Environmental Arts Workshops

Over the spring I was asked to run a series of Environmental Arts workshops by Wrexham  BTCV. These workshops were aimed at Unemployed women across Denbighshire and we ended up working on 2 sites, one in Denbigh and one at Bodelwyddan Castle for 5 days each.

Each day we did a different activity from Charcoal Drawing, Printmaking, Greenwood work, Feltmaking and Willow work.


PRINTMAKING with woodland leaves and flowers to explore their intricate designs and create our own patterns and prints.



GREENWOOD WORKING
I designed a task to create a woodland xylophone from greenwood. This workshop was intended to give lots of taster experiences using different techniques in greenwood working such as splitting logs down into posts with mallets and wedges, using an axe to shape wood, using a shave horse and drawknife, searching for suitable materials such as hazel in the woodland, drilling and constructing all using hand tools and building team work.

The seemingly difficult task of splitting big heavy logs into something manageable or usable made a big impression on the woman and they were filled with confidence when they actually saw how easy and satisfying it was. Each person found something they particularly enjoyed in this session, whether it was using the shave horse, or splitting.

FELTMAKING
This workshop gave an overview of sheep wools, from raw fleece to the washing process and looking at the colours we can get from natural dyes. We then made some decorative felted soaps and felted stones (for doorstops or paper weights). We got very soapy! 
Afterwards we made felted pots, berets or purses with a different felting technique. Sometimes the rain came down, our Denbigh site was quite exposed place to work..but they were a hardy bunch spurred on by cups of BTCV tea and biscuits!




GIANT COBWEBS & WILLOW INSECTS
This session involved creating giant cobwebs in the trees by wrapping spun wool and yarn into a web shape. Our willow insects were created by finding forked branches to make legs, then wrapping and weaving willow to create body and wing shapes.


DRAWING & PAINTING

Here we sketched using charcoal, ink and sticks in the woodland, recording sounds, views and feelings in the environment. The group at  Bodelwyddan Castle were asked to camouflage a works container using only 2 colours! I asked the group to collect leaves and take inspiration from these for camouflage patterns. There is an abundance of Wild Garlic in the wood and one of the group decided to carry on this theme... 
 

 

New Greenwood Scheme - the beginnings of a new movement?

View around Witherslack, Cumbria.

Last weekend, a group of coppice workers and designers came together in a creative melting pot at Charlie Whinney's workshop in Cumbria to think, design and make using greenwood working techniques. Our aim was to thrust our skills and knowledge as greenwood workers into the contemporary market, bringing our craft bang up to date with modern design items suitable for the high end market. Ambitious? Absolutely!

After a day coppicing for various sizes of materials including hazel and ash we were each given a brief . My brief for example was called "Picture This". Can you make picture frames using reclaimed bits of glass? It should sell for between £10 - £100, to be made within 1/4 - 2 hours. I had a few ideas, but needed to test them out, and could they be made within the timescale?

On day two the designers arrived, we had introductions to everyone and their work, and then mixed into groups and given the 1/2 hour jam jar challenge by Charlie. Make something contemporary with greenwood, utilizing a jam jar!

There were lots of lighting ideas, some more complicated than others. I spent a frantic session on the pole lathe turning a stake for a garden light our team had devised. (I especially liked the twisted honeysuckle cabling that came out of this.) I then had a little idea of my own and had a go at my vase idea with oak spills that Owen Jones (Swill Basket Maker) had brought along.

Blackwell Arts and Craft’s house, Cumbria.

Later that day we went to a conference at Blackwell Arts and Craft’s house in Windermere, Cumbria. There were some very simple and beautiful rooms here, not to mention the stunning views.

Talks were by Kathy Haslam, curator at Blackwell on the politics of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Ray Leigh on Gordon Russell and the Utility Scheme and key note speech by the designer Michael Marriott added to our own discussions on design and the coppice movement. Later that evening we all enjoyed an impressive meal courtesy of our hosts who own the Witherslack estate. Some of the party got a bit merry!

Lighting idea.

 On day three and four we finally began work on our various designs using different greenwood materials and techniques, not all were successful and some ideas evolved through the process. The designers left us to work on our ideas having been inspired by the materials and scope of possibilities.

