Spode China Rose

I am so pleased that we (AirSpace Gallery) have been commissioned by the New Art Gallery Walsall to take part in the exhibition 'Small Worlds', with the Spode China Rose project.
This project began in 2013 with an idea to intervene within a disused garden space at the Spode Factory - and since then we have: worked with a ceramic flower maker and a rose breeder, redesigned and renovated a slice of the garden and installed newly named rose species, launched the project at The British Ceramics Biennial, held a successful crowdfunding campaign and now showcasing the project in an exhibition.

It was an interesting proposition to present a public realm intervention project of this kind within the context of a contemporary art gallery - and has provided a really valuable point for reflecting on the project ahead of stage two of the project for 2015 - the second renovated slice to be launched during BCB 2015. We decided that the exhibition would reveal to the public the process which we embark upon when making a public realm intervention - usually an action research process.

We also wanted to open out the process - so that people could see how we went about putting this project together - but also - how the learning from it can be applied elsewhere. This lead to the inclusion of one of my works instructions - specially put together for this project.
In addition for the first time we are trying to show one of the roses in the exhibition.
I have shown a live plant before - in the Aftermath Studio Exhibition in 2009 - documentation here.

This was an apple tree and only had to stay in the gallery for a week - but the rose bush in Small Worlds has to be alive for 3 months, in addition - due to Walsall having such important artworks in their collection, there are particular rules about what can be brought into the building - the plant has to be completely pest free, and the soil has had to be twice frozen! This has lead to a bit of an unhappy rose bush. The rose is under a lamp - so I do hope it does ok.

In addition to the rose in the gallery, we also have a gabion planter made using unglazed biscuit ware from the Spode Factory (designed and built by Andy) on the roof terrace with 3 of the rose bushes.

The exhibition at Walsall has some fantastic artists in it - and though I didn't make it to the Private View - I am looking forward to getting across to see the show soon.
Here is a text I wrote for the exhibition - which explains the project:

The Spode Rose Project aims to raise questions around the use of neglected spaces in cities – and act as a call for others to reimagine and rethink the overlooked in urban settings.

The project examines the role that artists may have in their environments and has, at its heart, a commitment to action research processes. Through the project, AirSpace Gallery have adopted a process which first seeks to observe and understand the way a neglected city site is operating, or at least to understand what is, or is not happening there – then through an in depth research process which understands the history, geography and stakeholders of a site, aims to form a responsive plan to see the space transformed (even if just temporarily.) Next comes action, where plans are carried out; and importantly once action has been taken, a period of reflection is undertaken, to understand what has happened, and what the resulting new context might be. At this point the cycle begins again.

Our interest as a gallery, and as a group of individuals, is to understand the role that artists and art organisations can have in the places they live and work – but also to advocate for the creative rethinking of public space – to consider public space as something which belongs to, and is, to some extent, governed by the Public. In this way, the public can feel active and activated to make change, where change is needed. Our gallery programme has, in recent years, sought to explore the various ways that artists are responding to their contexts, and the difference that artists and other creative practitioners can make. Through our public realm programming we also seek to set out the differences that we as artists, and our organisation, can make, by being engaged and responsible citizens – and using the skills we have to make positive action where we live.

The Spode Rose Project is one such example.

The project looks to understand the history and possible future usage of an abandoned city garden. Much of the time the garden stands, forgotten and inaccessible, at the edge of The Kingsway,  Stoke-Upon-Trent’s main civic car park, and at the back of the Spode Factory, formerly one of the most significant ceramics factories in Staffordshire.   The garden site is activated every two years, when the British Ceramics Biennial (BCB) takes place in the city; when suddenly the garden becomes the main entrance to the Spode China Hall exhibiting space. Thousands of visitors come through this beautiful, but overgrown green space during the biennial.

As a partner in the BCB we saw the potential of the site, as a space for intervention. A little research told us that this had been a beautiful garden once, much loved by the workers at the Spode Factory (that closed in 2010), and so we embarked on a project to aim to breathe new life into the site – via a design for a garden which would hope to  encourage interest and to suggest a future for  the space.

