Science Group of the Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain Newsletter – September 2012 Contents figure-of-eight flow pattern would arise, thus discovering the Flowform principle, which would become the focal point of his further work and research. John Wilkes installed his first John Wilkes (1930-2011) .............................................................1 News..................................................................................................2 Flowform cascade in Järna (1971) commissioned by Arne Article: Mineral water quality...........................................................2 Klingborg. Meetings............................................................................................5 The sculptural work with Flowform designs found its reflec- Reviews.............................................................................................5 tion in the sculpture courses. He travelled to many countries of Publications.......................................................................................7 the world, held classes or gave lectures, installed cascades and Membership, next issue....................................................................7 worked with many people developing understanding of the life supporting qualities of water. Since the development of the Flowform method, there have Obituaries been more than 5000 installations and projects in about 50 countries. Flowform designs exist as artistic works, but are John Wilkes (1930-2011) also used in a wide variety of applications, including: John Wilkes was born in 1930 in Tettenhall near Wolver- - Biological wastewater treatment systems; using Flowform hampton, three and a half years after his sister Gwyneth, and cascades in combination with reed-beds and lagoons. began his schooling at Tettenhall College, a small public - Dairy farms treat their daily effluent with Flowform cas- boarding school. A dreamy child in his early years, the deci- cades; transforming waste into an organic liquid fertilizer, sion that he should repeat a year gave him a big shock, and sometimes in combination with biodynamic compost prepara- became a decisive moment for his future. From then on he was tion. top of his class and later became a prefect. His focus was in - Drinking water and food processing, such as the production science, but a change came in 1946 when a new specialist art of grain milk or for baking bread. teacher arrived in the school and John became increasingly Further projects include tap water and pond treatment, as interested in the arts, with pottery his next passion. This well as homoeopathic, medicinal, therapeutic and educational change set him on the road to his eventual profession. applications. In 1948 admission directly into the second year of the Tet- All his life John Wilkes lived with fundamental question re- tenhall Art College to study sculpture, was followed by ac- garding water: ceptance into the Royal College of Art in London. - How can water be used in order to be able to support life? It was towards the end of his time in Wolverhampton, that he - How can we preserve the home of the elemental beings? had his first contact with Anthroposophy when he attended a - And does water not have a function as the ‘blood of the course at Attingham Park and met Sir George Trevelyan and earth’? Dr. Ernst Lehrs, who was about to publish his book ‘Man or His work was penetrated by anthroposophy and projective Matter’. geometry. He was stimulated by the understanding of mor- National Service now intervened, transferred to the Royal phology and by the observation and contemplation of move- Signals Corps, he spent his service time in Austria. ment. His vitality and energy he received from his family, who On his return John followed parallel studies: that of the always supported him and enabled his work to become mani- Royal College and also of Anthroposophy. He met George fest. Adams for the first time in 1953, and initial questions relating Having lived with a heart condition for many years, it be- came critical during a visit to Dornach for Rudolf Steiner’s to his thesis, entitled ‘The living Nature of Form’, led to in- th struction in aspects of modern Projective Geometry. 150 birthday. “I need to move forward.” John Wilkes spoke Upon graduation he was immediately asked to join Bromley these words before the operation. The heart operation went College of Art to teach stone carving two days a week. well, however a subsequent inner bleeding could not be ar- John met the eurythmist Alfhild Hammerstaedt in 1958 and rested. John Wilkes crossed the threshold during the night towards offered as a hopeful young man to make a portrait of her! They th got married in 1962 and had two children, Johanna and Tho- 27 March 2011. mas. The spreading out of the Flowform method all around the Through the acquaintance with George Adams, John Wilkes world appears to be a reflection of John Wilkes´ outgoing started to collaborate with Theodor Schwenk in the newly qualities, enthusiasm and kindness, his