In Summer 2021, Creative People and Places launched a project called 60 Second Stories. A series of mini films from each of the 30 CPP projects. Giving insight into how we co-create with individuals and communities and explore creative activity.
We contributed two videos for the series sharing the Local Voice of community members, artists and performers and what creativity means to them.
Sometimes it’s the small moments that matter, finding a new way to express your thoughts, the act of doing something creative, coming together to share and feeling safe enough to do so. A group of Mildenhall residents met up regularly for Meet Up Mondays cuppa and chat at the Barleycorn Café, brought together by owner Shelby Foord. Together we tried out creative activities including Art Journaling led by artist Marian Savill. We saw the positive effects of art in small moments and we think Susan Feary’s words sum it up nicely.
Film: Colin Stevens, Creative Agent. With thanks to: Susan Feary (speaking), Barleycorn Cafe, Shelby Foord, Marian Savill, Meet Up Mondays, Arts Council, CPP
Space to Create
https://youtu.be/Ld6GyLP50gY
Why does art matter? We asked some of our creative collaborators what they thought. Filmed at St George’s Fayre and Christmas Market in March, Fenland.
Filming of March Market (1st half): David Johnson (Dmj Imagery Ltd) Filming of St Georges Day (2nd half): Rydian Cook and Mariana Vaz
Edited by Creative Agent, Colin Stevens
With thanks to: Marian Savill, Hilary Cox Condron, Dan Donovan, Caitlin Howells, Dan Walsingham & Richard Alan, March Town Council, Fenland District Council, CPP and Arts Council England.
As we entered lockdown in March 2020, I watched my personal plans for the year fade away with the loss of workshops, events and my first foray into participating in Cambridge Open Studios. I soon realised though that this was an opportunity to reflect on and develop my practice, and to try new ways of creating and delivering.
Lockdown offered me opportunities to explore delivering via video tutorials when Creative People and Places: MarketPlace offered me the chance to make a series of films on art journaling. I have always used recycled materials in my work and sharing ways to create with limited or no specific art materials was an enjoyable experience albeit on a steep learning curve with the video skills element!
Marian talking about using words in one of her art journaling videos.
Over the summer of 2020, I started to experiment with new techniques, things I’d wanted to try but never found the time for. Some of the many techniques I tried included eco dyeing, making charcoal, natural weaving, anthotypes, and making natural glues and inks. A lot of these techniques have helped me in my ongoing process of greening my arts practice, making it more eco-friendly, and reducing the carbon footprint of my work, materials and processes.
Marian experimenting with beetroot ink.
Marian experimenting with eco dyeing.
Another joy of lockdown was being able to attend online workshops from across the world which would not have been possible in real life. I learned about different artists, watched lectures on art history and created art in lots of different media including drawing, collage, painting, stitching, and paper folding. I have also had more time to collaborate with artists both in the UK and the USA, working on round robin altered books and collage projects.
Part of a collaborative project with a US based artist.
Lockdown has been difficult in a lot of ways, of course, and I knew making art and being creative would help me through it but I never anticipated that it would offer me so much time and space for creative exploration and learning, open new trains of thought for projects and artwork and allow me to extend my understanding of my practice and processes. Covid-19 has changed many things for me and now the world is inching towards a new normal, I find myself grateful for what the last eighteen months has taught me and given me.
On the day I spoke to David, with Marian Savill, it was the one year anniversary of the first Lockdown. Whilst it wasn’t timed to be the start of the blog series, as far as I’m aware (!), it did shape the drift of our conversation. But then again, has anyone been talking or thinking about anything other than COVID-19 for the past year? It has felt completely all encompassing, but the conversation with the three of us reminded me that taking the time for social connection can help put things into perspective.
A photo of artist Genevieve Rudd smiling with a Waveney & Blyth art trail leaflet.
As an artist, I have lots of ways to keep my mind occupied, but Lockdown has been universally energy sapping. Despite this, the lack of usual habits or access to resources gave way to inventiveness. This is something that chimed with Marian too. Both of us thrifty at the best of times, it was inspiring to hear how she also found new life for unwanted stuff, and how this connected with her wider lifestyle values around veganism and reducing waste.
Lockdown has encouraged more ‘localised’ thinking on the whole – such as doorstep clapping, mutual aid groups and window rainbows – we’ve all been forced to re-consider our relationships to our immediate environment. For many, this has been a suffocating experience, and for others, it has given a sense of freedom from their daily slog. Whatever the situation, it’s brought us all face-to-face with our own domestic reality in very close detail. For me, that detail has shown me the value in simplicity.
Marian was inspiring to talk to; I’d never heard of ‘doodads’, but she has been doing #A100DaysOfDoodads. These mini sculptural pieces are made from tomato puree tubes, scrap fabric, threads, leaves, wire, stones and all sorts of things she found around her home over the past few months! I love this ethos and in my own practice, I have been exploring approaches with foraged, edible and recycled materials, and in turn, making my practice more sustainable. This explorations have predominantly been using Cyanotype and Anthotype photography, using plants and compost from my garden.
‘Soil Circles’ 1 of 6. Cyanotype photographic print made using collected rainwater, home-made compost, recycled paper and sunlight, 5th-6th March 2021. Copyright Genevieve Rudd.
