AN ILLUSTRATED RECORD BETWEEN SILENCE AND LIGHT AN ARTS INTERVENTION FOCUSING ON CULTURE, HEALTH AND WELLBEING IN SOUTH WEST CUMBRIA From: MONDAY 05.07.2019 To: TUESDAY 31.08.2020 Contents Introduction 1 Part Four: Between Silence and Light Exhibition 23 Part One: Learning the craft of stone carving 1. Stone carving: Irene Rogan 25 Stone carving tuition (Introduction) 3 2. Photography: Jem Freiesleben 29 Stone carving tuition (Progression) 4 3. Stone carving by workshop participants 32 Part Two: Slate Standing Stones 4. Spoken word event including poetry 33 No 1. RSPB Hodbarrow, Haverigg 7 Part Five: additional community activities No 2. Millom 10 1. Cinecaravan: storytelling film workshops 34 No 3. The Green and Hallthwaites 13 2. Gleam 1 art competition Millom residents 38 Part Three: Stone carving workshops Acknowledgements 41 1. Millom 17 2. The Green and Thwaites 19 3. Silecroft 21 PREPARED BY IRENE ROGAN 2021 art in the wild and on your doorstep 1 Introduction Between Silence and the Light represents the most recent stage in the professional development of artist Irene Rogan. Specifically, this project provided the opportunity to explore working with a new medium: stone. Working alongside experienced stone carvers this project gradually afforded Irene the opportunity to evolve her practice introducing more conceptual elements to the stone carving process. In addition, the new project pursued what has been an ongoing commitment to community engagement and developing new audiences for the arts. The impetus to develop Between Silence and Light was derived from an exploratory initiative piloted in 2018. The Making of a Cultural Landscape (Moving Mountains Art 2018) was based in Millom (South West Cumbria) and received funding from Arts Council England alongside generous local support (both financial and in-kind). This initial project provided opportunities for members of the local community to explore wide ranging creative activities typically within a workshop environment and led by an experienced professional artist. The :Sunken Kirk . Photo: Jem Freiesleben workshops, aimed at people of all ages and abilities, included mosaic making, engineering, walks and storytelling, photography and film. The feedback from these sometimes challenging activities suggested a need for more extensive regional arts provision, in particular within small rural communities. Between Silence and Light, was devised to build upon Moving Mountains 2018 and to stimulate individual and group participation in more focused creative arts activities. Drawing participants from within the communities located along the West Cumbrian coast emphasis was placed on examining ideas relating to a sense of place. Workshops were designed to encourage members to explore ideas of her/his relationship to the surrounding landscape alongside a sense of belonging and rootedness. However, it was important for workshop activities to be seen as informing a bigger outcome, for participants to be contributing to something beyond the immediate workshop environment. Research indicated that West Cumbria is an area in which ancient standing stones and stone circles form a significant part of landscape character. These 1 It was proposed that Between Silence and Light would lead to the creation of three new standing stones (each to be over two meters in height) thus engendering a sense of continuity. However, the new stones were, unlike their predecessors, not going to be simply monumental it was decided that they should also contain a narrative element. The stones were to be carved with images specific to the site in which they were to be located. Stone sculptor Danny Clahane was engaged to act as adviser; providing tuition, leading workshops and contributing to the carving of the new stones. In addition, Jem Freiesleben was engaged as project photographer, documenting work as it progressed and providing an exhibition in which the new stones and workshop projects were set in juxtaposition to large scale images of the more significant local stone circles. With special thanks to: Millom Town Council for support, Burlington slate for donating the stone and Beckside Farm (Whicham) for providing temporary workshop facilities. Stone carving space at Beckside Farm, Whicham with slte stones selected for carving and creating the standing stones.. Photo: Irene Rogan 2 Part One - Learning the craft of stone carving 1. Stone Carving Tuition (Introduction) Shawn Williamson stone sculptor and Irene Rogan during the first day of stone carving tuition at Gordon Greaves Slate Ltd, Windermere Below: Irene’s work bench for tuition first stage. Photo Gordon Greaves. The first phase of stone carving tuition focussed on slate, understanding the different types, properties and tonal qualities. Secondly to become familiar with the tools and the skills required in order to use them. This led to producing early designs for carving a surface relief in order to explore possible light and texture 3 2. Stone Carving Tuition (Progression) Burlington Slate Ltd, Kirkby in Furness. Photo Irene Rogan Burlington Slate Ltd , Kirkby in Furness who offered a generous donation of slate stone for the standing stones project. Danny Clahane, stone sculptor accompanied artist Irene Rogan to the quarry, to advise on selecting slate stones for the project each stone up to 2.5 metres height and weighing up to 500 kilograms each. 4 Photos: Danny Clahane Photos: Irene Rogan In this phase it was possible to move on to learning how to use traditional techniques for splitting larger pieces of stone, prepare the surface and finally begin to apply low relief work; see early designs for bees to be applied to later standing stone. 