SECOND WORKSHOP - PROGRESS!

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.