Brisons Veor - Bench Ends - Church of St. Winwaloe, Lanteglos-by-Fowey, Cornwall

"We parked at the head of Pont Pil, at Pont and walked up the ancient path which leads from the creek to the church, or ‘lan’. Like many ancient Celtic sites, it sits on raised circular land which would have housed the prayer oratory and living quarters of the monks or hermits who lived here. " www.celticglory.com

From my condo in Los Angeles, digging around the internet I started to get very interested in Cornish Bench Ends.  My first experiment in making designs from them is below.

 Inspiration from the Church of St. Winwaloe, Lanteglos-by-Fowey, Cornwall

Sketch

Carved Block

Experiments

Priest's Cove

Outside of Brisons Veor, the cottage I am staying in is Priest Cove (Cornish: Porth Ust, meaning St Just's Cove) or Priest's Cove.  The name is from the Cornish Porth Ust, the port or cove of St Just, which was shortened to Por’ Ust. The apostrophised name "Priest’s" is a spelling mistake and the site has no connection with the clergy.

This seal was hanging out there.

There are a lot of lobster traps there. But I didn't see anyone selling lobster in Cornwall.

Brisons Veor

I have the amazing opportunity of doing an Artist Residency at Brisons Veor in Cape Cornwall.

Brison comes from the French word brisant which means reef or breaker. The Brisons (in Cornish called Enys Vordardh) are a twin-peaked islet in the Celtic Sea situated 1 mile (1.6 km) offshore from Cape Cornwall in Cornwall, on the south-western coast of Great Britain.

This plaque is in front of the cottage.

This is the back side of the house where we are saying it's a vacation rental called Brisons Vean.

This structure is close by.  I'm not sure what it is.

This house is basically next door. It's huge.

These horses or ponies, I'm not sure which are outside in all kinds of weather.

This a view coming down the hill from St. Just.  It's spectacular.

It's about a 30 minute walk for me into the town, St. Just.  Maybe you can do it faster. 

The town has a cool clock tower.

I was amazed to see these yellow flowers blooming in winter.

I think Sarah said they are called Gorse.  There was a poem mentioned about it in the TV show Cranford I was watching the other night. I don't think we have it in the US or we must call it something else.  

William Buxton:

Have you seen the gorse?

Peggy Bell:

There was not a flower to be had. I should not have plucked it otherwise. The poor twigs look so stark. Miss Matty once told me that there was a saying... "When gorse is out of blossom, then kissing is out of fashion."

William Buxton:

This room is so warm that they mistake the month for spring. And one of them bears a single golden bud.

Brisons Veor - Palettes

“. . . In Cornwall you are in touch with ancient things, and with strange memories, with a people who thoughts and visions are marvelously remote from those of a crowded populace.” P.4 Unknown Cornwall 1925

 I’m on my third day of my artist's residency at Brisons Veor in Cape Cornwall,  England.  I have horrible jet lag and don't seem to be sleeping at all.  Although I'm feeling under the weather I truly want to be productive.

I left the beautiful house on the sea at around 2:15 pm today to take a walk up the hill to the nearby town of St. Just.  I thought maybe if I got moving a bit more I might sleep better tonight.   The colors are so interesting here that I decided to do a few digital palette studies from some of the photos I took on the walk. 

There's palettes are not definitive.  They are just quick studies that could use a lot more refinement.  All the colors and the light is so different from California.  I'm not sure what I will do with these palettes but I thought I should make them. Here they are.

Shells

 These are some shells I did a while back.