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from lazy blue flowers

Gael Turnbull (7 April 1928 - 2 July 2004) was commissioned in 2004 to write a poem on The Storey, this draft was his last work before he died. The commission formed part of a larger project including a poem by Jacob Polley, working with Lancaster City Council, Folly and The Storey Gallery  which explored the Storey building plans through a virtual model of the space. 

The Storey - busy with builders

 

from lazy blue flowers (draft)

from lazy blue flowers that develop
into lobular pods with elliptical seeds
producing, when crushed, a yellowish oil
with characteristic smell, not totally disagreeable
having large variations in viscosity
and the peculiarity of absorbing oxygen
on exposure to air, eventually yielding
a compact, elastic mass, capable of being combined with
a great variety of substances, such as
wood flour, ground cork, pine resins, gum arabic
tallow, gutta percha, varnish, others, plus pigments
- including lamp black, white lead, iron oxides, prussian blue -
into paste called "kiver", to be applied to fabrics
such as hessian, canvas, linen, even cotton,
making it waterproof, flexible and of much resilience
and when dried, capable of being polished or printed on
in a variety of ways for table, wall or floor
each worker employing their own particular standards
as experience taught them, by creative industry
- so that what seems impossible to one
may be common daily practice with another -
flexibility of process being very desirable
even for this building around us, dedicated
to the practice of science and the arts
to give an impetus of advantage to the town
where all of this has been derived
by progression of effort, over many years
from hazy blue flowers that develop...

NOTE: This text is derived from a variety of sources, using the original expressions as far as practical, including some by Thomas Storey himself.

© Gael Turnbull 2004
 

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