At the same time as our physical research, into the plants growing in the garden, and our historic research into the garden and factory, the BCB was working on various projects using ceramic flowers. They were working with ceramic flower maker, Rita Floyd, who had been taken on and learned her craft at Aynsley Pottery as a teenager, over twenty years earlier. Whereas  in previous years, hundreds of factory workers were employed to make floral wares, the art of ceramic flower making is now all but lost in Stoke-on-Trent. The idea of the rethinking and repurposing of these creative skills appeals to us, and feels similar to our approach to the space itself. We decided to work with Rita Floyd in designing a beautiful new rose – to celebrate the BCB, the Spode Factory Site, and its rich heritage but in addition to act as an emblem for the rethinking and reimagining of a city’s resources – whether they be spaces, skills or people. Our plan was to take Rita’s rose to a rose breeder – and together to develop a newly named rose – as a fitting motif.

Our research told us the type of rose we wanted to develop would be a beautiful, traditional, full bloomed rose, with a heady fragrance – and that the colour, of course, would reflect the material that Rita was working with, bone china white.

We visited a few rose breeders with a prototype ceramic rose, before a visit in July 2013  to a field full of blooms brought us to Gareth Fryer – whose family has been breeding roses for over 100 years.

We worked with Gareth Fryer to see the naming of our rose, which formed the centre point of our design for the Spode Rose Garden. 

The project began in 2013 – we renovated a slice of the garden, as we wanted to show the difference that could be made, and also because we do not have the resources to renovate or maintain the full space – but anyway, that’s not the point. The point is for the intervention to be a catalyst; a demonstration of what could be done, a suggestion, but not necessarily a permanent solution. The slice asks a question – should the full garden be renovated? And if so, who should do it, and after that, who will look after it? So part of the project is about asking those questions.

In 2015 – with the arrival of the newly bred Spode China Rose bushes, we are working to develop another slice, and to gather interest, support and potential stake holders in the garden site, which will launch as part of the BCB 2015. Since 2013, exciting changes have begun offering a new creative use for the Spode Factory,this will include 40  artists’ studios, a world class exhibition and events space, and creative units for small businesses.  Soon the Spode Rose Garden will have a new generation of creative inhabitants as neighbours – and a place within the development plans for the whole Spode Factory site.

Community Maker

AirSpace Gallery are really excited to once again be a partner in the British Ceramics Biennial, which opens again in September this year. At the last biennial we really pushed the partnership onwards by not only working on an exciting immersive installation commission within the gallery - but also we tested a few other ideas during the festival. We ran the Guerilla Ceramics Trail, which commissioned artists to make artworks for a trail along the Canal which celebrate the city's ceramic heritage - we also started the Spode Rose Project: more details here.
This year we are working with BCB on a new project - which is part of the 'World In One City' project - which explores the rich cultures of Stoke, and global reach of the city's wares via a connection with the plates we eat from all over the world - originating here.
The project we have devised is called 'Community Maker' and takes the 1950's post war, Ridgway Pottery design as a starting point.

