Beachy Head

Above is a link to my Pecha Kucha. Below are the notes I wrote for it.

2) beachy head is famous for its wavy cliffs and rocky beaches. It’s a perfect location for a picnic and a risky photo near the edge of the cliff

3) it is a large cliff located in Eastbourne right next to Hollywell. It’s recognisable by its large stretches of grassy fields and its massive 162M drop, making it the tallest cliff in England. For my project, I will be focusing on beachy head’s bustling ecosystem.

4) what is so fascinating about this environment is the presence of Rendzina soil which can only support slow-growing plants which makes it perfect for all sorts of herbs and flowers. This one here is a native species called Bastard toadflax.

5) the cliff’s lack of industrial development also makes this site a paradise for all types of birds, reptiles, and mammals. A local favorite is the slowworm which is actually classed as a legless lizard

6) my current idea is to construct a journal to creatively document my personal sightings from the cliff, likely with the use of pen and gauche to capture colour and preserve important detail

7) along with the journal, I thought it would be cool to create one larger-scale drawing for one of each type of my favourite finds including birds, mammals, plants, bugs, and whatever else.

8) my first-hand research will consist of visiting the area each week to nature watch.

9) There is another reason I’ve chosen this type of project which is close to my heart

10) the conservation of wildlife is an essential part of my life and through doing this project, I hope to shed light on how my community can help our local wildlife thrive.

11) Now there’s a chance I could leave it at that, but I feel it would be unauthentic to do a project on beachy head without addressing it’s SUPERnatural history too.

12) the cliff is shrouded in mystery and has plenty of stories of the paranormal, mainstream, and local. Some reports depict the ghosts of young women throwing themselves off the cliff, others talk of the singing monks said to be spotted at the cliffside

13) one of the most famous is “The Black Monk” who is said to lure travelers to a deadly plummet, though the origin of this story is debated.

14) The news of hauntings should come as no surprise, as beachy head is said to be one of the top three suicide spots in the world. Not only that but this spot has been used in four separate historic battles during The Anglo-dutch War, the nine years war, ww1, and ww2

15) The sight was also been a part of more mainstream media and was featured in an album from the Throbbing Gristles in which this cliff is depicted in an eerie ambiance, complimented by the soft sounds of the waters below

16) in less mainstream news, Beachy Head has been home to several UFO sightings, one of which I remember clearly to this day. Whilst there isn’t as much information available covering this aspect of the cliff’s history, I can rely on local accounts.

17) even more, I theorise that the sight is a likely candidate to run on a ley line, given its historical significance. If this is true, I can work with ancient dowsing methods in order to find it.

18) A sight, in particular, I’m going to investigate is this intriguing chalky circle in the cliff’s fields. Phenomena like this are usually great places to find leylines and other strange activities.

19) all my findings will also be featured in my journal, included as a part of this site’s documentation

It is important to note that I ended up changing the theme for the self-directed project afterward due to safety risks.

Welcome to this year’s personal project titled living art. In this project, I intend to change the stigma surrounding native wildlife like wildflowers, mosses, and other wild plants. These beneficial plants are often considered weeds and overlooked for more “elegant” plants like rhododendrons and ornamental grasses. Because of this, Britain has an overwhelmingly high number of invasive species that take over the environment and kill native wildlife supporting the local ecosystem. In order to convince people of the beauty of native wildlife, I intend on harnessing their hidden beauty in the form of a living sculpture in my personal allotment of which also acts as a home for all sorts of beneficial insects and animals. By doing this, I hope to encourage my local community to do the same and consider using native plants in their own allotments.

As part of my research this week, I created a reference of most of the invasive plants in the UK and another of the few main invasive insects. This will help me avoid using potentially counterintuitive plants in my final sculpture. I could also create a list for the locals’ reference potentially.

As another part of my research, I created a small paludarium with some local wild plants to see how they’d get on in a foreign environment and to experiment with using plants artistically. I’d say I’ve created quite a cute little world.

