"Choosing a site in which to work was a new experience for me which presented both practical and visual problems. Before I arrived I had made the decision to work in the deciduous rather than the coniferous areas of Grizedale Forest because of their variety of colour, irregularity of form and their more fragile quality. The site had to be accessible to the public, and not in conflict with the timber industry nor disturb the wildlife.

Eventually I chose a site which had a tangible leafed lime tree growing out of sloping ground. What attracted me was the strength, power and extravagance of the lime tree as it emerged from the ground, with the force of a lighted firework and seemed to form an ellipse which spun around the lime to include a small oak. Together they formed a tension which suggested a spiral movement. Under the tree canopy the degrassed, mossy, sharp rocks formed a magical surface which was peaceful on top, with activity hidden below. The branches of a previously felled tree had fallen into a marvellously loose plait which formed part of the edge of the ellipse on the south side. This suggested to me that I make a wood line which would exaggerate the spiral and invite the public into this space. The line had to be delicate so that it would not form a visual barrier but allow the sculpture to be part of the surrounding forest to which it belonged. The shape grew in height from the west to the north to give the feeling of more weight and so increase the swing. I wanted to emphasise the way in which the ground seemed to thicken and twist around the lime, like porridge around a spoon; so I broke the path of the line and added small raised wood lines which point into the ground and help to lift the swell around the base of the lime tree. They also create a feeling of movement by entering the circumference of the structure at more than forty-five degrees. The vertical, single posts are placed in line with the nearest trees, in an attempt to key the sculpture in with neighbouring forest. In retrospect I think that this was a mistake. I enjoyed making this sculpture which I hoped would direct attention to the beauty of this small area of the forest without conflicting with it in too aggressive a way.

Initially, I felt out of place working in the forest, engulfed by the enormity of the scale and faced with the limitation of my own strength. The placement was a physical as well as a visual experience. The ground was totally irregular, no lines were perpendicular, everything was moving, growing and changing. After a while, the idea of a four-walled, geometrically-perfect gallery space seemed extraordinarily unreal. I realised that an area of forest is only clearly visible in a relatively small visual chunk, corresponding to the extent of your cone of vision. Looking at a larger area, you become the centre of a slightly blurred hemisphere, the perspective appearing curved.

Working at Grizedale has altered my attitude to working in wood, which I had found antiseptic when planed and cut into planks. In the form of logs,it has a seductive, curvaceous quality. I had wanted to use wood because it will, in time, naturally decay back into the forest. I feel it is presumptuous to make a sculpture which will have a prolonged life when it was not commissioned by the people of the Lake District.

The public seemed reluctant to 'interrupt' me whilst working and if they did so, they felt that their opinions were of no value, when in fact they were important, interesting and necessary. I would have welcomed more comments.

At the end of the placement I felt that I was just beginning to understand the problems of working in the open air and discover some of the possibilities."