Making Matters at Carymoor

FINAL REFLECTIONS

2010-09-27T03:55:00.000-07:00

The Sculpture installation, Art display and Open Morning on Saturday (25th September) were a great success! Plenty of visitors came to the Centre throughout the event - cars overflowing all the way up the road to the compost zone - many with positive comments about the work produced. The day was really helped with glorious sunshine to make the sculpture sparkle and delight! Various Press arrived for photo shoots and we hope the results will lead to increased awareness of the great work at Carymoor and Somerset Art Works.

I've loved being a part of this project. So many wonderful people have contributed and it's been fantastic to experience such a wealth of caring, generosity from individuals who want to nourish our world - and I'm not just talking about Julia's cakes!

Original templates on show

Participants' wirework on display - above and below

Photographs and drawings illustrating the project's development

Three of the major contributors to the project - Mario, Teresa and Debbie

The Dragonfly and Nymph sculpture installed by the pond in Carymoor's sensory garden

Lift off!

2010-09-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

The sculpture has now been delivered to Carymoor. See images below of final stage...

Finally, the Dragonfly is in position - so far balancing on just two legs - but it's up!

Close-up

And at its destination - after a hairy journey!

COME TO THE OPEN MORNING AT CARYMOOR ON 25th SEPTEMBER TO SEE THE FINAL PIECE IN SITU!

Day before installation - the sculpture's nearly complete!

2010-09-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

The Carymoor sculpture has taken longer than anticipated to complete, but almost done now! Here are a few snaps of the last stages. Working night and day, I've added layers of wire netting to the Dragonfly's eyes and body, finished the Nymph's head, shaped both bodies more and made two bulrushes for the stand. I will be up early tomorrow morning to weld on the last legs, ready to deliver in time for the Open Morning on Saturday.

I hope we have plenty of visitors!

Building up the body

Detail

More focus on the eyes with layers of wire and netting

Wings now welded on!

In position with the bulrushes - no legs yet...

Night-time welding up a ladder! The Nymph and bulrushes are now on their base... more to do early tomorrow morning!

OPEN DAY TO VIEW THE ART WORK!

2010-09-04T02:09:00.000-07:00

On Saturday 25^th September, Carymoor Environmental Centre will be holding an Open Day featuring the exciting premier viewing of the newly installed Carymoor sculpture, an exciting intergenerational art project which has been running over the Summer (details of project below). Art work from the workshops will also be on display at Carymoor’s Open Day as part of Somerset Art Weeks. Combined with one of Carymoor’s quarterly nature days, entitled ‘Goats, Tigers and Elephants – a celebration of Somerset’s Moths,’ it promises to be a fun-filled event for the whole family.

Initially instigated by Somerset Art Works via ‘The Company of Voices’ project and inspired by the magic of Carymoor, I led a series of taster, workshop and sculpture sessions involving groups of volunteers from different age groups. In addition to making individual pieces, all participants contributed to the creation of a large recycled steel and wire sculpture depicting a dragonfly emerging from a nymph cast. This 3 metre piece will be suspended over the beautiful pond area in the Carymoor sensory garden. The sculpture will not only be a visual delight but will also help to educate future visitors of all ages about sustainability and the benefits of recycling that are at the heart of Carymoor’s philosophy.

The day also offers a beginner's exploration of the weird and wonderful world of moths and their caterpillars, looking at which moths have arrived in the moth trap overnight, with a walk of the site to highlight the plants most useful to them. There will also be moth-themed family-friendly activities going on in and around the centre and fun quizzes for children.

A wonderful opportunity to visit the Centre, there will be refreshments available, including homemade soup from the gardens and Julia’s delicious homemade cakes. The Centre will be open between 10am and 2pm. For more information email info@carymoor.org.uk or phone 01963 350143.

The site-specific sculpture - later stages

2010-08-28T00:55:00.000-07:00

Prior to the planned Sculpture days on 26th and 27th August, specifically to work on the sculpture with volunteers, I spent a day building on the Dragonfly structure with thick copper wire, so that it was ready for participants to work on with more colourful, delicate wires. I adjusted the scale of each piece, as the nymph was looking too large against its adult version, and added sawed off bed springs for the basic eye structure on the Dragonfly. See below:

The designated site (above) - the pond in the Sensory Garden

I had been looking forward to my two final days working at Carymoor with volunteers. I was planning relaxed days of creativity! It was lovely to be back. Driving into the Centre always elevates the senses - it's almost a religious feeling! (In fact, the Chairman who set up the Centre - Hamish - explained that his original concept did arise from his Christianity). The entrance is an unusual one, passing the Viridor waste zones and composting area which both send out their own strong aromas! When you finally turn into the Carymoor Oasis, it seems like Heaven! Bouncing down the recycled tyre path towards the Sensory Garden and Pond on Thursday, I thought how wonderful it must be to work here full-time!

