Sorting and Creating

After the excitement of our visit to SAMS last week, we met this week to sort though our goodies and divide the spoils.

It was a quieter session this week and was definitely affected by the school holidays and childcare needs, but we are a strong and friendly group and what began as a deliberately unplanned session became a fun and companionable creative couple of hours.

Our painted pottery was ready for collection and everyone was really happy with the final results. Half will go to Iain for his Stoops Mobile Souvenir Shop and half went home with the makers. I was so impressed by people's generosity in donating their work to the project and that everyone was enthusiastic to hear that they won't be sold for money, but exchanged for ideas, memories, songs or jokes 'more valuable than money'.

 

While we were sorting through the wool for rug making, Fi remembered that Jo at SAMS had said that the wool tufts were great for making quick and easy pom-poms. Part of our mission that session had been to support Annette with ideas for the summer of craft sessions she will be doing with children at the community centre. Excited by the possibility of quick and easy pom-poms (and who wouldn't be) we set to work creating examples for Annette to show the children and experimenting with different techniques. I remembered I had a bag of googly eyes in the boot of my car (of course) and our mini monsters/aliens/creatures came into being.

 

We've decided to have a break over summer. When we talked about holidays, childcare and other commitments it seemed to be the best idea. We will all keep seeing each other though as we have the two residencies underway and Iain will be out and about with his mobile souvenir shop.

 

Cath

Cabin Craft Group Visit to SAMS

Jo explores the many potential uses of a carpet tile

The Tuesday morning craft group took a minibus to Blackburn to visit the wonderful SAMS (Scrap Art Material Store) this week. We've been meeting for a few weeks now and it seemed like a good time to make the trip, stock up on some materials and seek inspiration. Both Jonathan and Annette make wool rugs and I know SAMS generally have the materials in stock as well as felt, which Christine fancies using to make a rug.

Right, let's split up and get the whole place covered!

Jo gave us a brief tour, explaining about the ethos of SAMS and how the majority of things they source from industry would otherwise have gone into landfill. I, and I think the group, were really inspired by what SAMS do and also the possibilites presented by the range of materials - it isn't about what it was or is now, it's about what it could be.

This could be a wig (well someone had to do it!)

Annette and Chris also picked up some resources for the summer arts and craft programme at the Community Centre and the craft group will be supporting Annette by making examples and trying out different techiniques and ideas over the summer that she can then do with the children.

Thank goodness we went in a minibus!

A couple of people couldn't make it, which was a shame, but also a relief as we bought so much stuff I doubt if we could have all fitted in on the way back.

We returned to the Fold for an al fresco jacobs join lunch and Caroline, Kelly and Caroline and Dave from Huckleberry Films joined us in the sunshine to share ideas and talk about our SAMS goodies!

Our First Photo Walk and I Saw Red!

We had a great walk yesterday - it was lots of fun, I think we all looked differently at our surroundings and we took some pretty good photos of the area. As Andy Ford (the photographer who worked with us) pointed out, as well as photographs we now have contacts with people who we have spoken to, taken photos of and who have seen us out and about. The more we do it the more normal it will become for us and for the community.
We've got a Flickr page and group now. Andy asked each of us to focus on something to help create a 'body of work'. I went for Red and it definitely helped me. The rest of the group also took some cracking shots which revealed so many different aspects of SW Burnley. I don't have access to them at the moment, but they will be uploaded and shared soon.
The plan is to meet again in two week's time on the 27th June 10.30-2.130 at the Fold. Please come and join us if you fancy it. Bring your own camera or use one of ours.
Cath

Craft Session, New People and Fresh Energy

We had the first art and craft session at the Cabin this week. There were seven of us in total, which is probably about all that the room can manage comfortably, but more people are planning to come next time so we will find a way (even if a little uncomfortably).  Caroline, one of the two artists starting her residency with Ground UP, was able to join us for the session, which was lovely as she was able to chat to new people, follow up some areas of interest and join the fun. She was telling us how friendly she found SW Burnley on her initial walkabout and how open people have been, which was great to hear.

As one of the Ground UP core team of three I have been inspired and re-invigorated by my first couple of meet ups with Caroline and Kelly. They are bringing a new energy and fresh perspectives to the project and it feels like  the development work over the past few months is now feeding into positive activity and already there is a cross-fertilisation of ideas happening.

Today we also interviewed six people/organisations for the documentation commission. We haven't made a decision yet, but the process itself has encouraged more questions and ideas about how and what we want to document and what role the documenter will play. Each of the interviews was so completely different and each proposed process would bring something unique to Ground UP and the local community. Again, it was good to hear from each of the artists and discover why they had applied for the commission. Most told us that the opportunity to work with a project that is founded on a solid and 'Ground UP' process linked to the open brief had inspired them to submit a proposal. We must make a decision tomorrow so that the successful artists can get going and continue to build on the developing programme and energy around the project.

Oh, and tomorrow we are going on a photo walk with local photographer Andy Ford to photograph some of the people and places of South West Burnley.

Cath

Art and Craft at the Cabin

We Want Everyone!

Yesterday we had the community shortlisting panel for the two residencies. The panel was made up of local residents, people who work in the local area and the Ground Up team (including Helen from Burnley Borough Council). We had initially longlisted from 50 to 25, and this process took us from 25 to 8.

When we had been planning the session we had been conscious of how to make it interesting, how to stop us all losing energy and keep focused during the Big Task. We didn't need to wory. The level of enthusiasm, insight and input from everyone was great and most people even stayed behind for an extra half hour to make sure we were finished. Even our youngest panel member stayed focused for almost the whole session!

