HALLO DAVID

MATT STALKER: Self-Directed Residency, 2016

 Everything is slower here. In these crannies of the mountains, the mode of supplying elemental needs is still slow, laborious, personal… There is a deep pervasive satisfaction in these simple acts. Whether you give it conscious thought or not, you are touching life, and something within you knows it.”  Nan Shepherd, ‘The Living Mountain’

 

Inshriach Bothy

The walk from the wood store to the axe’s haggar at the chopping block; the careful assembly of a rickle of broken fingers of kindling atop the reeshle of crushed newspaper, brought to fragile life by the flame of a single match, nursed until grown-up into a blaze enough to raise the rationed water from cold, to warm, to boiling. And then its almost ecclesiastical ministry to the coffee grounds, followed by the rich smoky smell, steam rolling over itself in ascension, the heat on the lips and tongue as the cup is drawn to the mouth, and then — finally — the taste.

Everything is slower here. And gratitude comes easily.

 

Glossary (with thanks to Nan)
Haggarclumsy hacking
Ricklea structure put loosely together, loose heap
Reeshlerustle

RIdley_BothyTable

  Ridley_LochSunset

There must be many exciting properties of matter that we cannot know because we have no way to know them. Yet, with what we have, what wealth!

Nan Shepherd, ‘The Living Mountain’

Loch an Eilein

Such quality of light I have seldom seen. The Sun dropping behind the Cairngorms casts colours across the sky that bring to mind peaches, gold bullion, candy floss, the aphrodisiac neon of the urban — things that have no place here amidst the timeless Scottish hues of brown earth, of white frost, of mustard yellow and mauve heather.

Standing at the edge of a loch standing like glass, reflection is a natural process. The mind is drawn into reverential silence. Sentinels of the water, we stand as quiet as the venerable Scots Firs rising up from the earth around us. We don’t speak. To utter a sound now is to heave a rock into the stillness, disturbing the way things are: just as they are.

At the far side of the water, the slightest of breezes ripples the surface, trembling the Rorschach reflections of the forest. Its fringes become animated — pixelated, deconstructed, forms dissolving in skittering morse code dashes and dots.

Time doesn’t mean anything here. Each moment extends out fluidly, soundlessly, peacefully, magically.

LISA BECKERS & MARLOES MEIJBURG: Self-Directed Residency, 2015

TIME EXPERIENCE: No clock…no forced Greenwich Time…but inner time experience which gave me concentration, enthusiasm and lucidity.

CHILDHOOD: Exploring the land, playing with soil, plants and light. Freedom, no boundaries, no property. Spending time as a kid.

PIGMENTS: Seize colours from the ground, catch them on camera, collect stones, plants and moss. In search for natural colors, deep and pure.

Marloes Meijburg

Meijburg-Beckers_Lisa and Marloes Bothy


                                       www.lisabeckers.nl / www.marloesmeijburg.com


Meijburg-Beckers_Moonlight


I’m standing in the night. The Moon is shining and the snow is lying as a blanket over the plants and trees, giving off a warm silent vibe. At first I’m a little bit anxious, standing there alone. I look around me and listen if I hear something. …Nothing… Then I realise there is no reason to be anxious and I feel a calmness come over me.

The Bothy is surrounded by small hills. It feels cosy, I almost forget it’s cold outside. I’m walking back to the cabin, where I can sit by the fire and dream on.

I’m slowing down. Everything is at ease.

Lisa Beckers


ANALOG DIARY

Meijburg-Beckers_GreenGarden

Meijburg-Beckers_stone Lisa

Meijburg-Beckers_Moonlight2Meijburg-Beckers_DeadBlackbird


-WELTRUSTEN LIEVE SNEEUW-

Meijburg-Beckers_Landscape Snow


-GOEDEMORGEN KLEUR-

Meijburg-Beckers_Cairn

Meijburg-Beckers_heather Lisa

Meijburg-Beckers_heather Lisa2

Meijburg-Beckers_Stoneshadow Lisa and MarloesMeijburg-Beckers_DeadDeer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meijburg-Beckers_Landscape Marloes

Meijburg-Beckers_River near Bothy

Meijburg-Beckers_Landscape near Bothy

Meijburg-Beckers_Sunrise


PROJECT MARLOES

I’ve collected soil during long walks, looking for the right colour and texture.  In the Bothy I dedicated my time to make my own pigments with it. With these pigments I’ve made my own paint. My time in Inshriach gave me the opportunity to be outdoors for long hikes and to collect the mood of the forest.

Meijburg-Beckers_Marloes collecting pigments
Meijburg-Beckers_work and moss Marloes

Meijburg-Beckers_Work pigments Marloes

Meijburg-Beckers_textandpigmentsMarloesMeijburg-Beckers_Pigments soil Marloes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


PROJECT LISA

My idea for my Artist’s Residency at the Bothy was a research into colour. I normally focus on shapes, but since I’ve started using pigments I’ve begun to realize how important colour is. I duplicated some colours of the Scottish nature as accurate as possible and explored different colour combinations at the Bothy location.

My eyes were constantly drawn to the different shades of colours in the faded and dead heather plants. Or fascinated by grass turning into a greenish blue because it’s lying in the water.

Meijburg-Beckers_Colour 4 Lisa

Meijburg-Beckers_colour 2 Lisa

Meijburg-Beckers_Colour 14 Lisa

Meijburg-Beckers_Colour 13 Lisa

Meijburg-Beckers_Colour 12 Lisa

Meijburg-Beckers_Colour 6 Lisa

Meijburg-Beckers_Colour 10 Lisa

Meijburg-Beckers_Colourstudy Lisa


Because of a mutual fascination for nature and the use of natural paints a spontaneous cooperation developed between Lisa and Marloes.

Fascinated by organic forms, Lisa is seeking details that are reflections of the overall.

In search for emptiness, away from turbulence, Marloes is searching for the essence of raw landscapes. What keeps her busy is the question of how nature provides calm and refuge in a stressed society.

Want to see more? www.lisabeckers.nl / www.marloesmeijburg.com

 

One week after our return to the Netherlands we were selected to take part in a artist in residence in Amsterdam, in which we were interviewed and filmed by the national art and music radio program ‘Opiumop4’. During this week we had the opportunity to develop our projects started in the Bothy. In the following link you can see our process.

http://www.radio4.nl/opiumop4/thema/3/de_toren_kamer/98/lisa-beckers-en-marloes-meijburg