The aim of the project is to develop an affordable emotional literacy resource using masks for active/kinaesthetic learners. The purpose of the programme is to offer a tool to creatively explore emotional literacy as a barrier to learning. We have been running drama and design sessions as part of the research and development process of the project.

Please head over to the Aqueous Humour Community website to read my full blog post about the design sessions or to find out more about Emotionally Literate.

People think it’s great to work from home but it’s hard to escape (I am of course writing this at the reclaimed dining room table) but more than that I found it was easy enough to work when I was busy but it was those quiet times (other freelancers will know what I mean) when it was hard to focus on personal development and the search for new work, easy to get distracted by the washing and the long list of things that need fixing, painting etc. I checked out a several studios online. I was looking at sizes, prices, locations, facilities, availability and range of artforms. Some were very fine art orientated. Some were too open. Some were too expensive. Some didn’t have internet. I visited some to get a feel for what was on offer. Some were still being built. Generally there was nothing available.

Just after Christmas when my daughter had just turned one, a fellow artist/friend told me that some studios had become available in Islington Mill. I rang up and booked an appointment to view. I was working nearby in The Angel with DIY Theatre Company so it was very easy to pop by. Mark greeted me and showed me round the building. There were two medium studios still available – one at the back on the fourth floor and a slightly smaller one at the front on the third. I am not usually known for my decisiveness but something felt right. I knew this was meant to be. So on this grey wet day in Salford, I said yes and signed the contract and paid the deposit there and then. Knowing that I am often to be lugging stuff – props, costumes, materials etc and there was no lift, I lazily chose the one on the third plus it had a view of the cathedral (and as I later realised, a noisy school playground). Number 305.

So in February 2008, I moved into my own studio. I bought some bookcases, a big desk and an oil filled heater (best buy) from Pete’s Secondhand Store on Upper Chorlton Rd. It felt good to buy some stuff from him as I had spent years blagging & borrowing stuff off him for various theatre shows. They included delivery in the price not just to the door of the Mill but right up into my studio which I was truly grateful for as it was a mammoth desk. On my first day, as I moved in, who should hold the door open for me but Johnny Marr. As he had seen me carrying rolls of fabric and dressmaker’s dummys up, he knocked on to introduce himself and ask my advice on curtains for soundproofing – “Hello, I’m Johnny, I have the studio at the end..” It was a nice welcome.

In my early days at the Mill, the first floor gallery was a communal area with a food prep area with kettle, fridge, coffee maker and microwave. There was also a communal computer for internet access for those who didn’t have access in their studios. I would often pop down at lunchtime to get away from my work and that smell of glue & paint or so I didn’t get food on the fabric but also to see other faces and get to know what was going on. I was loving having my own space but I also liked that I was part of an artistic community but one that you definitely had to opt into rather than were forced to be part of. I particularly enjoyed Fridays when the butty man came calling and a big pot of coffee would be brewed. Another fan of butty Fridays was Rachel Wood who I was pleased to be reacquainted with as she had been my lodger and now we had studios on the same floor. I did certain days as I was also covering childcare for half the week. I got to know the others who crossed these hours as I rarely made it back for gigs or parties.

When I became pregnant with my second child, I was very glad that I had chosen the third floor. I also deliberated about giving my studio up but having waited so many years to have a studio of my own, I knew that the waiting lists meant that I may find it tricky to find another after my maternity leave especially at the Mill as its reputation had grown considerably. I would have to pay for storage anyway and I was in no state to do the move so I stayed. I was glad I did. It gave me a sense of artistic focus and belonging following my maternity leave. This was a tricky time for all involved in the arts as we waited to find out who had gained NPO status (including the Mill itself). I think it helped keep me sane. Things had changed in my absence. The gallery and bar were having a revamp.  Kim was doing food (this was a good thing) in The Engine House which had kind of replaced the first floor communal area. Faces had changed but this was a constant thing. There seemed to be more digital types which I think put a massive strain on the internet connection (one of my reasons for choosing Islington Mill) and so I was often to be found swearing at my laptop or retreating home if I needed to do webby stuff (you can tell I’m not that digital). I think it was shortly after my return to work that the council went a bit mad with the yellow paint and suddenly there was no longer anywhere to park (another of my reasons for picking the Mill) and as I mentioned before, I do a lot of lugging so this stressed me greatly.

