FULL CIRCLE
Sheep Stell, VARC, Highgreen, Northumberland, September 6th 2026.
Installation of hand felted and indigo dyed wool, with locally sourced fleece from Franje Samson, with eleven minute soundscape composed by Marc Rigelsford (Magic Arm) with spoken word haiku written and performed by Patrick Gabler., woven with field recordings from Highgreen.
Seventy-five people took a ceremonial walk from Highgreen to a circular sheep stell on the surrounding moorland in Northumberland National Park to mark VARC’s 25th anniversary celebration, carrying with them a stone wrapped in felt to be placed at the site. The soundscape was played simultaneously through wireless headphones when everyone was gathered in the stell.
You can listen to the piece here:
soundcloud.com/stell-for-full-circle
Choose a stone
Carry it with you
Walk to the stell
Listen collectively
Leave your stone
Complete the circle
On these endless days
A sky draped in pure pigment
Of infinite blue
*Visual Arts in Rural Communities (VARC) is a charity organisation that has successfully brought artists to rural Northumberland since 2000, to live and work with the local community for extended periods of time.