New Sculptural Interpretation Display in the Yan

We have just opened a display for the Yan space which focuses on clear and concise information on arts and sculpture programme here at Grizedale Forest. You can find information on the pieces within the forest, as well as more about past sculptors who have resided at Grizedale. There is information about what is currently on and what events are coming in the future, as well as more on our social media and digital presence on Big Art Mob. We have video footage regarding out Art Roots commissioning project, as well as some space for your valuable feedback. We are really excited to be able to present this information to visitors and cannot wait to hear what you think about the programme at Grizedale.

The space is designed so we can add and take out information easily, as well as build on content and display. We have more in store for the next few weeks, including a window display.

Enjoy learning more about the work here – we look forward to hearing you comments!

The Story of the Dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)

 On the site of the library of the demolished Grizedale House stands a dawn redwood tree.  As a tree it is interesting for its perfectly conical shape and for being a conifer which drops its needles in autumn, the only other species in Grizedale being larch.  As a species, the dawn redwood has a deeply interesting story.  Thought to have been extinct for over 5 million years, the discovery of living specimens in China meant finding a species thought to be lost from the world forever.  Yet, today the dawn redwood is ‘critically endangered’ according to the IUCN red list and humans may well condemn it to the fate we were so happy to find it had escaped.

Discovering the dead

At the start of the 1940s the dawn redwood was a species of a genus (1 level of classification more broad than species) well known based on many fossilised specimens in North America.  The oldest fossil was around 100 million years old and the most recent specimen around 5 million years old.  There was no record of the genus, Metasequoia which included four species, having survived past 5 million years B.C. so, naturally, it was thought to be extinct.  However, in 1946 a group of trees deep in a Chinese forest was identified as belonging to the Metasequoia genus, a great surprise (having been discovered but not identified two years earlier).  The species was named and another expedition was carried out in 1947 to collect seeds and cuttings to be dispersed around the world.  In 1948 these seeds and cuttings were sent throughout North America and Europe as scientists waited to see where, if anywhere, the species would grow outside of its native range.  The species grew well in wet conditions, such as those found in Grizedale and, as such we are happy to host this amazing species.

New threats:

The disappearance of the dawn redwood from North America and its confinement to a small patch of forest in China was, most likely, caused by slow climatic changes.  Today though, the species is threatened by the actions of humans.  The wet conditions which suit the dawn redwood also suit rice cultivation resulting in an island of just 5,000 trees surrounded by a sea of rice plantations.  Historically logging has reduced the population though today it is illegal to fell, or even cut off the branch of a Dawn redwood tree.  Seed collectors now attempt to meet the demand for seedlings and, as such, natural regeneration is not occurring.  Scientists were happy to be proved wrong when a genus they had consigned to extinction proved them wrong.  They would be even happier if they could be proved wrong again with their designation of ‘critically endangered’ status and pessimistic predictions for the species.

What we can do:

In general, the biggest threat to tree species is illegal logging.  It’s the threat which reduced the Dawn redwood to its current, precarious position.  As individuals we don’t need to be scared of buying timber.  We just need to ensure that we buy sustainable timber, timber produced without threatening the survival of any species.  The easiest way to do this is to look for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) logo (at the bottom of this blog) or for CSA, PEFC or SFI certification if the timber has come from North America or Canada (click here for more information).  At the forestry Commission all of the wood we produce is FSC and PEFC certified making us the largest supplied of certified round timber in the UK.

For more information about the story of the dawn redwood you can check out:

 Cambridge Botanical Garden’s website

And Kew Botanical Garden’s website

The Alchemist's Worshop, a photography treasure trove

The Alchemist’s Workshop at Grizedale is a black and white photography treasure trove.  Adorned with prints, of various sizes, of Steven’s analogue (film) photographs, the old school cameras used to capture the images and a range of specialist photography books and magazines, the gallery is an interesting and relaxing place to browse whatever your interest in photography.  Steven also has a darkroom which is available for use for members of the public or for those attending one of his courses and  there are lovingly restored Olympus Trip cameras (which he refers to as his ‘restyled beauties') for sale or hire.  Perhaps the best feature of the whole workshop is Steven himself.  Extremely knowledgeable, Steven also enjoys what he does and enjoys sharing that enthusiasm with others, whatever their knowledge/expertise of photography.  So next time you're in Grizedale drop in for a chat with Steven and peruse his Aladdin's den of photography.

