Attending the Flaming Skirt Festival - Virtually

Derbyshire's Contemporary Arts Festival 

in Village Halls · 27th April 2014

Air hostess in red, artist Sophie Cullinan 

who offered me a virtual ticket to ride

I was a bit cheeky and asked if I could have an actual Personal Appreciation Pack which arrived before the tour. In return and for fun I said I'd tweet my own virtual tour with vintage Air Hostess fashion dolls. I would have loved to have gone on the actual tour and the links at the end of this post will take you to where all the real action happened. I think Sally Lemsford's idea to take art to out of the way spaces is wonderful!

Eagle flask ready to come fly with me - virtually

Mod Barbie, Hair Fair Barbie and Midge

in their flaming finery, take in some culture

whilst waiting for the virtual tour bus.

Medium sized Sindy Air Hostess

Francie and Palitoy Tressy wonder

 if they will need an umber ella ella

Virtual Tour Exhibit 1 - 

Flaming vintage glass firing up the view

Italian - 1960's - a little bit chipped here and there.

Miniature Air Hostess Sindy and 

two Diahann Carroll Nurse Julia Dolls 

take their ease and consider a cup of tea.

Virtual Tour Exhibit 2 - Tulips 

Virtual Tour Exhibit 3 -

Flaming Acer Leaves

hide artists' studio

Palitoy Mary Make-Up, Tressy Air Hostess 

& Tressy stop for lunch

This hostess was a present from my paternal Grandmother

and flew to Western Australia and back during the

Miles family grand adventure as £10 Poms.

Virtual Tour Exhibit 4 - flaming tipped acer leaves

and a bucket of mosaic tiles - evidence of mosaic

making somewhere in the garden

Pedigree Vicki, Air Hostess Sidepart Sindy and Mitzi

holding a torch for the Flaming Skirt Virtual Tour

Virtual Tour Exhibit 4 - Flaming Shedstallation

We're all fired up

Virtual Tour Exhibit 6 - evidence artist has been at work

Virtual Tour Exhibit 7 - flaming tulip

Virtual Tour Exhibit 8 - it's hot on the streets

Surely not another Diahann Carrol Nurse Julia

health and safety well covered on this virtual tour!

Virtual Tour Exhibit 9 - Flame coloured tulips 

consider making a break for it

and now our tour is virtually done, all Tweets delivered,

all Instgrams complete, all dolls back in their boxes.

Time to examine the very wonderful Flaming Skirt 

Personal Appreciation Pack 

as one final flaming petal falls.

(part of the Do One Thing Initiative)

The End

CREDITS

The Flaming Skirt Festival

The Real Idea

Sally Lemsford

The actual Flaming Skirt Festival tour route

The Flaming Skirt Festival on Tumblr

The Flaming Skirt Festival on Facebook

The fabulous Flaming Skirt Artists

The Flaming Skirt tour Hostess with the mostess - artist Sophie Cullinan on Success

A FINAL NOTE

Why do I collect vintage fashion dolls - terrible role models you say, but the only two I had as a child saw me to Australia and back, reminded me of home and spent most of the time with their very few outfits packed in a case! Later on when my life went momentarily pear-shaped the collection took my mind of things that broke my heart. When I was too large for fashion I got to dress up by proxy. Later still I organised an exhibition for Sindy's 40th Birthday from my collection at the Museum of Childhood at Sudbury Hall. In the lean years selling off part of my collection has helped keep me afloat. It's a bit of a guilty pleasure but if Grayson Perry can be Claire and elevate his teddy Alan Measles then a bit of dolly daydreaming can't be all that bad. I've had hours of fun, expressed my inner anorak and demonstrated the importance of play ie :- creative thinking, throughout life. 

The EMVAN Field Trip to The Art Party Conference 2013

I had seen a lot of the publicity for the The Art Party Conference 2013 and as an artist who has done much work in and with schools I was keen to go and add my voice to those who feel that studying the arts in school remains crucial. It was, however a long way from Northamptonshire and I wasn't sure  quite how I was going to get there. Happily I managed to secure a place on the EMVAN Field Trip and was able to hear Bob and Roberta Smith reading 

from Letter to Michael Gove

I felt that I should take some thoughts from the group we were there to represent and had made an A4 multiple that could be cut and formed into mini placards. The images and quotes were garnered during an art session in a school I work in. I was also carrying a tin of Dr Who action figures (right scale, 50th Anniverary link!) and had a notion I might find somewhere to make a mini protest installation. 

In the event there was too much to see and do and too many interesting people to talk to so I gave the placards to Andrew, we had never met before but bonded briefly as we had both been Plinthers during One and Other. I asked him if he was an artist, he wasn't, but since his Plinth experience he had begun painting and I could see here was someone yearning to continue a creative journey. 

Earlier I had pressed a jar of Miles and Dacombe / Light Walkers Foraged Jam and a folded mulitple upon Bob and Roberta - rather bad timing as poor man was trying to reach the podium to start the conference.

What I loved about the day was the generousity of spirit, there were free posters and cake, wonderful talks, great displays, films to see and inspirational, amazing people who seemed more than happy to be met. There was a liberating sense that the proceedings were non-heirachical, a space for many voices and many art forms. 

Richard Wentworth keeping an eye on the proceedings.

Dali about to act as Compare

Listening

Watching

Sharing

Pavel Büchler, Stephen Deuchar, Cornelia Parker talking about "What First Turned You On to Art"

Magnetism

Trading

 Samuel West 

Airspace and EMVAN artists met and created Monkeyfestos

I met the enterprisingly inspirational team behind Oscar The Rabbit Doll @OscarTheRabbitD who says "I am designed! Children at a West Yorks Primary School created me alongside their film 'The Pirates of Rabbit Doll Island'. I desire national exposure!" Proceeds from sales will make sure that the arts stay at the heart of their school so I had to take one home for me, oh yes, and one for a friend!

I left feeling uplifted, especially after the doom and gloom surrounding the arts and arts in education since the recession took hold. Even though I know that the work I do with children and community groups is valued and valuable it's rare to have an opportunity to think about why.

You can see my full Flickr set from the day here