Working on Crumbs From the Word Table

As The Eloquent Fold artist Phiona Richards and I have been continuing to create our collaborative pieces for the Transported Open Book strand. We have chosen blues and mauves for our birds and have made a set of 22 prints which will be cut, stitched, folded and bound in a variety of ways to become a mini art library within each of the bird houses. 

The prints represent birds (or peoples) migrating, seen through the lace curtains, from the armchairs of other people. The birds which were also the printmaking plates will flutter and feast at our Word tables.

We watch, we wait, we land or take flight making new homes, new relationships. Communities are mobile and changing. We are exploring the complex notion of people and place. 

You can see the progress of our work Crumbs From The Word Table at Crowland Library on Thursday 19th during the afternoon or in this Flickr set 

Transported is a strategic, community-focused programme which aims to get more people in Boston Borough and South Holland enjoying and participating in arts activities, funded by Creative People and Places from Arts Council England.  For more information visit www.transportedart.com.

Creating the Origami Fleet

For our second Transported Art public engagement day Phiona Richards and I were Eloquently Folding in a walkway in the Springfields Shopping Centre. This was a challenging venue as many people were from outside of Lincolnshire and were set on shopping and it took all our inventiveness to encourage the passing public to engage with us! 

Before arriving we decided we need eye-catching head gear so Phiona bedecked a straw hat with flowers and I made a very loud, very large floral band. To draw people in further we sat on the Transported deck chairs or stood folding origami boats, gradually building a small flotilla in front of out stand. As the day progressed people became intrigued rather than alarmed by our colourful presence.

Whilst folding our researchers were able to ask

"How would you like to be Transported?"

Participants with their hinking caps on!

This was a difficult pitch but as you can see, by the end of the day we were 

swapping hats and stories, creating boats, sharing laughter and ideas. 

Phiona demonstrated just how skilful her paper folding is 

with these delightful, tiny paper boats!

We wanted to create a fleet of origami boats, which would hark back to ships, sailing, export, import, exploration and adventure, all elements we associated with the history of the area. 

The boats were installed on a reflective surface the Transported Pop-up Shop in Boston. Participants had a range of delightful materials to work with, many of which had had another life or purpose. 

We included maps and stamps in order to draw out memories and reflections of travel, place of origin, destinations and dreams, all of which we saw as being at the heart of Transported.

There are times when we all feel stuck but access to the arts offers people the opportunity to take the imaginative journeys, which can transform lives, enriching our interaction with the world and each other. The boats are a symbol of the journeys Transported Art hope to create and that the community can join with.

You can see Flickr sets from this activity here and here 

Wish You Were Here

Wish you Were Here! was a Postcard Making Public Engagement Activity for Transported Art by The Eloquent Fold - Phiona Richards and I at Gedney Hill Community Centre, July 2013. Transported is a community focused arts engagement programme for the people of Boston Borough and South Holland. 

Phiona and I normally work individually as freelance artists or in other collaborative pairings but wanted to work collaboratively during the consultation stage of Transported. For our engagement activities we worked together as The Eloquent Fold. We were drawn together by a love of text, books, maps, fabric, history, journeys, exploration, photography, making and doing. Phiona contacted me one Sunday morning just as I was about to look at the Transported call out for artists to see if we might work together on a proposal. We decided it would be wise to go to the preliminary drop-in session in  Boston to find out more and to introduce ourselves. Phiona took on the role as scribe whilst I asked the questions we felt we needed to ask and already it became apparent we were a great team! During our 

Transported formally launched on Sunday 5 May in Holbeach, beginning a community consultation phase which will inform the programme proper that is delivered from September 2013 onwards.

Whilst making their postcards the participants were interviewed by the Transported Researchers who had a range of structured questions, my favourite being "If you had £1000 to spend on an arts event or activity in your area what would you choose?". 

The answers will shape the Transported Art program over the next three years and should give the community greater access to the arts.

With the decline of the letter writing 

we are always thrilled to receive something 

through the post other than a bill or junk mail.

The postcard will be a reminder to the participants of the creative times to come and by communicating their expectations we can all raise awareness about the value of the arts in strengthening and enriching community life, giving pleasure, building confidence and raising aspirations.

You can see Flickr sets from this workshop here and here