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

Raining Dragons and Trolls

One of our Dragons

One of my 'day jobs' is working on Prism Arts Studio Theatre project and we are about to start touring our latest production 'Raining Dragons and Trolls' which is linked to the national Family Arts Festival. We will be performing in a variety of venues, including Keswick's Theatre by the Lake, and we are all really excited about the tour. Since we began Studio Theatre back in 2012 we have come a long way and I never cease to be impressed by the ideas, work and commitment that the group shows.

Initial designs

Developing characters with drawing

Set design ideas

Our starting point for this production was the BBC 10 Pieces, ten pieces of classical music selected to encourage and inspire creative responses. The project was mainly aimed at schools but we thought it would be an interesting starting point and this proved to be the case. From the music a story grew, we use a lot of drawing to help develop our ideas and it is often not until very near the end of the production process that we have anything solid written up.

Mecamecal (mechanical camel)

Castle

A lot of things change over the course of making a production, characters come and go (sadly, the mecamecal or mechanical camel did not make the grade this show) story lines change and evolve but eventually a piece of theatre emerges. The constant changing can be difficult for some people but overall it is a positive thing, keeping the group inspired and fired up and allowing new and better ideas to come through.

Felt making: in our productions we use a wide range of techniques and materials. 

Felt making

This production has a strong environmental message, something we all feel very strongly about and which is an important issue. Although there are a lot of fantasy elements in our productions (dragons, trolls, a friendly minotaur) the story is very much about humans and how we interact with each other and the world around us. The main characters in the show have to convince people that unless they change their ways and live in a more sustainable way the world will be in serious trouble.

Making prayer flags for one of the scenes

Prayer flags

I work on the backstage elements of the show, the drawings, props, scenery and costumes. Theatre Skills runs two days a week, one day being focused on production (the day I lead) and the other day focused on performance (led by Vicki Maxfield.) Obviously the performance day leads what we make on the production day but there is a constant flow of ideas back and forth, the two days are very much connected.

We make and use a lot of puppets. Here are the Trolls!

And two mini dragons in a boat

And one of the main dragons (detail)

And we use a lot of shadow puppetry as well

One of my favourite pieces that we have made for this performance is the Sea Guardians cloak. In the story the sea guardian has become trapped in discarded plastic waste and fishing nets and in struggling to escape he is creating huge waves and terrifying the fisherman. To represent the waste he is trapped in we used my favourite technique of crocheting and melting plastic bags to create a large net like cloak that the actor wears. We added further strings of crocheted plastic to give a really tangled up look and add movement. I think this piece of costume works really well and I'm looking forward to seeing it in action.

The Sea Guardians Rubbish Cloak

Crocheted cellophane

Melted plastic

I'm not going to write any more about the production but I hope that if you're near where we're performing you will come and see us and be transported to another world!

An Installation: Anselm Kiefer Artists Rooms Project

Embossed patterns on metallic paper

One of the big projects I am working on at the moment is a project with James Rennie School and Beaumont College in Carlisle, both of whom support children and young people with disabilities. The project was commissioned by Tullie House in connection with their Anselm Kiefer exhibition which is supported by Artists Rooms and the project is being run by Prism Arts. The work we are making is in response to both the work of Kiefer and also the site of the old Roman Wall, which runs through the Tullie House gardens.

My samples using conductive thread and paint

My samples using conductive thread and paint

My samples using conductive thread and paint

I am working with another artist, Mark Newport, on the project who works with sound and technology. With our participants we are creating an interactive installation which examines themes such as war and occupation, landscape and mythology. One of the things we want to explore is how places and structures can change over time. For example, the wall can be seen as a symbol of occupation and all the suffering that can bring but now it is also seen as a cultural heritage site, people come to visit the site from all over and to walk it's path.

Drawings from our visit to the Kiefer exhibition at Tullie House

Drawings from our visit to the Kiefer exhibition at Tullie House

Drawings from our visit to the Kiefer exhibition at Tullie House

I am really excited to be working with Mark on this project as it is giving us an opportunity to explore some ideas we've been talking about for a few years now but never had the right project to work on them. We are almost halfway through the project now and starting to get a good idea of what the final installation will look and sound like. We are creating a series of fabric pieces which will hang in the trees above the line of the wall. These pieces will incorporate lights and sounds, created by the participants, which are activated by sensors in the fabric pieces. The sensors themselves will be pieces of copper foil, embossed by patterns created by the participants in response to Kiefer's work and Roman artefacts.

Collage work

Frottage experiments

Working into a collaged surface

One of the ways both Mark and I are working with the participants is to build up layers, just as the wall is buried under layers of history, we will be making layers of sound and fabric. I began by working with collage with the participants, encouraging them to layer up different textures and colours. We experimented with frottage (rubbings) and using tea to stain our papers and make them more interesting. We then moved on to looking at patterns, using the collages we'd already made as a base to work on. For inspiration for our patterns we looked at Roman artefacts and coins and different sound wave shapes. I'd been given some metallic paper so we started playing around working on the back to create embossed patterns on the front.

Using tea to prepare our papers

Using tea to prepare our papers

Using tea to prepare our papers

This led to the idea of working on copper foil, using this material would allow us to create the capacitive sensors we need to activate the lights and sounds and would also allow us to incorporate our patterns into the work through embossing. I'm just waiting for the copper foil to arrive so we can try it out!

Patterns on metallic paper

Pattern making using carbon paper

'Embossing' the metallic paper

This week we worked on string print blocks using the patterns we created last week. We will use these blocks to print up different pieces of fabric that we can then begin to layer together to create our final piece. It's exciting seeing the work start to come together, it's been quite a difficult project as the themes are quite heavy and the young people have sometimes struggled to work with these issues. However, the more 'making' we do the more they are able to express their ideas and thoughts.

Working on string print blocks

Working on string print blocks

Working on string print blocks