstaking process taking place during the visit and every member of staff is very excited to talk about the work and the findings that are being uncovered on a daily basis.

Great Dixter Kent

The final trip of the weekend was to the gardens of Great Dixter Christopher Lloyds house and garden known for it's splashes of glorious colour.
This garden was looking fabulous on one of the first hot sunny days for some time now. The colour was spectacular and what I liked which was quite different from other gardens I have visited was the space between the hedging and the plants were very narrow so you found there was a real physicality between yourself and the plants. Like many gardens of this period the space was divided into rooms by hedging, arched walkways and various levels created by steps and brickwork.

The house dates from the 15th century.

Visit to Kent

In a few days time I'm off to Kent to begin gathering some visual research for a possible project next year. Firstly I'm of to explore in and around Romney Marsh beginning with the ancient churches and whilst I'm there I'll also be heading to Derek Jarman's garden in Dungeness. (which is well over due as I've wanted to see this space for some time now)

I'll be posting the images up of my findings next week.