The wheels are on, the oars are in the locks.
Interior space is larger than we thought.
Almost ready for touring around Pendle in 2017.
Tea
Four Pairs
A very exciting meeting today with Caroline from Lancs Wellbeing. Nice to meet Richard, Jo and Darren and looking forward to hanging out more in 2017.
Meanwhile… what do you get if you bring together one pair of Gentlemen’s Wardrobes, one pair of donated bicycle wheels, one pair of old oars and three pairs of ‘Men Who Care’?
All will be revealed in the next few weeks.
Any old iron?
Final preparations for our mobile wardrobes brought us to this old bike, fished from the canal.
We need a pair of adult cycle wheels to transform the wardrobes into a rickshaw style contraption so we can take it out and about in East Lancashire.
Train of thought
Thanks to the skills of Daveid Derbyshire we now have a bespoke upholstered seat for the wardrobes.
Allan took us on a wonderful train journey across North America from Seattle to Lake Bemidji, we retraced his adventure stories on a map, which helped to bring them to life.
The rubber gloves arrived in the post and they are a perfect fit for a playful installation, which involves trying to complete everyday tasks without being able to see the objects while wearing the gloves.
We had a quick brew to think about what kind of activities we could include in a 6month creative programme next year; painting, drawing, and photography seem popular.
Feast Wagons in Preston
Wow, what a fantastic array of objects at Oxheys Mill Studios in Preston.
The show, which is the culmination of a collaboration between Susan Walsh and Lubaina Himid is fully interactive, with the actually audience encouraged to touch and use the vehicles. Exquisite painting paired with utilitarian sculpture invites viewers to get up close with the vehicles of all shapes and sizes.
Special thanks to Denise Swanson for a warm welcome and a grand tour of the artist studios, it was lovely to see you and Evelyn again.
For Good Measure
Good to see Daveid dropping in today and catching up with Marc and Allan.
He also measured up for the upholstered seat to be installed inside the wardrobes.
Can’t wait to see how it will turn out and really looking forward to trying it out with a brew.
Fiddly Bits
From concept to studio trials.
Today we tested the glass case concept, which presents users with a glimpse into the life of the home carer, who often find themselves awoken in the night to prepare emergency medicine while still half asleep.
Todays challenge was trying to operate a mobile phone with semi-dysfunctional hands.
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.
Lost and found: superb example of make do and a/mend to provide a very stylish form of transport.
Cafe Chats and Wardrobes
Great to see Alan checking out the wardrobe gallery today, giving it a final inspection before refurbishing the internal seating area. Thanks for brunch Alan.
Things look like they’re finally coming around… ain’t no stoppin’ us now!
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.
Men Who Care 