If you are interested in taking photographs in the forest then you can either rent one of Steven’s Olympus Trip cameras, buy a film and develop it yourself or sign up for one of his excellent workshops.  

Steven describes his workshops better than I could so here is a post taken from his blog:

‘If you are totally new to photography, even if you’re not serious about continuing, if you just want to play, you think it could be the start of something big, you’re a practiced film photographer, darkroom worker or you are a “dyed in the wool” digital photographer who wants to put some foundation to your knowledge, we have something for you.

All workshops are Saturday and Sunday 10am to 5 pm

4th and 5th May

Beginner’s Black and White Darkroom.

If you’ve never been in the darkroom before, or only when you were at school and you can’t remember that far back. If you would like to experience and practice “alchemy” in the 21stCentury, it really is like magic, this is for you. We’ll make photograms and some camera pictures, develop the film, make contact prints, and beautiful finished prints, all your own work to take away and show your friends that you have found the Philosopher’s Stone.

Bring your own 35mm camera if you have one but we have one for each delegate if you don’t.

£150 per person plus materials.

11th and 12th May

Darkroom Refresher (The Fine Print).

This assumes you have some experience of working in a darkroom, you might not have done it for years but you will remember that if you switch the light on without warning you will ruin everybody else’s work, or you might have your own darkroom and print everyday. We will take your printing to the next level, teasing the best from your negatives. We will talk about how to achieve better negatives as well. We will look at some rescue remedies for when the conditions or our own failings let us down and we will look at how we can make prints that are archivally stable.

£150 per person plus materials.

8th and 9th June
Black and White Landscape on Film.

The Alchemist’s Workshop is ideally situated in Grizedale Forest in the heart of The English Lake District. We are surrounded by beauty. This workshop looks at the tradition of the romantic landscape. We are all about film and black and white film at that. Monochrome workers have a long established relationship with the landscape. This workshop will explore that, theoretically, by looking at the history, but predominantly practically by getting out and doing it. We will use a range of film formats, even pinhole and, of course we will return to the darkroom to tease out our fine prints for you to take home. You can bring your own film cameras or use ours.

£150 plus materials

15th and 16th June
Olympus Trip Weekend (or Let’s Go Tripping).

The Olympus Trip is an iconic camera. Olympus made them between 1969 and 1984 and David Bailey advertised them, remember?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Yo3FRPeQw

We have a stock, ever changing, of refurbished, guaranteed, restyled beauties. They are for sale but you can come and play. Spend a weekend with us, we will lead you and allow you to experiment. We will develop and print the results in the darkroom. You can take your Trip back to your accommodation on the Saturday evening. You’ll probably want to keep it as well, but even if you don’t, you’ll have a portfolio of pictures to take home from your “Trip”.

£150 plus materials

29th and 30th June

Advanced Fine Printing.

This workshop assumes you’ve done a bit of printing already, maybe you did the Beginner’s Darkroom and/or The darkroom refresher with us, or you’ve been printing for years. This will show you how we make prints that are finely crafted to Exhibition quality. We will explore the mystical, yet revolutionary world of “Split Grade Printing” and experiment with some different papers, developers and toners. We’ll even make our own contrast control developer. Then we’ll look at drying, spotting and mounting our work ready for the gallery wall. You won’t take away a bursting portfolio because fine printing just doesn’t work that way, we will be looking for you to achieve one truly amazing print on some really nice paper.

£150 plus materials

12th and 13th July

Beautiful Old Cameras (we can play with our collection and make pictures).

Fun and pure, unadulterated nostalgia. We are going to play with our collection of beautiful old cameras, from Box Brownies to Folders. We are going to make pictures like they used to. We will load them with the appropriate sized black and white film, make pictures, process and print them. If they let light in to the wrong places, that’s all part of the fun and the look of the image. Some of the cameras are simple, others require some careful consideration, but the look from each will be unique. It could be the start of a very special adventure.

£150 plus materials

20th and 21st July

Basic Black and White Film Photography.