Here are a few photos taken by Maria, the wonderful organizer from Grizedale Arts. There were an awful lot more design ideas and prototypes which are not shown here...so watch this space! It is hoped that the final designs will form part of a contemporary greenwood pattern book so that other greenwood workers can make these items too.

There will be an exhibition of this work and hopefully a lot more will come out of this. We all found it highly beneficial as greenwood workers coming together, inspiring each other as designer/makers and seeing the potential of our craft. Hopefully, we can begin to push our craft into the contemporary market, offering a sustainable and intelligent alternative to plastic, throw away, mass produced consumer products.

Recipe book stand by Matt Turley

Necklace by Gerry Smyth

Tea light holder by Vicky Naylor

Table made by Pete Lanyon with design
assistance from Gemma Matthias.

Vase by Elizabeth Cadd

Hat stand by James Mitchell

Stool made by Ian Taylor, designed by Jack Smith

You can join the newly formed
New Greenwood Scheme on
facebook to keep up to date.

Potato Mashers and Porridge Spurtles - doing it the old fashioned way

These wooden potato mashers and porridge spurtles were commissioned by an elderly Scottish chap looking to give presents to his family. I made 7 of each as requested.

The design of the potato masher was described to me, and luckily I managed to see a nice example (no touching allowed mind you), in the Welsh Museum of Rural Life just before I started to make them. The green wood I used was fresh maple, some lovely green tinged cherry, and a whiter cherry. I turned a variety of handle shapes and mashing ends as the wood allowed on the pole lathe. All are approximately 18" tall. The mashing ends are about 3" diameter.

They would probably also be useful for tenderizing your nearest and dearest in the kitchen. (Joke)




The design of the porridge spurtle was a copy of his own that he'd used for the last 40 years. He made porridge every day, or every other day, letting it rest - I can't remember which. His own spurtle had worn down 1" shorter than it should have been, and so his hand was getting too close to the cooking pot.

The practical feature of this design is that the ball rests comfortably above your hand, as if holding a pen. He also insisted that the ends should taper. I made a variety of designs as the wood dictated. Five were turned from pear wood and another three from cherry.













One of the pear spurtles had a peculiar kink at the top when it dried out, since the thin point above the ball sat on a knot. I had meant to keep this one for myself but somehow he ended up getting a bonus spurtle. Lucky old him!

Everything was burnished with greenwood shavings from the lathe and oiled with culinary linseed oil a few times. I was very pleased with the finished work.

Contemporary coppice workshops

I'm very excited to have a place on these workshops, it should be a great start to the year!

An exciting new series of workshops and talks in February 2012 bringing together coppice workers, green woodworkers and designers to create some new ‘contemporary coppice products’.

This event in Cumbria is organised by Grizedale Arts and is led by award-winning artist Charlie Whinney who will offer his unique steam-bending skills to attendees of the practical workshop. 

There are four ways to be involved:

1.                   1 day Conference - Saturday 18^th February 10am-5pm at Blackwell Arts and Craft’s house in Windermere, Cumbria. With talks by Kathy Haslam, curator at Blackwell on the politics of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Ray Leigh on Gordon Russell and the Utility Scheme and key note speech by the renowned designer Michael Marriott.

2.                   4 day Practical workshop – Friday 17^th to Tuesday 21^st February. There is a limited number of spaces available – if you are want to make an interesting career out of using  coppice or green wood this will be invaluable.  You will spend time alongside award-winning product designers including Michael Marriott and renowned local coppice workers including Owen Jones and Matt Turley.  You will also no doubt learn a lot about steam-bending, different making techniques, and a chance to share skills and ideas with other makers and designers.

3.                   Visit www.newgreenwoodwork.com  or www.grizedale.org after the event.  The new designs will be made available online, and we will also put up photos and videos of how we got on.  Also if you have any photos of interesting uses of coppice or particularly beautiful green woodwork please send me your photos ASAP as they will be really helpful and we can share them online.

4.                   2 day Practical workshop  - Saturday 25^th and Sunday 26^th February. A weekend workshop on Brantwood Estate in Coniston, from the cutting of coppice wood to finished product.