I think the input from the community was crucial to finding the right artists. They were able to pick up on things that we, as we just get to know the people and places of South West Burnley, would never have picked up on. It must be said that 'We want everyone' was a cry that went out a one point. All of the longlisted proposals were viewed favourably and each had its own potential, but the final 8 for interview stood out and each for different reasons.

I think Helen is going to contact everyone today to let them know the outcome. If you have been shortlisted for interview, we really look forward to meeting you. To those who didn't make the final stages, thank you so much for your proposals and your enthusiasm for the project. We really were blown away by the quality and diversity of the proposals we received. None of us had experienced anything like this before.

So, next stage is to set up interviews which will be in the next couple of weeks.

People, Stuff and lots of Heart

I am working with the community charity shop based at the Fold at the moment. It's an amazing place, crammed full of stuff, with huge ambition and heart and is very busy. I had been meaning to go in for ages and as soon as I did ideas began popping in my head and I knew it was the place for me.

The shop is run by local people and not only do they raise money for local good causes, they provide an invaluable service to the local community by providing affordable clothes, toys and household goods. They put together packages for people who have nothing and sell fresh fruit and veg at affordable prices - they really need more space. The shop has become such a community hub they are organising their first coffee afternoon at the end of the month and I'm going to join them to do some making.

I don't know what will come out of our collaboration. Of course I had initial ideas about headdresses made of stuff from the shop (anyone who knows me will know my love of sticking stuff on my head), costumes, upcycling and sculpture, portraits of people connected to the shop.......but I know that part of this process is about supporting my development as an artist and part of that is about taking risks and experimenting. We may end up following some of the original ideas, but only if it's right for us as a group. For now, let's play!

I spent some time in the shop last week getting to know people, taking photos and drinking tea. It's a very welcoming place and there seems to be a real enthusiasm for getting involved. I also think we will have a few people for the photography sessions we are going to be running over the next few weeks.

Annette (below) who manages the shop will be part of the shortlisting group for the residencies tomorrow. The jacket and dress she's holding belonged to her Aunt who died recently.

 

 

Thinking at The Fold - a planning meeting blogged by Steph.

Yesterday myself, Cath and Iain spent the day at The Fold doing a bit of planning. It was great to spend time together exploring ideas and charting a path towards achieving our objectives.  We were pleased with the feeling of rapport that has developed between us and we're enjoying working as a team. Chocolate fingers, ginger cordial and plenty of tea oiled our creative wheels as we thought about how to stimulate residents to think and talk about local sense of place.

This put me in mind of research conducted by John Dixon and Kevin Durrheim (2000). They looked at sense of place through the lens of social and environmental psychology, pointing out that our identity is closely related to context and place. They described this as the located nature of subjectivity. They thought place was incredibly important in our creation and maintenance of a sense of ourselves. More interestingly they also pointed out the value of conversation in lifting the notion of sense of place from ‘the vaults of the mind’ to the ‘foreground of human dialogue’. This is what we want to get up to in South West Burnley!

But how to start those conversations? One idea that we’ve bounced around for weeks has been to procure an old, quirky vehicle that we could adapt into a touring ‘pop up’ museum. We imagined parking up in any number of spots in South West Burnley, sparking the curiosity of passers-by and offering them a cup of tea. Then we’d invite them to step inside and visit our museum, hopefully donating a memory, photo or object as they did so.

Our planning day helped us to realise that we actually want to invest in more sustainable activities – events that bind people together, bridging the differences between groups and levering in support through some of the services operating in South West Burnley – this would leave behind stronger relationships and networks instead of an old vehicle requiring tax and MOT!

So we started brainstorming. We don't want to give too much away but here's some clues: we’ll be searching for Eric, hunting ghosts, planting and growing, exploring water underground, mythmaking, and possibly 'pap'ing!…. Curious? Watch this space!

If you want to be involved, why not message us on facebook or contribute to the South West Streets Museum?

 

Dixon and Durrheim - British Journal of Social Psychology - BRIT J SOC PSYCHOL , vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 27-44, 2000

Flower Walk for Life Poster

Drawn by Iain, coloured in by Cath. A creative collaboration of the simplest kind!

We Love Our Community Centre II

The banner seemed to be an effective tool for starting conversations and profiling the community centre's campaign to save their centre, so Chris asked if I would be able to do an illustration for a series of cards which would help them to spread the message and the art even further.
Happy to and I hope it helps!

Ground UP at In-Situ

Last Monday evening we were invited to talk about our work at the regular monthly In-Situ In-Conversation session at Brierfield Library.
After working on the project for a couple of months now, it was a really useful opportunity for us to reflect on what we have achieved so far and seek input and feedback from other people.
Paul from In-Situ did some filming of us in action and you can view the film on youTube

Stoops and Hargherclough in London

Well, we did it! The banner was finished in time for the march in London and I hear the team carried it with pride and a lot of noise, taking their local campaign to a national event and joining with tens of thousands of other people to speak up against the cuts and for a fairer future.

'The Save our Centre banner from the centre, got a lot of interest. Loads of people asked us about the banner. And we told them why we where campaigning for the centre, And were against the charges, and fighting to save our centre for all the community groups and children who use it.' Paul

We were also able to connect with the 'Make the March' national campaign to celebrate the art and creativity behind the banners and placards created for the march. We may not win the competition, but Make the March were fantastic in helping us to share our message by sharing tweets and links to the blog. Social media has helped us to make a local campaign reach a national audience and be part of a much bigger conversation.

We are hand made and digital, local and national!