beginnings

Herefordshire Nature Trust commissioned me to make some 'THINGS IN THE WOOD' at a small nature reserve near where I live. The idea behind the project was to draw people in who had never been there before, especially children and families.

Titley Pool is tucked away - a rather secret place - and consists of a large lake, a little wood and a small ancient pasture - a slice of rural heaven in fact, and a wonderful place to work.

I love making things outside that have a special relationship to their place. I use felt but also other materials, with a link to the ecology of the area: wool, sticks & hay - which will bio-degrade in time & provide extra nesting materials for the birds & field mice.

creation

Months later and the proverbs are still there...subtle changes have taken place which add to it all - the bird that sits in the hand could now be the early bird that catches the worm because the alder catkins have fallen all around her...

The list of proverbs chalked up on the bird hide has grown even longer, as people have wandered & pondered on the now well-trodden paths. So I feel repaid for all my hard work back in the bad weather of February; and have enjoyed my endless visits keeping an eye on things, watching the carpets of wood anemones, then the bluebells and the encroaching green gloom of summer's growth overhead.

Anne Belgrave

2008