Back to the Wrack Line

what small traces remain

when i tiptoe softly through wrack lines

and whisper poetry in saltwater breezes

M.A.

I've been settling in. My muscles are aching and I am very tired. But here, those things don't stop me from pushing harder. There's just so much to see and do!

The reason I came here was to re-visit the wrack line--that line of seaweed, tiny creatures, and detritus that has been pushed to its furthest point by the high tide. The movement of the tides is visible on the beach and these lines, also called drift lines, wash margins, wash fringes, strand lines, and swash lines (and probably a whole lot of other things) is an edge place--a habitat on the fringes, where the sea meets land. Neither fully land nor fully sea, this is a place inhabited by tiny creatures that bridge both worlds. It is a place of intersection and inter-weaving. 

Wrack lines are ecotones, defined by Wikipedia as transition areas "between two biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate." Wrack lines are areas of transition between land and sea, and between sea and sky. My exploration of wrack lines stretches this definition further to include the integration between the seen and the unseen, the physical and the spiritual. The challenge for me is to make work that expresses all of these deep layers of meaning.

So today, I made my first trip back to the wrack line. In addition to spending time just "being" in this remarkable place, I will be engaging in a series of artistic practices (hopefully daily) that will foster connection. These practices include:

• quick watercolour based on the sensory and emotional experience of the wrack line on that day
• photography on land and under the water, macro and micro
• a lumen photograph catching patterns of light and shadow
• a lab glass photo
• sound recording or video
• writing poetry

Here are some photos I took today:

The wrack line is visible in this photo taken not long after high tide. It is that squiggly line down the centre of the shore.

As the tide moves out, these clusters of seaweed will become exposed on dry land.

The colourist in me smiled when I saw the blue jeep and this building together.

More of that glorious blue!