This is for those who are either completely new to photography or those whose experience has all been with pixels. We have cameras but you can bring your own manual 35mm SLR if you have one. We are going to take it right back to basics, look at how cameras do what they do, how film behaves and we will carry out our own “alchemical” experiments. If you are a digital photographer, this is what it is all about… The penny will drop.

It’s certainly not theoretical though we are going to see it happening and make our own successes and failures.

£150 plus materials.

27th and 28th July

Pinhole Cameras (making and working with).

You can make a pinhole camera from just about any light tight container and we will use a few, from tiny film tubs to plastic dustbins. We will expose various light sensitive materials in all sorts of size. We will also use Ilford’s revolutionary Pinhole camera, it exposes 5x4 sheets that we can enlarge in the darkroom. At the end of this workshop not only will you take home your homemade cameras and the results of your efforts but everyone will take away an Ilford camera kit.

£219 (including price of camera) plus materials.

10th and 11th August

Old Processes (Cyanotype, Salt Printing etc.)

In the early days of photography several materials and processes were tried and tested before the silver nitrate process was made commercially available. We will experiment with some of these early processes. Everyone will have the opportunity to make some negatives using the Ilford pinhole cameras and then try out various processes to print them. Everyone can take home an alternative processing kit of his or her choice.

£250 inclusive of materials and 1 processing kit to take home.

This workshop dovetails quite nicely with the pinhole workshop, if you would like to come to both we will deduct 10% from the total.

After a short rest…

28th and 29th September

Large Format Landscape

If you have a large format camera bring it with you but we hope to have a 5x4 camera for everyone by then. It’s Large Format Landscape, we’re in Grizedale Forest so it’s not going to be architecture is it? We might try some smaller found still life studies as well but there is a strong tradition for big negatives and landscape. It’s about quality, biting sharpness and fine resolution, a well made print from a large format negative is hard to beat. The 5x4 cameras we will use are all about control, the film and lens planes are independently manoeuvrable so that we can determine not just the shape but the sharpness and depth of field in our photograph. Obviously we’ll process and print everything we make.

£150 plus materials.

So that’s the first round. If everything goes to plan they will be repeated. From September there will also be 2 evening classes of 6 x 2 hour sessions, I will announce those in a couple of weeks. I can organise a workshop for your group. There is a maximum of 5 delegates for each workshop. I am also happy to talk about 1 to 1 or 1 to 2 tuition. Please get in touch if there is something you would like to talk about.

 To book your place, there are only 5 places for each workshop, send an E mail totalk@steventaylorphotography.co.uk or telephone 01229 860588 between 10am and 4pm. Please tell us your name, address, telephone and E mail address and which workshops you would like to attend. If there are places available we will need a deposit of £50 to secure your place. The balance of the workshop fee will be due one week before the workshop date.’

Steven has been a professional photographer for 37 years and throughout maintained a fine art practice using black and white film and darkroom processes. He has an MA in fine art photography and has taught fine art, documentary and darkroom photography at all levels up to degree and professional level. He is a knowledgeable teacher and imparts an infectious enthusiasm for the craft.

Email: talk@steventaylorphotography.co.uk

Twitter: @taylorphoto

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAlchemistsWorkshop
Blog: http://alchemistsworkshop.tumblr.com/

01229 860588

The Alchemist in Grizedale

'Sometimes, when all you have before you are reflected, transmotted and absorbed light, some raw materials and instruments and what we produce is an object of beauty, then it feels a little like 21st Century alchemy in practice'

The Alchemist's Workshop is a gallery of silver gelatine photographic prints by fine art photographer Steven Taylor. It is also a workshop facility for the teaching of black and white film photography. Set in the idyllic surroundings of Grizedale Forest, the landscape provides inspiration for the artist and the students that visit'.

A programme of events, workshops and classes will be announced on here as they are organised. The gallery is open 7 days a week from 10am-4pm and the dark room is also available for hire. Taylor is also happy to arrange bespoke workshops and short courses for individuals and groups of up to five people- contact details are below

Steven Taylor has been a professional photographer since 1976 and has won many awards. He has had exhibitions in the UK and abroad, as well as gaining an MA in Photography from DeMontfort University in Leicester.

