Summery Summaries: Part Two: Prism Arts

I've had a very busy year at Prism Arts! As it's one of my 'proper' jobs I tend to not blog about the projects I work on which is a bit of a shame as a lot of them are really quite exciting and they do occupy a lot of my time. Continuing on from part one of my Summery Summaries (I do realise we're well and truly into Autumn now but I do like alliteration) I thought I'd do a quick re-cap of some of the projects I've worked on over the last year.

Studio Arts: Still life drawing

Studio Arts: Portraits

Studio Arts: Adding colour to drawings

My main role at Prism Arts is to lead the Studio Arts course; a visual arts programme for adults with learning disabilities and autism. We aim to enable our participants to develop as artists and gain all the different skills they'll need for that; not just practical art skills but also skills such as working to deadlines and briefs, writing artists statements and finding and applying for opportunities. We work in partnership with lots of other organisations to create and deliver exciting and rewarding projects that allow the work to be seen by a wide range of audiences.

Studio Arts: Making brushes

Studio Arts: Mark making with hand made brushes

Over the past year we've had a really busy time and since I last blogged about Studio Arts we've had two exhibitions and a commissioned project. This year we're involved with a big Heritage Lottery funded project looking at Carlisle's textile heritage and we've got two exciting curatorial projects running. We've also been trying to squeeze in some skills development workshops including brush making, different approaches to drawing and portraiture.

Here's what I've been up to over the past year:

China: Through Our Eyes at Tullie House

China Exhibition Interpretation

Following on from our very successful Gallery Trail at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery last year Studio Arts once again worked in partnership with Tullie House to create an exhibition responding to some of the museums Chinese artefacts. This was a really exciting project, it was also very challenging as due to unexpected circumstances the brief had to change part way through the project but we overcame these challenges and were able to create a thoughtful and beautiful exhibition.

Exhibition view

Exhibition view

Exhibition view

Feedback

Folk Tales at Carlisle Archives

Folk Tales interpretation panel

We have also exhibited work at Carlisle archives this year. Studio Arts were inspired by British folk tales and created work inspired by the stories and costumes they researched for this exhibition. I like to show work at the archives as being a public space it allows us to show our work to audiences who may not otherwise find us.

Textile Commission

Some of the textile pieces for Gosling Sike

Bert Badger
Applique and machine embroidery

Fox
Fabric pens and tie dye

Prism Arts have been working with Cumbria Willdlife Trust on a big five year project connected to one of the trusts newest reserves; Eycott Hill. The Trust have also recently moved in to new offices up at Gosling Sike in Houghton (on the edge of Carlisle) and they commissioned Studio Arts to create some textile pieces for their new buildings. This project gave us the opportunity to develop our textile skills and try some new ways of working.

Work in progress on Freddie Fox

Dragonfly
Applique and hand embroidery

March of the Unsung Women: Carlisle's Puppet Pageant Parade

Processions 2018 March in Edinburgh

As well as running Studio Arts I also get involved in lots of other Prism Arts projects. One of my favourite projects this year was Processions (celebrating the centenary of The Representation of the People's Act which gave the first women the vote) and this project became the inspiration for the theme of this years Carlisle Puppet Pageant. In one form or another I've been involved with the puppet pageant since it's inauguration in 2013 and this year Prism Arts were commissioned to run the puppet pageant.

Puppet body parts

Puppet faces

Making bodies

We wanted to celebrate the important but usually overlooked women of Cumbria so we created 10 larger than life puppets of ten important women from Cumbria's history. We worked with a wide range of people, schools and groups, bringing people together to create something truly memorable. I was away for the actual parade but I really enjoyed being involved in the creation of some of the puppets.

Works in progress

Mr. Tinker: A poodle not an unsung women

Work in progress

Precious Leaves: Exhibition

Work in progress at Carleton Day Centre

I've been working on projects with the Wednesday Art Group at Carleton Day Centre for a number of years now and they're one of my favourite groups to work with. This group (which is a partnership project between Prism Arts and Carlisle Day Services) is comprised of adults with profound disabilities and their support staff I'm always inspired by the enthusiasm and hard work of this group. Over time their confidence and skills have developed hugely so it's always exciting going in and hearing their ideas.

Using water soluble fabric and small pieces of sheer fabrics to make 'sandwiches'

Using water soluble fabric and small pieces of sheer fabrics to make 'sandwiches'

Using water soluble fabric and small pieces of sheer fabrics to make 'sandwiches'

Over the past year they've been working with another of Prism Arts artist on some clay work. They used leaves to make impressions on the clay and then used these leaves to make decorative plaques and bowls. The group is very inspired by the natural world and in particular the wildlife and landscape of Cumbria.

Adding machine embroidery

Machine embroidery 

Dissolving the water soluble fabric

I was particularly impressed with the bowls and for the block of textiles work I was running with the group asked if they'd like to develop this work using machine embroidery and water soluble fabric. They were keen on this idea so we worked with a combination of sheer fabrics, water soluble fabric and embroidery to create a series of delicate bowls. This gave the group a chance to develop their existing skills as well as trying something new. One of the things I love about the bowls is how they change depending on the light, the shadows they cast are almost as beautiful as the bowls themselves.

Forming the bowl shape

Finished bowls

Finished bowl

A couple of the group then wanted to develop the bowl idea in more substantial fabrics and using hand stitch. We used felt (one person used handmade felt from a previous project and another used commercial felt) as a base and experimented with applying sheer fabric over the top and using a simple cut and wrap technique to form the shape of the bowls. They were then embellished with hand stitching. The bowls clearly relate to the smaller bowls whilst having a different character.

Applique and hand embroidery on felt

Applique and hand embroidery on felt

Applique and hand embroidery on felt

The group have exhibited their work a number of times for various projects, for example they have been part of Prism Arts C-Art exhibitions, have had a show at Carleton Day Centre (where they are based) and were part of a project with Tullie House, The Wetlands Trust and Prism Arts. Way back last April when we were planning what the group would do for the year it was very clear that exhibiting their work was a very important aspect of the project. I looked at different venues and approached Carlisle Archives who were happy to work with us.

Clay work on display at Carlisle Archive Centre

Work on display at Carlisle Archive Centre

Textile work on display at Carlisle Archive Centre

Previously when the group have exhibited the artists working with them have installed the work but showing at the archives gave the group the opportunity to come down and install the work themselves, an important development for them. We have used two of the archives display cases as the work on show is mostly 3D. Having the work in proper glass cases draws attention to and shows the value of the work created. We called the exhibition 'Precious Leaves' as the work created has a jewel like, precious quality and was inspired by leaves! The work is on show until the end of March so if you're in Carlisle please do pop into the archive centre and have a look. The group are already busy planning their next project!

Textile work on display at Carlisle Archive Centre

Beautiful shadows