A Letter from the Editor
June 21st 2015
Dear Reader,
Welcome to StepAway Magazine‘s seventeenth issue.
I’d first like to thank you all for voting for us in the Walk 21 Vienna Walking Visionaries Awards. We make it our duty to avoid bombarding our readers with weekly emails, however, on this occasion we bashfully requested that you participate in Walk 21′s online public vote. The response was overwhelming – so many of you took the time to support us. Your efforts are very much appreciated. I am delighted to report that StepAway Magazine won an award for Walking and the Arts. We’ll be thinking of you all when we receive the award in Vienna in October.
Issue seventeen opens with two extracts by Adam Ford. The first is taken from his book Mindfulness & the Art of Urban Living, which explores the activity of walking as an exercise for both body and mind. The second is from The Art of Mindful Walking where Mr. Ford takes the reader on a mindful journey through the city. Leaping Hare Press publish a set of engaging, beautifully bound titles on mindfulness. However, I felt that these two particular volumes by Mr. Ford would most interest StepAway readers. I was particularly impressed by the author’s positive approach to walking – his enthusiasm is palpable throughout both of these titles. I was also captivated by his attention to the walker’s gaze. In each of these extracts he encourages us to look upwards and outwards, beyond our habitual field of vision when walking. Furthermore, the books are refreshingly jargon free and a pleasure to dip into.
This issue also includes some fantastic work from: Ben Banyard, J.D. Blair, Nancy Charley, Joachim Frank, Sarah Newfeld-Green, Sam Lewis, Luisa Lyons, Myron Michael, Derold Sligh, and Gina Williams.
Our cover art is courtesy of the London based artist John Gledhill. The image, a linocut, is reminiscent of the Elizabethan Street Scene from The Roxburghe Ballads. The pedestrians in Mr. Gledhill’s contemporary work may not be tending to livestock or dodging the contents of chamber pots poured from upper floor windows, yet they are united across the ages as faces of the urban crowd going about their daily business. A number of pieces from the artist’s impressive portfolio, such as “Communication II” pass comment on the interconnection and disconnection of those inhabiting urban space. I admire his intuitive flâneur’s eye view of the city and encourage you to explore his website further.
I hope that you enjoy reading this, our seventeenth issue.
Yours faithfully,
Darren Richard Carlaw
