OPEN DOOR with Shantona

Session 3

We made all size flowers and butterflies using wax shavings – this technique is very much similar to batik, it creates a similar effect but we are working with wax paper instead of hot wax.

First we got some wax paper and chose a flower template and drew around the template.  Using a sharpener we got a wax crayon and sharpened the crayons, two colours often work well but I chose to do more than 2 and sometimes used 3-4. We mixed all the colours almost like mixing spices together and placed them inside the paper.

The paper was then ironed and as soon as the hot iron was placed on the paper, the wax was melted. It was good to see all the colours mix together.

Once the wax paper cooled we cut out the flower and stitched a button on it.

 

 

“Our favourite part was watching all the colours blend together”.

Conversations in Colour - Session 2

Milena's Group
After distributing materials, lino and paper, designs were drawn on lino then fixed with permanent felt tips and printed on different colour papers.

 

There was an air of excitement and surprise as the paper was peeled off the lino to reveal the finished print. All the previous comments – ‘I’m no good at drawing’ were forgotten, as women started to compliment each other on their work.

We are printing using reduction technique, so there will be very little lino left at the end, but we should end up with some fantastic work!  After printing on paper we are going to repeat the technique on canvas.

During the session, time just flew, but at the end we had a room full of prints!’

Becky's Group

We played the 'let's' game where people say 'let's' followed by an action and we all grew excited about holidays in the sun where we would build sandcastles, scuba dive and wear nice clothes; we imagined diving into rock pools and falling asleep in beautiful gardens filled with bird song.   Although we didn't actually do those things we took one another on such a verbal journey that we felt that we had!  Then the groups were given a choice - to free write in response to an image or to build on their ideas about the Artlink environment from the previous week.

People developed their sensory images into poems, bringing in a character or an animal.  Participants read out their work and we were treated to men of the cloth who had sired many children, industrious bees and spiders, vivid descriptions of the building's decor, a seaside visit and philosophical meanderings through a rock garden.

We talked a little too - about how some of us need books to get us to sleep at night while others find it difficult to concentrate on longer works.  We hope that the free books from the previous evening’s World Book Night will get those in the latter group reading again. 

For several women this was the first creative writing they had undertaken since school and participants expressed their fears about spelling and use of 'proper' English.  'It was wonderful to be able to write creatively again' one participant commented while another said 'It was nice to listen to what other people had written'.  Inspired by the conversation, I decided to end the session by playing a poem by Daljit Nagra who often uses snippets of Punjabi and different syntax in his poetry.  I think it challenged the idea that there is only one 'correct' way to write in English.

OPEN DOOR – Textile Tales - Week 8

There was a great sense of energy, enthusiasm and a lot of concentration today. We learnt a new technique -  batik, working with hot wax and brusho dyes. 

Batik is a fabric dying method using wax to create patterns and designs.  This method makes use of a resist technique; applying areas of the cloth with wax (a dye resist substance)  to prevent them from absorbing colours when the cloth is dyed

The group was introduced to the different stages of batik, applying hot wax and different layers of colour starting from light to dark.  Inspiration was taken from various books, one participant took ideas from a sea book and recreated this using the different wax tools, she worked ever so hard with her shaking hand and produced a fantastic piece. 

Although it was the participants first time doing the technique, they were very confident in using the tools and experimented in trying new things. 

We tried the crackled effect - scrunching the wax fabric and applying a dark coloured ink through the cracks.  I think everyone was pleasantly surprised with this technique as it created some fantastic effects. 

Finally the wax was ironed which created a crisp clear finish.  Everyone was so proud of their work and wanted to take them home to show others.



Studio 3 – Theatre Studio

This week we headed out of Artlink to a theatre studio so we could explore different lighting techniques in a darkened space.  We headed to the University of Leeds where the School of Performance and Cultural Industries kindly allowed us to use one of their studio spaces for the day.

The space was prepared in advance and was set out with different areas, each with a different focus and exploration of light. After a short introduction we began to test the different lighting scenarios - it can be a daunting experience exploring technology and creatively making without a firm idea of destination, but the group got stuck in and began to explore how they could bring their mobiles to life.

These explorations are expanding on ideas from Nike Savvas into a more theatrical form; the aim here was test how projection, shadow and colour could enhance the groups art pieces, to make them flicker, move and to 'paint into space'.  

Howard kept pushing the different colour combinations using an OHP projector and some theatrical gels - we created some lovely footage as he shook the gels under the light creating a water like, glistening effect. 

We also explored a live video feed being projected behind the hung mobiles; the aim here was to create feedback loops in an attempt to create a digital moiré. It was tricky as the colours kept saturating green, but Karan and Elaine persevered and we managed to capture some lovely complex layering of the patterns on film.

The third area of exploration was to create silhouettes; here we could change the light level, intensity and colour - we also explored torchlight to add movement.  Like Savvas, we faked it a little by using a household fan; this worked particularly well on Carrie's mobile as the paper shards appeared to dance.

I have complied some of the footage of each section and these have been edited into a short film.

We hope you enjoy it!