5 Photos: Irene Rogan Danny Clahane and Irene Rogan ‘dressing’ the slate stone in preparation for design developments and a demonstration of stone cutting slate stone with an electric cutter. 6 Part Two: Slate Standing Stones No 1. RSPB Hodbarrow Hodbarrow, once the site of Millom's industrial heritage, was selected as the location for the first standing stone. The former ironworks is now a nature reserve managed by the RSPB. Illustrations applied to the surface of the stone reflect the changing importance of the location for the local people from industry to recreation. In addition the stone contains words written by the Millom poet Norman Nicholson. View from RSPB Hodbarrow overlooking nearby Lake District mountains. Hodbarrow is now a site of considerable biodiversity including Orchids, Natterjack Toads and Sandwich Terns, a rare species now regularly breeding here . Irene’s design development for the slate stone based on the Tern. 7 Robert delivering the RSPB Hodbarrow stone. Photo Jonathan Powell BBC Radio Cumbria Neil Smith. Photo Irene Rogan The installation of the RSPB stone with Robert Morris-Eyton delivering the two stones, main sculpture and the plinth. The site is a difficult to negotiate around the sea wall to the location, with the old in windmill to the front the old stone lighthouse to the rear, Cumbrian mountains to the left and Lagoon now a key RSPB conservation area to the right. Shortly after this, BBC Radio Cumbria Neil Smith visited and Robert installing the RSPB Stone. Photo: Jem Freiesleben interviewed Irene Rogan on site. 8 RSPB Hodbarrow Stone Photo: Karen Jackson Smith RSPB Hodbarrow, carved slate stone, 195cm x 50cm x 90cm, poetic words, and a ’hidden’ bee motif symbolising concerns with the environment. Standing stone, ‘ With breath of life, now land revived, the birds cry alive, alive’ Anon. Plinth, ‘Wings bright in the air, the sun spinning there, the wind in my hair.’ from ‘Across the Estuary’ by nationally acclaimed poet Norman Nicholson, Collected Poems, Faber and Faber. 9 2. Millom Robert carefully moving the Millom Stone into the work space . Danny and Irene working on the Millom sone . Photos Irene Rogan Robert Morris-Eyton moving the Millom Stone into the temporary workspace at Beckside Farm, Whicham Valley, Danny Clahane letter carving. Irene Rogan testing her newly acquired carving skills on the Millom Stone. 10 Design development images of iron-ore infused sand, molecular structure of iron designs and Giant’s Grave standing stones. Photos: Irene Rogan. Top right Millom Ironworks Archive Inspiration came from the Iron Ore infused sand found in on local shores and Millom Ironworks (shown in the archive photo) became RSPB Hodbarrow some years after it was closed down. The molecular model of Iron is referenced in the design development. Giants Grave, Kirksanton, pictured, is one of the many ancient standing stones and circles in the area, influencing Irene’s designs for the Millom stone. 11 Formal Handing over of the Millom stone. Photos: Penny Moreton local photographer The formal handing over of the MIllom stone to Millom Town Council. Pictured: Angela Dixon, Mayor of Millom, Robert Moris-Eyton, Bexkside Farm, Whicham who generously provided space for the temporary workshop and (in front of the stone) artist Irene Rogan. The stone has poetic words ‘’Hidden Earth, Red Rock Ore, Iron Beneath Our Feet’ anon. The side panel with the words: ’And Red As Haematite’ by Norman Nicholson a poet many works deal extensively with the Ironworks and the aftermath of the closure as well the local natural and built environment. 12 3. The Green The Green and Thwaites Felll. Photos Irene Rogan Irene’s research involved a process incorporating a search for the source of Black Beck on nearby fells. The beck runs through the centre of the Green before finding its way into the Duddon Estuary. The Green with the memorial tree in front of the well-known Punch Bowl Inn visited by Wordsworth, them memorial tree and 2020 being International Year of Trees and Forests informs the designs. 13 INVITATION Come to the Punchbowl Inn, The Green on Thursday 5th March 6-7pm as Irene presents her ideas for the slate standing stone All welcome ! Consultation for the standing stone for the Green covered meetings with the Parish Councillors of Millom Without Parish and The Hill Village Hall residents committee, South Copeland Partnership, as well as a presentation at the Punch bowl Inn at The Green.