In the gardens of West Dean I walked,
Where tulip leaves rustled as I talked
To the wind that tinkered through silver birch,
A dance of sound in the quiet search.

The plants, wild and free, grew in their own way,
While man’s hand shaped some in geometric display.
But then, from the skies, a drone did call,
A light aircraft’s hum disturbed it all.

Yet calm returned, as the high planes soared,
And crows crawled while blackbirds soared.
The bell from the clock chimed a ring of ten,
Marking time in the garden again.

A flat incline, then a steep climb,
Around a corner, a tropical rhyme—
Banana leaves, and Canna lilies bright,
Gave the gardens a tropical delight.

A soft shuffle of breeze through the pine,
Then a robin’s shrill song, sharp and fine,
A warning cry from a branch close by,
Before a beech branch fell with a sigh.

It dropped in the water, creating a swirl,
Ripples expanding, like life’s gentle whirl.
In the garden, all was both calm and bright,
A symphony of nature, a peaceful sight.

Keeping the hand loose using Indian ink on a long stick enabled another way of recording the journey being mindful of left and right turns, streams, waterfalls, ups and downs of the land.

This is a semi auto biographical novel in which the main protagonist, Joseph is the young Head Gardener at fictitious Wooton Hall, a illustrious mansion on a huge estate. Through this thin disguise James describes the poignant moments of his life, from the loss of a wife, his experiences of showing lilies at Chelsea flower show, his passion for gardening and his deep love of music. His bewilderment at the callous and fickle behaviour of others comes across clearly as does the deep hurt of his own mother's unloving and hard hearted manner to him as a child.

Light which moved dynamically to music from the last Movement of Beethoven’s Eroica symphony danced underneath this three dimensional work.

The second image shows folded and cut cotton lawn fabric alongside platted lawn giving movement to the work.

The third image shows the ink dyed cord and hand dyed silk ribbon against the folded lawn.

The second image captures the russet red unfurled fern leaves nestling beside the shiny blue pond.

The third image shows the brick wall, swirling seed head and trailing creeper around the Jekyll pergola.

The artists present were encouraged not to see it as a sales outlet, but more an awareness platform. With a supersmart algorithm behind it, brand awareness can be generated; it is an emerging platform for creative people. However, currently it is hard to track cash on this platform and for new brands to break through.

The take away from the morning's course was to recognise your own goals and ambitions and don't feel that you can't talk about your art form. Just share what you are doing without giving the whole game away.

Cicely was also influenced by the huge popular interest in fairies which developed from the turn of the century enthusiasm for fairy stories; epitomised by J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan in the early part of the 20th century. Published in 1923, Flower Fairies of the Spring was well received by a post-industrial, war-weary public who were charmed by her vision of hope and innocence, which seemed to evoke a less aggressively modern world.

 Queen Mary did much to encourage the vogue for fairy paintings during the 1920s by frequently sending postcards depicting fairies to her friends. In 1926, Queen Mary purchased one of her religious paintings, entitled “The Darling of the World Has Come”.

This was a well curated exhibition with external and internal interactive exhibits to engage children and adults.

Parts of the course were a little over historic such as the section on the black death, but the understanding of not only the art itself, but also of the work that the National Gallery does to care for, present and interpret it was interesting and educational. I particularly enjoyed a livestream visit to the art studio of Marco Caratelli in Sienna. Marco specialises in replicating the work of the great Sienese masters. He demonstrated how the base layers were made before applying gold leaf. He revealed techniques such as punzonaterra, in vecchiatura, and scraffito.

Both courses enhanced my trip to Sicily in November where I was able to view a considerably amount of renaissance artwork in the cathedrals and churches with the Messina's Virgin Annunciate being my favourite. This shows Mary interrupted at her reading by the Angel of the Annunciation.

See Review submission.

Edward James engaged in an extensive correspondence with James Huxley, discussing the ideas presented in Huxley's book Ends and Means. Huxley argued that social reform could not emerge from a centralized government grounded in hierarchical structures. Their exchange touched on topics such as sustainability, the allotment movement, and examples of self-sufficient communities that had united with shared ideals to achieve meaningful and virtuous goals.

At the outset of World War II, James, who was in America at the time, was influenced by Huxley's pacifist stance, though he was not fully persuaded by it. Nevertheless, he believed his efforts would be more impactful in post-war reconstruction. This belief led him to establish West Dean College. His vision for the institution was to inspire visiting artists and to teach traditional crafts that were at risk of being forgotten.