Update 3 - Addition to Learning Agreement 5. May 2021
Back in the Workshop I have been working on my “testing trees” using slip and sgraffito on bisque fired, dry and leather hard pieces. The...
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mnearney
May 15, 20212 min read
Mid-Project Presentation, May 2021
My initial thoughts and inspiration remain in the natural world, trees and woods, silver birches in particular and the cycle of growth,...
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mnearney
Apr 12, 20211 min read
Update 2 - Addition to Learning Agreement 5. April 2021
During our interruption to study which began in Mid-December I have been unable to work with clay at home due to repairs on my...
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mnearney
Apr 4, 20212 min read
Learning Agreement Update 1 - Making a Start
There has not been much making going on recently in my little studio: the roof has been leaking onto the electrics in there and there is...
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mnearney
Apr 1, 20217 min read
Does Size Really Matter? Contemporary Tree and Wood Sculptors
“damp and dry burnt and buried wood is given we did not make it in air it cracks in fire it burns in water it floats in earth returns”...
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mnearney
Mar 3, 20214 min read
Trees in Art – Constable, Mostyn and Nash
Growing up with Constable When we were growing up, “The Hay Wain” took pride of place above the fireplace in our front room. My mother...
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mnearney
Feb 19, 20214 min read
The Ojibwa Birch Bark Canoes
When the Europeans arrived in North America, they brought with them ocean-going ships, firearms, metal technologies and many more modern...
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mnearney
Feb 16, 20214 min read
The Importance of Reading in the Early Years and Beyond – Trees Personified in Children’s Literature
We were fortunate to have a mother who believed in the power of the printed word. A talented scholar, she had to leave school at twelve...
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mnearney
Feb 15, 20212 min read
Meeting Merlin
I lived in Newcastle upon Tyne for several years and during that time I witnessed the building of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art....
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mnearney
Jan 31, 20212 min read
Twin Oaks in the Hedgerows
My husband Alex is a folk musician. A few years ago, a contemporary of his, Martin Simpson, played a hauntingly sad song that he had...
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mnearney
Jan 28, 20211 min read
P.S. to Towneley’s Ancient Oak Blog
Steven Davis is a retired ecologist and conservationist. His interests lie in the dynamic ecological processes of growth, decline and...
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mnearney
Jan 20, 20211 min read
Towneley's Ancient Oak
According to the Domesday Book, woodlands in this area of the Pennines were predominantly used as pasture, open and unenclosed. Although...
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mnearney
Jan 12, 20212 min read
Lungs of the Earth – The Critical Connection Between Humans and Trees
My son and his family live near Bristol and I usually visit them several times a year when we often spend time amongst the glorious trees...
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mnearney
Jan 10, 20215 min read
Learning Agreement 5 - January 2021
Outline of Project During the last semester I found a clearer direction in my work. Having spent a great deal of time immersed in...
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mnearney
Jan 4, 20212 min read
Biting the Bullet
I have finally bitten the bullet and started sketching in earnest and with more confidence. A little late in the day perhaps but if like...
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mnearney
Dec 29, 20201 min read
Changes, Changes, in the Woods and in the Weather
On my walk today, a muddy one given the recent heavy rain, I approached “my” spot in the woods where the decaying birch trunk lies. To my...
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mnearney
Dec 27, 20202 min read
Seasonal Changes in The Living Forest
The Seasonal Cycle – Shedding and Resting, Autumn to Winter. Many of us find autumn to winter a depressing time, not least because of the...
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mnearney
Dec 23, 20203 min read
Perceptions of Forests – Into the Woods
Looking at Klimt’s series of paintings of birches and birch forests makes me think that perhaps the rich heritage of folklore based...
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mnearney
Dec 12, 20204 min read
Birches
Inspiration My inspiration remains the Towneley woodland and the silver birches on the overgrown land of my grandfather’s smallholding....
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mnearney
Nov 29, 20201 min read
End of Semester
Tree forms are ready for bisque firing - slab built using ES40 clay with added organic material. Test pieces with oxides, manganese...
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