Plant Acorns Like a Jay

2024
Charcoal
4ftx5ft

Inspired by a morning encounter with two deer in a clay quarry in The Black Country. The land this quarry is sited was heavily mined for coal, then when the mines closes turned back into green fields where sky larks built their nests. Then the land was scraped away to remove all the clay, then when the clay was gone left alone to return to nature. Today it is recolonised by silver birch with oak trees sprouting everywhere presumably planted by jays. Old stories from this area say it was once a mighty oak forest before the trees were felled to make way for industrialisation. The return of the oak and the meeting with the deer are powerful symbols of renewal and regeneration. Plant acorns like a jay.