After a quiet start to Day 1 (Thursday 26th) with just three of us working on the sculpture (Julia, Adam and me), Chrisi and Debbie arrived to join us. Plied with more wonderful homemade cake by Julia, we worked hard, with few breaks, so engrossed were we in getting on with it. Working on separate parts - the two main bodies and various wings, we made good progress. With different people working on each wing, it was important to compare and communicate at each stage of adding new colours, veins and wire netting. Chrisi created a very intricate lacework effect with fine copper wire on the nymph body - to capture the transparency of the cast, once vacated. There was much chat about the new bees that have been donated by Chrisi, via Stuart, to Carymoor, an exciting new addition to the Centre. Call it Serendipity, Fate, Karma or the Hand of God , but some very strangely connected incidents led to this, starting with a Bee sculpture I once made as a commission for her. We had a few photo shoots of the work (including some with a visiting Photographer from the Wincanton Window) and left feeling much had been accomplished!

Julia hard at work on a wing!

Chrisi getting started on the Nymph body

Chrisi's progress with her fine copper wirework, creating a lacy transparent effect

The results of our work so far... (above & below)

Intergenerational chit chat!

On Day 2 (Friday 27th), the team expanded as Teresa, Mario, Ginny and Kate arrived in the morning. Ginny and Kate made the Nymph wings - both communicating brilliantly to ensure uniformity. Julia took main responsibility for the shimmer effect on the Dragonfly wings, adding patches of ice blue wire netting and many 'wiggly' veins! Teresa built on these with additional fine gold wires, and once Debbie arrived again in the afternoon to help, the wings were finally completed. Mario, Julia and I worked in turn to build up the structure on both Dragonfly and Nymph bodies and Mario made the most beautiful Nymph eyes (though he doubted they were as beautiful as Teresa's!)

All get going earlyish on Friday morning!

Mario adding green wire to the main steel and copper Dragonfly structure

Ginny on a Nymph wing - working alongside Kate who made its twin

Kate adding fine, delicate wires to a Dragonfly wing

A real nymph cast - very useful whilst creating the form. These were the inspiration for the film 'Alien', apparently! And if you press it's jaw down it opens up to a HUGE diameter to swallow tadpoles!

Having a look at our work before Ginny and Kate had to leave

One of Mario's Nymph eyes

Debbie holding up two finished wings

The Nymph has eyes!

The end of Friday... where we are now with the sculpture (above & below)

Although we have achieved a great deal in the past two days, there is still much to do in order to complete the sculpture project. Wirework is time consuming! The legs and bulrushes need to be constructed and both bodies need to have their legs welded on. Colourful wire netting will be added to the Dragonfly body, with final details. The Dragonfly eyes need to be prominent, so I plan to work on them for a few hours.

It will be ready for installation on the Open Day at Carymoor on Saturday 25th September (from 10am). All work created during this project by participants will also be on show that day. Hopefully it will attract plenty of visitors! Julia's homemade cake will feature, in addition to a Moths Exhibition and various family activities. Do please come along!

SECOND WORKSHOP - PROGRESS!

2010-08-15T04:15:00.000-07:00

WORKSHOP - DAY 2 - 13/8/10

The second group was far larger than DAY 1, up to maximum capacity and overflowing at times! More of a range in terms of the different age groups, it was good to see people mixing and working together as the day progressed.

Our walkabout with Julia highlighted some interesting facts about barn owls' nesting and eating habits and, amongst other things, we learnt that butterflies taste with their feet! We found deer footprints, collected pieces of willow, twigs, flowers and grasses and some took the opportunity to photograph wildlife, including the wasp spider and a giant Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar.

See photos below:

The fabulous Wasp Spider!

Possibly one of the most photographed spiders in the South West?!

Snakeskin

Me showing the group mind-maps done in the Taster Session, to give participants further understanding of the project

And a look at the beginnings of the Dragonfly/nymph sculpture, against related drawings

Along the same lines as DAY 1 (see previous blog), the group worked on their own wire and found materials pieces for the rest of the morning - after my introduction and demonstration. Whilst the sun was out, a few worked outdoors. Again, encouragingly, participants worked through some of their lunch break, and in the afternoon the group divided up, to work in rota on the site-specific Dragonfly Metamorphosis sculpture for Carymoor.