Throughout my time at Islington Mill, I worked closely with physical theatre company, Aqueous Humour as their Head of Design. In 2009 Aqueous Humour were appointed Artists in Residence at Richmond Park KS3 PRU in Longsight and last year I was made joint Creative Director. This hasn’t meant more money but it has meant spending more time at base for meetings and project planning. When Aqueous Humour received confirmation that we would continue as Artists in Residence at the PRU, the natural progression was for me to move my studio there.

I will miss Islington Mill but I was just no longer there enough. Knowing me, this means I will now actually attend more gigs/events and am looking forward to doing my Christmas shopping at Xmas at The Mill. I have become Twitter (@nerissact) and Instagram friends with several Mill residents so will continue to be in touch and support your projects. Was glad I paid The Blue Van company to help with my move as there is still no lift (though I heard a rumour that there is still hope for one) and that desk is still as big and heavy.

*Thanks to my lovely neighbour Anj from Design By Day for the hug when I came over all emotional. I will miss their afternoon giggle attacks.

I showed them some of my Wotnots and a simple sock alien as inspiration. I created a basic pattern to make their own mini mascot. I did variations on the pattern for bunny, cat, owl and alien but was able to help them adapt the pattern to create any animal. A dog and a monkey were requested. I brought a variety of brightly coloured fleece fabrics. I chose fleece as it does not fray and is lovely and cuddly. Once they had cut out their pattern from their chosen fabric, I showed them 2 styles of stitches – back stitch on the inside to create a smooth finish and whip stitch on the outside for a rough homespun feel. The toys were stuffed with polyester fibre with chickpeas at bottom to give them a bit of weight for sitting. From this point they could choose how to embellish them – buttons, felt, ribbon, embroidery. They could also add arms, legs and/or tails.

Initially everybody had various children and loved ones in mind to receive their toys but by the end they seemed to have become too attached to give them away. Hopefully they feel confident to make more as gifts.

Much of my work is bold and seen from afar so speed & strength are priorities over detail & prettiness. I use glue and tape and staples and if I do sew, it’s fast machine stitch. So I started attending the monthly Lo-fi sessions run by Craft Mafia after I started making my Wotnots in an attempt to refocus on the more refined skills involved in crafting. The past couple of months have involved applique…

February:

For Valentine’s Nico aka Ophelia Button taught paper roses and heart shaped applique. We backed the hearts with bondaweb and attached them to our napkins/pillowcases using a hot iron. We used embroidery stitches to reinforce and embellish the hearts. I used this as an opportunity to brush up on my blanket and chain stitches. Not sure if I had done chain stitch since my primary school sampler which still has pride of place on my Mum’s wall.

March:

The next month, Sam from Ministry of Craft taught reverse applique which I really enjoyed. It is quick and effective. Looks far more complicated than it is which is a win win in my book. Basically you sew it all on in one go and then chop the patterns into it. I matched the felt trim and beads to the colours in the patterned base fabric. We used felt for the top layers as it doesn’t fray. I chose to use more of the same remnants as for my hearts for my apple motif bag. Really pleased with the result and definitely going to use this technique again.

Written by Proud and Loud Arts & Cathy Crabb

 Directed by Tom Hogan

 Performed at Lowry Studio Theatre

I have been working once again with Proud and Loud Arts, a disability led theatre company in Salford. They have created a new play called “Beyond the 4th Wall” with writer Cathy Crabb about whether a perfect world where every want and need is catered for without prejudice or unnecessary medical intervention would really be so perfect. As usual with their work, there is a lot of comedy in the piece but also as always some bold truths.

To create the feel of the commune, I drew on references to Sixties sci-fi creating a white world with flowing drapes and curved furniture. In contrast, the costumes were in a rainbow of bright colours using a uniform of Eastern yoga trousers and loose long sleeved tops to keep the theme of the commune. I peppered the set with accents of these colours to give a feel of unity. Many people have asked where we got Leonard’s wonderful statement chair. I hired it from Mary Propins.

Rather than use an actual child or video as we have done in the past, I suggested that we use a puppet for the part of young Taylor. I made him the correct size for a 5 year old and used real clothes but chose not to attempt to create a naturalistic finish as felt it would make him seem doll-like  so left the puppet quite blank. After initial apprehension from the group saying he was scary, this worked very well and everyone fell in love with him. This was thanks to Aisling Leyne from Puppet Pool who brought him to life so beautifully.

A review of the first performance can be found here. They will be touring the show in Feb/March 2013.

