The Bluebell is the sweetest flower

The Bluebell is the sweetest flower
That waves in summer air;
Its blossoms have the mightiest power
To soothe my spirit's care

We've been friends for sometime now, haven't we?  In that case I think it is about time I showed you around my office.

Well, not the boring parts of the office. The bits that are a hop, skip and a rabbit jump away and at this time of year, simply glorious. You could not pay me to work in London at the moment when I have all this mere minutes from my desk.

Steve bought me a Fitbit about a month ago, and it has been encouraging me (quite literally; the thing buzzes at me every time it thinks I have moved enough recently) to get up and get going.  This, combined with the need to hit 10K steps a day, and the fact that the weather has suddenly become warm(er) and sun(nier) have all combined to mean that I have been using my lunch breaks as an opportunity to get out and explore the glorious countryside that surrounds my campus, and in some cases, still very much part of the campus.

Much as Bronte said in her poem, I have also found that these walks amongst the bluebells and wildflowers have had a deeply relaxing effect on me.  They are a wonderful de-stresser, helping me to focus and breath deep, great gulps of fresh air, inhaling the sweet scents of hawthorn and cherry blossom that litter the pathways.  When I have returned to the office, I have been much more focussed and productive, and I am also sleeping better at night.

Amazingly, although all of this is right there on our doorsteps, most students and staff don't even realise it exists as, for the most part, you access it by either going off the footpaths or behind buildings.

I have to say though, as far as lunchtime strolls go, it doesn't get much better than bluebell woods, wildflower meadows and sweeping views of the Cathedral.

There are secret cubby holes made out as fairy glades where people can pull up a quiet mushroom and get stuck into a book.

Great old trees just begging to be climbed

Glades and secret pools where ducks snooze contentedly, unless disturbed by one of the hundreds of wild rabbits that litter the hillside.

Places that remind me of one of my favourite paintings at the Tithe barn exhibition

Bluebell woods transforming the secret walks into a sea of gently waving shades of blue.

 

I've been walking the paths every lunch break for the last month, and I am still finding new trails, new pathways and new secrets to unlock, each adventure lasting just long enough to have me back at my computer just as my lunch break is over.

Will you have a lunchtime adventure next week?

In the Field of the Visible is the Gaze

One of the things I love about working in a University is the amount of creativity I see around me on a daily basis.  At the moment we have a student art exhibition showing in the foyer of the college my office is based in.

Chloe McKeown

Chloe McKeown

The art work is the graduate show by students from Canterbury College entitled 'In the Field of the Visible is the Gaze' and includes pieces as diverse as installation art and sculpture, design from print, branding, promotional and screen-based graphic art.

Craig Gordan

Craig Gordan

Craig Gordan

As mentioned previously, I know very little about art but I really love this exhibition and it is clear that there are some incredibly talented students out there.

Sophie Westwater

Sophie Westwater

Lucie Boudeux

This piece particularly caught my eye.  It is inspired by African and tribal art and by a student called Aimee Lawrence.   She describes her work as focusing on African and westernised 'mask' culture using recycled industrial materials.

 The below pieces are inspired by the Butterfly Effect of Chaos Theory

Raymond Grinney

Raymond Grinney

It is impossible to capture on camera the way the light is reflected through this piece by Jasmine Al-Aidi.  It is made of glass and shimmers light and colour.

Ekaterina Borisova Dyakovo's piece on the impact of illustrating, branding and print media on modern life should ring particularly true to bloggers!

Upstairs in the foyer are branding pieces of art for different ad campaigns.  Being a bit of a Disney addict I especially loved the two for Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

Alexander Hartop

Some of the pieces had strong social messages.   Reza Davoudian designed this anti-bullying campaign,  Karl Swithenbank wanted to celebrate conservation work in Africa and Emily Stephens drew attention to the prevalence of HIV that exists within the UK.

Others got into the student spirit, designing briefs for alcoholic drinks (Barcardi Breezers that appeal to men) and London Fashion Week.

Liam Sawyer

Liam Sawyer

Leanne Toomey

Aimee Partridge

This final piece I found particularly moving.  The artist Heidi Kemp suffers from a hoarding disorder and as her project photographed every item in her room and catalogued them in this book.  She invited people to remove a photograph from the book.  In doing so she was able to discard all of the items she had hoarded over the years.  I chose this photograph to take.