November 2014 – Susan M Wallis Art Blog

Behold the beauty of the earth and sea

The birds in the sky

A magical peace

A connection with the universe and all within

A freedom to be

The joy of letting go, discovering

What a privilege to be enveloped by Iona

The view from my bedroom window

Bishops House; Wendy Smith on our journey to Mull; The library, me in the window: Breakfast Wendy Sue and Sonia McNally, our ‘leader’; First footsteps in the sand Wendy Dawes and mine; Beautiful clouds; Me swimming…in a wet suit.
My trip to Iona was magical, although very quickly followed by a visit to Northern Spain; the fascinating Gugggenheim at Bilbao and the rustic landscapes of the Rioja region with acres of vines and Bodegas. We visited an inspiring Bodega with a museum and a four generation cultural history; Vivanco, more than a wine a passion for creating and giving to and from the earth.
http://www.vivancoculturadevino.es

Back to Iona, i was truly blessed to visit this Island and will return. The people were friendly and the environment welcoming, I left invigorated, inspired and with a wealth of new friends that shared my love of creativity. We created and shared our work as an arty family with positivity and informality, we were a family of vision and art. We shared wine, nature swimming and delicious home cooked food, our every need was met. We stayed at The Bishops House and my room overlooked the sea, it was wonderful both to slumber and awaken with the sound of the sea; I truly thought i had come to heaven , it was a dream come true!

http://www.island-retreats.org/iona.html

One of the many highlights of the our time in the Hebrides was our boat rip to Staffa; armed with paints, pastels and other sketching equipment we created whilst rolling on the rough sea. Fantastic, what energy and power the sea has; we were viewed by seagulls seals and cormorants..as I said heaven! The elements were against us and it appeared we may not land, but one more circle round Staffa and the skipper managed a somewhat turbulent entry to the landing stage. Care had to be taken when disembarking as the boat slammed backwards and forwards in the waves. Most of us then proceeded with care to Fingles cave; I wasn’t sure if I would be able, as some of the trail is without handrails. I achieved it and wasn’t it worth the effort! The basalt rock formations resembled giant graphite pencils coming up from the sea, as we walked the sea lopped up to our feet. A powerful and liberating feeling being in the middle of wild seas on a small rocky outcrop, I just inhaled and grew! The cave was magnificent, the water charged in and sprayed in a frenzy, loudly echoing like thunder in the cave. The roof of the cave was like stone rosettes, where the water had warn away the rock face in delightful patterns. It was a very important journey for one of our colleagues as she is very ill, the whole Iona experience was a spiritual exploration, and she made it into the cave, wow what an achievement!! I along with some others managed the steps to the top of Staffa but not to the highest point as there was a limited window for the boat to take us off the Island. It was still amazing looking out to the wild seas and seeing the tiny fishing boat coming towards us. There was a bit of tension when the rope broke and set the front of the boat free! Another rope was attached and accurately thrown over the bollard, we had to stand on a box and be helped in by two people; it was a slow process as the boat was only close enough in short burst.

Fingles cave approaches

Back to dry land for supper, critique and a glass of wine; followed by a trip to the one pub! I will always remember when we swam as mermaids free in the ocean with seaweed hair and our very touching communion on our last day; this was on the edge of the water by our beach with home made bread and chianti from the night before, quite emotional and special, we were a real family and had become quite close.

Beach Communion Iona

The following photographs are from Iona and of some of the artworks that began, sand and oil paint are good together! In my next post I will elaborate more on the final part of the journey, Lindisfarne and also an abandoned cemetery in Sheffield that is being rejuvenated with sensitive and exciting landscaping to encourage wildlife and natural habitats.