Community Maker - Houses, Shops and Celebrations

The AirSpace Gallery/British Ceramics Biennial 'Community Maker' Project continued with another workshop in our makeshift pop up community space (big tent) and a very special and enjoyable community meal.

 The workshop invited people to make themselves as a house - and it was really interesting to see how much detail people went into while making them. It was a lovely activity.

 And started to really give people the opportunity to be creative with the clay, above is a lovely example by resident Kerry.

During the Community Maker activities the council were in touch, knowing that we would be meeting the residents of the area, on the Community Green Space, and seeing Community Maker as a good opportunity to gather the residents thoughts on a few things.

They asked us to ask the community about the idea of the council handing over one of the still derelict buildings on Portland Street - the old community shop - to be used as a community asset and to explore the potential interest in the idea of a community run shop and meeting space.
One of the main points about the area is that the lack of a community meeting space really stops a lot of community driven activity from being able to take place. Community Maker has been enabled by AirSpace Gallery's purchase of a large bell tent, but still - this is limited, as only really 10 people at most can fit inside the tent, and it is fine in summer, but not really viable for winter.

Therefore the idea of exploring the community shop and meeting space makes a lot of sense.

Ahead of the event we were given a look around the shop - and although it is a bit of a state, it is certainly possible to see the potential.

We used the special community meal to really focus on this idea, and create space for discussion about a community shop - how it may be run, what could be sold and offered there and who would get involved. I used the tried and tested artist soup kitchen format for the event - spending 30 minutes giving a presentation which presented a variety of community run shops from around the UK, and then we had our discussion over a bowl of tomato and red pepper soup.

The residents gave their thoughts about the idea of a community shop and meeting space, and used 'The Homemaker' magazine as source material for individual collages showing what makes a strong community, here is one by Claire

and at the end of the discussion everyone summed up their thinking with a one line response to give to the council:

- the shop could be a good place for IT classes

- What about the space above the shop being like a spare room, with bedroom for neighbours to use if they have guests staying.

-  people from local area selling stuff they make, also a place to buy oatcakes and coffee plus hosting events for local children

- whatever it is, it needs to be well run and inviting - good coffee and something to eat. somewhere that people know they can go and feel comfortable, meet neighbours. Place to book for parties, and access to space upstairs for the community.

- Somewhere to chill and also somewhere to pick up parcels - if you are out when they get delivered. Perhaps a homework/tutoring club for local children

- day care centre for children

- downstairs a shop somewhere to get fresh bread and cakes etc. and an upstairs space - somewhere to rent out for activities

- English classes

- a convenience store - food always works and also a police presence there too.

- CAB drop in for other stakeholders and service providers locally.

 Since this event, the idea of a community space has been discussed further - and we were able to point out that though an excellent community asset, what the community really needs is a space where groups can meet. This has been taken on board and the council have now offered the larger empty space - the Pub on Portland Street, as a potential community space for a mixture of uses.

 We had great feedback from residents about the event, people really enjoyed the special space created by the Artist Soup Kitchen, with one resident commenting on social media afterwards: 'An unusual and enjoyable meeting. I usually feel out of place at these types of things but not so much this evening. Thanks' 

The next stage is to gather some support for the idea, resources and stakeholders. As a result of this I am going to Leeds, to a special training and networking day organised by The Plunkett foundation, an organisation who support communities to set up and run community shops, in order to learn a bit about the process and then return to the community to share the learning and explore the viability of the Pub as a Community Space. 

The final two Community workshops saw us making some lovely bowl and platter moulds from the Spode Factory mould store, which we hope (if they survive the kiln) can be used for future events, and in particular for the Community Feast Day, which will finish our series, at the Spode Factory in October. During these two events participants got stuck in to the most complicated ceramic making we did during the series, using moulds, which my brilliant assistant Alice Thatcher oversaw the use of.

Such a lot was made in these sessions, a number of floral bowls, a six towns platter, and even an allotment! all designed and made by the community, and while making we also gathered ideas and support for the Community Celebration Event, our final event on the green space.

My favourite was the flower bowl, which I am really looking forward to seeing fired.
The final event within the Community was our celebration event, which throughout the events we have been talking to people about, gathering ideas and commitments of help from people, so when the 8th August came along, I was sure the event would be a group effort - which was really one of the aims of the Community Maker, to establish community celebrations and food sharing events for our area, where everyone can contribute.
I could not have wished for more from our event:

For the day we laid out some of the wares made during the project, for people to see, and we also set up an activity for people to create plant labels, with their wishes for the area marked onto them.

We had also had an idea to talk to more people about the shop idea, but it was so busy that there really wasn't time for this.

As well as making their plant tags, residents were also invited to help to sow a flower meadow - each resident was given a strip of the meadow-to-be to sow a wildflower seed mix onto,

In exchange for their labour each resident was also given a sempervivum to take home.