This year has been many things, but one silver lining has been the time spent exploring and treasuring the small overlooked details of life, particularly in relation to the natural world. This year, I’m running an Arts Council England funded project, Yarmouth Springs Eternal, in partnership with original projects; in Great Yarmouth. We’re nurturing relationships with the natural world found in overlooked places through walking and art-making. If there is one thing I’ll keep from this last year, it’s to embrace simplicity, and from Marian, it’s the ‘use what you already have’ mentality!
For many creative practitioners, the Lockdown period during 2020 and 2021 was both a stressful challenge and a opportunity for experimentation and learning. Inevitably, this has raised questions about what we do, how we do it and most importantly, why we do what we do.
In the Art of #CovidChat, Chatteris based filmmaker and podcast producer, David Johnson (DMJ Imagery) had the idea of hosting ‘creative conversations’ with artists from our Inkling and Connect micro-commissions.
Pictured is a photo of David Johnson (DMJ Imagery) with his camera.
David wanted to explore how artists have coped with transferring their skills and practice to online workshops, digital technology and downloadable resources. He also wanted to discuss how they managed to continue the creative sharing process despite not being able to be in the same physical space as workshop participants.
Michelle Brace
Kaitlin Ferguson
Bel Greenwood
Three thumbnail images of artists’ Michelle Brace, Kaitlin Ferguson and Bel Greenwood, all taking part in the podcasts.
The podcasts include a great line-up of artists discussing music, writing, digital technology, fine art and performance.
David Johnson interviews poet and writer Leanne Moden and writer Belona Greenwood. The topic for this episode is Poetry and Written Word.They discuss:-
This episode, David Johnson interviews environmental artist Kaitlin Ferguson and publisher and illustrator Ric Savage. The topic for this episode is Use of Video in Art Projects. They discuss: –
How they learned to create videos
Their experiences of using videos in their work
Missing the audience engagement
The challenge:
Record the changes of nature using video
Capture something about you
Additional challenge – Film a one-minute elevator pitch
This episode, David Johnson interviews singer/ music leader Sally Rose and artist Michelle Brace.The topic for this episode is Music and Technology.They discuss:-
What is VJ-ing?
Music and Mental Health
Folk music in the Fenland area
The challenge:
Go for a walk and listen to the rhythm of your feet as you move
Get two images – patterns/textures and digitally blend them or collage them.
This case study is part of our project evaluation for 2019/2020.
We’ve worked with Shelby, owner of the lovely Barleycorn Cafe in Mildenhall on creative projects over the last few years. Before the pandemic, we were running a series of taster sessions with local Meet Up Mondays group and creative practitioners from the region. The group enjoyed the activities and the company, feeling less isolated and more connected.
The Covid-19 pandemic changed everything and we had to stop the live programme. To keep something going, we worked with The Barleycorn and artist Marian Savill during the first lockdown to create a series of ‘make along’ videos about Art Journaling.
Find out the difference this project has made and the challenges of delivering online as we all adjusted to doing more things digitally.
The Barleycorn Cafe in Mildenhall is only three years old, but has become a hub in the community. They decided to start a Meet-up Monday group, hoping to tackle loneliness and isolation by offering a free cuppa and a place to chat and meet people. Working with owner Shelby and a group of regular Meet Up Monday members a taster arts programme was established to reach new audiences, create new art opportunities locally and increase well-being.
Tea and Tasters
A series of taster workshops were delivered with different artists for the group to choose one they would like to work with the longer term.
These workshops included:
creative journalling
singing
printmaking
ceramics
expressive drawing
Pictured:Three photos from the taster workshops. Left: For this workshop, the group were trying singing with singing teacher, Sally Rose.Sally is grinning while sat on a chair with a little guitar. Middle: The group were trying pottery. In this photo, Clare the artist is showing a member of the group how to throw a pot on a potters wheel. Right: The group were trying screenprinting. In the photo the group are sitting and standing around a large long table, with rollers, paint and printing stamps scattered on the table.
The group decided to pursue additional singing sessions alongside holding a longer creative journaling project using a democratic vote.
The plans for additional journaling workshops were curtailed by the pandemic. This resulted in a commission for mixed media artist Marian Savill to produce four online tutorials to journal from home, using resources you would find around the house.
Extending the commission in this way was a means of continuing to maintain the group’s connectivity. As well as to manage further isolation for this vulnerable group and transition activity into digital outputs in a meaningful way.
Pictured:Two photos from the taster workshops. Left: The group were trying pastels. In this photo, a large piece of paper has been covered in drawings in pastel, including images of coffee cups, flowers and words like “sun” and “hope”. Right: The group were trying art journaling. In this photo, a table is covered in magazines and collages.
Art Journaling with Marian Savill
Pictured:The opening image for Marian’s workshop. It reads “Art Journaling with Marian Savill” in collaged letters.
Initially the commission was developed as an experience for the Meet Up Mondays group to continue their journlling activity with Marian, during the first national lockdown through April – May 2020.
Marian was commissioned to make a series of four workshop tutorials and an introductory promo video. The tutorials cover how to make a book, creating backgrounds, adding text and embellishing your journal.
To mirror in-person experiences, the videos were launched weekly, on a Monday at 10am, within a Facebook event on the CPP MarketPlace account and the Barleycorn Facebook page.
Pictured:Two screenshots from Marian Savill’s Art Journalling workshops. In the images Marian experiments on her desk with paint, wax crayons and collaging in colourful handmade books.
