I am unashamedly a huge fan of Thomas Hardy's work - I would happily live my life in the simple rural ebb and flow of his world, part of the Stinsford Choir or working for Shepherd Oak and Bathsheba on their farm, simple seasonal rhythms, rituals and customs holding community's together against the harshness of life. To my mind, towering above all else that Hardy created is Chapter 2 in 'Far from the Madding Crowd', when we join the wonderful Gabriel Oak on mid winter's eve on Norcombe Down. The writing shimmers like the stars in the firmament above that he writes of. The simple beauty of Gabriel a man living in a perfect harmony with his world, knowing it and understanding it. It always leaves me euphoric reading that passage.
The title of this print is taken from the passage that also contains: "To persons standing alone on a hill during a clear midnight such as this, the roll of the world eastward is almost a palpable movement. The sensation may be caused by the panoramic glide of the stars past earthly objects, which is perceptible in a few minutes of stillness, or by the better outlook upon space that a hill affords, or by the wind, or by the solitude; but whatever be its origin the impression of riding along is vivid and abiding."
Printed from the original block on mould made Zerkel paper in an edition of 125.