David 

The Open Door Project - Conversations in Colour

A lovely first session with a group of interesting, intelligent and creative women!  Some participants I knew from previous projects, others Milena knew and still others were new to us.  Most have been involved with Artlink projects before and all have a lot to offer the project.  

After a bit of form filling, we played a name game in which we had to say something we liked that began with the first inital of our names.  Then we shared our hopes and worries about the project and passed them on to others via my handy purple hat.  Reading them out, we found that lots of the hopes were shared - to reconnect with writing, to make exciting art work, to learn new skills, and to experience the pleasure of creating.  Worries also had a lot in common - of not being good at or used to writing, of not living up to high expectations, of not being able to loosen up, of not being able to produce anything. 'We'll see,' Milena said, and we got down to it.

Getting down to it involved splitting the group and swapping at half time - a bit like a game of footy but not quite.  Writing and visual art are very much about observing and responding to the world around us. So, with me, participants explored the building with all their senses, noting images such as the 'rushing of the wind through chimneys', 'Calpol coloured walls', 'the textures in the stained glass windows' and 'the smell of a room that has been left'.  They also asked questions such as 'Can I build a den?' and 'What caused the holes in the door?' and 'Why so many gunboats?' (in the paintings). Next week we will return to some of these ideas and build on them.

This is what Milena said about what the participants did with her:
'I chose stencilling as a first visual activity because it is a fast and simple technique that can then be made into complex designs. Nobody in the group had done any stencilling before, but soon they were working on their designs with some ready-made stencils. After they sampled the technique they made their own greeting cards. 

Everybody enjoyed the activity. We discussed the future sessions and discovered that printing, tie-dying, batik and generally working with textiles would be appreciated by everybody. So, we decided that next week we’ll start printing!

Then Amarjit produced wool and knitting needles and asked for advice on how to knit a ruffle scarf.  With a quick demonstration and a promise to show her cable stitch technique next time, everybody went home happy! This is a fantastic start – with so much talent, enthusiasm and commitment we’ll have to open a shop! Can’t wait for next time!'

some of the cards we made

Overall the group were so enthusiastic and open to trying new things that it felt warm despite the cool air of the basement.  And, as for those hopes and worries, over the next few weeks Milena and I aim to help our artists fulfil and exceed those hopes and to obliterate their worries.

Becky Cherriman  

OPEN DOOR with Shantona

Session 2

The kaleidoscope animations created on the iPad last week were screened on the big screen telly, and left running throughout the session, to provide inspiration.

This week, “We have been creating mood boards. These show multiple colour combinations, details and patterns.

The table was filled with bowls of beads, gems, buttons, sparkly bits, paper flowers, foam butterfly shapes, embroidery threads; coloured, patterned and hand-made paper.

“I love the table. There are so many colours everywhere."

Everyone started with a piece of A3 coloured card, and then chose whatever they wanted to use, selecting objects for colour, and arranging them on the card to form patterns. Also combining some of these with paint.

“I liked arranging all the little bits on the board!

“I’ve enjoyed adding more colours with the paint”

Sticky foam pads were used to extend some of the designs upwards, making these into 3D patterns. “Building the shapes up in to 3D shapes has been good fun. The foam pads have worked really well”.

Musarat also demonstrated a technique using wax paper, and wax crayons, to create a batik effect. This paper can then be cut into any shape required. We’ll progress on to this next week.

“I’ve enjoyed making a wax heart.

At the end of the session the group discussed what should be written in the blog.

“I absolutely love this”

Studio 3 - Paper Birds

After our first week of building the mobiles using reflective card, this week our aim was to develop these with the introduction of paper based materials and to begin exploring these using light in space.

The session began with an introduction to some of my own installations, in particular ‘and it all comes down to this…’ - in this piece I suspended 100’s of paper birds from the theatre rigging and illuminated them using focused coloured light. The air circulating in the space caused the birds to move creating flicking light patterns in the haze - I hoped this might provide some inspiration for working with paper.

We began by learning the basic folds to make the popular Japanese Paper Crane Bird.  This was a tricky process that needed a steady hand and lots of patience! The group, however, were very focused, but some found it to be a frustrating process, especially after having to start over so many times. It became clear that Ian was rather skilled with the attention to detail and mastered the bird folds quickly.

We then explored the birds by hanging them onto the mobiles. Sarah had continued to develop her own mobile between sessions and added some rather intricate detailing with the inclusion of beads and chains.  We decided to hang this in the larger space against a plain white wall.  Sarah and I took it in turns to document and light the mobile using a couple of torches. We wanted to create a sense of movement by shifting the shadows, this meant continually moving the torches and the body from side to side. This was our first chance to really test out the concept of ‘movement’.  The result proved rather striking – we made a short unedited video and the shared this with the group - the effect was mesmerising and elegant.

Karan continued to develop her angel mobile, Ian began crafting a range of coordinated birds and Elaine also managed to stick with the folding to create a good selection for hanging. We now have a range of materials to take with us into the theatre studio to explore light and silhouette in more detail next week.