ARTISTS TALKING

# 27 [10 February 2011]

Well I didn't get to pick up the caravan, too rainy....but hopefully this weekend.

I did go to the Butterfly Park (in my lunch hour) to meet with the Community College students and tell them a bit about the project before they went on a guided tour courtesy of Paul + Hilary whilst I hot footed it back to work.

I'll arrange to go into the college post half term to do a presentation to them all.

They finish their course in May so it's great timing for them and us to have work we can use at the opening on 8th.

Popped along to an area forum meeting this week covering the whole of New Ferry and Bromborough, there is some 'empty shop' money available that I'm going to apply for, well.....someone's got to get it and I think we could make a really positive space for local people to visit and become part of. 

I've started the proposal, next meeting is tomorrow so I'm hoping to get to that. I've a Sicky kid at the moment though so if he's not better by tomorrow that might put the kybosh on things.

Missed out on a project tutorial at Uni today as I had to look after him. 

It's so much harder being a student/worker and parent sometimes.

Wouldn't swap it mind :)

# 26 [3 February 2011]

I've had a great week. Been contacted by Liverpool Community College, their tourism course are interested in re-designing some of our Butterfly Park paraphernalia. leaflets, guides etc so it looks like I will be working with them a lot in the coming months which is great.

A local secondary school is arranging a site visit in May with some year 9 students to make land art sculptures and to help them decide whether to choose Art as one of their 'options', oh  how I remember that age, it felt like such a huge decision way back then.

Also the (very) local Primary school are on board, had a really productive meeting there this morning and have set up some workshops, a site visit and an assembly (eek). The headmistress is very keen and was blown away by the plans for the park, though I have offered to do all the workshops for free she's given me details of a small grant we can jointly apply for to maybe pay for all the materials and even my time, which would be amazing. 

Most Excited as I'm picking up the caravan this week (Thanks Julie ) and can spend time taking it apart this weekend.

# 25 [26 January 2011]

Two schools got back to me this week with a yes to doing workshops, meeting with one of them next week and potentially a third soon too.

Good News, be great to have the local kids involved as then they will bring their families to the park over the summer to show them their work (I hope) 

I'm now persusing grant application forms.....eeek

# 24 [24 January 2011]

I made a visit to World Museum Liverpool last week and met the Entomology Curator. 

It's an astonishing place, row upon row upon row of lepidoptera cabinets, each with multiple drawers in. Beautiful. 

I could have spent all day there, they left me alone there to take photographs (ohh sooo many photographs)  but unfortunately due to an untimely attack of Sciatica I was left having to try and stand up without letting the whole department know my back had gone then casually hobble out of the building a bit earlier than I would have liked.

However, it did give me a good sense of the amount of work and commitment that has gone on to have such an amazing collection. It's also made me more excited to get going now.

Still waiting to hear back from local schools, you'd think with an email entitled 'New Ferry Butterfly Park FREE ART WORKSHOPS' that I might get some response wouldn't you? 

# 23 [14 January 2011]

Made a very small 3D cardboard caravan maquette of my Visitor Centre Design. 

Has a very Blue Peter quality to it I think, quite proud of that. Grateful I watched so much of it as a child.

All workshop proposals are now also written, hope the schools/groups are up for it now.

# 22 [12 January 2011]

Good to see the image I used in my last blog on the front page of Blog Topics, it doesn't say it's from my blog and it's not my image but is beautiful non the less and is a lovely example of archiving.

The plans are coming along nicely now. I been making some collage work to get me back making art with the butterfly park in mind rather than just making plans, have also drawn up plans for the caravan visitor centre and started to make a maquette.

Need to speak to my friend about if/when I can still have her caravan to start the revamp.

I've posted a call for submission on the Art in Liverpool website and on the facebook page for the butterfly park to start the ball rolling with this years art trail.

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=112509052095...

I've arranged a meeting with the head of Entomology at Liverpool World Museum to show him the plans for the visitor centre and to ask for his input with all his knowledge and expertise also. Quiet excited about that.

I've emailed the local schools with propositions for workshops to make butterflies for the Lepodoptera specimen drawers. Also have to try and buy/make some kind of drawer unit.

Tis all go in Butterfly Land.

# 21 [2 December 2010]

The residency at the park is still ongoing. I had a great summer there, just got too busy to blog...bad artist.

My last blog was about the Big Lunch, which in fact turned out to be a Little Lunch but a very enjoyable little lunch. I met some great people who live local to the park and who wanted to get involved more actively.

Unfortunately then I got too busy with work to do all the workshops etc that I wanted to do so plans changed a bit. I used my time over the summer to get to know the park better, the people better and learn a bit about insects and plants to boot.

Park closes October to May so now is my time for research, planning and soon....making.

