Artist in Residence in Reflection
September 2020 I had the joy and privilege of my second residency at Hawkwood. This time I had the gracious opportunity to be a part a collaboration with two friends and associates with similar sensibilities, Dan de La Motte and Tom Marshman, who had also visited before. The hospitality as ever was incredible.
This time I came in a different season, the cusp of autumn offering a slightly different vista of the ever changing and seasonal landscape. This time it felt like coming home, home to a place where the only pursuit is time for oneself to think and be, away from the crowds and noise. Our only distraction was the bell for regular sustenance, always so beautifully prepared.
At Hawkwood there is no rush and no excuse to do anything but to be in the surrounding of this wonderful place, a sanctuary, a home for the creative and compassionate. To find a place where one can spend time just to reflect and observe with like minds is priceless. To be at Hawkwood is to feel valued, supported, loved and not judged, such a gift.
The idea of being able to get up in the morning often to the rousing sound of birdsong, to immediately fall into making, with all of the facilities one could possibly desire at hand. To just create in whatever way that feels appropriate in that moment is a dream for any creative person. Hawkwood enables this to happen.
It’s the ethos of the place, with its common sensical ecological approach to life that is another reason why Hawkwood is important to me in my creative endeavours. This is also reflected in the people who keep the place running as well as the unique situation of the countryside in which it sits. Every aspect of every moment of time at Hawkwood is to feel nourished, in every sense of the word.
It is never an easy time to be an artist, especially in the strange times of COVID. So to find a place like Hawkwood is a huge privilege and extraordinary fortune. The three of us gathered and worked well together, in part I would say because of the creative atmosphere that exists at Hawkwood. Once again I was able to grow a little bit more as an artist, as well as spend time with two dear friends and for us all to explore, examine and scrutinise a whole new set of ideas and thoughts about ourselves and the world around us.
I don’t know anywhere else quite like this. We shared a wonderful studio, we wanted for nothing, expect for the limits of our imaginations. This was the first time the three of us have come together, the first time Dan and Tom had met and Hawkwood worked its magic.
Thank you Hawkwood.
Tim Redfern Most of the time Tim Redfern is a performance artist working under the persona Timberlina. They are interested in public art, specifically the intersection of creativity, public engagement and participation. Tim is also undertaking a course in permaculture and is very excited about am equitable, dig free and all you can eat future.
