Jules P Richards

We first noticed the Persian Silk Tree when holidaying in Corfu. We also found it widespread in France. Its proper name is Albizia Julibrissin.

To us ‘Brits’ it might seem quite rare and exotic but in other countries it is widely found as an ornamental plant in parks and gardens. It has distinctive vivid pink and white blooms. They’re like feathers or needles and resemble something more akin to a Dr Seuss character than a flower. The fragrant blossoms attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

Its Persian name means “night sleeper”. Its leaves slowly close and bow during the night and during rain. In Japan its name means “sleeping tree”.

I love the idea of a massive vibrant conspicuous tree sleeping.

We liked it so much we’ve put it on the wall.

So another trip to the homeland, and of course this instigates new old things to ruminate on.

While visiting the resting place (and hence archived memories) of my maternal grandparents, we discovered the gardens of Tremenheere a stone’s throw away. After a few hours exploring Tremenheere; combined with a day in a sunlit St Ives the previous day; I found myself, a backslidden Arts postgraduate, again toying with ideas of perception, shape, form and texture etc. It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed thoughts of ‘Art’. The perception of Art can be fickle, subjective, and a culturally complex thing.

Tremenheere reignited thoughts about human constructions, decay, and the nature of life, and time. Thoughts about movement (dance & movement are also archived in my mind; I enjoyed the physical interactive elements of my studies as elemental to exploration of the human condition and artistic expression), movement and how change can make the subject seem exposed and perhaps become vulnerable, fragile, yet stronger and powerful…

The camouflage of routine and ritual can be broken by movement. Growth breaks shapes and makes new marks. As a creative thinker or creative artist, we might have an urge to make marks, create images, reshape noise. In thin places like Tremenheere, and for me Cornwall has many ‘essential’ places, we can to a degree silence some of the saturating noise of our culture and the echoing reverberations of our ever-present infotainment mediums.

The cleansing invigorating properties of art that works, especially when found in thin spaces, can be remarkable. I find that when combined with nature, good art might resound dark-night, bright-light, harmony, melody, discord, and new narratives that might both heal and/or shudder.

However, I return again to the fragile idea that no matter how exciting our creations and constructions, interaction with our natural wild world always surpasses the podiumed or framed human constructions we create. Conversation with the natural world, interaction between our individual creations, combination and respectful sharing of our endeavors perhaps is the god we might celebrate and learn from.

Some thoughts on movement.

And so we moved..

We all move, all day, but when are we really moved?

After 14 years creating habits, routines and rituals we pulled the metaphorical cloth from the table to see what stayed in place. We had a mad half hour in January which turned into moving house in March – Like you do.

Over an exhausting 48hours, with much needed help from Dad & Uncle, we actual put everything that was ‘on the table’ so to speak in to six van-loads and transported it a few miles down the road. We will be putting things back on the table for a few months.

I count this as the 12th house I recall having lived in. Never have I lived in one place more than about 7 years, until the last 14 years that is. After 14 years, the initial rearrangement of a place to inhabit has been a moving event. You suddenly realise that you have built a life around many things, objects, spaces, and as I say, habits, routines and rituals. We take a lot for granted, we do a lot unconsciously, and having to carry on as usual when all the usual things are not in their usual places can be disconcerting

But we rejoice at a new table, hopefully a new altar in the world, a fresh space to grow.

I pray the routines, rituals and habits that might evolve will be good. To quote Deepak Chopra “In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.”
And something more antique from Ovid “All things change, nothing is extinguished.  There is nothing in the whole world which is permanent. Everything flows onward; all things are brought into being with a changing nature; the ages themselves glide by in constant movement.”

More moving for me is I recall my Cornish Nana had a scullery. We now have a scullery… “And you will keep singing as the days go by.”