Kate Walters and Guillemot Press present The Iona Notebooks
Terre Verte Gallery, Altarnun, Cornwall.
Opening with artist’s talk and book launch on May 5th, 5 - 8 pm, all welcome.
Altarnun is close to the A30, seven miles west of Launceston. The gallery is on the main street in the
village, Satnav : PL15 7SJ
Since 2015 Kate has been very fortunate to spend three periods working as an artist-in-residence on the
Isle of Iona. Walking back to the North End, where the hostel is, from the tiny village beside the jetty.
She prefers to work there in the winter months when it is very quiet.
Each day Kate worked in an old byre with the company of mice, roses, raindrops and birds. It was cold
and often wet but she loved it. She made monotypes and drawings long into the evenings by the light of
On the North beach the light was often golden and the sea particularly lucid. One day whilst standing
near here an otter came out of her Holt and ran past Kate. The name of the croft there is Lagandorain,
which means ‘hollow of the otter’ in Gaelic.
Spending time on the Island gave Kate the opportunity to ‘tune into’ the place and also herself. As the
place has a particular clarity it lends itself to this kind of deep inner work, and to prayer. Kate liked to
think that as she drew, the monks making the Book of Kells could have been sitting nearby once, in their
tiny stone cells, drawing in the half light.
Lagandorain, Iona
The gallery in Altarnun.
This exhibition will consist of around twenty five framed works, an installation of drawings and
monoprints which Kate made on Iona, or soon after. There will be book signing, and a film made by
Karen Lorenz. At the opening event Kate will give a reading from Iona Notebooks, and talk about how
the book came into being – after her meeting with Luke Thompson, founder of Guillemot Press.
Bird making womb for my consciousness. Oil on paper.
Kate was fascinated by the insights afforded her when she was able to spend time being quiet with the
wildlife, particularly birds. She loved the stories of St Bride, and the Oystercatcher who protected her;
and the fact that St. Bride was born on Iona – regarded by many as a ‘thin’ place, and one of the holy
places. Kate’s dreams would become particularly lucid when staying there; she dreamed of St. Columba,
horses, and her old dog who had recently died. He was telling her he’d come back to life because she
loved him so much.
www.katewalters.co.uk www.katewalters.co.uk/blog https://vimeo.com/73134126 @katehorse
Terre Verte is an independent contemporary art gallery on Bodmin Moor. Established by artist and
environmentalist Richard Sharland in 2014, the gallery shows an annual programme of themed exhibitions
which share different visions of the 'faraway nearby'. Themes such as alchemy, collage, meditation, and
climate change bring together artists from the rich creative community of north Cornwall with others from
much further afield. Painters who are writers feature prominently in the programme and there are often
readings and walks at the gallery as well as links with local literary festivals. Kate Walters' 'Iona Notebooks'
in May will be followed this year by 'From Eden Rock to Brexit : Paintings from a Causley Century 1917-2017'
in June and 'Layers, Meditation and Memory : 4 Artists Evoke Serendipity and the Subconscious' in July. A full
programme can be seen at www.richeart.co.uk The gallery can be contacted on 01566 880405 or
Guillemot Press is a small independent publisher with a preference for the simple, thoughtful and beautiful.
They publish illustrated poetry and single-story pamphlets, postcards, plays and art books, playing with materials
and printing processes, including digital, letterpress, lithograph and risograph. Although only founded in 2016,
Guillemot Press is developing a terrific list of writers and artists for various projects, including Rosmarie Waldrop,
Rowan Williams, Rebecca Goss, Robert Lax, Martyn Crucefix, Toby Martinez de las Rivas and Melanie Challenger.
To obtain a copy of the book, please follow this link: https://guillemotpress.wordpress.com/kate-walters/