In another part of my research, I’ve been using an app called INaturalist to identify local plants so that I can gain an understanding of their favourite environmental conditions. This will be helpful in deciding where they would thrive best on a sculpture.

After a 1 on 1 tutorial with Jeremy, I created a list of stuff to research related to this project to see how I can expand on it.

On another note, I’ve been exploring ways of using plants in my allotment. Ivy is probably one of the least appreciated wild plant in our community as it’s associated with strangling crops and other plants and being generally unruly. However, I really like how the long growths can be intertwined together to create little rope decorations like those above. I’ll be monitoring these over the next few weeks to see if they maintain their vitality whilst suspended in the air.

Something I’ve had the idea to do is interview plot owners in the allotment and get their opinions on wild plants.

Since my last post, the idea for the project has changed a bit and now I’m going down the informative route. The aim of the project is now to generally represent the Sussex coast. My current idea is to create some sort of map of what you’d find in a Sussex rockpool but I still wish to create some mystical elements like faces hiding in the sand or spirits in the water. The idea isn’t set in stone yet but for now, I’m just experimenting with different materials to see which ones might be good to use.

I’ve already crossed embroidery and woodwork off the list since it takes far too long to create just a small patch of detail.

I’ve also dabbled in the world of clay and here were my results:

I tried out terracotta, an air-dry clay reinforced with nylon called “Newclay”, and epoxy putty. I didn’t bother with oven baked clay since the chances are, I’ll be making quite a large final piece and would rather not get clay in my mum’s oven.

I tried out the terracotta first and found it perfect for modelling detailed sculptures such as this model of a beadlet anemone. It was slightly difficult to get the small pieces completely smooth but they held up well and weren’t very brittle.

I tried out the general modelling clay next and found it far too brittle for detailed sculpting but it was very soft to work with and smooths out nicely on a larger scale. I imagine it would work well for large sculptures.

The epoxy putty was quite difficult to mould but was the least brittle out of my options, not requiring any water to keep it elastic. Strangely enough, it becomes too bendable on a small scale and will morph out of shape before it dries. It has an adhesive quality to it which might make it good for something but it’s too hard and too expensive for large-scale sculpting.

I created this horrible material after mixing my two modelling clays together. It’s stiff, brittle, and cracks easily. Upside? It makes for some very realistic turds.

Going back to this image, I used some dirt to add texture and see what it did to the materials. The epoxy putty remained virtually indifferent, the mixed clay turned into coprolite, the general modelling clay actually became more malleable, and the terracotta just became slightly more brittle. I could potentially use the general modelling clay for textured terrain.

The general modelling clay was great for carving into and seems to dry faster than the terracotta. The terracotta seemed trickier to work with but this could be the result of it not being completely dry. I didn’t attempt to carve the epoxy as it’s potentially toxic.

I’ve decided to go with an oceanic theme for the foundation of my personal project. My ideas for the final piece are early in the making but I want it to feel mystical, spiritual, awe-inspiring, and generally represent reconnecting with nature as a whole. Like a return to origin.

On the 9th of January, the university took us on a day trip up to London to visit the V&A  and other local galleries/museums. I used this opportunity to gather some firsthand research into older methods of working with materials and the ocean’s natural history. I’m exploring the history of crafts because observing how items were made in the days of old could inspire ways of working with my chosen materials without the use of modern machinery. From doing similar projects in the past, I’ve found that making objects solely by hand with natural materials can really help you bond with nature. It feels like mother nature herself is teaching you how to plait her hair. It’s an extra layer of depth that I think will add more soul to my project.

The following are the photos I took from my trip to the V&A:

Current craft methods and materials come to mind:

embroidery

weaving

finger crochet

natural clay

beach materials (Shells, rocks, sand, driftwood, etc)

Found objects (Beads, ribbons, anything you’d find lying on the beach or behind your bed)

^Why? Adds colour and texture, encourages creative recycling, and many believe small decorative objects found by chance are presents from spirits (they also attract the interest of intelligent birds like corvids)

mixed media