During Covid 19:
For details on face to face meetings, see the Project eARTh general page
We are happy that we have now resumed face to face meetings, splitting each group so that only half the participants meet each week to enable social distancing, and still work at hone for the week in between.
Please do still send us referrals, or self refer by email to alison@highpeakarts.org or to our address. For For those not yet wishing to return to face to face workshops, people can still join our ‘virtual’ projects, and be included in all our communications by post, telephone, zoom, WhatApp, and email as appropriate to each person.
Whilst people carry over the Spring and Summer with Mexican Embroidery project, and the Blue John weaving ( see below for info), we are now starting a new project in our face to face meetings, but also available to do at home:
Nurture Nature
This new project is led by artist Amanda Whewell. It will be collage and print based and inspired by the work of artist Mark Hearld.
There will be activity sheets for each week, and short videos to accompany them to be found here:
Click for the worksheet: Nurture Nature introduction
Click for the video & worksheet: Nurture Nature Week 1 (from April 26th)
In the first week of Project eARTh’s ‘Nurture Nature’ project we are going to make a 3D bird card to post to someone. It’s always nice to receive a card in the post, especially a hand made one. We have been inspired by cards designed by Mark Hearld – you may have seen them in the shops. As well as being a card they make a great decoration for any time of year. You can make your card realistic or decorative. We will work with a simple wax resist technique.
Click for the video & worksheet: Nurture Nature week 2 (from May 10th)
In this second week, inspired by a walk outside, memories of natuhttps://www.highpeakarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Nurture-Nature-week-2.pdfre, or images from magazines, tv etc, we experiment with some different ways of making collage.
Click for the video & worksheet: Nurture Nature week 3 (from May 17th)
In week three, our technique is printmaking. We are going to make a stamp for block printing and cut some stencils and look at different ways of using them. You can also experiment with printing natural materials.
Click for the worksheet: Nurture Nature week 4 from May 24th)
In week four, we are going to use the techniques learnt over the last three weeks to make a collaborative collage garland.
Click for the worksheet: Nurture Nature weeks 5-7 from June 7th)
Over the next three weeks we will be working on a mixed media collage inspired by your local nature. You can use any or all of the techniques we have experimented with in weeks 1-4. Look back through your worksheets at all the examples of Mark Hearld’s collages and prints from the last few weeks. Week 5 is design week so think about what you have discovered that has inspired you. If you have photos, sketches or notes use them to help with your design. If you have looked something up in a book or online you can use your research to inspire your design or you may prefer to draw from memory. Week 6 and 7 – create your collage
‘Blue John’ Weaving
Artist Carol Wilson has created a weaving project to do at home on a card loom. Using purples, yellow, white and grey, participants will learn a variety of weaving techniques whilst making a sampler and then create a woven piece to look like a slice from the Blue John mine. We plan to create a wall hanging , and offer it to a local youth hostel. For the pdf instructions please click: Blue John weaving instructions
Mexican Embroidery
An exciting and colourful project to cheer us up during winter and lockdown.
Our latest ‘Project eARTh at home’ is winging its way through the post to 45 people from Hadfield to Harpur Hill in large A3 envelopes. Inspired by embroidery from the Otomi region of Mexico, there are 4 weekly activities to create a wonderfully colourful design in sketchbooks.
Then those people who love stitching, or fancy having a go, will embroider their designs onto 30 x 30cm calico. And others will post their designs , already outlined on calico , back to us, and we will then post them out to the members who would like to embroider more . We are going to leave plenty of time for stitching – people can relax and do that over Spring and Summer alongside other new projects. The final work will be put together for artwork for The Bureau in Glossop.
There will be short ‘how to’ films from next week (February 8th) as well as PDFs of activity sheets to be found here on our website and our Facebook page – so other people can join, in too, if they like. Get in touch with alison@highpeakarts.org if you would like to embroider your own or someone else’s design, so we can send you calico, hoop, needles and thread.
Films and PDFs of the weekly activity sheets will be uploaded week by week.
Check out the PDFs and Films below, on or after each date:
Mexican Embroidery Week One, Feb 8th
Click here for week 1 PDF activity sheet and film.
Mexican Embroidery Week Two, Feb 22nd (Feb 15th is half term)
Click here for Week 2 PDF activity sheet and film.
Mexican Embroidery Week three, March 1st
Click here for week 3 PDF activity sheet and film
Mexican Embroidery Week four, March 8th
Click here for week 4 PDF activity sheet and film
Mexican Embroidery Week 5 onwards, March 15th
Click here for week 5 onwards PDF activity sheet and film.
Check out the other at home projects so far, below.
Five Ways to Wellbeing Bunting, Update!
Project eARTh’s latest project is to make colourful bunting on the Five Ways to Wellbeing with artists Deborah Rogers and Sam Mace from The Cultural Sisters. Using a masking tape resist method, everyone is creating designs to remind them of how to keep well over the winter – ‘Connect, Be Active, take Notice, Keep learning and Give’.
