A great day at the SESC casting otter paw prints, looking at otter scat, getting shoes stuck in mud, casting natural history samples in clay and plaster and dismantling owl pellets – great fun had by all.
Duncan Cameron 11/10/15
A terrific day visiting Fairy Cave Quarry with a group of Strode College Foundation and Extended Diploma Art students. It was great to talk about site specific artwork, location and environment – out in the open, in the wind and the rain, experiencing contemporary art practice beyond the walls of a gallery. We then discussed the work in the Black Swan, had a cup of tea and headed back to the college in the minibus with lots of notes in sketchbooks and things to talk about.
Duncan Cameron 7/10/15
A selection of photographs from last week’s overnight camp in Fairy Cave quarry, long exposure night photos (*including Cath’s illuminated gabions) and early morning shots as the sun came up and a surprise morning slug on my coffee flask. Also some images of the assembly of the smaller works for the Black Swan and Frome Museum, with all work now in place. Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night for the opening.
Duncan Cameron 1/10/15
After a number of cancelled dates, due to the weather, I finally managed to spend Tuesday night in Fairy Cave quarry. The mini 12 hour expedition allowed me to observe the space on it’s own terms. Quietly lying up on the ridge I watched the sun setting over the west horizon, listened to the rooks and jackdaws roosting and then their calls replaced by those of the tawny owls that live in the woods around the quarry perimeter. Dark by 8pm, I lay making notes and observations as part of the collection case artwork.The moonlight and clear night allowed me to walk around the quarry by moonlight alone, a place with a very different character than in the daylight, the long monochrome shadows, the reflections of the moon in the many puddles and the vast black quarry walls. Woken at 2am by a barking fox and at 4am the constellation of orion came up over the rocky butress at the south end of the small ridge on which I was sleeping. The sun began to rise at about 6am and by the time I packed up to get to off to work at 8am the West wall was brightly illuminated in the warm morning sunshine as the sun crested the woods at the top of the Eastern cliff.
Duncan Cameron 24/9/15
The Fairy Cave Cabinet is wheeled into position and assembled on the ridge.
I also took the opportunity to continue casting tracks, now that the puddles have receded, and to explore the changing landscape as artwork appears in the quarry.
Installation Timelapse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWl7wUk33rA
Duncan Cameron 21/9/15
Great to meet up with several of the artists in the Frome Museum last week and for us all to consider how our various creations will work amongst the collections and display cases. Back welding in my studio this weekend assembling the Fairy Cave cabinet and organising the contents in readiness for glazing and installation in the quarry in a week.
Duncan Cameron 13/9/15
Spent the evening exploring the Fairy Cave perimeter and collecting feathers and old metal washers. The quarry echoing with the sharp clinks of climbers enjoying the last evening sun on the cliff face and the ever-present crow calls. I had intended to cast more tracks however the recent heavy rain meant that the the little mud was underwater with large puddles covering large areas of the quarry floor.
Duncan Cameron 1/9/15