The resident cat getting plenty of attention!

Kate's flower so far

Valerie's owl in progress

Participants had a chance to review their work and gave each other encouragement. Here, Lou Lou talks about her Dragonfly piece so far

Chrisi discussing her work. She finished her Snail sculpture ahead of time which enabled her to work on the Carymoor sculpture all afternoon.

Mary showing us her wire Cricket - a work in progress

Afternoon's work on the site-specific sculpture

At the end of the day, participants showed each other their finished wirework pieces. Above and below are some examples of finished work

Ginny's fabulous Hoverfly, with bottle top & bead eyes and springy body parts!

Kate expressing her thoughts about Valerie's cute Owl - complete with found feathers

Mary's striking copper, green and pink Cricket

It was great to see Joseph so enthusiastic and engrossed in making his wonderful Scorpion creation (Mr Snippy?), especially as he said Art was not normally his thing (see above & below)

Chrisi's snail is a mixed media piece made of wire, found wood, and a beautiful shell she'd brought along

This fish was hand-knitted with wire! Strips of plastic bottle were added, together with netting and a button for the eye - by Juanita

Dragonfly and Spider - group effort by Lou Lou, Steven and Katie

Lauren's double dreamcatcher

Butterflies (above & below) by Zoe and Abi

Thanks to all who took part in the Workshops and their organisation. Hopefully they were beneficial to all. Some participants are studying either Art or Photography. Others discovered new talents. Everyone achieved an end result, realised and developed new skills and contributed to a wonderful, creative community project. Interaction between different people and different age groups evolved during the 2 days and all of us are more aware of what Carymoor has to offer.

The next stage of the project will be to complete the main Dragonfly Metamorphosis sculpture. On 26th/27th August, some participants will return to work on the piece. I will then ensure it is ready to install by 25th September, when there will be an Open Day to view all work done during this project.

FINAL DESIGN STAGE AND FIRST WORKSHOP

2010-08-12T13:47:00.000-07:00

Illustrations of the process of dragonfly metamorphosis provided inspiration for the final design

One of my templates for the site-specific sculpture - the nymph - drawn to scale

FINAL DESIGNS

Once the design for the sculpture had been decided on, I did some background research on Dragonfly metamorphosis, having never witnessed it and felt I needed to get my head round the process and imagery. Here are links to some of them from YouTube videos:Dragonfly Nymph Transformation; Amazing Transformation; Dragonflies Up Close; Dragonfly Life Cycle.

I then produced some large drawings (to scale) of the proposed nymph and adult dragonfly, which were used as my templates for the basic steel structure. I spent several hours in my studio constructing and welding the inner skeletal form, ready to take in for the first workshop, together with the chicken wire wings.

WORKSHOP - DAY 1- 12/8/10

DAY 1 was very full and productive! I think all participants enjoyed the opportunity to learn new skills, create a wire piece, contribute to a permanent site-specific sculpture (still in the making) and connect with new people of all ages in the wonderful magic of Carymoor!

After my brief introduction, drinks and form-filling, Julia took us on a wander to discover new zones and wildlife species. We visited the great wasp spider - still poised in the same position as a fortnight ago, undeterred by yet more visitors. It has a voracious appetite for grasshoppers and obvious patience! We learnt more about other inhabitants such as slow worms, snakes, owls and butterflies; saw a whole snakeskin (with eyes) and owl leftovers (tiny skull-encased-pellets); enjoyed the glimmering sunshine, all of which provided a gentle introduction to the day's activities. After a look at the pond area - where the Dragonfly sculpture will be installed - and the fantastic herb garden, we returned to start work.

Following my demonstration, the group began designing and constructing their own 2-d or 3-d wire pieces, using my templates and resources as inspiration.

Below are a series of photos logging our day:

Lynne's quick work on her stylised tree

Participants worked individually until lunchtime (many also worked during lunchtime to get on with their pieces), after which we talked together about progress made and the group divided up to work on the site-specific sculpture in addition to their own work.

Jess tracing a wing vein for the final site-specific sculpture

Mario hard at work on the nymph sculpture, using thick copper wire to construct the body segments

Discussion about construction techniques between Rosemary and Jess!

