Landscape

Landscape 2001-6, earthenware by Lorna Graves (1947-2006).

Composition consists of five earthenware smoke-fired Raku pieces mounted in a black painted frame. The pieces comprise the figure of a sleeping woman, the sun, an animal, a stone with carved labyrinth design and a stone in the shape of a face. Each of these symbolic pieces has a connection with the landscape and these forms appear frequently in Graves’ work.

Lorna Graves, a Cumbrian-born artist, sadly died in 2006 at the height of her creativity having gained recognition nationally. Fortunately, Graves left Tullie House an important collection of her work which was the focus of a major exhibition in 2008-9. Graves was born in Kendal in 1947 and spent her early years in Cumbria. She obtained a BSc in Earth Sciences from the University of London, worked as a librarian at Oxford University and studied calligraphy at Cambridge College of Art. The artist that most inspired her was Cecil Collins (1908-1989), a British visionary painter inspired by the spiritual and poetry. Graves moved back to Cumbria to study fine art at Carlisle College of Art and became a full-time artist. She exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Britain and abroad and her work is represented in numerous public and private collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Graves’ diverse artistic output includes painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture. Most of her work is on a small scale intended for the domestic environment. The exhibition covered Graves’ artistic career and included works dating from 1982 to 2006. Graves’ symbolic sculptures (mostly made of earthenware, smoke-fired using the Japanese raku process) dominated the exhibition. Also included were a selection of her paintings, drawings, prints, sketchbooks and photographs reflecting the rich and diverse output of this important artist. Graves’ aim as an artist was to produce work of great simplicity. Her work expresses her deep interest in the spiritual, the natural world, her native landscape and ancient civilisations.

Graves empathised with the ancient and natural landscape, especially of her native Cumbria. She grew up on various farms in North Cumbria where she worked with animals and helped with the harvest. She became aware of the natural rhythms of life from an early age. She was also aware of the elements around her: the stars, constellations, sun and moon. Her later studies in geology, geography and ancient civilisations enabled her to ‘read’ the landscape. As a student she drew fossils, rock formations, crystal structures and landforms. Graves found the timeless qualities of ancient stones, particularly Long Meg and Her Daughters Bronze Age Stone Circle, at Little Salkeld near Penrith, very powerful. The Eden Valley, Pennines and Lakeland hills also provided an important ‘sense of place’.

Graves’ loved literature and poetry. She wrote poetry and developed ideas in notebooks. Her friendship with the poet Kathleen Raine confirmed her standing as an artist, who wrote: “I see in your work a kind of grave simplicity, something tender and enduring. So little work comes from the true centre and source but I can see that you are a serious artist.”