Paintings emerging

At last, some paintings have emerged from the chalk pit project! Two are of the chalk itself, one of the cliffs - if somewhat highly coloured! The latter done at a workshop with Stephen Foster, but with the chalk pit in mind.
What next? Making something of the objects, perhaps, or more landscape/textured ones.

Second visit

Today (March 4th) I went back to the chalk pit with Anne. a beautiful afternoon if chilly. The chalk was wetter and more slippery, so we climbed with great care up and down! Anne got words and images down in her note book. I photographed rubbish and looked for paper things to collage - but only cans and plastic had survived. Idid wonder what the history was of the 3 pairs of men's pants lying around there!

My camera battery was failing so I drew the chalk face on black paper with chalk from the quarry and some charcoal. Very interesting to have to look more closely. Then I drew some pussy willow from the tree with the plastic bottle 'growing' from one of its branches.

I am ready to attempt some painting now, having tied out s technique with turps on white paint which may work.

More drawings and objects

This should have been updated before now, but life got in the way. I broke my mangle trying to get enough pressure for some drypoint prints. Not irretrievable but requires Mike's help to mend it. Meanwhile drew a scene again and today drew my 'objects'. I used actual chalk for most of the white bits. (Drawing above photo, if not immediately apparent!)

Soon when the day and the weather are in synch I will go and do a recce of the rubbish and see if any could be collaged into a painting.

Drawing

Yesterday I began to make work using my photos and sketch. First I made a large (A1 ish) charcoal drawing - great fun as the mark on the gessoed paper (with 'tooth' for those who don't know about gesso) were like marks on chalk. Had to re-design it a bit as 2 comments at our Art for All class told me it was aligned down the centre. Drat! Why don't I see these things for myself?? Drawing is here.

Next did a small drypoint on acetate which I will print up. Today I am going to London on 'granny duty' but will also go and get some new printing inks.

Next step

Well - so far all the progress has been either in my head or by experiment. I have got my mangle (pringing press) up and running and done a trial drypoint print from another plate. It was a wonderful feeling to run my print through again. The mangle has been under wraps for ages.

Today I printed a contact sheet of all my photos and will enlarge some and decide what to start on with paintings, drawings and prints.

I have also enlisted a writer to collaborate with me - Anne Long. We have a date to go to the pit next week and she can see what attracts her in it.

Watch this space. Maybe we will enlist others too. Any offers?

Information

WEST HARNHAM CHALK PIT

OS Grid Reference: SU128288

Introduction

The abandoned West Harnham Chalk Pit is located on the south side of the River Nadder on the south-western outskirts of Salisbury (Figure 3.43), with fine views to the north-east of Salisbury Cathedral (Figure 3.44). West Harnham Chalk Pit is the only remaining quarry of a pair of quarries (East and West Harnham) on Harnham Hill, which exposed the higher part of

the Lower Campanian Offaster pilula and basal Gonioteuthis quadrata zones. These quarries, particularly East Harnham, were the source of large numbers of fossils in the collection of the local amateur geologist, Dr H.P. Blackmore, which are now in the Natural History Museum, London. West Harnham Chalk Pit is also one of the few in the western part of the region to expose the Lower Campanian Newhaven Chalk Formation and the basal beds of the overlying Culver Chalk Formation. It serves to confirm the stratigraphical continuity of many of the lithological marker beds recognized in the type sections of these two formations.

Figure 3.43: The position of West Harnham Chalk Pit on the south-western outskirts of Salisbury and correlative sections at East Grimstead Quarry, Dean Hill and Pepperbox Quarry, Wiltshire.

Gleanings

I found 2 beautiful leaves lying in the chalk. Here they are together with my sketch. Tomorrow I will photograph the wood and stones.

The project begins

This is the first day of this project. I was fascinated by the West Harnham Chalk Pit the first time I wentthere. It is like a mini landscape in itself, with hills, cliffs, tracks and many plants, trees and birds. Lumps of chalk and flint lie about in heaps, a bit like unmelted snow. Maybe it is because of the similarity to snow that the whiteness draws me. I have always been intrigued by white paintings.

Looking it up on the internet this morning I found that it is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) for the different chalk layers in it and the amazing collection of fossils found when quarrying it which are now in the National History Museum.

So this afternoon, in beautiful sunshine, Mike and I walked to the chalk pit along the Harnham road. It took about 20 minutes to get there. I was glad to have Mike with me as the path up to the pit was a bit lonely. We only saw a man with a dog and 2 young men, one on crutches which did not seem to disable him from climbing to the top.

I took lots of photos, did one sketch and staggered home with a huge lump of chalk, one of flint and a piece of burnt wood. The 'M' in the photo was drawn in my blood having cut my finger slightly on a sharp sliver of chalk. The pit was warning me to take it seriously!!

The plan is to use these to make art works - prints, drawings, paintings and possibly a 3d piece.