Elemental art and garbage music
Just some of the environmental news happening in North Yorkshire and the North East
Good morning! I’m Sarah Hartley and this is The Northern Eco weekly update. As you’ve received this newsletter then either you subscribed, or someone forwarded it to you. If the latter, then you can click on this handy little button below.
We’re once again taking a look at that intersection between art and the environment to start today with a feature about an artist who doesn’t just paint images of the landscape but even uses elements from the landscape to make her paint. Plus we’ve news on:
🌎 The campaign to get fossil fuels out of pension investments
🎬 York film screening
⚠️ Fighting incinerator moves
Meet the artist turned fashion muse Penny Hunt
Dales artist Penny Hunt would usually be described as a landscape artist with work said to be “about the places where you feel the full force of wind and weather and find some perspective on life.”
But that would be a simplistic label to put to her work which actually uses elements from the landscape to create the work - grinding stones to make paint as well as collecting and smouldering twigs to create charcoal.
And it was this integral connection to the land which caught the eye of the ethical fashion brand Lucy and Yak and led to them approaching the artist for a collaboration.
Taking over her Horton-in-Ribblesdale studio, the Yorkshire founded clothing company (which started out by scouring charity shops in Barnsley) the collection Inked was born.
They described the journey on the website:
“Penny’s art is all about embracing what’s around you. From exploring the nature and the imperfections in it and taking solace and inspiration from the elements around us.
“You can feel the natural world in everything she does; in the artwork she creates, in her studio overlooking the Dales, in the work she does rescuing local animals and working with the community to make it a better place for all living things.”
The collaboration came as something of a surprise to Penny when the company tracked her down via Google and suggested the link up. A photoshoot with multiple outfits and even a modelling contract followed. It was all a very different world for the artist who laughed..
“I’m 59, fatter than I’ve ever been and have grey hair - what do I know about modelling?”
The successful studio takeover was just one of the events involving the professional artist. Penny is now working towards the upcoming North Yorkshire Open Studios event in November.
This will see her sharing the studio again, this time alongside fellow local artist Hester Cox with the doors open to the public throughout the weekend of November 1 and 2 between 11am and 4pm.
Much of Penny’s work is inspired by the dramatic landscapes around her studio and is created from the land itself. She fell in love with the idea of making her own paints after working at the nearby Wallace Seymour paint factory.
“Many, many years ago, I used to go into their factory and, if they had a big order on I’d help out, and they would pay me in paint. Theirs are literally ground up rocks from around here. They’ve got a big grinding machine, then they make into the powders and then mix the paints.
“I would stand at the end of the line and get a teaspoon and put the the paint into the tubes, and crib the end of the tubes. I just got more and more interested in doing it myself and wanting part of the land that I’d actually walked on there in the painting. So it’s all about the feel of it and the understanding of the land.”
Find out more about Penny’s work (including directions to the studio) here.
The North Yorkshire Winter Open Studios takes place across November 1 and 2. No need for appointments, simply find artists near you at the website here.
Lucy and Zak’s fascinating back story can be found here.
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In other news
🌎 Do you ever wonder how your council tax payments are invested? The megafund pension pot is one such place and still invests in planet harming industries. Supporters of the Border to Coast Pensions Partnership (BCPP) Fossil Free campaign are trying to change that and will join a COP30 march in Durham on 8 November starting at 10.30am from Framwellgate Bridge. Read the full report on this here.
🗳️ And talking of fossil fuels….Government ministers met representatives from the fossil fuel industry more than 500 times during their first year in power – equivalent to twice every working day, according to new research, reports at Matthew Taylor at The Guardian.
🌏 “Reform UK also misses the point that the road to Net Zero is not something that will ultimately cost us a lot of money,” writes Peter Sagar at NorthEast Bylines, “but is instead a great opportunity for a region like the North East….”
💦 The Environment Agency (EA) has issued further six drought permits to Yorkshire Water to allow them to conserve water in reservoirs to secure public drinking water supplies. [EA Press Release]
💦 The Richmond and Northallerton MP has written to Minister for Water and Flooding, Emma Hardy, to back an application being prepared by the Save Our Swale (SOS) group, writes Joe Willis here.
🌳 Seems that dressing up is the campaigners’ weapon of choice this autumn! Last week we had the visually striking Neptune and Blue Rebels and coming up we have a tree themed protest planned over Harrogate Spring Water factory expansion. The expansion is due to be decided by North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area planning committee on October 28. Full report here.
⚠️ An appeal has been tabled for Durham County Council to join residents in opposing an environmental permit application for the proposed incinerator facility in Newton Aycliffe, reports Bill Edgar.
🎬 I was thrilled to meet the documentary film maker Weeraya Vichayaprasertkul, who is currently studying at York University, last week. Her film about the children in Northern Thailand who turn waste into music gets a screening in the city tomorrow.
The special film screening and discussion is on tomorrow (Wednesday, Oct 22)from 17:00 - 18:30. Doors at 4:50pm. If you enjoy this trailer you can book tickets here.
The three most clicked links from last week were:
Is your MP attending the National Emergency Briefing?
That’s it for now but don’t forget there are always updates on the website and via social media through the week.
See you next week when Claire and Alan from The Wonky Tree will be here!