September and October/ Harvest Report

(September, October- Paintings by Kevin Macneil Brown,
acrylic on canvas board, 2007}

SEPTEMBER , OCTOBER

*
Long journey
Energy gathering
Small birds calling.

*
The rose that waits
to bloom until
after leaves have fallen.

- Kevin Macneil Brown

9/24/09

-------------------------------------------------------

HARVEST REPORT

Arriving at the season of falling leaves, colder air, and opening views, I can't stop thinking about my trip to Chickering Bog a few days ago. I rode my bike up into the hills on a perfect blue sky day. Along the way I was treated to the sight of a hunting harrier in September sun. For a good ten minutes I watched her low flight over pond, sedges, cornfield-- stealth maneuvers and random patterns-- the clear light of sky and water shining on her buff, white, and gray feathers. Later, I stashed the bike in the woods, and ran along mossy trails in pine-filtered light to the bog-- a fen actually: a small stretch of ancient open water surrounded -- and eventually to be covered by-- sedges and vegetation mat; the glug-glug of those waters and the hammering of a woodpecker the only nearby and discernible sounds.

As for my harvest, I'm excited to announce the publication of my mystery novel COMPASS, WATER,STONE AND TIME. It's the first of 5 novels I've written. The story was inspired by one place in particular, the old roads and trails of Irish Hill--running and exploring in those woods and meadows set my imagination in motion. You can sample-- and purchase-- the book here:

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/compass-water-stone-and-time/7648423

I've also recently finished a long ambient soundwork that I composed all through the spring and summer of 2009.You can listen to it and read about it by going to the post just previous to this one. (It's available on CD in a limited edition version with a selection of prints; to purchase a copy, contact liminaleditions@gmail.com).

Now, looking forward to further adventures, along with cider donuts, snow geese, and the silver light of autumn sky and water.....

Soundwork: Morning Lake Reflecting Sky

Morning Lake Reflecting Sky ( Painting by Kevin Macneil Brown,

acrylic on canvas, 2009)

Going to Lake Champlain in the contemplative quiet of early morning, I have found that water and sky give off a compelling sense of power and mystery. Fog, breaking and changing sunlight; the muffled sounds of birds, waves, oars, and distant boat engines all add to the softly resonant soundscape, shorescape, skyscape.
Over the spring and summer of 2009 I made this long soundwork to evoke for myself and others the moods and feelings I’ve found in contemplating the morning lake.
This piece is designed to move very slowly; to vibrate in subtle ways and conjure the sounds, sights, and textures of a time and place where water, light, listening, and perception might come quietly together.

-KMB