Showing posts with label concepts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label concepts. Show all posts
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Monday, 7 March 2011
Project Development
I'm having some postcards printed up for the book fair and will collect these on Wednesday. I will then take these to Leeds on Thursday and then make a whistle-stop tour of three archives to research subjects/sites for the WSI geocaches.
I've got a long list of about 13 possible themes/locations and these will be whittled down dependent upon suitability of available hiding places. I will also start to develop the artwork for the artist's book that is the 'prize' for finding the caches.
I've got a long list of about 13 possible themes/locations and these will be whittled down dependent upon suitability of available hiding places. I will also start to develop the artwork for the artist's book that is the 'prize' for finding the caches.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Site Visit
I caught the train to Gargrave and cycled the 17 or so miles to Buckden for a meeting with the folks from Chrysalis, Jackie Calderwood and representatives from National Trust and the National Park.
The ride was fine - it wasn't warm but cycling kept the chill at bay. There had been snow in the area a couple of days previously but this had now thawed apart from on the fells. The roads were quite quiet as I took mostly back lanes through Hetton, Grassington, Conistone and Kettlewell. Spring was hinted at in the form of snowdrops but otherwise all was still muted.
We met at Town Head Barn in Buckden and had a productive meeting. After introductions we learnt a bit more about the area, some of the do's and dont's about geocaching in the National Park and also some potential themes and places to site caches. I tried to find a geocache that I thought was in Buckden afterwards finding that it was the co-ordinates for parking for a multi-cache!
The light was just begining to go by the time we finished our meeting and I headed back the few miles to Kettlewell and my B&B for the night. After settling in at the B&B and before an evening meal at the King's Head I had another failed attempt to find a geocache. This time in Dowber Gill I was beaten by the darkness and realising I was above the site of it on the side of a steep hill!
The following morning I left my bags and cycled out on the Leyburn road to attempt Park Rash. Another failure as my cycle-unfit legs and high gearing saw me off and walking before the first hairpin! A cycle, walk, cycle, walk approach eventually got me to the summit of Park Rash in miserable weather but a successful find of the geocache on Tor Dyke. I couldn't record my visit though as the log had all but dissolved.
I descended back down Park Rash (easier said than done) to try and find the micro-cache hidden at the foot of the hill. Another failure and a wet foot to add insult to injury. Tail between my legs I went back to the B&B to collect my bags and headed up Wharfedale to seek inspiration for cache sites and find a couple of the National Park caches.
I cycled all the way up to Low Green Field in deteriorating weather. Cars became fewer and further between and the road grew narrower until it turned into not much more than a track on the dead-end lane from Beckermonds. I tried hard to imagine the dale in the spring with green in the landscape and sun in the sky but it wasn't easy.
I passed the limestone pavement and continued up to the entrance to Low Green Field before I turned back in search of geocaches at Yockenthwaite. I left the bike by the farm and walked the short way up the hill to find the first one and then decided to walk on to the next one. It wasn't far and was easy to find. Both were in good condition and full of items left for swaps.
Then it was back on the bike for the ride back to Skipton station. I stopped off in Grassington for some much-needed food and to dry out a bit and was glad to finally reach the station and change out of my mud-spattered and soaked clothes to look (and smell) a little more presentable on the train.
The ride was fine - it wasn't warm but cycling kept the chill at bay. There had been snow in the area a couple of days previously but this had now thawed apart from on the fells. The roads were quite quiet as I took mostly back lanes through Hetton, Grassington, Conistone and Kettlewell. Spring was hinted at in the form of snowdrops but otherwise all was still muted.
We met at Town Head Barn in Buckden and had a productive meeting. After introductions we learnt a bit more about the area, some of the do's and dont's about geocaching in the National Park and also some potential themes and places to site caches. I tried to find a geocache that I thought was in Buckden afterwards finding that it was the co-ordinates for parking for a multi-cache!
The light was just begining to go by the time we finished our meeting and I headed back the few miles to Kettlewell and my B&B for the night. After settling in at the B&B and before an evening meal at the King's Head I had another failed attempt to find a geocache. This time in Dowber Gill I was beaten by the darkness and realising I was above the site of it on the side of a steep hill!
The following morning I left my bags and cycled out on the Leyburn road to attempt Park Rash. Another failure as my cycle-unfit legs and high gearing saw me off and walking before the first hairpin! A cycle, walk, cycle, walk approach eventually got me to the summit of Park Rash in miserable weather but a successful find of the geocache on Tor Dyke. I couldn't record my visit though as the log had all but dissolved.
I descended back down Park Rash (easier said than done) to try and find the micro-cache hidden at the foot of the hill. Another failure and a wet foot to add insult to injury. Tail between my legs I went back to the B&B to collect my bags and headed up Wharfedale to seek inspiration for cache sites and find a couple of the National Park caches.I cycled all the way up to Low Green Field in deteriorating weather. Cars became fewer and further between and the road grew narrower until it turned into not much more than a track on the dead-end lane from Beckermonds. I tried hard to imagine the dale in the spring with green in the landscape and sun in the sky but it wasn't easy.
I passed the limestone pavement and continued up to the entrance to Low Green Field before I turned back in search of geocaches at Yockenthwaite. I left the bike by the farm and walked the short way up the hill to find the first one and then decided to walk on to the next one. It wasn't far and was easy to find. Both were in good condition and full of items left for swaps.
