Volunteers needed for really cool Recycled Playground project!
Sheffield NOW! (you can read about the organisation in previous posts) has just got funding through for a very exciting project that I’m going to be working on called ‘The Recycled Playground’. We’ll be doing a series of fun, free workshops to explore parks in Sheffield and build structures out of recycled stuff that respond to specific spaces and what young people want to do/feel there. The project starts in April…
If you are interested in volunteering or you know of some good places to get recycled stuff (bottles, bags, fabric, wood etc) get in touch with either lisa (lisaprocter@sheffield-now.com) or me – my Sheffield NOW! email is nickyward@sheffield-now.com.
Exhibition 28th June – 22nd August 2010
I will be the featured artist this summer at The Beetroot Tree Gallery in Draycott, Derbyshire. I will exhibit some new collages alongside some pictures that have been exhibited before. Greetings cards with prints of my work (I’ve made some out of recycled magazines) will be for sale there too – I’ll put some pictures on here soon too.
Something a bit different..
When I was younger I liked creating little made-up worlds and creatures in coloured pencil – it would keep me quiet for hours! My brother and his housemate are fans of my earlier doodles, and when my brother asked me to spend maximum 2 hours doing a small doodle for his housemates birthday, I forgot just how long I used to spend getting lost in my imagination and after 5 hrs of happily doodling away, it started me thinking about how whilst some artists will capture their thoughts with a single brushstroke of colour, I’ll happily spend ages and ages and ages intricately drawing or cutting or painting or sticking!
With the doodles, it’s the process of going into an imaginary world that I enjoy, and with my collages it’s thinking about special memories of a place or person I don’t want to forget – it’s not always simply turning an idea into a drawing – when I draw/find something to put in a collage, that will generate ideas, and the whole process normally all goes on in one drawing or collage. I rarely, if ever sketch and develop an idea before I start it properly – the development of the idea is all on the same canvas. Collecting all the bits and pieces and working out where they best fit helps me better understand and consolidate my thoughts about people and places, and re-live happy experiences – This probably explains why I don’t like to finish a collage!
This post is a bit long and rambling now, just wanted to write my thoughts down somewhere, and here is as good a place as any!
Panto Fun!
My brother made a hilarious White Rabbit in his pantomime performance of ‘Alice in Heartland’ which he performed with the Botley Community Theatre last weekend in Oxford. I designed painted the backdrop with lots of help from the cast and their children!
The Beetroot Tree – Open Art Exhibition 30th Jan – 14th Feb 2010
My work is part of the the Erewash Open Art Exhibition and will be on display at The Beetroot Tree, a gorgeous gallery in Draycott, near Derby (DE72 3PP if you want to put it in your sat nav). There’s a shop and a shop with delicious hot chocolate and cake! The exhibition runs for two weeks from the 30th January.
Later on in the year, I will hopefully have my own exhibition here, and will post more details nearer the time!
The online shop
The online shop now works for cheque payments – yay! It’s a complete nightmare getting the card payments bit working, and I’m on the verge of throwing my computer out the window… Now I’m starting to think maybe cheques are better than card payments anyway (it’s probably safer not having to give your card details out online)!
I’d be interested to know what people think about the buying online system, and will continue to try and develop a safe and easy to use online shop!
Trouble with the buy online button!
Sorry if you have been trying to buy prints online – I’ve realised the system doesn’t always work. I’ve changed it, though it’s still not working completeley – I’ll keep perservering, but if you would like a print before Christmas let me know by phone or email, and we’ll sort it another way – thanks for your patience!
Prints available for Christmas!!
These pictures are all available as signed, mounted, limited edition (40) prints, and make fantastic christmas presents! Follow the instructions on the buy prints online page, or send me an email. An A4 mounted print is only £15.
The Giant Caterpillar!
It was great fun at the weekend in Longley Four Greens, Sheffield where children helped build a giant caterpillar out of cycle tyres…
Children also used the tyres to print onto fabric, making up caterpillar pictures and stories. These will be sewn together to form tunnels that children can play inside. There will be a waterproof outer structure (an old taupaulin), so the structure should last!
The children enjoyed playing in the caterpillar, and making up different games to play…
Come make a Recycled Playground! Saturday 31st October
This Saturday, I will lead artist for a really exciting Sheffield NOW! event at Four Greens, Sheffield (S5 7NN) It will hopefully (depending on funding) be part of a series of events to create a giant play structure out of recycled stuff!
