Commissions
Wood
We have successfully worked on one indoor wood installation and two large outdoor projects using wood: Louise House, a Shropshire Council community building in Shrewsbury; the Sunstone Centre at Hope House Childrens Hospice, Morda, and Four Rivers Nursing Home in Ludlow.
The fifth project is to enhance the environment of this busy multi-use building in Shrewsbury where a range of health and social care organisations and services are based. To launch the project, a small group went to Louise House to talk to staff and users of the building, to find out 'what makes you smile'. Ideas collected were incorporated into the final pieces: a seat for those waiting for appointments and a collage for the light-well and cafe area, both using plywood. We chose two very different artists to work with us on this project: Maeve Clancy and Nick Rawcliffe.
Maeve Clancy is an Irish artist, who works in Ireland and the UK. She is a graphic designer, cartoon and animation film maker, illustrator, maker of cut paper installations and pop up books. Her workshops were a fascinating introduction to cut out paper pictures. We are developing the theme 'what makes you smile'. Using some of our ideas from the workshops and new designs, we cut paper to make up the collage. The words 'what makes you smile' were cut out of large sheets of plywood, and the paper cuts fixed to these ply panels. The work was installed in April 2013.
To view some of Maeve's work, visit her website at: http://www.maeveclancy.com/
Nick Rawcliffe, from Raw Studio, award winning artist, designer and engineer, facilitated workshops to create the seat. In the first workshop a small group individually designed a seat and attempted to construct a small model out of card. This proved to be a difficult but fun exercise. Angie's design was chosen for Nick to work on. From her drawing he produced a computer model. The pieces were machine cut from sheets of birch wood ply. In the second workshop we sanded the wood, over 60 individual pieces. It was quite a task putting the pieces together to assembe the seat. In the next workshops the seat was dismantled so that designs could be scorched onto some of the pieces. The whole piece was re-assembed, fixed together on steel rods, and oiled.
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To find out more about Rawstudio, visit their website: http://www.rawstudio.co.uk/
We were commissioned to produce a large exterior sculptural piece for the garden of the new Sunstone Centre at Hope House Children's Hospice in Morda, near Oswestry. It is made from green oak with glass inserts. We involved bereaved parents and siblings in the decision making, and in workshops, to create aspects of the sculpture.
The oak wood was carefully chosen, cut into large panels, and delivered to the garden at Hope House where a small group worked in the open air over the last few months. The 5 huge wood panels were raised onto trestles so they could be worked on more easily. The wood was first stripped of their bark. Holes, for the glass inserts, were then cut out using a chain saw, and the pieces carefully planed and sanded. The glass inserts were made in the studio by Project Group members and in workshops, supported by members, for bereaved families. Designs, inspired by nature, were first made in clay, then a plaster cast mould made, and glass laid on the moulds and fired in the kiln. These glass pieces have been secured into the wood panels. To help decide how to place the finished panels, as some are 12 foot long and very heavy, small to scale, wooden model panels were made in the studio, with perspex inserts. These were arranged and re-arranged on site until all were pleased, so that placing the huge panels in the garden would be a more straight forward task. A team spent 3 days on site with a digger, making holes for the 5 pieces, and securing metal shoes on each panel and carefully placing them in an upright position. The glass inserts were then fixed carefully in place in the panels. The sculptures were officially opened on 9th October 2012.
Preparing the panels of wood:
Workshops with bereaved families designing and making the plaster moulds ready for the glass inserts:
Preparing and firing the glass inserts:
Installation:
Our first successful project using wood was for one of the Shropshire community building commissions in Ludlow, Four Rivers Nursing Home.
In discussion with the League of Friends of the Four Rivers Nursing Home, together we decided that a wood sculpture for the garden would be appreciated. At the initial workshop with the residents a theme of 'rivers and river life' emerged. Most of the residents were not able to be physically involved so involvement was through a story telling memory workshop. Ideas were gathered to incorporate into the piece. The first task for the Project Group was to find suitable wood to work with. A group of members spent an important and creative day with sculptor John Merrill, selecting sections from a fallen ash tree, which suggested movement and flow. A small dedicated group worked on the ash, carving into the wood to create a whole range of river animals, birds, fish and insects, bound together by the wave theme. The design process has been led by a Project Group member who has years of experience carving and working with wood. Elements of the sculpture are interactive, incorporating a seat and spaces for bird to feed. The sculpture was installed at the beginning of November.
