Trudi Entwistle

The crisp orange leaves of autumn continue to lie on the woodland floor, as fresh as they fell. Dry grey trunks of Beech, Hickory and Oak rise from amongst this carpet of colour and branch out into the blue sky above. A shallow gully shapes the space and descends towards the creek. The skeletal trees of February cast strong shadows across this basin, the lines transverse the hollow highlighting and changing its form as the day progresses. The eye can view into the distant wood - a sense of openness in a vertical landscape, the only feeling of containment comes from a speckled curtain formed from the last remaining leaves of the young beech trees.

I wanted to create something that would display these natural features, providing the viewer a focus ? a location to visit, stop, sit and absorb these wonders of place. Creating a sculpture that defined the space without disrupting the qualities of place.

A series of elliptical clay earth and moss mounds cascade down both slopes of this wooded gully, progressively growing in size as they descend into the bottom. The scale of mounds exaggerates the participants' descent and existing topography of this hollow. The rhythm of mounds suggest a movement of

fluidity,bouncing off one another and brushing around tree trunks.The forms and space in between dissolve into the surroundings fully integrating the sculpture and woodland. The elliptical mound creates an anchor for moss to live, elevated above the leaves the form provides an environment common to its original habitat in the forests surrounding Clemson.

The luminous green moss contrasts with the leaf carpet. From afar this bold statement of simple forms attracts the participant to the place creating a unique order and pattern to meditate upon. Once within, the moss mounds become subsidiary, the perimeter of the base becomes exaggerated and defines the space in between. The place takes over and attention is drawn to the display of nature surrounding you.

Time will intervene and play its role in the character of the sculpture. In the duration of a day shadows jump over the mounds highlighting the motion of the suns path. As the winter moves to spring the leaves on the canopy will diffuse the shadows and create dappled pattern. Colour of the mosses will change during their period of dormancy in summer. Autumn will smother the mounds with crisp orange leaves and as the winds race through the trees the leaves fall to expose the tips of the mounds. The cycle will begin again.

When wanting to create a place of contemplation I was initially inspired by the meditative qualities of a Zen garden. Not just by the display and arrangement of stones but by the process of maintenance and daily routine. A monk will spend time raking the gravel, clearing their mind and garden before using it to meditate. I hope that if the mounds are covered with leaves the participant will also enjoy the process of clearing them aside before focusing on the scale, direction, rhythm, colour and space inbetween.

Febuary 2000