We had our AGM this week and though we still don't know if we can stay on the site, the fight is still ongoing with the landowner, court dates keep getting changed but I'm still holding out hope. The Butterfly Park is magical, it has so many amazing qualities and for it to end now seems so very wrong so hope is what keeps all the volunteers going.

At the meeting I put forward my ideas for the rest of this year and they seem to be well received. There's a really small pot of money from a sponsor that can be used towards the project which will be very useful.

The plans for this year involve a mobile allotment/trailer with A-frame to tow around schools/community centres to promote the park and to do planting/growing workshops with edible plants that attract butterflies/bees etc.

Secondly will be a refurbished caravan,stripped out and set up as a mobile visitor centre with a twist.

The twist being that as it is a 'test' product, to evaluate the need (or not) for a visitor centre on site. I'll be asking people to write in a comment book about the need for a place to sit and reflect, read perhaps enjoy a warm drink.  

The temporary mobile visitor centre will have a library made up of books about birds/insects/plants etc and a further section with artists books (also butterfly/insect based)

Museum-esque Lepodoptera specimen drawers filled with butterflies but hand made by local children. 

Information sheets, leaflets, colouring sheets, mask and wing making kits. 

Small workshops for  up to 4 people can be held.

Also, I'll be again curating a small art trail and asking for proposals for this soon. As the Butterfly Park is such a small charitable organisation there's no money to offer artists, the sad state of affairs in todays economy but they have agreed that we can use a part of the small sum we received as a grant to have a peoples choice prize for the favourite artwork awarded at the end of the summer. Likely to only be something up to £100 if it happens but I think it's really lovely that they have offered this.

Sunday 8th May 2011 will be our  grand opening event. Hope to make it even bigger and better than last year.

# 20 [14 July 2010]

So I am organising a BIG LUNCH this Sunday 18th July.

which will probably be more of a small lunch but hey...it will be fun

http://www.thebiglunch.com/map/event.php?id=56b174...

I only decided to do it a couple of weeks ago and haven't had time to plan for it so it's going to be a gazebo, a table or two, some bunting and some food...that's it!

But in my favour, I have a beautiful nature park so I'm sure that'll make up for the rest.

I have some butterfly masks to print out for kids to colour in too....surely that will be enough. I hope.

The plans for the visitor centre are not good, I can't apply for any funding until the ownership battle is over and I can't afford to pay out for a local shop on my wage - the cheapest I could find was £500pm.....eek

So I think I may do a vistor centre in a van, ahh the things this van has planned for it . Studio/allotment/visitor centre

ANyway - yes - mobile visitor centre in time for next summer season (May-Sept) meaning I would be able to go out an about to schools, universities, community centres etc and entice them to visit the park.

My plans are coming along ...very nicely.

# 19 [20 May 2010]

Sore back today - lay down on a hard floor all morning.

This afternoon I got myself sat up and as I couldn't move around much I decided to make something - so armed with a beautiful little old pocket book of trees and shrubs I sat happily cutting away. 

Gave me an idea, I love artist book work, I forget I love it until I start doing some again but then I fall in love all over again.

I might try to include my love of artists books within my MA practice.

My plans to try and take a shop in New Ferry as a visitor centre are still ongoing but I thought a bit of pre planning as to what would go into the shop might be good.

I like the idea of a visitor centre but as an artist and not a botanist or Entomologist I don't want to try and do anything too 'real'.

I think an installation about the Butterfly Park with references to a visitor centre would work better for me and yet would still have the 'feel' of a visitor centre with only some of the necessary facts. I like the idea of someone coming in and opening up a fact sheet to find some beautiful drawings or a collage or something.

Where there would be a library/book shop section I might have an artists book section, with books all relevant to nature. Julie Dodd made some beautiful little butterfly books for the open day, each one was shaped like a different butterfly and the pages contained facts about that butterfly. If/when I get a space I'd like to have other people's books there too as a mini artist book showcase.

So today I made a book - quite like it too. I cut a tree shape from each page of the book until it was small enough to become a leaf. Its meant to reference deforestation and its effects on the ecology and atmosphere.

The cut-outs were lovely too so I stuck them all on top of each other as a relief - the rebuilding of the paper trees indicating the planting of new trees.

Anyway,only at the idea stage, need to try some butterfly and insect books too, have posted a photo.

# 18 [7 May 2010]

Posted yesterday and then forgot to publish it - div!

Anyway, today I had a very constructive tutorial with my lecturer via Skype.

I'll post that in my other blog methinks.

I'm opening the park up on Sunday 12-2 until another volunteer takes over 2-4, it's such a shame we can only open Sunday afternoons but I suppose that's what I'll have to work towards improving.