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Arts Alive; A Creative Update From Cumbria

Irene Rogan

Our Cumbria Wildlife Trust team works closely with artist Irene Rogan to deliver engaging events connecting communities and school groups with nature and our coastal dunes. Here's what Irene has been up to this summer.

We had a very busy series of events during July and August at Haverigg. Working with the Wildlife Trusts Irene Rogan was commissioned to develop a series of projects to take place on the Haverigg dunes. This followed the wonderful school art works by pupils from Haverigg Primary and Blackcombe junior schools.

Haverigg Uncovered was a guided walk with botanist and saltmarsh ecologist Richard Scott. This was a highly popular event, and we were visited by ITV News in Haverigg with great images of the dunes.

A large group of people stand in the dunes facing someone who is leading an event

Irene Rogan: Haverigg Uncovered with Richard Scott and walkers

A red haired lady is pictured on TV giving an interview on the dunes

ITV News: Eve Mulholland interviewed during Haverigg Uncovered event

Irene invited artists and musicians to collaborate with her on the Haverigg dunes:

Di McGhee environmental artist and Irene created Quadration, an invitation to outdoor learning or classroom!  To select a dune, explore and investigate it.

Record findings using drawings and written research. The research was a unique creative record of the flora and fauna within a specific area of the dunes and using photography. Their words formed a poem.

Image depicts an artist drawing in the dunes.
A piece of paper is held up with sketches on
A piece of paper is held up with sketches of dune plants on

Top a young participant with her work, two sets of drawings from the event

Restoration Remix was an experimental performance on the sand dunes, along with a group of local musicians and artists, including musician and singer Neil and Jo Wade; acoustic drummer Dave Baker; environmental artist Irene Rogan and singer-songwriter Hannah Rose Kessler.

The Restoration Remix performance and singing will be inspired by William Blake’s poem Auguries of Innocence, a poem on humankind and nature, which includes the famous lines:

 

To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour

A group of people stood in a bare sand part of the sand dunes
A man is pictured reading from a piece of paper to a crowd in sand dunes.
A group of people gather in a dune blowout for a musical event.

Photos of Restoration Remix, courtesy of John Scanlan and Larry Campbell

The poem from Quadration workshop read out at Restoration Remix event, 30th August 21

 

WORDS #1

Draw what you see and omit some

Softer rounder edges

 

So many leaf shapes

Brown husk of grass, vitality spent

Slender grasses

Shiny leaves explode like fireworks

Stones nestle together

 

Visiting spider legs sharp like the grass firm spiky but wavy

 

Pins and needles in my feet

Mind calming into focus

Sun’s heat on my back

I see Bob chatting

Drawing on the beach

F chilling on the dunes

 

WORDS#2

Bright yellow sirens, delicate petals

Bright purple with vibrant yellow bud

Spikes, Feathery stems, brown nugget plants

Lilac bud, lilac clusters

Veins on  leaf  like a delta map

 

WORDS#3

Well with Nature

Sand, hills, sky

Purple grass and spikey plant

Smile at peaceful leaves

Nature and the pure air breathe