These were provided by Dawn from the landscaping team at the council, who kindly dropped them off during the week - for us to give out.

There were over 100 visitors to the event, and there was plenty of food to go around. One set of residents put on a barbecue, Ken brought his sound system and played some tunes, and Linda and her daughter transformed our Community Maker Tent into a pop up tea room, and provided cream teas for everyone (with cakes baked by lots of members of the community.)

We were also joined by Zoe from the Mitchell Arts Centre, she kindly brought along her fantastic paint bike, and helped us to organise for a face painter to come along on the day too, which was brilliant and really meant there was something for everyone.

The event truly was a Community Celebration.

Our final event will be a Feast Day during the BCB festival - where we will invite residents to the Spode Factory to see what we made, and to talk about the successes of the project in the context of other Community Led projects from around the city - we will use the Artist Soup Kitchen format again, and I really hope some of the residents we have met during the project will be able to make it.

Tickets for the Feast Day can be found here.

Overall, what we have experienced during the project is a community that has had a hard time in the past, but who will get together and bring what they can to make things better. There are, as with all places, those that dissent from the sidelines, and those that do not want to get involved - but I feel strongly that the area is on the up, and that the project we have begun will, in some ways, be there to record the area as it changes for the better.

We have generated a lot of imagery over the weeks, and it will all go to inform the Community Maker design for the Community Ceramic Ware we will eventually make. What has been strange for me, as a practitioner who often works in communities, but never my own, the approach is very different, the investment and the fear too, are all greater. 

Many thanks to all the residents for getting involved, and a special thanks to Alice Thatcher and Kornelia Herms for the amazing support throughout.

Bee Friendly Garden for Hanley Park

AirSpace Gallery have been making interventions and doing projects in our local Hanley Park since 2010, in activity which has included artists' residencies, exhibitions and temporary artworks, as well as myself and Andrew Branscombe spending quite a bit of time in Hanley Park last year when it was one of our sites for the Birder's Paradise Project.

This year we are working with the Women's Institute group 'Let's Make Jam' and the Friends of Hanley Park, to develop a Bee Friendly Garden, within the Nature reserve area of the park.
Over a number of days this summer, we will be meeting in the park, armed with spades, loppers and gloves and changing this small area of the park - with a lovely new planting scheme and design to maximise habitats and food for bees (and other creatures).

We had our first day in the park last Friday, and had a great turnout. The jobs for week one were to join the woodchip path up to the main path, clear the weeds, and identify and plants to save, and make an attempt to move the rocks.

People really got stuck in and we got so much done! It was great to have such a good team of people working together.

By the end of the day we could already see the shape of our new garden emerging, and while we were working we found plenty of encouragement that wildlife are already making a great home here, so we will just be accentuating what is already present. 

We launch the garden on August 15th with some fantastic, family friendly workshops - tell your bee loving friends (and the bees.)

Community Maker Launches

The community maker project (one of the British Ceramics Biennial 'World in One City' projects) has now launched and we have had 3 events so far.

The first and last session planned to take place in the Portland Street Area, were designed as informal drop in picnic sessions - but the other 5 sessions were meant to take place in a local venue.
One of the major issues for the Portland Area community is the lack of an adequate meeting place. The shop, pub and community centre are all closed and boarded up - and so we had hoped to hold our events a little bit outside the area - at the Cobridge Coronation Club. In the end the club was not available, and as a result - we have had to create a temporary pop up workshop space, in the form of a large bell tent.

This has not been ideal - but certainly does bring into focus the real need for the lack of venue problem to be a top priority for development in the area. Part of our remit for the community maker project is to explore what the community needs to become successful and thrive - and we are finding out first hand just how much of  a hamper on community development the lack of a venue has been for the area.
That said, our pop up tent has proved to be a great space for a workshop - and has activated a newly developed green space in the area.

For our first session, which was due to take place on a Saturday from 12 - 3pm I worked with brilliant ceramic artist Alice Thatcher, who is assisting me with the project, to create a porcelain map of the area. We met at Spode Factory the day before and created our map, and tested the lino templates we would be using.

The lino plaques are based on the Victorian Language of flowers (which I have been using within my work for some time now). 

There are two plaques - one which has a design of a yellow carnation on it says 'needs work' - because in the Victorian language of Flowers you would give yellow carnations to express disappointment - and then a white camelia on the other - which says 'works' as the white camelia expresses perfection.

These were used at the drop in session to talk to people about the area - and ask them to say what works and what needs work here - which would eventually be added to our ceramic map, expressing a community's feelings about itself.

The session was also used to let people know about the other sessions - and invite them along. There was a lot of really positive thought about the area - with many people mentioning how friendly people are here, the location and proximity to city centre were mentioned, and the new developments with the green space and park were all described as positives. Things which needed work centred around fly tipping, litter, dog poo and some anti social behaviour and drug problems in the area - and again, mentioned a  number of times was the need for a community meeting place.

