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June 2023 June 2023

Karen Hally Reptiles

Born in New Zealand and travelling to the UK in There are six reptiles native to England
her early 20’s, Karen moved from London to – grass snake, adder, smooth snake,
Dorset in 2009. slow worm (which isn’t a snake but a
legless lizard), common lizard and sand
Karen has a varied portfolio of glass art, lizard. All are to be found in Dorset.
generally centred around the technique of Slow worms are sometimes seen in
fusing layers of glass together in a kiln which reaches temperatures of over 800 gardens around the village along with
degrees c. The fused piece is often then rested on top of a mould and fired the occasional grass snake. Do let us
again to take the shape of the mould. Some pieces are fired several times to know if you have seen any of these reptiles either in your garden or elsewhere in
create the desired effect. She loves the use of vibrant colours and geometric the Parish.
design.
Any other interesting wildlife spots, do please let us know.
Of particular interest to Karen is creating random blocks of glass using different
colours which are fired then cut into strips. The strips are then turned on their side
to show the cross section pattern that has been created. These strips then form a Newts
centrepiece to create a dish or panel, the pattern bar being the focal point. Newts being seen in local ponds. There
Karen’s inspiration comes from her love of vibrant colours and geometric design, are three native newt species in the UK –
the latter coming from her passion for the Art Deco era. Whilst still exploring the the smooth newt, the great crested newt
many techniques available, her portfolio is constantly expanding. and the palmate newt. The local sightings
have been of palmate newts, although

others may well be present.
Helen Frost
The Palmate Newt relatively common
Helen moved to Affpuddle after 30 years in Chichester. Delighted to be joining throughout the UK. It is a relatively small
Karen at her studio, Helen says “My work is inspired by our beaches, where I pick species, reaching only about 8.5 cm to
litter and collect “treasure”. I take a camera to record my finds, finding 9.5 cm. They are olive-green or brown
absorption in the hunt. with a dark line running across the head
But this is just the start - work is produced in response to the items that I find on my with some dark spotting on the back.
walks around the shore. I am drawn to the texture, marks, colour and form of the During the March to May breeding season they are active during the day as well
junked and the jettisoned. A long lost spoon, a boat engine fuel filter, a piece of as night, but outside this period their activity is restricted to rainy or humid nights.
ship’s metal - these are my pieces of treasure. I spend many hours hunting the
shores and have developed an eye for spotting things that don’t belong there. I These newts spend their breeding season in ponds, marshes and other still water.
like to work with a variety of media, in 2D and 3D, utilising found wood, metal, At other times they tend to be land based in woodland, grassland, hedgerows
rubber, cloth, plastic or anything else that appeals. and marshy areas. They feed primarily on invertebrates and hibernate under logs
and stones over the winter period. A good reason to leave an area of your
I am fascinated with the process by which a garden untended with piles of logs and stones.
pristine, utilitarian, commonplace man made
item enters the sea and is returned to the land
at some point, brought by tide and wind. On Wildflower Meadows
its return it has become unique - altered,
distressed, made more beautiful and We are looking forward to the meadow areas flowering over the coming months.
rendered useless! What happens in between is Tilhill has ploughed and sown annual cornfield flowers in two areas of May’s Wood
guess work!!
– just above the school and at the far end of Shitterton. These cornfield

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