The tableware was designed by Enid Seeney who moved to Stoke around the end of the 1940s to do a foundation course in Burslem. Seeney was the first woman to be trained as a designer at the Spode Copeland Works - before moving on to work and design for Booths and Colclough - part of the Ridgway group, in 1951. It was here that she designed the Homemaker tableware, though it wasn't called that at the time. A single plate went on display at the Blackpool Trade Fair in 1956 - but was thought too radical for the public. This quote from Seeney's obituary tells of how Enid left the industry to become a Homemaker herself - something which in those days for most women meant giving up any thoughts of a career.
'Convinced it could be a success, Seeney and her team made up a prototype coffee set, which sat on her workstation until it was spotted by the buyer for Woolworths, and in May 1957 an order was placed for tea sets, to be sold in five of its London stores. Four months later Seeney left the industry and moved to Devon, to marry her first husband, whom she had met while on holiday, and all communication with the factory ceased.'
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/may/08/enid-seeney-obituary
Enid didn't realise what an amazing success the ware had become until she saw it on sale at Woolworths.
I have always really loved this design - and it feels so relevant to where I am in my life, and my practice - which is really exciting.
Our project is set in the Portland Street Area of Stoke-on-Trent,  which is well known for being the new £1 house community.
This is an area where over the past 10 years - the processes of regeneration had done nothing to revive a once strong and thriving community. The pathfinder scheme which earmarked the area for demolition, and which saw many CPO's served, resulted in many boarded up and abandoned properties, in the interim period before development was set to take place. In the meantime, the bottom fell out of the regeneration market - and the area was left in a sorry state. The council's groundbreaking scheme, to sell off the empty properties for a pound (along with a £30,000 loan which would see the houses brought back to the decent homes standard) has seen 33 new homeowners brought into the area - and my little family are one of them.
The council hope that this will act as a catalyst in kickstarting the regeneration of the area - encouraging absentee landlords to sort out other abandoned properties, and making the area a better place to live.
The Homemaker tableware speaks to me, as one of the new homeowners, about my aspirations for my family and home - but the individual houses are of course part of a bigger picture - and it is only through viewing the houses on the streets as a community that real change will happen. The homemaker design came at a really positive time in English History - the war was over, and people were really beginning to think about a future for their families - and alongside that, industries which had been suspended and turned over to the war effort were all whirring into action, and a new era of consumer culture was beginning.
The design was all about the positivity of this new age, where women could aspire to have modern design in their homes. Our thoughts in relation to this project are around a similar positive aspiration, but this time for the community in the Portland Street Area - and not just the individual houses.
The World In One City project also recognises the value of sharing food together - as a great leveller and a way to help people to relax, so this project proposes a number of creative workshops, where the community have the opportunity to meet, talk, make and eat together, and while doing that, consider 'What will make this place better?' and asking questions like 'What makes a strong community?' and 'What is already here to be celebrated?'
Through the series of claymaking/sharing events we will work together to create imagery which will inform the design of a new series of crockery which we will look to have in production for BCB 2017 - but for the 2015 BCB festival, this will be just about getting started on the idea of regular food based community meetings. This is something that is not alien in the area - as people who have lived here for a long time tell me about the brilliant community activity that used to happen - there have been street parties in the past, and a 'food from around the world' event - and more recently even since we have moved to the area there have been a few events called locally a 'Bring A Plate' where each person brings a plate of something to share - and you end up with a good spread.

Very rough sketch of idea for new plate

I love the idea that this project will potentially end up with all members of the community having their special 'Community Maker' plate in their cupboards at home, and that that plate comes out for community events. Perhaps by 2017 we will be able to establish a yearly street party - where a giant table is set up in the street and everyone brings their Community Maker plate.
The series of events will map what is here - looking to create a community resource map - but also to think about who's here and what the community wants to do together, while creating space for people to get together and get to know each other.
In other activity around growing food together I will be working with the community to grow herbs and veg - and this produce can be used within the Community Maker events.
In October, the group I work with will be invited to host a meal at the BCB - a celebration event using some of the prototype wares we produce to eat from.
One of the things that is really fascinating for me as an artist is the difference in approach it represents, and the potential for really tracking impact. A lot is being written and discussed recently at conferences and events I have been to, around the lack of any real solid evidence about the impact that art has on people and places - it seems that the main reason for this is that the people making and organising the activity are so busy doing it, and the nature of arts funding means it is often time limited - we are so busy doing it, that we have no time to evaluate the value of it - and in particular - any long term impacts are uncaptured - as many projects happen for a time and then disappear - and the practitioners delivering projects are often only in the places for a time, and then move on. I find as an artist that has worked in various public settings that I am often working somewhere else (not where I live) and that to some extent, that distance is interesting and necessary. We are seeing more and more though, that this approach has its drawbacks - not least that the case for the arts and their impact have not been made. The result of this is a number of projects around dwelling, longer term approaches to public art (as explored in The Art of Dwelling Conference delivered IXIA and IN Certain Places, which I spoke at earlier this month) and the idea of artists living where they work - seem to be springing up: East Street Arts have a new project bringing artists to live in a House for a year, and Vulpes Vulpes are looking into running a housing co-op. Our approach (mine and my partner Andrew Branscombe) is to think about this new area that we live in, where one of the stipulations of being a £1 home owner was that you need to be willing to contribute to the development of the community. This raises questions about what skills we, as artists can bring to where we live, Community Maker is part of that question.

