Othery Workshops a Great Success

Well we've still got one more workshop this Friday 18th May, but the two that have taken place already have been well attended with a great community atmosphere.  

It's been fantastic to meet the enthusiastic and creative people of Othery and the surrounding villages. We've had quite a few family groups, really nice to see the whole family get involved in something creative.  Also we've had several adults and couples - ages ranging from 1 to 60s!  

       




Derek and Gwyneth have proudly represented The Great Crane Project, sharing their knowledge and answering lots of answers about the cranes. Kitty Hillier, Belinda Brownlee and Lucy Lean have guided the painting of decoys for the Othery Trail and led origami paper crane making.  In her introduction Kitty encouraged everyone to think about what is special about where they live, about their village, the Somerset Levels, what it means to them and as inspiration for their painting.

I was particularly impressed by how everyone immediately got going with the activities, the focus of the younger children was amazing and seeing everyone express their own styles as they painted the decoys was inspiring. 

 

Make sure you come along to the Othery Street Fayre on Saturday 16 June, we'll have a stall alongside The Great Crane Project so come to say hello, grab a trail map to explore the village and see the Crane Trail.

  

 
We will also be holding a workshop at Othery School for the older children on Monday 28 May.

http://www.otheryvillagehall.org.uk/Whats%20on.html - Othery Street Fayre info

Flight of the Cranes -  

A contemporary art exhibition inspired by the work of The Great Crane Project 

John Candler - Stone relief, 2ft high

To celebrate the reintroduction of cranes to the Somerset Levels and Moors, Somerset Art Works (SAW) has developed an exhibition of artworks inspired by the life and the beauty of cranes and their habitat.

The exhibition takes place at WWT Slimbridge Wetlands Centre in Gloucestershire (19 July to 3 September 2012) and the Somerset Crafts Centre at Avalon Marshes, Shapwick Heath, Somerset  for Somerset Art Weeks (15 to 30 September 2012).

This exhibition features works by artists from the Somerset Crafts Centre at Avalon Marshes including: John Candler (Sculpture), Sue Heys (Glass), Mithra Richardson (Silk Painting), Erica Sharpe (Jewellery), Viv White (Textiles), Marle Burke (watercolour), Billy Rhodes  (Blacksmith), Susanne Branham (Jewellery) plus work from additional associate artists.

The exhibition also showcases an art installation comprising of hundreds of origami paper cranes, a collaborative work created by an emerging artist (yet to be appointed) working with Somerset school and community groups.

This exhibition is curated by Somerset Art Works and the emerging artist role is sponsored by Bruton School for Girls.

Somerset Crafts www.somersetcrafts.com

Bruton School for Girls: www.brutonschool.co.uk

Emerging Artist Sought by SAW

SAW is seeking an emerging artist to work with us to develop a paper crane project as part of our ongoing partnership project with The Great Crane Project.  The role involves leading workshops with school and community groups to create recycled paper origami cranes to form a paper crane installation. A £500 bursary is available to support you in developing this work.

For more info see www.somersetartworks.org.uk under 'News' or email info@somersetartworks.org.uk

31 March Othery Hobbies Day

A lovely day at Othery Village Hall, met lots of people and spread the word about the Othery Crane Trail project.  
Lead artist Kitty Hillier (and her brother Will) led paper crane making activities using recycled paper - old Somerset Art Weeks brochures and Evolver magazine featured!
Assistant artist Belinda Brownlee popped by.  Lyndsey from the RSPB and Damon Bridge from The Great Crane Project were there too, a wonderful showing of the Born to Fly film in the evening.
So much going in Othery - what a great village!

Zumba demo on stage!

All ages taking part from 3 year olds to those in their 70s

By the end of the day we had a big pile of paper cranes

Othery Village Crane Trail  


A community project in Othery with Somerset Art Works and The Great Crane Project

Would you like to find out more about the work of The Great Crane Project and take part in a creative community project?  
Hear the latest news about the re-introduction of cranes to the Somerset Levels and, as a community, create an eye-catching trail of life-size crane decoys for Othery Street Fair on Saturday 16 June.  The Great Crane Project Team will be on hand and professional artist Kitty Hillier will lead the creative workshops. 

Pick one date that suits you and please book :

Sunday 06 May, 2 – 4.30pm
Saturday 12 May, 3 – 5.30pm
Friday 18 May, 7 - 9pm
   

Accompanied children, families and adults of all ages warmly welcomed!  
No previous experience necessary.  Workshops at Othery Village Hall. 
FREE of charge but must be booked in advance.

Book your place:  SAW, The Town Hall, Bow St, Langport TA10 9PR 
tel:  01458 253800   info@somersetartworks.org.uk     www.somersetartworks.org.uk

Co-ordinated by Somerset Art Works in partnership with The Great Crane Project.  

Supported by Green Insurance Green Grants 

Things may look quiet on the surface... but SAW and The Great Crane Project are hatching some exciting new plans for 2012.  The partnership between our two organisations has been really successful and 2012 sees the progression of previous work strands.
On the cards:

Crane Trail at Othery  - A community project showcasing in June
The development of a crane-inspired arts programme at Ash School
A further Short Breaks Crane Day on 07 June - an activity day for disabled children
A recycled paper crane project involving local schools and communities
A SAW curated, crane-inspired exhibition at Slimbridge Gloucestershire over the summer
A crane-inspired Art Weeks exhibition in partnership with Somerset Crafts at Avalon Marshes

Watch this space for updates!

Cranes at Muchelney Abbey

During Somerset Art Weeks Cranes appeared all over historic Muchelney Abbey as a celebration and showcase of art work created by local people through the successful partnership of Somerset Art Works and The Great Crane Project.  Over 100 people attended our special event on 22 September.   Many Thanks to English Heritage for hosting the exhibition and Muchelney Church for hosting our evening talk on Cranes.

Papier mache sculptures by Huish Academy students 

Work by Lead Artist Kitty Hillier

Cranes line up at the entrance to the Abbey

View across the Abbey ruins to Muchelney Church

Delicate wire work suspended in the Reredorter

Work by local artist Andrea Clark, 

A talk about cranes at Muchelney Church by Damon Bridge

School groups visited the exhibition, learnt about cranes and the history of the Abbey.