Alternative gallery

All aboard… the wardrobe!

Today we went back to the age of the steam train courtesy of Peter Handford’s superb recordings from yesteryear. These really are effective in capturing the environment of a time of steam powered locomotives and are perfect for testing out the capabilities of our installation space (inside two old Gentlemans Wardrobes). We piped the sound of approaching steam engines into the wardrobes via wireless speakers and were immediately transported to another place, complete with local bird song and chattering children on distant station platforms.

Alan, being an old hand on the footplate had actually worked on the same routes that Handford had recorded back in the 1960s (the Lickey Incline) and brought back memories of fire, soot, steel and sweat.

found-trike

Lost and found: superb example of make do and a/mend to provide a very stylish form of transport.

Gentlemen’s Space

With some help with the woodwork, we have finally managed to see how it feels to dwell inside the wardrobes, yes they are safely joined together to make one space.

A space for thinking, a space for listening, a space for watching.

We have several ideas for the first installation and its just a matter of time before we take it out into local towns in Burnley and Pendle, with a potential trip to Preston too. We are going to use the interactive piece of sculpture (made from two antique gentlemen’s wardrobes) to engage with members of the public and raise awareness of what it means to be a male carer.

Thanks for the spare wood Daveid, we needed it to strengthen the internal floors, and thanks to Marcus for joining us all the way from the West Coast.

It was good to chat to Diane from CarersLink and I hope that she will pop in again soon to keep us informed of the opportunities available for Male Carers in East Lancashire.

Batty Over Bird Boxing

A great session at the Bird Box Workshop with Emma Fielding (and her mum).

A good turn out and everyone learnt so much about our endangered birds and bats.

The open-faced bird box is the future and should be encouraged in every garden from now on. Its quick and easy to make from ‘un-treated’ wood with galvanised nails, and it helps the next generation of young birds to build nests in a more natural site, instead of relying on single holed boxes.

As always, we started off with a brew and some good old fashioned and non-judgemental conversation in the kitchen, art writer and critic Grant Kester would call it a ‘discursive space’ although I prefer to call it a ‘digressive space’. The conversation today was a great example of how the beauty of social interaction can lead to new understandings of the world we live in, each of us recognising how our consumer habits can impact on the local wildlife and beyond.

In the workshop and guided by Emma, we all managed the simple steps to make our own rugged and natural bird box to take home.

We are meeting next Friday morning at Canal Cottages 10am. Pop in for a brew, if you’re passing.