I just returned from a week in Ireland as a chaperone with a small group of students at Cow House Studios.  You can see some photographs from the program here: http://www.cowhousestudios.com/friends-academy-global-studies-scholars/

My week was filled with walks, jaunts, studio time, and great home-cooked meals.  On one of my walks I found a piece of wood lodged in some barbed wire and took it back to the studio.  The shape intrigued me.  I proceeded to paint it with ink and acrylic paint then proceeded to accessorize it with moss and a small leaf.  I saw it as a sort of guide stick or a divining device or sorts.  It seemed to fit perfectly in the hand.  I traced its shadow and the form of it became a sort of lens to view the landscape. On my last morning at the farm, I asked Michael to help hide it in the woods with me.  He told me that we should stop when we feel ten drops of rain and that’s where we would place it.  We did not stick to this plan but I liked the sentiment.  We kept walking deeper and deeper into the woods.  At one point I suggested that we place it in this dark hole next to a rock and he advised against it, “It could be a home for an animal”  Finally we walked along a bumpy mossy ridge and at the end of it there was a natural path to the brook. He pointed down the path and we placed it there.  We then made a trail using pine cones to help direct those who may look for it in the future.