On Saturday 8th June 2024, the Kitchen Witch crew of Rachel, Heather and myself, met up in Woodford in Salisbury for the ‘Shadows of the Stones’ art exhibition, showcasing works by Chris Down, Laura Daligan and Naomi Cornock.
It was a sunny day but not too warm and the drive to Salisbury wasn’t too bad. Woodford Village Hall is an old hall, built in 1901 and located in a beautiful valley, with a lovely river running through it. We parked our cars and took the short walk across the road to the hall.
We made our way inside and headed to meet Naomi, and to look at her work, which is just stunning! Heather and Naomi are already friends, so Rachel and I were introduced. Rachel had previously bought Naomi’s work on several occasions. I have been following Naomi’s art page for a few years, but like Rachel, I hadn’t met her in person, so it was lovely to finally make her acquaintance. We had a good natter, a cup of coffee and the most delicious brownie before having a look around the exhibition.
Naomi’s work, as previously mentioned, is stunning. The detail in each piece of work captures you, you feel like you get taken on a journey within each piece.
I’m not familiar with Laura’s work personally, but I did like a beautiful painted stag on a piece of walnut wood called The White Hart – Spirit of the Forest.
I’ve been following Chris Down on his social media accounts for a while and one piece at the exhibition really took my eye. It is called Eron the Wizard and is a portrait of his friend. I found the detail of the portrait fascinating and the imagery beautiful. I was quite drawn to it.
We headed back to where Naomi was and we all purchased a few prints – mine was of The Green Man which will be framed and put in my hallway, which is dedicated to the Green Man, and a meditation card of the Raven, which is now sat on my crow altar.
It was getting on for lunch time, but we really didn’t know what was around nearby. Heather had spotted a pub nearby on route to the hall, so we headed up the road in the sunshine. We came to a garden nursery called Heale Gardens, which had a café, so we headed towards that instead. Over a cattle grid and a long tree lined driveway, nestled at the bottom was a small nursery selling all sorts of delightful plants and there in a white painted building – a café! Perfect!
We took our seats in the garden area, waiting for our lunch, which was a delicious, if odd sounding, goats cheese salad with raspberries and mint. (I will be replicating that at home sometime) We seemed to be attracting the attentions of some feathered friends – a couple of Robins and a Great Tit. They were totally unfazed by our presence and landed on the table and the back of our chairs, obviously waiting for the odd crumb or two from our bread.
Full from our lunch, we decided to go for a wander. We are extremely lucky that Heather has a built-in compass and can find her way around the most hidden pathways, across fields and through woodlands and still know where she is. I on the other hand, will get lost in a car park trying to find the exit.
We went up a country lane, through a dense footpath, along a field and down another hidden pathway – taking note of all the wildflowers along the way - to the local church. We all enjoy wandering a graveyard, looking at the names, age of the stones and the imagery and symbols. Most fascinating!
All that walking gave us a thirst and an appetite for cake, so we drove, this time, back to the little garden nursery for refreshments before saying our goodbyes to one another and heading home.
A very enjoyable day and we are looking forward to our next adventure!
Photos of the day by Rachel, Heather and myself.
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