Visit www.newgreenwoodwork.com for more information.

Hand woven natural dyed cushions

This week I've had some time at home spinning and weaving up some of my natural dyed wool. I have a new country spinner spinning wheel with a massive 2lb bobbin, which is very impressive indeed, and has made me a very, very happy lady! Ha ha

My cushions are handspun, using natural plant dyed wool and hand woven on a small loom.

 Here are some picture of some cushions I've made which I sell from my Etsy Shop

Woodland Arts - workshops for schools

Last week I spent three days doing woodlands arts workshops in two schools in Wordsley, Stourbridge, West Midlands. The schools had approached me to put on some woodland inspired workshops for children aged 7 - 8 and 8 - 9 as part of their Irresistible Learning education program.

Four classes of 25 at Belle Vue Primary spent an hour each learning a different weaving technique with natural materials and willow, making an individual item to take home. Their term had started with a letter from Lord Locksley asking for a band of men to join him. My half-term activity was to help them make something nice to give to Maid Marion, made from natural materials. Each class made different items so the teachers could swap techniques later on.

At Blandford Mere Primary School we had two consecutive days to work on a project. I was asked if the children could make things to put in their new school corridor, so I suggested making bug sculptures - insects, flies, bees.

After an introductory talk and questions at assembly, three classes of 30 pupils spent an hour on both days with me creating woodland insect sculptures using fresh willow and other natural materials including natural dyed sheep wool, leaves, sticks etc..

They learned how to strip the leaves off the willow and bend it to the shapes they needed to make wings and body shapes, decorating these on the second day. It was a learning curve for both me and the children, as they got to grips with the nature of the materials - and I raced about helping their sculptures take shape.

Most of the children were very excited about the activity and I think it was quite a challenge for them on many levels. I hope they got a lot out of it. It was great to be able to use my artistic and practical woodland knowledge with so many young people.

If you are interested in having a school workshop. I am happy to devise a suitable activity for your class. Please contact me to discuss details and costs. I am currently working across the Midlands. I'm hoping for pictures of the school displays to arrive for this blog post soon.

Colours from Nature - natural dyes, wool and weaving

I have been back at my spinning wheel again in readiness for the winter nights, a pleasure that seems to return every year when the weather changes. Over the last few years I have been learning to spin and to use natural dyes. The process of collecting colour from the wild, just like foraging is a lovely rewarding activity. It keeps you in contact with the seasons by collecting your own plant materials, leaves, flowers, berries or bark when the time is right.

Before this summer ended, I wanted to create some new natural colours to add to my wool stash for the winter.  I've totally avoided the synthetic dyes as they just seem so harsh and tend to shout so much. Natural colours always blend well with each other and I like having the direct link back to their natural source too.

1. Madder root red, 2nd dye madder root makes coral. 
2.Guelder rose berries - pink/yellow.
3. Cochineal beetle purple handspun.
4. Poplar leaves makes yellow and saddened with
iron makes green tinge.
5. Mohair dyed with buddleia leaf makes yellow.

Jacob dyed with cochineal beetle

Winter seems to be the natural time when the knitting and spinning really gets going for me. With all those long evenings what else would I be doing! (apart from whittling).. Anyway, a month or so ago I had mordanted some sheep wool with Alum at home. Alum and other mordants like Chrome, Iron and Oxalic Acid help to achieve stronger colour shades where the normal sheep fleece doesn't pick up the dye. I collected various plant materials that were available in the wood and had a few dying sessions with a pot over the fire.

Finally after a few years of trial and error I am happy to be getting much better and consistent results. It is a time consuming processing, so this is very satisfying progress indeed!

Wensleydale dyed with Onion Skins

People ask me 'Where do I get my sheep fleece?' - It's £5 per fleece from most farmers, is the answer. I brought 5 sheep fleece this summer from www.sheersheep.co.uk who were demonstrating  sheering at Letchworth Arts Festival. One fleece was a super coarse pure white Rams wool - a brilliant wiry contrasting wool to any of the soft lambs wool I'd also bought.