Indefinable Cities

In 2012 I visited Osaka with the view to locate artists, and a curator/collaborator for the second installment of the Indefinable City exhibition. THe trip established a relationship with the wonderful 'Tsukiyo to Syonen' whose director Koh Yoshida has been my co-curator for Indefinable Cities. I selected the 3 UK based artists and Koh selected the 3 Japanese artists. The process of working together has been fascinating, as we discovered the very different contexts that we each work in, and it certainly showed me that some of the ways of working that I ignorantly consider to be quite universal, turn out to be very particular to our culture after all. One main difference which surprised me, was the curator's role within a project of this kind. At AirSpace (and I think other artist led spaces in the UK, the curatorial process is quite a negotiation between the artist and the curator. The negotiation goes beyond the commissioning of artworks - and continues within the installation of the exhibition; so, when the artist arrives with the work, in many cases the placement and exact hanging of the work is discussed with the curator - and in some cases, this can really effect and hopefully develop the work. This, it became clear within installing the show, is not the case in Japan - or at least at Tsukiyo to Syonen - where the relationship is more about the provision of space for artists - and at that point, decisions are handed over to the artist. The show has just finished at AirSpace -and had fantastic feedback - and loads of visitors (many more than is usual at the gallery) and we are really excited that the exhibition is set to travel to 6 cities in Japan in July/August.

The difference when the show travels to japan is that there will not be one big space (like our UK show) for all 6 artists to be shown together - so the show will be sort of dispersed across 6 cities.
In each of the 6 one of the artists will be shown in the main, but with poster based artworks from the other 5 also shown.
So the 6 places and main artists are:
Ayaka Nishi in Kofu, Yamanishi
DaikiMurakami in Kanazawa, Ishikawa
Ben Cove in Hikone, Shiga
Rebecca Chesney at Atelier Sangatsu in Osaka
Hirofumi Suzuki in Tamano, Okayama
Emily Speed in Onomichi, Hiroshima
Koh Yoshida has provided details of the shows and spaces on his website: here.
I was so happy with how the show looked at AirSpace, the artists really fulfilled what I had hoped to cover within the show, considerations of the body and architecture, a sense of the city as a habitat for humans and other creatures, and exploring the role of the artist in documenting and intervening in the city.
This is tomorrow did a great review of the show here:
http://thisistomorrow.info/articles/indefinable-cities

Hello Print Studio Margate: Making It Work training

AirSpace Gallery are part of a Catalyst funded consortium project 'Making It Work' in Stoke-on-Trent, looking at helping organisations to explore alternative funding streams (other than usual Grants for the Arts etc.)
Within this project, the consortium organisations have been allocated a training budget, which some have spent on conferences, others on practical workshop training, and at AirSpace we have spent some of the money on considering the development of a print strand to our organisation - as there is no open access print space locally for artists, and it is something that we are interested in looking at the viability of.

Through this I was able to take a trip down to the East Kent, to visit Hello Print Studios in Margate, a young organisation based in Resort Studios - who have opened a creative hub in an old furniture warehouse, to undertake some print training, and to see how the Hello Print Studio operates.
I have been interested in the development of the cultural scene in Margate for some time; my family are from the area, and I spent my summers as a teenager with my brother and sister working at the local amusement park, Dreamland, at a time when Margate really was down on its luck. My interest in the contribution that Turner Contemporary, as an important cultural centre, would make to the development of the town has been ongoing; in 2011 I covered the opening of the Gallery for a-n with this review 'YOU ARE HERE' and also, the same year, I organised for AirSpace Studio to spend a week in Margate, via an exhibition about the British Seaside Revival in the context of the opening of the Turner. Details of the show here.

My piece for that show was a participatory performance, dressed as a holiday rep with a wheel of fortune, the piece 'Turner's Fortune' created conversations with the people of Margate around people's thoughts about the gallery and the town.
I have returned to Margate periodically, to visit the Turner, and have seen what looks like the development of a really thriving creative scene - in a town which, when my family lived there, certainly did not have much of a scene to speak of. There are of course, organisations and spaces that were there before Turner, but my interest is in what has happened in Margate in the 4 years since Turner opened - and what sort of a wider impact the development of the creative scene is having on the town - as well as looking to explore the reality for artists living and working in Margate today.
With all this in mind I began my week at Hello Studio, learning printing and talking to artists there and making connections. My main focus would be learning some print skills, with a view to being able to run print workshops at AirSpace. Current works have been focusing on plant ecologies in cities and towns, so I am going to use plant based imagery as source material during the print training.

On day one Nick Morley (the founder of Hello Print and an amazingly talented printmaker) showed me how to prepare a plate for soft ground etching, and instructed me on the sort of plants I could use (in terms of thickness etc) for pressing into the ground for etching.
The zinc etching plate has to be degreased and cleaned before preparing with a hard or soft ground (depending on the print type you want to do.)