The fired plaques look great - and are now waiting to be glazed, before being added to the map, and potentially shown at BCB 2015. The first session was really good, and thanks to Alice Thatcher and Kornelia Herms who were brilliant help.

 The next two sessions we have had were both on week days, which I wasn't sure how many people would be able to come.

The first was a walk around the area - where we each had a map - and an idea to locate one good and one bad thing (physically) in the area, and then to select a plant from nearby to act as a marker for that thought - creating our own language of flowers of the area.

We then used the plants to press into clay, and while pressing them discussed some of the things in the area that are good and some bad - and also made an eco report on some of the many plants growing locally.

Then the next day we created Faces of the Community. Myself and Kornelia spent the afternoon on Wednesday after the plant workshop making lino stamps of eyes, noses and mouths to be used the next day.

They were used to create an impression in the clay, and then coloured oxides and tools were used to add extra details.

This session was really fruitful, as we were able to begin discussion about how to move forward with community plans and aspirations for a community space of some kind. The night before I attended a steering group meeting, where the council asked if the community would be interested in taking on the old shop (currently standing derelict in the middle of Denbigh Street) as a community enterprise and meeting space, and we were able to offer to gather thoughts on this, and other community initiatives during the community maker project.

With this in mind, the next two community maker sessions will focus on ideas for a community shop space, and considerations of what a community needs to thrive, then the next two sessions after that, we will look at considerations for an environmental budget which the council has to spend in the area - and which they want to consult the community over what it should be spent on. 

Then our final event locally for 8th August is planned as another community picnic event - and will involve the planting of a community flower bed (plus we will make some plant markers in clay) as well as the first community tea party - which the Portland Street Community Group will be helping with. So far the project is going extraordinarily well - and though it is a lot of work - I am really enjoying it.

We have generated lots of imagery, which could potentially be used on our community maker table ware - and then, if the coincidence about Enid Seeney (Homemaker Designer) being trained at Spode wasn't enough - it also turns out that she was once courting Andrew (my partner)'s Dad! June (Andy's Mum) was shocked to discover the links we were making to Enid's pattern, and told us this amazing piece of family history and connection - she said she has a super 8 video of Enid and her husband paddling in the sea in Devon, from a visit Andy's Father made years ago. I hope we can dig that footage out - she also mentioned  that it had been a shame that Enid had not gone back to ceramics after being married. I am sure that this part of the project will become important, but at the moment - it is just so strange!

Cryopreservation at SYSON Project Space - Nottingham

I have been thinking a lot recently about the direction my work is going in, and the interests I am currently exploring - many of which involve urban nature - and attempting to create spaces for advocating the inclusion of green spaces within developments in cities. This is a direct result of my surroundings; as with most artists I am very influenced by what is happening around me - and in fact this leads my work to evolve simultaneously with the evolution of the city. A few years back, when there was a lot of housing renewal taking place in the city, my work explored that - aiming to uncover the human aspect of housing renewal with a body of work around the demolition going on in the city (which culminated in the Indefinable City Exhibition at AirSpace in 2007 - and my work 'Terrace.')

I was interested in the way the sites would change so quickly - houses there one day, then rubble, and then freshly tilled soil - almost calling out for wheat seeds to be sown in the creation of urban harvest fields. I did visit some of the sites to spread seed back in 2008 - one of those visits was a result of a £1 commission - from The Eccentric City Newspaper and is documented on my blog here.

Back in 2008 I was already thinking about these sites as potential community assets - and instead of regarding Brownfield Sites as eyesores, was already considering that their interim use could be much more fruitful. Then - as the sites of demolition lay untouched for a number of years, I became more and more interested in the way that the sites develop over time - and the activity that begins to happen on the sites. At first, the sites become used by people as places where usual rules are suspended, strange objects and collections begin to appear - evidence of wayward activity taking place. I documented this stage - and one image in particular - taken on the Cinema site became quite successful for me - included in a few exhibitions and as a postcard, it sold quite a number.

As the sites became more and more overgrown with plants, they have become really richly abundant nature havens, very important within the ecology of a city.
Back in 2012 - while in Japan, I was considering how I could start to look at, and bring others to look at the potential of the sites in relation to the plants and flowers growing there, and to bring people to recognise just how beautiful some of these sites have become.
On my return to the UK from the residency in the mountains, where I focused some of my time on learning ikebana techniques, I visited three of the larger Brownfield Sites within the City Centre of Stoke-on-Trent, with the view to create 3 Brownfield Ikebana.
The first was the Abbatoir Site:

The Abbatoir had been demolished less than a year before this - but the plants on the site had very quickly taken hold - and in fact in this area I saw a number of dragon flies and damsel flies. The rich variety of species found on this site was quite astonishing - and I wonder whether it was anything to do with spoil from the abbatoir over the years, contributing to very fertile soil.

