Planet Ruby Starrs

Regular readers and those of you that know me will know this blog is supposed to be about my art work and what inspires me - which in fact, is most things.... beauty and inspiration can be found everywhere  so this blog often digresses allover the place - life gets in the way - throws opportunities, lemons, beautiful sunsets and occasionally really dramatic events - yes we've had a few of those lately but this week we realised that is was 20 years to the day when Dr Fred my trusty sidekick - who puts up daily with my 'inspirational' life - had his most dramatic event and how he survived.... it makes grueling reading and its why I need to know what time to call mountain rescue when he goes off on some of his jaunts!! He wrote this account 4 weeks after the event and hasn't looked at for a long time it until yesterday when we both read it and felt ill, relieved and thankful he is still here to read it!!! This was an event that happened before I met Dr Fred but that does...

On what was originally hailed as the hottest day or the year Dr Fred and I headed to Upper Teesdale to investigate a new temporary art installation by Steve Messam called Hush. We had a lunch/breakfast at the Bowlees cafe to gather some calories to consequently sweat off as we head up first through the forest and then across the fields to a wee valley festooned with yellow flags. A 'hush' is a mining term.  When miners found interesting minerals in the hillsides they would make an artificial dam across the top and collect water and then release it so all the soils would be washed away - this was called hushing.  It leave a channel cut into the hillside and Messams idea was to celebrate the mining community, nature and how it can be used as a contemporary art form. long distance view The flags certainly stand out, as you come over the hill from the cafe they are evident from quite a distance.  Up close you can see the simplicity of the installation,  ov...