Cover to Cover a sketchbook project

As a participant in Cover to Cover I spent Monday last at Winton Windmill, sketching.

A good reason to leave The Shed on a beautiful bright, but cold, day.

Cover to Cover is an Open Studios project that will explore the creativity and inspiration of artists taking part in Newbury Open Studios 2014. Painters, jewellers, textile artists, potters, sculptors, video or cake artists come together and show how work develops from our sketch books or doodles into a finished piece.

Going up stairs. Narrow and very steep, like a ships ladder. Working in this environment must have had its interesting moments . . .

As someone sketches the view I sketch the window.

We're in amongst the display,

and I have this delightful fella looking over my shoulder . . .

Surrounded by text . . .

information for visitors (of course) but it creates a shadow narrative of the space, and it's enabled me to build various scenarios for book works.

Bearing in mind that this is still a working mill, the sack hoist is a tad wormy considering the weight of a full sack.

Going down . . .

A few facts about Wilton Windmill

built . . . 1821

number of years in operation . . . approx. 100

number of years unused and derelict . . . approx. 50

start of renovations . . . 1971

first milling after renovations . . . 1976