Then using fairly new methods for etching, which doesn't involve acids (as the old acid method gave off a lot of fumes - necessitating complicated and expensive extracter fans etc.) The new methods used at Hello Print require a sink (for cleaning off the etchants - but not for disposing of them) and baths for the etchant - which is copper sulphate and salt. It is still poisonous - but doesn't burn your skin, or have the fumes that acid has. With the soft ground etching you can get really beautiful detail, pressing the object into the surface material on the plate before etching it. You can get quite a bit of detail into the plate.

 On the final day, we used the test etching plate from day one, and covered it with the hard ground surface, which can be used to create a different effect - using needles or other tools to scratch away the hard ground.

I liked this effect, as you are able to add additional drawing to the printed impression from the plants, and also add the names of the plants as well. The test print was not terribly successful, but the addition of the hard ground drawing turned it into something potentially more interesting.

If we wanted to do be able to do the etching at AirSpace it would require an initial capital investment to buy the printing press, baths for the etchants and adequate sink space for the chemicals etc. Plus rollers, printing inks, glass surface tops and other tools, as well as space for rolling/preparation of plates etc.
In the middle of the week Nick showed me lino printing - as we have already got at least one full working Adana Print press at AirSpace Gallery, which can be used for small lino printing, as well as an a4 book press, but the beauty of lino printing is that it does not actually require a press at all (although it is useful to have one). Nick showed me how lino printing can be done with wooden spoons, or a Japanese Wooden tool called a baren. Nick has a brilliant blog on all things print, and a great blog here on getting started with lino cutting equipment.

First things first Nick showed me how to hold the tools and then the amazing variety of marks that you can achieve with lino printing - I have done lino printing before at school and college - but had not been interested - mainly due to the terrible tools I have used. The tools were a revelation! Such fine detail can be achieved - so the first thing we did - was just practice making some marks on the lino.

Then we discussed making a print with more than one layer/colour. This is something that seemed completely beyond me, as I am quite bad at figuring things like this out usually, but Nick explained the process really well, and suggested using tracing paper to figure out the different coloured layers.

Nick showed me some examples of his linos for printing with, and then some of his multi-layered prints, which were beautiful. Talking about the way that layering the colour can also create more colours - for example using a yellow layer and a blue layer, you will also get a third greenish layer where the two overlap.

Nick gave 3 tips for lino printing (well many more than 3 - but 3 main tips)

1. invest in some good tools and keep them sharp.

2. use fresh lino (it should smell of linseed oil and be pliable to bend a bit).

3. use a non slip mat.

I created a two colour design based on plantain, a common brownfield plant. The drawing was transferred to the lino with carbon paper, and then I began to remove the bits which I wanted white - another tip from Nick is to make sure to use the right tool - if you need to remove a large area - use the large tool - don't use the small tools and dig deeper as the lino will rip (which I discovered). Also, make sure to use the non slip mat, I forgot a couple of times, and slipped and cut myself on the very sharp tools!

Once the layers of lino are cut, we moved onto ink.

Nick showed me how to recognise when there is too much ink on the roller by the sound it makes, and also showed some techniques with using blends of colours on one layer.

Nick showed me how to print the lino on the etching press, but then we focused on the book press - as we have one of these at the gallery - so it would be possible for us to run a lino workshop with quite minimal investment.

I was quite pleased with the results, and so the next day decided to focus on a 3 colour lino (which took me the full day to carve.) 

The 3 colour lino was a drawing of Clover and Mugwort, which represents happiness through industry (according to the Victorian Language of Flowers) which seemed fitting. Spending the week on something so practical was really fulfilling and enjoyable - I found the process of carving the lino gave plenty of time to reflect, and think.

Hello Print hold regular workshops, and also have an open access on a Wednesday - people pay  a nominal amount for the year to be an associate member - so they can use the print room - and then just pay for their day when they are in. Hello Print is part of Resort Studios - whose studio members can also use the print room. 

Resort Studios has around 27 studio holders in a relatively small amount of space - there are a series of 'pods' like sheds in the main space - and then more traditional spaces. Space has been very carefully designed to maximise usage, with mezzanines put into some of the spaces with high ceilings.

