Artists Residency, Erica Sharpe. Shapes and forms - landscape and atmosphere

15th April 2012

The Tinner's Coast - shapes, forms, landscape and atmosphere

Walk to Porthledden

I take a short walk over the Cape to Porthledden - ancient mines like dark caves in the cliffs. It has a feeling of remoteness.

The walled hedges are full of wild flowers. On the crest of the hill is the protected ruin of St Helen's Oratory - today it is deserted and wind-swept. Large clouds bubble up over the Cape. Textures - grain, rough and ragged. Spiky grass and a feeling the time has stood still.





I love the way the sea and weather have created this rust and erosion. The colour and texture are amazing.



I'm being watched! This scene reminds me of Southern Ireland.

The Brisons. Pencil sketch

Boats in Priests Cove

Kayak on calm seas. Pencil.

It is a sunny day and at low tide I sit in Priests cove sketching the rocks and their shadows. In places the rocks twist and fold - the tin and copper lodes (veins) are clear to see. There were several mines here - eventually amalgamated. Their workings run out under the sea and mine buildings would have once filled the cove. I'm staying in a building on the site of the boiler house for Cape Cornwall mine - most of the other buildings (apart form the Count House and stack right at the top of the Cape) have gone.

Shapes and shadows in the rocks. Pencil.

The Brisons from the beach. Pencil

Artists residency, Erica Sharpe. Tin shapes man - man shapes tin

14th April 2012

Tin shapes Man - Man shapes Tin

The Tinner's Coast

Here I am on a two week artists residency in the last house before the sea on Cape Cornwall, West Penwith. Perched at the edge of the Atlantic, Cape Cornwall was once believed to be the furthest westerly point in Britain, hence the name Cape. I am here to work within the area where my Cornish tin comes from - to develop ideas based on this landscape, environment, mining and heritage.

Kerensa wave and shore. Gold, silver and Cornish tin.

To date my Kerensa collection has been inspired by the changing natural environment found here, the contrasts, textures and movement of the coast and sea. I want to explore these ideas further and have more understanding on how the rich mineral source deep within the rock has shaped man and vice versa. My aim is to use this to create pieces with an identity and meaning that is directly connected to the place where their raw material comes from.

I will keep my work within the St Just area and coast line between Gribba point and Pendeen Watch - much of which I can cover by foot and is directly surrounding the Cape. The heart of this area is the source of my Cornish tin.

Royal Cornwall Museum

On the way down to the Tinner's Coast, I take a slight detour to spend some time in the royal Cornwall Museum, Truro - particularly to see their amazing Cornish mineral collection. Hundreds of beautiful specimens, many from here in the the St Just area and St Agnes (where I had my first introduction to the riches of minerals and rocks that can be found as a child whilst scrambling the cliffs and rocks on the beaches). One of my favourites is a fantastic example of rare Botallakite,  a beautiful green / blue copper mineral only found in the Botallak area.