On each site I foraged for a vessel - to be used as a vase and flowers (weeds?) and other foliage for the floral display.

I then returned to the gallery to turn the collected objects and weeds into Ikebana. 

The other two sites which I visited were the Greyhound Track:

 Where there is a real abundance of sedums, succulents and other alpine plants.This is a quite large, and well established site, a space which has been empty for quite some time.

and then one of my favourite Brownfield Sites in the city centre - the ABC Cinema Site, where there are some wonderful buddleia (of various colours) - but also - forget-me-nots, woad and weld.

This site has been interesting to follow - as it is such a public site - right next to the New Tesco development - but which for years Tesco refused to admit belongs to them. The site is now up for sale - so maybe will see development soon, as a whole new business development has opened up over the road - which may bring new interest.

The ABC Cinema site has a lot of choice for vessels - because people visiting Tesco tend to sit on the wall and consume their purchases, before lobbing them down onto the site - there is quite a mound of rubbish there these days.
Alongside the Ikebana - I created a 'How To' works instruction, so that other people can make ikebana if they want to.

And a Brownfield Ikebana workshop in 2012 invited conversation with others about the sites - and the rich materials to be found there.
Where we are in 2015 - we are seeing quite a lot of these now flourishing, abundant Brownfield Sites being developed across the city - so what have been quite important interim nature havens - are slowly disappearing. The abattoir site - which was so rich and fertile, is now just a very small triangle of land between Tesco and the new Premier Inn, perhaps the triangle is a bit in between that noone knows who owns. As these sites are developed, the local, fairly newly established ecology is being upset - I have not seen a dragon fly around since the Premier Inn was built - which is a great shame. Stoke-on-Trent is said to be one of the greenest cities - and I think that the Brownfield Site has a really important role to play in that. For just over a year then, I have been thinking about how I might start to advocate that developers consider including a permanent 'Brownfield Plot' in any new schemes - incorporating these beautiful oases of green into their plans, and providing a permanent home for nature.
I developed a proposal during the 'Beneath the Pavement' project which AirSpace led on, working with the City Centre Partnership, which focuses on the idea of Brownfield Flora, as an advocacy document for working with developers. I hope to put this into practice in the coming years, and will looking for opportunities to do that. I had hoped to revisit the Brownfield Sites in the city - and see how they are developing, and was recently asked to take part in the Cryopreservation Exhibition at SYSON project space in Nottingham. Cryopreservation is an exhibition curated by Division of Laboour and looks at the rich history of man's relationship to flowers. I was really pleased to be asked to be involved - as Heather and Ivan Morison are also in the show, whose work I really admire.
This was a great opportunity to revisit Brownfield Ikebana and the 3 sites - to see how they are changing and developing.

The biggest change was on the site of the Abbatoir - back in 2012 this had been a fairly large and abundant site, but today there is just a small triangle of land remaining undeveloped, between Tesco and the Premier Inn.

It is still, however, rich in a diverse range of flowers and grasses - and able to provide a good selection for the Brownfield Ikebana: Abbatoir, 2015.

I visited each of the 3 sites, and in each case, collected weeds and rubbish from the sites to act as vessel and flower selection for the ikebana, before returning to my studio to assemble the 3 new Ikebana for 2015.

Although these three sites are within a 5 minute walk from each other the difference in flora to be found on the sites is significant - and in addition, different types of materials are available for the vessels. The Abbatoir site has a good variety of more readily recognised flowers - things like aquilegia and large daisies, which may have escaped from a garden somewhere.

Brownfield Ikebana: Abbatoir, 2015 is an omission variation ikebana - where the line for man has been left out of the display (usually there are three main lines, representing earth, heaven and man in basic ikebana displays.)

Brownfield Ikebana: Greyhound Track, 2015 is a traditional Ikebana display and incorporates rusted metal elements collected from the site - the vessel is a shallow tin (tobacco tin) and there is a piece of salvaged pipe and chain, and a penny. The floral selection includes a couple of different succulents - one, a well established sedum.

Brownfield Ikebana: ABC Cinema, 2015 is a divided variation, where the 3 main lines are split across 2 vessels (one, a luncheon meat container, and one a wooden door knob) and has a very subtle, light coloured scheme, not unlike the 2012 version. The very delicate flowers selected include forget me not, herb robert, cow parsley and moss.
The sites are still beautifully rich in source material and I hope to do more with the Brownfield Ikebana works in the coming year.

Above and below, works installed at SYSON, Nottingham as part of the Cryopreservation Exhibition.

The fresh ikebana displays were exhibited alongside postcards of the 2012 Ikebana.