Reflections, The Tinners Coast.

18th April 2012

A stormy night and day. I pop down to say hello to the seals and do some wave-watching. I reflect on yesterday's Geevor trip.

I wonder how I can create work from this native metal that reflects a celebration of the good times and pays homage to the impact this area and its people have had on a worldwide scale - rather than a mourning of everything lost and passed - also reflecting this unique and dramatic environment that is so rightly cherished by all who visit and live here.

The smell of rock - Geevor mine. Artists residency, Erica Sharpe

17th April 2012

Geevor

I take a trip around the Geevor Mine. I have been to the mine before, but never spent time in the processing buildings or the museum.

The underground tour of Wheal Mexico, compared to other underground trips, is very dry and easy to navigate. It is interesting to see this older mine and learn about the working practices, especially around the time of the introduction of gunpowder.

It's hard to imagine that there weren't more terrible accidents in the mines at these times, although apparently, the life expectancy of the miners shortened drastically from 40 (when hand-drilling was the main method of extraction) to 28 when gun-powder was introduced (due to emphysema). A sobering thought. Early fuses where made from goose quills pushed one inside the other to make a hollow (and waterproof) straw which was filled with gunpowder and sealed with clay.

Copper salts stain the rocks
where the drainage water comes out of the mine

The whole of the Geevor site, is stained with the red iron oxide from the mined rock. The sea around the mine ran 'Bal' (mine) red with the waste from the processing plant, and the rocks of the cliff are stained green. These are the characteristic colours of this landscape.

'Ocean' Pendant. 22ct gold and boulder opal

 The emptiness at Geevor made a lasting impression on me, a place that was so obviously alive and now so still and deserted left me feeling a sense of loss - not only of the mining of tin but the community, identity and stronghold of the area.

The exhibition area is really interesting and has some good examples of local minerals and exhibits of tin and copper mining throughout history. A beautifully preserved wooden shovel, the grain of the wood and twist in the shape is stunning. The lamps used back from Roman times to present day. And the ingots of tin themselves which had their own assay marks depending on where they were smelted and where they were being sent to. For Christian counties, the stamp was a lamb and flag. For non Christian countries something a little less obvious although still a sign of virtue and self-sacrifice - the Pelican. (the pelican was believed to peck its own chest and feed its young on its own blood). 

Underground

Victory Shaft, Geevor. Watercolour.

Stope, Geevor. Chalk on paper.

Mineral lode, Wheal Mexico

The elements of darkness, coolness, silence, limited colour and the effect of the light of head torches. Cool drips and water everywhere. The rock has a distinctive smell which is difficult to describe, it almost smells of metal. Sounds are changed, voices distant, the silence in the mines is such a contrast to how it must have been when the place was alive with work.

Wildlife and environment, Tinners Coast

16th April 2012

Walking, watching, sketching and wildlife.

A kestrel has been hunting right outside the studio window for most of the day, hanging still in the blustery wind - I could almost reach out and touch it. A raven sat above the cottage before flying off around the Cape, swallows fly beneath me on the cliffs and a pair of crows gather nesting material in their beaks from the back of Priests Cove and  fly right out to sea until I can no longer see them - I wonder where they're going?

 

Most exciting to see of all are the choughs, who regularly fly round this side of the Cape - I can hear them before seeing them, their call is so distinctive. There are a small number of breeding pairs here, having successfully reintroduced themselves to Cornwall about 10 years ago. They are wonderful to watch, especially on a windy day when they dive so fiercely against the wind and put on a spectacular display.

I take a walk along the coast path towards Sennen in the early morning - passing Carn Gloose where a chimney stack ruin is home for two crows. The sun shines as I drop down into the beautiful Cot Valley - there's no one around and I sit listening to the sea, stream and watch two kestrels on the rocks above.

Carn Gloose. Watercolour sketch.

The rock formations around this stretch of coast are amazing -  this geology is the reason why tin and other minerals have formed here. A diversity of colour, shape and line is apparent at every turn, from jagged granite to sea washed boulders. It also provides a very special habitat for a vast range of wildlife. I am also beginning to appreciate and witness more fully, the strong link with this landscape and its people,  the mineral wealth within the rock providing home, livelihood, ingenuity and identity; the fortunes of mining determining the outcome of many lives.

Boy and pool

The wind is getting up and the sea is quite rough by the end of the day. I visit Geoff to chat further about some ongoing Cornish tin projects and commissions, catch up on some news and brilliant information on places to visit and further contacts. By the time I get back to the Cape there's a gale blowing and the waves are crashing into the cove - it's hard to shut the door against the wind!

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.