Rock Draping

While in Snowdonia, I was challenged to take part in a 'rock draping' challenge by Paula Owens and Steve Rawlinson.

You can read about this technique for engaging with the landscape in an article in Primary Geography, from 2014 (Subscription required)
This was part of a weekend of fieldwork in the Cwm Idwal area called Wildthink, and the technique is described by Paula in the article as having the following benefits....

Rock-draping provides opportunities to use the whole of our body to touch the landscape and feel the geology: explore textures, hardness, strength, inclination, situation, aspect, durability and so on. Recording an image of the ‘draping’ is also geographical as it made us consider elements such as the best view, the colours in the geology, the light and the position of the sun and the shadows it might cast. Put simply, rock draping makes you think about the size and shape of a boulder and its journey to that one particular spot. 

I passed this very rock pictured above the day before, but had to wait to return to the valley, so ended up on a roche moutonnée (various spellings are possible) in the Nant Ffrancon valley.

Here's my attempt...

Image: Claire Kyndt

Comments

Paula Owens said…
Heartened this afternoon reading your lovely posts about primary geography - thank you Alan. Great bit of rock draping as well. Think it's time for a bit of resurgence in that artform. It's underused :)
Alan Parkinson said…
Thanks Paula - I hope to be back in North Wales again some time soon. Would normally have been there this year with students again.