The photos of the show were taken by Nicola Jaye from www.mcrphotographer.co.uk. Please contact her via the website for permission to use any of them or to book her for your event/performance.

With this in mind I have changed the name of this section from News to Blog as I kept posting about my news once it had happened or at least wanting to. I haven’t actually posted in this section for over a year which is appalling as I have been busy, things have happened, I have had ‘News’. I am hoping that in renaming it ‘Blog’, I might feel less pressured about the nature of the posts. I can write about projects as they progress, not just document them at the end in my portfolio sections. I can still blog about upcoming stuff too i.e. News.

I might also take the opportunity to witter or vent about things which take my fancy or annoy me in the realms of design, theatre, craft etc but need more than the 140 characters of Twitter to express. Today I will spare you a full-on vent about the trial and tribulations of procuring reasonably priced car insurance without lying when you work in the arts. I will just say that I am now a ‘Community Craft Instructor’ which does actually describe my day-to-day work life more closely than anything on the list in previous years and leave you with Phelim McDermott’s thought’s on online forms and the arts - NOT JUST “OTHER”.

I came up with the idea of the Bird Table project as it harked back to the Secret Garden that I created in 2009 in which we had a birdhouse with a radio in playing birdsong. It also linked with the notion of home with 42nd Street moving to new home/building but also harked back to the Secret Garden project.

• Each group was given a bird table. They were all identical.
• Instructed to build the table (they came flat-pack) but leaving off the ‘house’ on top.
• Explore the idea of what kind of ‘house’ would represent the group.
• Create a ‘house’ on the bird table.

Groups involved:

• 42nd Street Drop In
•  Young Disabled People’s Forum
• Swinton Young Parents
• HMP & YOI Hindley

Can you guess which is which?

This work has been created as part of the Planet Art project that was funded by The Paul Hamlyn Foundation and has been a partnership between 42nd St and box of frogs.

I visited the group while they were on residential at Bowley Scout camp. We looked at ideas for the interview rooms. We discussed how ‘calm’ and ‘zany’ can be interpreted visually and created designs on acetate along these themes and displayed them on the window. We looked at what mood each design said to us before asking the person who designed it what their intentions were. It was interesting how mixed the responses were and showed the fine line in design interpretation; how the same shape but in a different colour can say something very different.

After the summer, box of frogs and I ran some drop in sessions at 42nd Street creating fabric wall hangings for the interview rooms using the designs from the residential as a starting point. Hopefully you will be able to spot these as you explore the building.

We also looked at sensory ideas for the Disabled Meeting room. The group made flowers from a range of fabrics with different textures in bold contrasting colours. These were attached to a grassy rug with some additional bath scrunchies to create a very bright tactile wall hanging. I also added some little fabric creatures from IKEA to add some humour. These were repeated in the room to look like they had escaped. Some of the flowers were also attached to furry green cushions to be used elsewhere in the building to connect the spaces and give a feeling of life & growth.

We also explored the idea of house & home to create ideas for the Bird Table project to be exhibited in the foyer at the AGM & opening event. The group wanted modern high-rises which lit up. We aslso included a party on one of the roofs.

I also created the two chairs in response to ideas that came out of the sessions. One is covered in maps representing the places and journeys that are very real & important to the young people. In contrast the other is pure fantasy.

This work has been created as part of the Planet Art project that was funded by The Paul Hamlyn Foundation and has been a partnership between 42nd St and box of frogs.

Listening to the CD of stories from residents, there was a real pride about the fields overflowing with different vegetables particularly lettuce and a sadness at the decline in farming not due to lack of quantity, quality or hard work but because of restrictions brought in by Europe . I wanted to explore the change in use of the land on the Moss and get the young people to think about what it used to look like and be like to live & work there. I chose to use puppetry to help the young people to explore the characteristics of people who are very different from them in age and experience. It also helps those who feel shy about performing as they have a puppet to hide behind. Everybody got involved in making the scenery. They each designed and made a puppet which they performed with to each other & for the camera to create the story on film to share with the rest of the school, the other schools involved in the project and online. A few members of the class were selected to record the narration. The film created by E. Bradley can be seen here on Vimeo.

They were joined in the parade by groups from Valuing Older People & The Intergenerational Project who also wanted to celebrate music. They dressed as various music stars & genres & were led by a giant Jukebox & flanked by inflated music symbols.

The photos of the parade were taken by www.mcrphotographer.co.uk.