While I was there preparations were being made for the launch of the 'Creative Hub' - a new concept, where two previously inaccessible rooms had been made usable through the installation of two staircases - and some other building works - they had worked with some of the studio residents (a group of architects) to design the new creative hub space - which includes a slide. This space houses 12 X desk spaces - some of which will be hot desks. This is a really clever use of the space - and brings extra people (energy) into the building. This is something that I think we should think about at AirSpace - we have many fewer studio holders than Resort - but perhaps we could utilise our space better if we thought carefully about how we use it.

It was really impressive to speak to Nick about the development of Resort and Hello Print, he talked about how quickly the organisation has grown, with development happening on a weekly basis, he said it has been hard to keep up. He also talked about the fact that as the development has happened so quickly at times there is a need for the Directors to reflect on what has happened and really think about the next steps. 

Resort felt like a vibrant and exciting place to be an artist - and what was great was that there seems to be space in the organisation (and the building) for a variety of creative organisations and endeavours to work - alongside Hello Print, there is the development of a Dark Room underway, plus a jewellery studio, and the gallery and project space downstairs are next on the list for development. Resort also gained EU funding to fund a Studio Manager's post for 4 months, their studio manager has organised events, and brought more people into the studio, and will now be looking at making the project space and gallery a sustainable thread within the project.

Resort has over 40 studio/desk holders once full, plus a constant stream of other artists coming through the space. This is making a difference to the local economy - not least because many of the studio holders have moved to Margate. Other businesses are springing up in Cliftonville, close to where the studios are; Fort's Cafe down the road is a fantastic surprise: where I was served Eggs Florentine and Elderflower presse. 

I aim to return to Margate and Cluftonville later in the year to look at some of the other businesses which have opened in the area in the past 4 years (since Turner) and have already made some connections.

One business that has relocated to Margate is home decor and salvage specialist Rag and Bone Man - originally based in Hackney - I spoke to Lizzie one half of the company about why they had relocated and how it was going. 

Nick also took me along to see a new business at the end of the road called Haeckels - opened by a former Resort Director. This beautiful shop began with the founder, collecting seaweed and other coastal plants from the seafront, and making cosmetics and soaps with them.

It has now grown into a beautiful workshop with a wonderful line in GPS perfumes, which document the specific ecology of the East Kent Coast - Dom, the owner told me his process is to visit a location, spend time there looking at the flora there - collect specimens and then use these to create GPS located scents. I love the idea of this.

What all of these creative businesses are doing is looking at the naturally occurring resources of Margate and Cliftonville; whether that be big beautiful disused warehouse spaces, and abundance of fantastic vintage furniture (East Kent has brilliant boot fairs) or seaweed - the success here is in innovators recognising what is readily available, and maximising on its potential. 

What works in Margate may not work elsewhere, but elsewhere can learn from the idea of looking at what is available - and building on that.

I had a fantastic, inspirational week in Margate. Thanks to Hello Print for having me, and especially to Nick Morley for the generosity.

Manifesto Maker in Pigdogandmonkeyfestos - Exeter Phoenix

My Manifesto Maker (Interactive sculpture) appeared in the next iteration of the Pigdogandmonkeyfesto project - curated by Shaun Doyle and Mally Mallinson - at Exeter Phoenix from January 23rd - Macrh 7th. The piece was originally made for the show that we had at AirSpace - and was the first piece of physical work I made after Rowan was born. I think there is something significant about the fact that it sort of looks like a child's toy!

As the project develops more artists are added to the roll call! Here is the list of artists in the show at The Exeter Phoenix: Aid and Abet | Larry Achiampong & David Blandy | ASP | BAZ | Mark Beasley | Mathieu Beausejour | Shane Bradford | Kerry Campbell | Billy Childish & Harry Adams | Ami Clarke | Leigh Clarke | Common Culture | Leslie Deere | Arnaud Desjardin | Doyle & Mallinson | Benedict Drew | Patti Ellis | Plastique Fantastique | Laura Oldfield Ford | Anna Francis | Simon Fujiwara | Andrew Gilbert | Kenneth Graham | Oona Grimes | S Mark Gubb | Lucy Harrison | Emma Hart | Emma Holmes | Stewart Home | Kevin Hunt | kennardphillips | Dean Kenning | Peter Lamb | Abigail Lane | Cedar Lewisohn | Sarah Lucas | Dominic from Luton | Jenny Moore | Harriet Murray  | Richard Paul | Mark Pearson | The Cult of Rammellzee | Clunie Reid | Tanja Ritterbex | Katie Schwab | Anna Chrystal Stephens | Melanie Stidolph & Max Catterall | Neil Taylor | Pat Rock | Jennet Thomas | Sarah Thorley | Jessica Voorsanger | Vulpes Vulpes | Alice Walton | Frank Wasser

