Day 5 at the Botanical Gardens

At this point I should comment on the photographic record of this project. Emma and I are grateful to one of the participants, Chris, for capturing so many special moments with his camera. We don't have any photos of Day 5 as Chris tried his hand at video today.  Here is his video showing the artists at work (nb. it's about 15 mins long).

He has also incorporated his photographs into a slide show which gives a flavour of our experience working on this project at the Botanical Gardens.

Day 5 was our last practical day at the gardens, and the last day that would involve Emma and I unloading a car full of materials and setting up a make-shift studio in the Botanical Garden's education room. We arrived with a list of interesting tasks to do with our participants, our final opportunity to do them before we start working on the designs.

Today had another exciting dimension. Crisis have commissioned a local organisation - OFVM - to make a film about our project. This will be another special record of the process of developing the  artwork. Crisis and Arts at the Old Fire Station also hope that this will communicate the way the two organisations can work together. The film will be shown at the formal opening of the new building.

Connor, who did a foundation course a few years ago and creates really lively drawings, worked on some drawings from an interesting bush close to the education room. He managed to do this while talking to the film crew which was quite a feat.

Meanwhile Maureen used templates created from tracings of leaves to make a large-scale spray painting. She thought carefully about the way she positioned the leaves, giving a sense that they are drifting round the sheet of paper. They remind me of leaves swirling in the wind.

Dennis continued working with trees, developing his rubbings further by wrapping paper right around the tree trunks. He also tried to mould paper by dampening it and wrapping it around branches.




Shaun was very interested in Emma's books about mathematics in nature. He has been interested in circles throughout the project ("my whole life's a circle") and found seed heads and flowers to draw to develop this theme.

Lucy added to some screen prints using spray painting and additional layers of print. We also discussed more seriously the possibility that Lucy could apply for a Foundation Art Course. Nichola is able to put Lucy in contact with a colleague who teaches on the Foundation Course. We all feel that Lucy would be a fantastic candidate for a Foundation Course and could pursue a career in art and design. She shows obvious strength in textiles and surface pattern and is very excited about the possibility of studying this subject. Good luck Lucy!