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Email: talk@steventaylorphotography.co.uk
Twitter: @taylorphoto
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAlchemistsWorkshopBlog: http://alchemistsworkshop.tumblr.com/Number: 01229 860588

The Peace of Wild Things exhibition, coming soon

Victoria Clare Gray’s Exhibition ‘The Peace of Wild Things’ begins on Monday 11^th March within the Café in the Forest, Grizedale Visitor Centre.

Gray’s work focuses on beautiful Natural History Illustration, something which has always been of interest to her and uses her natural skill of drawing to its full potential.  As Gray states:

‘I have always been interested in the way animals are drawn and displayed within the context of ‘the museum’ so to speak. The core focus of my artistic practice is the study of wild animals, and I think it will be something I will always be fascinated by, be it their behaviour, environment or the details of their anatomy. Learning about and documenting different creatures, whether they be beautiful or repulsive to us as humans, helps me as an individual to de-contextualise the world around me and focus on the raw animalistic tendencies of nature’. 

The exhibition features intricate drawings of animals within Grizedale Forest and combines both monochrome and colour pieces. Gray’s technique is delicate, detailed and full of depth, allowing the visitor to see the forest creatures close up.

Gray graduated from Lancaster University in 2011 gaining a BA in Fine Art. This is her first solo exhibition.

The Peace of Wild Things will run from 11^th March till 20^th May, open 10am-5pm everyday.  

Visit Victoria's website at www.victoria-clare-gray.com

Or follow her on Twitter @VictoriaCGray

Designing and managing a forest, the role of Forest Design Plans

Managing a forest may look simple-you plant some trees then you leave the trees alone-but it’s actually much more complicated than that.  Decisions are always being made about managing the forest and the forest is constantly changing shape as we make sure we look after it in the best way for everyone, including the wildlife.  To help us achieve this we create and update a Forest Design Plan which allows us to make long term decisions about the forest, including when and how to fell and plant trees.

When the Forestry Commission was first set up in 1919 its main aim was to replace the trees felled for use in the First World War, forming a ‘strategic timber reserve’ in case the country again needed a large source of timber.  In 1937 the Forestry Commission bought Grizedale estate and planted trees on 2,000 hectares (an area the size of 2,800 football pitches) of farm land used for grazing..  The main priority was producing timber quickly.  Because different trees grow at different rates on different soil types the Forestry Commission surveyed the land before choosing which species to plant where.  The result was large quantities of Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, Western hemlock and Scots pine being planted over 15 years. 

From the 1960s onwards Grizedale developed as a multiple-use forest.  This means using the land not only to grow timber but also to manage it to benefit wildlife, to make possible adventure activities such as those offered by ‘Go Ape’ and ‘Grizedale Mountain Bikes’; to benefit walkers who enjoy our walking trails; to provide education for students of all ages and even to make sure that you have the best views possible.  In order to balance all these different objectives and to deliver all of these benefits, Forest Design Plans are used.

Forest Design Plans are long term plans which layout how the forest will be managed.  Because the forest is managed for so many different people, we involve neighbours, Parish Councils, County Wildlife Trusts, and specialist interests like Friends Of the Lake District in the shaping the Forest Design Plan.  Managing each forest as well as possible means appreciating what is special about each forest.  That’s why special features of wildlife or archaeological interest, the forest’s potential for timber production and its value for landscape and recreation are all taken into account. 

Each ForestDesign Plan has many maps, accompanied by text, with each map corresponding to one objective we are trying to achieve such as:

• Ensuring that we don’t spoil any of the good views from various points around the forest
• Plotting the different soil types to make sure we plant the right trees in the right places
• Mapping areas of high windspeeds and poorly drained soils where trees will be exposed to being blown over if they are thinned out. (see this blog about the forest cycle)
• Ensuring that one group’s (e.g. cyclists) enjoyment of the forest does reduce the enjoyment of another group (e.g. walkers) and that an area is set aside as quiet wildlife area.

These maps, as well as the other information in the plan are used to guide our long term management decisions, such as

• When to fell each area of the forest
• What to replant following felling
• Where to set aside quiet areas, with less human disturbance, for wildlife
• Where to site new recreation facilities, such as trails, picnic sites or car parks.