This works by using masking tape on the ‘bunt’ to create a design, then painting over the fabric and masking tape with paint mixed with PVA, before peeling off the masking tape to reveal the design, once the paint is dry. Each of our small socially distanced groups has had one workshop in December to get started – and then people can continue with the project at home.
This will tie in with a community wide initiative with the High Peak Health and Wellbeing Partnership to encourage everyone to make bunting for their own homes to explore ways of keeping well for winter.
In Project eARTh we are make bunting using a masking tape resist method, with one bunt representing each of the 5 ways to wellbeing – Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give. The project is be led by artist Deb Rogers of The Cultural Sisters. Click below for the instructions to follow..
Project eARTh instructions for masking tape 5 ways to wellbeing bunting.docx
Ugly Bug Update!
We are proud to announce that we received 93 embroidered pieces for the Ugly Bug Ball Quilt – and artist Amanda Whewell has sewn these into a beautiful quilt, three cushions, and a small wall hanging! After showing these to each group, we will take the quilt and cushions to Reuben’s Retreat on October 8th; and keep the wall hanging for a potential exhibition with other ‘Quarantine Quilts’ across the country.
Our project for June and July :
World Artists for World Kindness Day:
With artist Amanda Whewell, we had activities inspired by a different artist each week, for seven weeks. Participants received a hand delivered Art Bag of activity sheets, sketch book and all the materials needed for the project. The colourful sheets had artwork and information about the artist, with two activities inspired by their work – and a third offered for those who were keen, and wanted to do more. Amanda also made a short film to demonstrate each week’s workshop for those who have internet – and still available of course, to anyone outside the project who would like to get creative for a few hours. At the end of the project, we chose artwork from each sketchbook to print onto coasters/(cardboard beermat style) for us to give away on World Kindness Day ( Friday 13th November).
The 500 sets of 12 coasters are being given to participants to give to friends and family, to HPCA ‘Friends’ and to local foodbanks and voluntary groups to give to families in the High Peak.
Here are the 7 worksheets for the project, and one week at a time, and the films, which are also on our YouTube channel and Facebook page. Please click on the titles for full instructions and guidance!
WEEK 1 – June 8th
Sonia Delaunay from Russia, 1885 – 1979 (Click for PDF!)
WEEK 2 – June 15th
Paul Klee from Germany/ Switzerland, 1879 – 1940 (Click for PDF!)
WEEK 3 – June 22nd
Frida Kahlo from Mexico, 1907 – 1954 (Click for PDF!)
WEEK 4 – June 29th
Jivya Soma Mashe from India,1934 – 2018 (Click for PDF!)
WEEK 5 – July 6th
Emily Kame Kngwarreye from Australia, 1910 – 1996 (Click for PDF!)
WEEK 6 – July 13th
Patrick Heron from England, 1920 – 1999 (Click for PDF!)
WEEK 7 – July 20th
Katsushika Hokusai from Japan, 1760 – 1849 (Click for PDF!)
Postcard project:
We have sent 5 blank postcards to each participant to draw/ decorate etc and return to HPCA in a stamped addressed envelope. We are then posting them out to other participants, as a cheerful delivery on the doomats.
Here are some of the first batch returned to us, and posted out:
Ugly Bug Ball Quilt:
Artist Amanda Whewell has created a lovely project in which everyone is embroidering calico pieces inspired by The Ugly Bug Ball, which we will make into a quilt for Reuben’s Retreat in Glossop, the centre for children with life limiting conditions and their families.
We are using a simple running stitch, kantha style, which some participants have already learnt, when we made an altar cloth for St. George’s Church in New Mills. Everyone has received instructions, needles and thread in the post – and already many are completed!
We have already had over 50 completed embroidery pieces and they look amazing! It has been so exciting to see them as they come in! Here are some of them:
As stated at the top of the page – We are proud to announce that we received 93 embroidered pieces for the Ugly Bug Ball Quilt – and artist Amanda Whewell has sewn these into a beautiful quilt, three cushions, and a small wall hanging! After showing these to each group, we will take the quilt and cushions to Reuben’s Retreat on October 8th; and keep the wall hanging for a potential exhibition with other ‘Quarantine Quilts’ across the country.
Pom Poms:
Artist Deb Rogers has created a pom pom making project – these are simple to make, and can be done three ways- with cardboard; using a pom pom maker, or with a fork. They look great hanging in the window, alongside the rainbows .
Everyone has been sent instructions, and Deb has also made short films of how to make them – see here:
Take your pick …http://www.highpeakarts.org/pompoms
Paper wreath decorations – from paper bags
Deb has also prepared instructions and a short film on how to make decorations from paper bags. So again, these have been popped in the post with paper bags and glue sticks. Soon we will have so much art in our windows, that we can’t see out! Here is one I made earlier…..and here. see the ‘how to’ film: http://www.highpeakarts.org/paperbags/
Creative Writing
We have posted out a host of suggested writing activities, including a ‘Story Consequences’ idea, where participants continue a story from a beginning sent to them; then return it to us for it to be sent on to someone else to continue, and so on until the story is finished. We are looking forward to seeing what comes back.