Earth Pathways Showcase

The project begins on the Celtic festival of Samhain, when the veils between the ethereal world and the corporeal world are at their thinnest. We locate a site next to the stream, so that the entrance will look south to see the sun lift into the valley. First we set a stone floor to form a dry sitting base. We use four Ash poles to create the framework, and on completion an eight-legged dome tilts towards the water’s edge, rather like a giant spider. The horizontal weaving is with Silver Birch. The construction of the walls dips and dives through periods of creativity and rest. A final burst of activity in July brings us to a completion on July 31st 2015 - a full blue moon in Aquarius.

A place to sit
To feel safe
To ponder the possibility of new futures
New ways of thinking
New ways of living
As we tread with loving lightness on this planet

Weaving a Dream (Land Art. Ladygrove, Derbyshire) © Viveka Bowry

In the streambed below the waterfall at Ladygrove, I start to build a structure with Didi, my co-worker and assistant. It is a corridor of stones, a conduit for the frothing, chaotic water. We build two rows of stones in parallel lines so that a channel forms down the centre of the streambed. This passageway will carry us down to the Winter Solstice and then up toward the growing light of Imbolc. Three days into this project heavy rains come, falling every day for a week. Water levels grow high and the stones remain standing. A further two days of rain, and the stones collapse. We wait until water levels subside again, and then we reconstruct, finding stronger footholds for each of our statues.

In the meantime, I am planting connecting stones on the land round about. I place one on the North side of Stanton Moor, and as I walk the perimeters of this sacred site I plant a second and third stone, building a connective, energetic network with the work in progress at Ladygrove. I continue with this action until such a time when the weather allows us to complete our original structure. On 2nd February we finish the channel. All around us water is turbulent, fast and bubbling. Our passageway provides a calm path – the water flowing into it becomes smooth with gentle ripples on its surface like silk. Nearly three years later and this piece still stands. I can repair it when necessary as it is near my home.

A Passage Through Time © Viveka Bowry