The best opportunities to mould the forest come from decisions about felling and replanting, so getting this right is a key part of any Forest Design Plan.  After an area has been planted for 20 years then it may be thinned. Thinning means harvesting the smaller trees so that the bigger trees have more space to grow.  Decisions about thinning may be made before the area is even planted and will depend upon how windy the area is.  If it is a very windy area then thinning may lead to the remaining trees being blown over and is therefore more likely to be avoided.  There are other areas, which are very visible from major roads and public areas which will often be managed as ‘continuous cover’ meaning that the area will never be clear felled.  But, when an area is clear felled we are presented with a clean slate, and foresters have the opportunity to plant more conifers for timber or to plant broadleaf species.

Although the Forest Design Plans are long term plans they are not set in stone.  They are reviewed fully with consultees every 10 years to see what has worked well and where we can improve.  Our plans may also be affected by events outside of the forest for example, if the price of the timber of a species trebled or if new diseases made planting a species more risky.

For more information about Forest Design Plans and to see some online, go to www.forestry.go.uk and search ‘Forest Design Plans’

The Commercial Forest Cycle

Grizedale is a working forest containing trees grown to produce timber and then harvested before the ground is re-planted.  As well as producing a steady supply of timber which generates income which helps to maintain the whole forest, this cycle of felling and replanting ensures that there is a range of habitats for many woodland species.  Not all of the forest is managed with timber production in mind, we create and manage broadleaf woodland for visitors and wildlife with large parts set aside as wildlife reserves.

So how does this cycle work?

The starting point:

Clear felled sites can look like areas of devastation but they are the starting point for new growth.  Following clear felling there is an opportunity to re-design the forest.  We can choose to replant conifer trees, to restore broadleaved woodland or to leave nature to decide upon the future of the site, if you want to know more about how we make this choice then check out this blog.  Whatever we choose to do, life quickly asserts itself on the clearfell site.  The felling of the trees means more light reaches the forest floor than in the past 50 years.  Ferns, grasses and wildflowers take advantage of this light and space and insects benefit from the new vegetation.  Eventually older stumps will be decomposed by fungi, in fact, next time you’re here check out the different fungi growing on the felled tree near the visitor centre.

Where replanting with conifers is planned, felled sites are left for 3 years before replanting. This allows the needles and branches left over from the felling to decay which provides nutrients for the next generation of young trees and makes planting easier.  Waiting for 3 years also protects the next trees to be planted from pine weevils, an insect pest which is very common in recently clear felled sites and damages young trees.  For species which are vulnerable to damage by deer, including Pines and Firs, fences are built to keep the deer out and prevent them from eating the young trees.

Planting:

Three years after clear felling a big excavator (digger) creates mounds that the trees will be planted into, that’s 2700 mounds per hectare.   These mounds provide good conditions for the tree and kills weeds saving us from using herbicides.  The mounds also make it easier fro the planters to plant.  .  Each tree is planted by hand using a small spade and a good planter can plant 2000 trees a day!  The young trees come from Forestry Commission nurseries in Yorkshire and Cheshire which may be grown from seeds collected from the forest here in Grizedale and are planted when they are dormant, between November and March.  We will be replanting a large area in March so keep your eye out for blogs about that which will include some photos of our work.

Checking up on young trees:

About 5% of trees die in the first year.  These dead trees will be replaced the following season, a process known as “beating up”.  After this, the crop doesn’t normally need any help for about 20 years.  Once the trees have been growing for 20 years, the decision may be taken to ‘thin’ the crop.  Thinning means taking out some of the weaker, smaller trees which gives the bigger trees more space to grow.  .  After a crop has been thinned once, it may then be thinned every five years or so for the rest of its life with each thinning resulting in larger and better quality trees.

Clear felling and extraction:

Conifer trees will typically be felled when they are between 45 and 70 years old, depending on the particular crop (called a ‘stand’).  This is the age at which they are most useful and valuable to the timber-using industries such as sawmills. Trees are cut down using a harvester, and are stacked up to be removed from the forest.  This brings us back to a clear felled site and the start of another forest cycle.

We hope that you might now see clear fell sites in a different light.  If you have any topics that you would like us to blog about then please let us know by posting a comment below or tweeting to us using @FCGrizedale