Nordic Geographer's Meeting: Tallinn and Tartu 2015

I am really excited to have been successful with my abstract to attend the Nordic Geographer's Meeting which takes place in Tallinn and Tartu, in June.
The conference theme is Geographical Imagination: Interpretations of Nature, Art and Politics and many of the sessions look at nature in urban spaces. 
I am thrilled to be going to this, as I had been feeling a real need to refresh on my area of research, which has certainly become much more focused within the role of ecologies and green space in creating healthy, thriving cities. This has always been present in my work, as since around 2008 I have been making works involving seeds and brownfield explorations - but it is now becoming a really important and central part of my practice.
My abstract was as follows:
BROWNFIELD IKEBANA: RECOGNISING THE BEAUTY IN URBAN WASTEGROUNDS.

Brownfield Ikebana is a series of works by artist Anna Francis which aim to reframe the neglected Brownfield sites in cities, as potential beauty spots, nature reserves and wildlife havens.

As with many post-industrial cities, Stoke-on-Trent has an abundance of gaps in its city centre, where buildings and factories have been taken down, but the money to rebuild and reimagine has not yet arrived. These spaces are often described by local people and the media as problem spaces or eyesores, but are in fact very important in the developing ecology of wildlife in city areas. One Example: In The North Staffordshire Field Club ’s Annual address of 1875, declining numbers of Goldfinches in the county are attributed to industrial and housing development, which saw the decline in natural habitats. Recently, Goldfinch numbers in the city centre have grown, which can be attributed to the abundance of Brownfield Sites, providing new food sources.

Brownfield Ikebana aims to recognise the potential of these spaces, through creating artworks and events which invite a dialogue about the use of these sites, and value to local wildlife, and local people. ‘Brownfield Ikebana’ could be presented as a works instruction, performance and/or public workshop, which utilises the art of Japanese flower arranging, to explore Brownfield Sites, and use discarded rubbish in the place of vessels and vases, and weeds and vegetation growing on the site to create beautiful, formal floral displays.

Birder's Paradise Final Phase: Exhibition

The final phase of the Birder's Paradise involved us returning to our 3 main sites to round up the findings and research with an exhibition and various activities and new works in each place.
The exhibition phase on the Spode Factory coincided with an exhibition which we had been invited to contribute to: The Journey's Pathways and Track Plans Exhibition.

It was really fortuitous allowing the work made within the Bider's Paradise Project to reach a much wider audience, and feedback from the visitors to the show was amazingly positive.
We were able to exhibit works from all 3 of our main sites in the show, plus the mobile bird hide was on display throughout the duration of the 3 week exhibition.

 The elements of the show included a map showing our 3 main sites, a moss garden, created from  mosses washed from the Spode Factory Roofs by the rain.

 Andy exhibited his soil drill, made to take soil and ground samples on the sites,

 And a drawing made with the samples.

 I created three photographic collages (one for each site) which incorporated photographs of the 3 sites and a Penguin Book of Birds.

We also created a video, of footage from the 3 sites with a sound piece, based on activity which took place during our time on the sites. One of the real benefits of this project to us as practitioners was that it afforded us time to do some research, this included book based research as well as site exploration, and one book which became very important to us was a book of Staffordshire Birds from the late 1800s which catalogued the birds to be found in the county. It was a fascinating book, which became a real point of comparison for us.

 On one occasion we found ourselves going through the entire book, to see which birds on the list we had seen during our bird watching site visits. I read out the birds on the list, and Andy said Yes if we had seen it, in which case I would read about the sitings from the 1800s and the notes from keen birders, but if we hadn't seen it Andy woud say no, and we would move on.

 An interesting point for us was in relation to the goldfinch, a bird that is abundant in the city these days, the book described the declining numbers at the end of the 1800s and attributed the low numbers to the extreme industrialisation that was going on at the time - leading to a lot of green space being developed, and a decline in the goldfinches natural habitat. Post-industrial stoke is the perfect place for the goldfinch, who enjoy brush plants; things like teasles, which enjoy brownfield sites will grow plentifully, and are one of the goldfinches favourite foods.

