THE gentle ebb and flow of Riding Mill’s March Burn has provided the perfect backdrop for the latest work of sculptor Neil Canavan.

For the rippling water mimics the feeling within a piece of work called For The End Of Time by French musician and composer Olivier Messiaen, which has stayed with him since he first heard it in the 1960s.

The quartet was written while Messiaen was a prisoner of war at the Nazis’ Stalag VIII-A camp in Poland and it is famous for its contrasting moments of deep calm and frenzied complexity.

But it is a single section dominated by a flautist, which builds and peaks, that has inspired Neil for the last half-century.

And a new sculpture of his, rooted on the edge of the burn, aims to convey the journey of the music to those who view it.

“The notes played by the flautist just seem to spiral up, a bit like bubbles or ripples, until it ends on a high,” said Neil, who specialises in using driftwood, found wood and recycled materials.

“That’s what I’ve tried to reflect in the sculpture by carefully spiralling the wire around a tree.”

A weathered piece of driftwood, bound by wire and perched on gabion baskets, forms the basis of the sculpture.

“I’ve been inspired by the music for so long that I thought it was finally time to bite the bullet and do something with it,” Neil added.

“As far as I understand, Messiaen was asked to write and perform music for the prisoners, by the commandant of the camp.”

Born in Halifax, Yorkshire, Neil started his working life as an apprentice electrician.

After serving his time working for the local electricity board, he went on to do numerous other jobs, before discovering art in his twenties.

He went on to do a fine art degree at Hull College of Art before moving up to the North-East in 1983 to undertake a masters in fine art at Newcastle University.

Since then, Neil has produced public and private commissions in this country and abroad, as well as working on community-based arts projects.

“Work for this exhibition follows a number of strands and themes from ideas gathered from visits to Cyprus, through to music and lastly the sheer joy I get from beachcombing,” said Neil.

“When producing work for myself as opposed to commissioned pieces I tend to work mainly in series.”

Salvaged pieces from a boat led to the creation of Streaming Out and Leaning In back in 1993 and the follow-up piece, Streaming Out, which is constructed in the recovered rudder of a dinghy.

“I love the way this pair looks,” Neil said. “I think they resemble Tibetan prayer flags on poles.”

A pair of Wayward Shrines, a piece of driftwood entwined with rope called In And Out and a piece of wood studded with beach pebbles called Quietly Flows are all part of an exhibition of nine sculptures in the grounds of Shepherds Dene retreat house and a further 30 by Neil in the house.

“Some of the work has been in my studio for 20 or 30 years,” said Neil, who now shares a studio at North Shields with artist Annette Chevalier.

Of one sculpture in the grounds called High Perch, Neil said: “The bird sculptures in particular I have made on and off for the past 25 years, a new batch appearing when I find interesting shaped pieces of driftwood that can be used for a head or wing of the animal.”

But the exhibition in Riding Mill is his first in many years, as Neil’s time is mainly taken up with private commissions.

In between salvaging washed up materials from beaches between Alnmouth and Seaton Carew, Neil has been commissioned to create work in the grounds of Seaton Burn Community College and Blyth’s South Beach, to name just a few.

He was even commissioned by social landlord Isos to design bespoke bat boxes at Prudhoe’s Adderlane First School and The Manors extra care scheme.

Many of the sculptures have their own unique tales to tell, including one called Dark And Stormy Night, which depicts boats negotiating rough seas, and is based on wood recovered from the Tyne after a fire damaged a section of the Dunston Staithes back in 2003.

Neil’s work forms part of the exhibition, Paper, Stone, Wood and Bone, which will be available to view at Shepherds Dene until October 19.

An open afternoon will also take place on Sunday, September 13, from 2pm until 5pm.

Newcastle’s Louise Wellington and Riding Mill’s Dot Bell are also part of the exhibition, which has been coordinated by artist and Shepherds Dene curator, Jenny Mathers.

Louise’s work ranges from paper collages and collographs, most made some years ago, which relate to Northern landscapes, rocks and fossils, to free-standing pieces, constructed from found objects, evoking rugged seascapes or man-made structures ravaged by nature.

For Dot, who lives on East View in Riding Mill, a series of prints, using photo-litho, mono printing and collography, are on display in the house.

“My work is mostly about the marks made by water and wind on the environment, ranging from patterns in the sand left by the outgoing tide, to the eroded shapes of mountains and valleys seen from the air, “ said Dot, whose work is influenced by recent travels to Morocco and by circle dancing.

Jenny is also one of three artists in residence at Shepherds Dene, along with Cathy Duncan and illustrator Kim Lewis.

The trio are preparing for an exhibition called Stilled Lives which aims to investigate the 100 different species of moths found in the 20-acre grounds of Shepherds Dene, as well as record them for the Northumberland Moth Survey.

Peachblosson and swallowtail moths are among the types recorded so far, with work on tracking some rare species which have never been found this far north under way.

Paintings and installations, inspired by the moths recorded under the supervision of Drs Kevin and Tom Charman from Riding Mill, will be hung as part of a new exhibition at Shepherds Dene on October 19.