capacities of meeting founded Institute for Flow Sciences in Herrischried, Germany. people with all imaginable backgrounds, with whom he would His task became the implementation of the path curve sur- share his deep insights, his joy and inspiration. faces, developed theoretically by George Adams. For anyone who has experienced John Wilkes´ classes and And in 1965, John Wilkes took on the sculpture courses at lectures, it is unforgettable how with deep enthusiasm, joy and both Emerson College and the Rudolf Steiner Seminar in Järna humour he shared his ideas and insights. He always found an (Sweden). A time of travelling between England, Sweden and inspiring word of encouragement to become more open to the Switzerland began. phenomena around us and to deepen our capacities of obser- In the beginning of 1970, Theodor Schwenk asked him to vation. come back to Herrischried. Although there was no immediate Taking part in his courses on water and rhythms in nature, task, John Wilkes wanted to work on the subject of resistance was a deeply impressive, aesthetic and harmonizing experi- in streaming water and the resulting rhythms. During these ence. John Wilkes’ life’s work and impulses certainly helped experiments, he found that by creating a certain resistance to in creating a deeper awareness of the life-giving substance the water flow in a vessel with defined proportions, a pulsing water and its presence in a rhythmical context, enabling it to 13 (Winter 2011/2012), published in English, an unnamed become capable of supporting life in so many ways. person, presumably Paul Emberson, wrote a robust 5-page Thomas Wilkes and Jochen Schwuchow response to Feiten's critique. Anthro-Tech News can be ob- Bibliography (see also 'Healing Water Foundation' item opposite) tained from Anthro-Tech News, CH-1669 Les Sciernes- John Wilkes (2003) Flowforms - The Rhythmic d'Albeuve, Switzerland. Full details of recent issues of Jupiter Power of Water, Floris Books can be found in the Publications section of this newsletter. Jochen Schwuchow, John Wilkes, Iain Trousdell (2010) Ener- gizing Water — Flowform Technology and the Power of Na- Healing Water Foundation ture, Sophia Books, Forest Row Now a small dedicated group are working to carry on John Website: http://www.flowform.net Wilkes' legacy. Ian Trousdell, Director of the Foundation, is working with Deborah Watts and Louise Coe who are sup- ported by a group of Trustees that include John’s son, Thomas News Wilkes. Paul Van Dijk, the sculptor, is closely involved as a visiting course teacher from Holland. Since the last issue of this Newsletter we have been informed We are embarking on a four year development plan of of the deaths of members Henry Goulden (27 March 2012) steady growth that will see the realisation of the aims at the and Ron Jarman (12 August 2012). heart of the Foundation and its founder. Our vision is to share John Wilkes’ insights into water and ways of working with Rudolf Steiner on technology nature to help water continue to support life worldwide. In the December 2010 issue of the journal Jupiter published The first step in this new phase is to raise £145,000, to se- by the Section for Mathematics and Astronomy at the cure ownership of the building at Emerson College, opened by Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland appeared a 67-page re- John in 2001, and an acre of useful land around it; and to pro- view by Linus Feiten examining what Paul Emberson has re- vide core funding to secure the staff and running costs for the cently published on the theme of modern technology. From the first phase of this new development. We have so far achieved abstract of the English translation of the review we read that: £69,500. It is intended neither as a polemic, nor as an attempt to re- We feel confident that our dedicated team can continue the fute or falsify his comments. We are fully aware that Paul work of the Healing Water Foundation, and share John Emberson and his colleagues have worked on this theme for Wilkes’ understanding of the creative secrets of water with the many years, and thus know the relevant literature. Instead, world. this review aims to enable readers to gain an initial thor- If you want to know more about the work of the Foundation ough overview of the theme. In addition, we shall not hide or make a donation, please email us at admin (at) healing- the fact that, after several months of study in the Mathe- water.org or call us on (+44) 1342 827965." matical-Astronomical Section at the Goetheanum of Paul Ian Trousdell, Director, on behalf of the Healing Water Emberson’s statements, we cannot go along with some of Foundation, Pixton Hill, Hartfield Road, Forest Row East Sus- the points he makes. Furthermore, after attempting to corre- sex RH18 5JA. www.healing-water.org spond with him and visit him personally, these unresolved questions still await clarification. The impression remains that in order to be able to follow Paul Emberson on all Article points, one has, in a certain sense, to recognise him as an authority.