Then it was back on the bike for the ride back to Skipton station. I stopped off in Grassington for some much-needed food and to dry out a bit and was glad to finally reach the station and change out of my mud-spattered and soaked clothes to look (and smell) a little more presentable on the train.
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Secret Worlds
One of the aims of the Geo Art Cache project is to introduce new audiences to art and to geocaching. It doesn't take very long to realise how obscure some of our interests are. Geocaching is certainly not widely understood and some of the themes that inform my art practice are often the overlooked aspects of the world we inhabit.
With this in mind it didn't take me long to start compiling a list of some of the hidden worlds of the Yorkshire Dales that could be illuminated by a geocache - mosses and lichens, cycle hill climbing and fell running for starters.
With this in mind it didn't take me long to start compiling a list of some of the hidden worlds of the Yorkshire Dales that could be illuminated by a geocache - mosses and lichens, cycle hill climbing and fell running for starters.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Why WSI?
I have decided to call my part of Geo Art Cache Where Spheres Intersect as it combines the science behind GPS and the notion of fields of knowledge and interest that make us who we are and help shape the landscape around us. Here is what I plan to do:
The intention is to create a series of caches that respond to a local fact or theme. Each cache will provide part of a clue to find a final prize cache. An overall aim of the series is to underline the human experience of geocaching and to promote the sustainable side of the activity and so caches will be sited for access on foot, by bicycle or by public transport.
My starting point will be desk-based research; to get a feel for the whole Yorkshire Dales region and to establish an understanding of broad topics such as geology, topography, industry, culture and traditions. Through this phase I will begin to identify themes that the individual caches might represent. [January / February]
At this stage it will be important to begin discussing practicalities with people who know the area. The project has certain aspirations and one is to promote quieter parts of the area, other factors might be sensitivity to local land ownership issues and environmental / sustainability concerns.
It may be that the themes themselves dictate exact locations for the caches but the next step will be to get out in the landscape to identify potential sites using the background knowledge gained in the first phase. This knowledge will be augmented by the discussions outlined above. [February / March]
I will identify 6 to 8 themes and cache locations and ideally this series will form a narrative that builds towards a final ‘secret’ cache that gives successful geocachers information to obtain their hard-earned ‘prize’. This prize will be in the form of a limited-edition artist’s book.
This series of caches will have a pre-launch presence at the Leeds Artists Book Fair in mid-March. This presence is intended to make an art audience more aware of geocaching and to introduce the geocaching audience to the secret world of artist’s books. This identification of secret or lesser-known groups and activities may become a guiding theme through the work. For instance caches might deal with specialist botany or localised sporting events that perhaps have a link to a wider frame of reference but are often hidden from the majority of the population. [March]
The individual caches will comprise standard containers but they may (in addition to the logbook) offer a small physical reward to successful locators. It is also intended that geocachers visiting each cache can feed back their comments about the physical and human effort taken to find it.
The scale of the cache containers will be developed through consultation with existing the project team, geocachers, park rangers and landowners once exact locations have been identified. Caches can then be constructed and sited and their presence registered with geocaching.com ready for the start of the project. [April]
The complexity is in the organisation and linking of the caches. The finding of the caches should be no more complicated than usual but they will vary in location from roadside to high moorland so a certain level of fitness and navigational skill will be required.
The intention is to create a series of caches that respond to a local fact or theme. Each cache will provide part of a clue to find a final prize cache. An overall aim of the series is to underline the human experience of geocaching and to promote the sustainable side of the activity and so caches will be sited for access on foot, by bicycle or by public transport.
My starting point will be desk-based research; to get a feel for the whole Yorkshire Dales region and to establish an understanding of broad topics such as geology, topography, industry, culture and traditions. Through this phase I will begin to identify themes that the individual caches might represent. [January / February]
At this stage it will be important to begin discussing practicalities with people who know the area. The project has certain aspirations and one is to promote quieter parts of the area, other factors might be sensitivity to local land ownership issues and environmental / sustainability concerns.
It may be that the themes themselves dictate exact locations for the caches but the next step will be to get out in the landscape to identify potential sites using the background knowledge gained in the first phase. This knowledge will be augmented by the discussions outlined above. [February / March]
I will identify 6 to 8 themes and cache locations and ideally this series will form a narrative that builds towards a final ‘secret’ cache that gives successful geocachers information to obtain their hard-earned ‘prize’. This prize will be in the form of a limited-edition artist’s book.
This series of caches will have a pre-launch presence at the Leeds Artists Book Fair in mid-March. This presence is intended to make an art audience more aware of geocaching and to introduce the geocaching audience to the secret world of artist’s books. This identification of secret or lesser-known groups and activities may become a guiding theme through the work. For instance caches might deal with specialist botany or localised sporting events that perhaps have a link to a wider frame of reference but are often hidden from the majority of the population. [March]
The individual caches will comprise standard containers but they may (in addition to the logbook) offer a small physical reward to successful locators. It is also intended that geocachers visiting each cache can feed back their comments about the physical and human effort taken to find it.
The scale of the cache containers will be developed through consultation with existing the project team, geocachers, park rangers and landowners once exact locations have been identified. Caches can then be constructed and sited and their presence registered with geocaching.com ready for the start of the project. [April]
The complexity is in the organisation and linking of the caches. The finding of the caches should be no more complicated than usual but they will vary in location from roadside to high moorland so a certain level of fitness and navigational skill will be required.
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