I can't resist posting this. I have just received the brochure for the Drawn to the Valley Open Studio event and I have just read the Foreword. This is best description I have read, to date, of The Tamar Valley where my new home and luxury Bed and Breakfast Sandhill House, Gunnislake, Cornwall and self-catering studio barn, The Tamar Orchard Barn; one of the best kept historic secrets in Cornwall.
Kurt Jackson is a leading British Contemporary Artist, who has lived in Cornwall most of his life but spent three years of his life on an artistic project absorbing the Tamar River and her valley environment.
"I walked her banks, sat with my toes in her cold waters, swam and canoed; exploring and discovering for myself her true identity. I aimed to capture and celebrate her beauty and changing moods, and her valley through a variety of media - a body of work ranging from pocket sized scribbles - whilst walking between villages, to sail-sized pieces of canvas laid out on her tidal beaches and in the fields flanking her banks. As in all my work I was searching for ways to respond to both the stimuli of the visual topography as well as trying to engage with the rich cultural history and diversity of habitats; the ancient woodland, post industrial, intertidal, agricultural and heathland sites that combined with a micro climate and a unique geology mean that this river is host to a huge range of animals and plants with everything from the heath fritillary to the avocet to the lamprey; from the rare lichens to all the orchids - all of international significance. As a result of my time and work along this watercourse I now realise that the Tamar exists as more than just a border - this is in fact a glorious green corridor built on layers of historical heritage - an inspiration for all those living, working and visiting the Valley today."
I think Kurt achieved his objective.
Gunnislake, home to the largest copper mines in the world in the 18th century, is just over Newbridge (built in the 1500s), which was built across the River Tamar border between Devon and Cornwall, is indeed the historic gateway to Cornwall.