In addition to the exhibition, I lead an urban nature tour on the Spode Site. Participants heard about my practice, via an exploration of the plants and flowers growing around the site.

 On the tour I had picked out 10 of Spode's wildflowers, and used each one as a prompt for my art works. At the end of the tour we made a list of plants to be found on the site, with the participants using the wildflower guides to identify some of the other plants that I had not pointed out, exploring the site themselves, and finding a new way to explore urban space.

Our return to Westport Lake was very eventful. The visit was timed to coincide with the school half term, which worked well, as we met lots of families enjoying a walk by the lake.

Our research and explorations at Westport Lake had uncovered the enormous problem they have there with bread being given to the birds, and the bread broom in the lake causing blue algae mentioned in my last post. In response to this we had commissioned sculptor Mally Mallinson to create 'Panem Anser' for us - 'The Bread Bird.'

Bread Bird was on display during the day - and drew a lot of attention. We explained that this was the last remaining Bread Bird in the species, but that the Bread Bird had now gone extinct, as a result of Bread Bird's terrible diet of solely bread - leading it to suffer from Angel Wing, a wing deforming condition caused by a vitamin e deficiency. It was a great tool for speaking to people about the problem of feeding birds bread, and we also gave out a lot of corn as an alternative.

 We had a lot of visits from keen bird watchers, nature lovers, and those just interested in what we were doing. One chap brought his bird watching diary to show us.

We were really pleased to also have a visit from a very keen bird watcher, Phil Charles - who brought his amazing monocular, which was more like a telescope. He visits the Lake regularly and is really keen to share his enthusiasm for birds with others.

 Phil set up the monocular by the lake so that visitors to the Bird Hide could also have a look at a wonderful and rare sight - a great spotted woodpecker that is seen at the lake daily.

Through my binoculars all you could see of the woodpecker was this:

But through Phil's you could see very clearly. Although it was very hard to get a good shot through the lens!

It certainly helped to bring a crowd, and Phil told us about his video works - documenting Staffordshire Birds.

Here is a wonderful video Phil made of another woodpecker.

It was great to meet Phil, another force for nature. Phil was pleased to hear that we have a great vantage point at the back of AirSpace Gallery of the Peregrine Falcoms that nest and rear young each spring and summer - and has arranged to come and visit the Bird Yarden, and make a video of the falcons.

We saw a good number of birds at the lake, but by far the most exciting was the woodpecker!

Our final Birder's Paradise event day was in Hanley Park.

We had discovered the amazing tree audit that was undertaken in the park last year - something that Tom Pine the parks liaison officer was keen to see used. We decided to select 10 of the most amazing trees in the nature reserve area of the park, and create a tree trail.

We contacted an arboretum who have tree plaques on all of their trees, and they agreed to make 10 tree plaques for us, and then we created a brochure.

First thing in the morning we went and installed the tree trail plaques on the ten chosen trees.

 These included Japanese Maple, River Birch and Himalayan Cedar.

Then we got the Bird Hide set up for the day.

For our final event we had an extra birder with us - my sister Kerri Francis was there to help us speak to the public about nature in Hanley Park, and to tell them about the tree trail. People thought it was a great idea, and we hope the guide will be used for a while to come. Printed versions are available from staff in the park, or a downloadable version can be printed from here: Tree Guide.

In total, during the Birder's Paradise project we spoke to around 176 people, and 162 took part in workshops and activities (not including the visitors to the Journey's Exhibition.)

For now the Birder's Paradise Bird Hide is hibernating, but we are thinking about what could happen next with the project and with the Bird Hide. 

As a result of us spending more time in the park, we were able to develop the relationship with The Friends of Hanley Park, and are very pleased to be leading on a project to adopt an area if the nature reserve and work with Let's Make Jam, a modern W.I. group, and workers from Sainsbury's to develop a bee friendly garden.

Here we are on a site visit to discuss plants and a design. We have secured £500 funding from the 1,000 Lives Community Champions Fund, to put towards a workshop and plants to help the project, and are now looking for other funding that can supplement the project. Watch this space...

Birders Paradise would like to say an enormous THANK YOU to Appetite for believing in our project, and funding it to happen through The Kitchen Artists Support Programme.