Childhood Homes

This weeks session involved visualising our first memories of our childhood homes.

We created images using pencil to show the front elevation and a footprint plan of the interior; upstairs and downstairs. Click on an image to see a larger version.

I remember sliding down the stairs at 76 Colne Lane (below) on a mattress with all my brothers and sisters, screaming as we headed down the stairs and landed in a giggling heap at the bottom.

Farzana remembers having two letterboxes with different addresses for her cornershop on Arthur St. in Brierfield... or was it Chapel St?

Khalida (below) discovered that she lived just around the corner (on Giles St.) from Tina when they were both children.

Tina (below) lived on Caleb St and chatted for ages with Khalida about all the other people they could remember. Tina also remembered the time her family moved out of the family home to make way for demolition when she was young. However, the house escaped demolition that time but is due to be demolished sometime in 2010.

Some of the aspiring particpants have taken up my invite to produce a postcard on the theme of 'This is England'.

Their work will be shown alongside established artists from around the country at the Centre of Contemporary Art in Preston and again here in Bradley before it is despatched to Pakistan. It will then be exhibited at Beaconhouse University in Lahore before being archived and re-exhibited annually with future collections of work by other artists.

Kalsum thought of England as a place of beautiful countryside and named her creation 'Pendle through the Mirror'.

Nigel created two postcards, this one shows Burnley Football ground, he called it 'Night Match at Turf Moor'.

Jan got people thinking of food and created an image called 'Fish, Chips and Mushy Peas'.

Sidra was thinking in a similar way with her 'Coke & Kebab' painting.

Nigel had a 'Pint & Pie' on his mind...

.. while Sophia remembered the birth of 'Girl Power'.

Life in Pictures

Yesterdays session involved exploring the idea of a picture telling a story. The discussion evolved from Jan (a new member) explaining her enthusiasm for making tapestries. We talked about how they often depict a significant period in history and decided that some of us would try to remember a time in our own lives and attempt to capture it on paper.
Tommy came close to dipping his brush in his tea.

Samina brought in some homework: a drawing of Bradley Primary School. She has been slowly working on it since December, and has managed to complete it while juggling all her other chores.

Irene hasn't used watercolour before, however, she has captured this local street scene with a distant view of Pendle using a limited pallette and nice transparent washes.

Khalida used bright, vibrant colours and simple lines to create a busy school yard.

I tried to remember what Maria's Cash & Carry looked like.

Nigel remembered his time as a soldier many years ago.

Sophia was still thinking about a recent trip to London.

Tommy decided to tell us about different periods in his life. Making his first snowman, starting school, his love for working on the allotment, life as a soldier and in the saddle as race horse jockey.

I found this one at the bottom of the box, its from last week. A picture by Toon, the student from Holland. It is Bradley, surrounded by rolling hills and he painted it to send back home to his Grandma.

Branding Workshop

We were joined at the session by a group of students from Salford University who are doing a project about developing a brand for Bradley. It is mainly for generating ideas about what makes Bradley what it is today and perhaps looking to the future development of the area in a positive and constructive light.

The students: Toon (Holland), Simon (UK), Semi (South Korea) and Jason (USA) had time for a snack at a famous sweet shop in Nelson Town Centre.

In the session, we developed a mind-map about all things Bradley and the Community...

We all contributed words relating to the area and how people use the space.Toon, Simon and Semi are thinking of words to help develop the map.

Here is the complete mind-map, which helps to generate ideas about what makes Bradley a place to work and play.

After highlighting a few significant words, we designed postcards to visualize our impressions of Bradley.

Nigel and Sophia are busy with their designs.

A group photo with an international flavour.This image was created with a computer by Toon.

Jason, who has a Graphic Design background made this logo-style design using conventional and digital processes.

Name: 'Title' - Media used

Nigel: 'Mosque' - Watercolour

Semi: 'Wind' - Watercolour

Simon: 'Bright Future' - Collage

Khalida: 'Summer Rain' - Watercolour

Sophia: 'Ducks having fun in the sun' - Watercolour

Nigel: 'Chimney' - Watercolour

Toon: 'Terrace' - Watercolour

William: 'Familiar Territory' - Watercolour

Simon: 'Mosque School Cobble' - Watercolour

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

I was on my way to a meeting yesterday when I bumped into two festive walkers in the town centre.
I couldn't resist taking this photo of them. Its Nigel and Sophia from the drawing workshops.
Wishing you all A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

Workshop 1 Video

Here is a short video (4:30mins) from the workshop. It presents how people responded to the idea of art... and regeneration.

Gallery One

Here are the first drawings from the workshop sessions, you can track the groups development by logging on each week to see how their work is progressing. To say that some were concerned about not having drawn since childhood, I think the work is a promising statement of things to come.
Try clicking on an image to see a larger version....

Art Workshops

Workshops are scheduled to start next Thursday 3rd Dec at the school.
There are two sessions: 1 - 3pm with the Parent / Teacher group SPAR and 6.30 - 8.30 with a group of local residents.

The afternoon session is overbooked with a couple on the waiting list but there are still a couple of places left for the evening session.

I aim to start with a basic introduction to drawing through practice based exercises using photos and objects from the local area.

Each session will inform the next one through negotiation with particpants.

I will interview the particpants during the first drawing session and upload the footage to this blog, hopefully with some examples of their first drawings.