Finally, all participants evaluated their work with constructive comments from the rest of the group

Lynne's snail decorated with found beads and buttons

Brenda's delicate newt

Jess talking about her magnificent 3-d mushroom

Hannah showing us her final dragonfly - a beautiful piece created out of twigs from our walk, found beads and wire

In addition to making his own wire leaf, Mario worked most of the afternoon on the large Nymph site-specific sculpture for the Centre.

Teresa's passion for the project and wholehearted contribution is evident in her positive response to it all. Looking forward to her return with Mario on 26/27th for the final sculpture days

Loosestrife is Rosemary's favourite flower - found in abundance at Carymoor. Her piece was a lovely interpretation of it, using various fine wires, beads and buttons. Rosemary went through various modifications, deciding not to impose her pre-conceived ideas on the end result, to great effect!

Helen explaining her butterfly piece

Beccy - from SAW - took part too, making a lovely Umbellifer flower. Here, she talks about her work

Turquoise and copper Spider and Web by Debbie. The spider caused Debbie some grief but it all came together in the end! The creative process at work...

Sue loves snails, so she made one out of recycled wire and snail shells she collected on our walk round the site

Helen utilised netting in her very 'textiles' butterfly - such an original approach

Jess and Beccy's work

DAY 1 was successful due to everyone's joint efforts to get involved, explore new areas of creativity and work together. And Julia's delicious chocolate cake made the day run even smoother!

EARLY STAGES AND TASTER SESSION

2010-07-29T23:20:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this blog is to document various stages of this intergenerational art project. I feel honoured to have been invited to run the project alongside SAW and Carymoor. It combines so many important issues - art, education, community interaction, our environment and having fun!

In preparation for the Taster Session, I visited Carymoor to research, gather resources including some wonderful photos taken by in-house photographer, Jules and produced several drawings of wildlife at the Centre. Frances (Chief of the Trust) gave me a grand tour of the nature reserve - developed on an old landfill site - so that I was more informed about their ethos.

10 volunteers participated in our first session on 29th July - aimed at exploring and developing ideas for a site-specific sculpture at Carymoor Environmental Centre.

The project got off to a great start, with some wonderful discoveries and joint creative designs for the final sculpture. Starting with a tour of the site, Julia (Community Conservation Officer) led us through a multitude of butterfly species, iridescent damselflies and a close-up view of a huge wasp spider - magnificently poised on its fine web. Having previously visited the site I was already smitten. The message of Carymoor is quietly resounding - a peaceful haven of rebirth and sustainability.

Following our blissful walkabout, we got down to the business of discussing and designing the artwork that will become a permanent attraction at Carymoor. Mind-mapping led to smaller group discussions, with participants collaborating on ideas and presenting some excellent outcomes. Carymoor staff and I eventually decided on a design by Chrisi, Katie and Debbie representing a dragonfly emerging from its previous life - suggesting old to new, rebirth and the cycle of life - to rise up from the pond at the entrance to the Centre.

Everyone worked so well together and all participants eventually had a chance to make a simple 2-d wire form - to be continued in Workshops on 12/13th August, when the Dragonfly structure will also be available to start work on.

All working busily on individual wire structures at the end

An actual nymph cast and illustrations of dragonfly metamorphosis were the inspiration behind the final design, conceived by Chrisi, Debbie and Katie

Chrisi, Debbie and Katie discussing their ideas for the site-specific sculpture

Smaller group discussions were formed, to come up with ideas for the final site-specific sculpture

Mind-mapping...

Our tour included a look across the vast landfill area

The infamous wasp spider (one of many) - a very popular spider at Carymoor, viewed by hundreds of people!

Intergenerational chat on our walkabout!

Carymoor Art Project

2010-07-23T02:42:00.000-07:00

Carymoor Environmental Centre is hosting two exciting intergenerational Sculpture Workshops on Thursday 12 August and Fri 13 August, led by Somerset artist Fiona Campbell (http://www.fionacampbellart.co.uk/). We are inviting anyone between the ages of 12-25 and those over 50 to participate free of charge in either of these two workshops. This is an exciting opportunity to learn new creative skills, meet new people, have fun and contribute towards a permanent art work made out of recycled materials for Carymoor. For those with a particular interest in the project there will also be the opportunity to take part in planning and completing the sculpture. Art work from the workshops will be on display at Carymoor’s open day on Saturday 25 September, as part of the Somerset Art Weeks. Booking is essential as places are limited (up to 20 places at each workshop).