It took two solid days of skirting, washing and drying those five fleece plus a few other Zwartbles (black fleece) on a sunny weekend. This has given me plenty of cheap material to work with over the winter. Only problem is storage usually, but a shed or greenhouse to store the fleece in over winter is fine.

Coarse rams wool and alum
mordant dyed with Madder Root,
second dye makes coral.

After washing and drying the wool I either mordant and/ or dye it. Then comes the nice bit where I card it on my drum carder to clean out any further bits and start selecting colours to blend together. It's like creating a palette to work with.

Depending on what I want to do - either spin all one colour - or have a crazy mix of colours I create 'batts' of different colourways and textures with different types of fleece to create very different yarns. Mixing natural dyed wool with the natural sheep colours - grey, whites and blacks enables all sorts of variations to be achieved.

3 Zwartble batts

Spinning is more interesting when you see the colours and textures change through your fingers. Every piece of wool goes through my hands at least four times before it becomes a finished item - a knitted hat, a scarf, a blanket.  That really does make it handmade.

Close up of weave.

I usually make scarves from the softest Wensleydale yarns, and for most of the rest I'm putting it into handmade blankets, ponchos and shawls. It's a slow process, one blanket can take a week to make, but the whole process from sheep to shawl is a great process to know how to do and makes my final work feel like something truly special.





Some coloured wools go towards my 'Weaving with Nature' workshop stash - and this is great to show people at festivals just how beautiful natural colours are.

Oak garden planter

Here is a little commission I made recently of a garden planter.

I had some short lengths of green oak left over from another job -luckily just enough to finish this. All the joints are slotted and pegged together, following the rough design and size of the old planter it was to replace.

I made it a bit more rustic and freeform however - showing off the curves of the oak a little. It should last many years to come.

Garden structures - An oak and hazel panel

This summer, Martin and myself were asked to construct a hazel panel as part of a garden redesign. The hazel panel would attract the eye as you walked through the garden and screen a sloping section of wall behind it. It would also be used to support climbing plants.



We made a free standing 6ft x 6ft oak frame, bedded into the ground at a depth of 2ft. Martin had sourced a lovely straight green oak log just by chance for £50 from a local timber merchant and we set about splitting it with axes and wedges. It's a lot of fun and is surprisingly easy to do with a little welly!

We split the log into about eight sections, each sufficient for a post - or rail, choosing the lighter one for the top cross piece. By securing the pieces in the cleaving break we cleaned the faces of the oak posts up with a draw knife.

The frame was drilled and pegged together with dried oak wedges. Enough was left over for Martin to make a slatted bench too - albeit the most uncomfortable bench anyone could ever sit on (not my words!) and I made an oak planter.

The hazel for the panel came from Martins' new coppice at Manor Farm Burton Overy, Leicestershire. A yound wood planted only 11 years ago, - if you look back at previous blog posts you can see us coppicing the hazel last winter. I wove the hazel right to the top and we were done! What a nice job!

Around the rest of the garden I was asked to stake and bind a hedge planted around five years ago. The effect the owners wanted to achieve was to 'define' the garden with a boundary line. This worked well and set off the style of cottage planting. You can see this hedge on the right of this photo.

Hay hay hay rakes!

I learnt to make hay rakes this year, partly because of an order for 5 children sized hay rakes from the Great Glen Community Wildspace group in Leicester.

I made the handles from ash and sallow, all in slightly different designs because there is more sallow than usable ash in the new wood. Some have forked branches which I thought would be naturally strong, they seemed to work fine.

I used dried silver birch for the tines or teeth - bashing the roughed out dowels through a tine cutter of 11mm to make clean dowels. The tines are set in at approx 1.5" to 2" spacing across the green ash head and flats are put on the backs so the tines don't split.


The handles are drilled into the head at a 70 degree angle to make a good rake, making sure you get this the right way up! Wedges hold the handle onto the head so it was solid. After doing a set of rakes the process became easier, but like most things not tried before there was some head scratching at first.

All full test of the adult sized hay rakes proved they worked great. Martin spent many hours in the mornings mowing the rides with his scythe and the hay rakes did their job well.