So far, we have aquired loads and loads of old bicycle tyres, and on Saturday will be building with them to make a giant caterpillar structure. We will also be imagining what it would be like to be a caterpillar for the day, and printing, collaging and writing our stories on strips of fabric (old bedsheets!) that will be sewn together to form part of the caterpillars body.
The event is free and everyone is welcome! Wear scruffy clothes though – you might get paint on them!
Here’s a photo of me practicing building with tyres…
Dad Picture almost finished…
This picture is in memory of my dad who died in October last year following a two year battle with cancer. The writing is a mixture of dad’s own beautiful poetry and notes my two brothers wrote for the eulogy they read at his funeral (they spent a lot of time, and went through a lot of paper to get dad’s tribute just right. I couldn’t let the notes be thrown away!) You’ll also notice blue tack wrappers (dad relied on the stuff to fix any DIY problem – including broken light fittings!) , hedgy the hairbrush (When I was younger I bought it as a present for him despite him having no hair!) and other bits and pieces that remind me of him. The photos I’m working from make me smile every time I look at them!
Your Art – The Festival 2009 Scrapbook!
Here’s the artwork visitors made at the Wirksworth Festival 2009!
A few people said they had been inspired them to get collaging – If you have made any collages, please send me a picture – I’ll add it to the gallery if you would like!
Thanks for coming to the festival!
Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone that came to Wirksworth last weekend. I had a really great time, and will post some pictures soon!
Wirksworth Festival this weekend!
I’ll be exhibiting and selling my art, and showing off what I’ve been up to over the last year. Bring any sweet wrappers, and tickets – I’ll be putting together a scrapbook of memories from this years festival made with everyones rubbish, and will offcourse be looking for some creative helpers!
Hope to see you there!
Creative Partnerships, Sheffield
For the past 3 months, I’ve been working with children at Hunters Bar School, Sheffield one day a week as part of a Creative Partnerships project to design and produce a structure that makes the classroom a more creative learning environment.
The result is fantastic – a set of drawers that look quite ordinary from the outside, but when each drawer opens, the space is transformed to help you learn in different and exciting ways.
For example, the bottom drawer pulls out to form a stage on which you must wear the special hat to give you good luck…
There’s a friendship funfair that pulls out of another drawer, with loads of games and activities designed by children to help you make friends…
Conversation trees grow out the top of the drawers and can be taken around the school – the colours, textures and pictures inspire different conversations…
There’s also a chill out den that folds out one drawer, and an inspiration wave that rolls out of another! As one child exclaimed on seeing the finished result ‘It’s like each drawer is a tardis!’
Canal Collage!
The Chesterfield Canal Festival was a great event – lots of children helped cut and stick and paint using all the rubbish visitors and exhibitors gave me over the weekend! In a week or so, I’ll have a bit of time to finish the collage, and will put some more pictures up. For now though, here’s some pictures from the event itself…
Chesterfield Canal Festival, Kiveton Park, Rotherham 23rd – 25th May 2009
I’m going to be displaying my work at the Chesterfield Canal Festival – www.kiveton2009.com – It should be a great weekend – you can camp there and they’ll be loads of stalls and stuff going on – including boat rides! I’m going to be getting visitors to donate their rubbish from the festival, and help me create a canal-inspired collage – it should keep me busy for a few days! Would be great to see you there!
Your Sheffield NOW! Rivelin Valley
Sheffield NOW! teamed up with Ruthie (a fab artist who makes giant knitted structures), and lots of young people and their families to find out more about spaces through den-building and collaging. Using a mixture of french knitting, weaving and collaging, this fantastic structure evolved over the course of an afternoon! A really fun and relaxing way to spend a weekend!
Your Sheffield NOW! Endcliffe Park – Photos from the day!
We had a fantastic day making African inspired dens using bits and pieces found in Endcliffe park Sheffield, weaving artwork people created throughout the event in and out. The work created will be added to the Your Sheffield NOW! Weave (see the Sheffield NOW! page for more details) – If anyone is interested in helping create the weave, please get in touch – I will be recruiting volunteers for a cake fuelled day, to put together the work we have collected at the last couple of events!
Wirksworth Collage looking for a home!
This vibrant collage is about 1270mm x 970mm and was created at the Wirksworth Festival 2008 out recycled bits and bobs from local businesses. At the moment it is sat in my garage so isn’t really been enjoyed by the community who helped create it- it could be mounted on a wall or displayed on its stand. Please get in touch with any ideas for a better home!
Welcome to my new site!
I’m updating my website to make it easier to edit and for people to comment – please bear with me, it might take a while to get my head round how it works!