We’re about half-way through the community arts project now and the response has been very interesting. We have had visits from locals, parents and children of all ages since it was half term last week and a free cup of coffee and a sit-down was a welcoming offer! The whole project has reminded me how naturally imaginative and enthusiastic children of a certian age can be. We’ve had drawings and casts in clay, collage houses in textiles, monoprinting magazine images and paper jewellery.
Locals seem quite curious too. Often the selection of images showing the Queen’s Square Shopping centre during its heyday in 1971 proved to bring back some memories. One elderly gentleman revealed that a West Bromwich Albion player used to make his living selling shoes on an outdoor market stand. Not something you’d find the Rooney’s and Beckham’s of today doing!
And then today we got a visit from three local boys aged about 15, all bored to tears and full of energy. They asked us how much we were getting paid to sit in the shop, and whether we would pay them to interview them for Jeanette Deen’s documentary. We declined and offered them some free squash and biscuits before they were swiftly moved on by security. They were nice lads and weren’t really causing too much trouble other than popping a few balloons but we found a trace of them later anyway; we went to The Public art centre up the road and found one of our red balloons inside one of the installations. They were moved on from there too for being under 16.
And later in came a local resident who was interviewed by Jeanette. He’d just been to a local charity shop and had bought a painting of a cityscape and a decorative plate, which at times he held in front of his head whilst being asked questions about himself and the area. He knew of many contemporary and classical artists, and apparently knew Tracy Emin and Damien Hirst intimately. He said he studied art at one of the big institutes in London. He was an interesting man even if his stories didn’t quite add up.
So tomorrow comes the second round of relief casting. I wonder what new characters I’ll meet, and who might come back!
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http://littleem-emmasculptor.blogspot.com/
