Bus and Bird Arts

Bus and Bird Arts website is almost ready to go live. There’s just a few tweaks and images to sort, exciting times! I remember how thrilled I was when I started writing this blog four years ago. In the meantime, here’s some information about what Bus and Bird Arts is all about.

What is Bus and Bird Arts?

Bus and Bird Arts champions learning and creativity within communities by providing tailor made creative experiences for a broad spectrum of learners. High quality CPD courses, workshops & community arts* initiatives are run by freelance Artist Educator, Clare Taylor. An experienced Community Co-ordinator, Clare has designed & delivered bespoke creative learning sessions for a broad spectrum of learners from pre-school & school age children through to PGCE students & professional adults. Bus and Bird Arts focuses on three core areas: Education & Training, Community and Health & Wellbeing.

Where does the name come from? 
Although I am already work under the banner of Curious Clare for design and blogging purposes, I wanted to move away from my business being based around just one person. The bus reflects the idea of a mobile arts service and it is an image that I have used before as I love old route master buses (see my wedding post for starters!). Ideally, I would love to run my business from a bright red double decker bus (although I don’t think my neighbours would be too happy about that). In addition, I have used the robin throughout the branding of Curious Clare and I wanted a little part of Curious Clare carried through to the new business. Hence the name, Bus and Bird Arts.

Health and Wellbeing - read more about this project here

Education and Training - Gifted & Talented Ceramic Workshops for Year 5 pupils

Community - Ceramics at Open Studios Altrincham

(* Arts refers to Art, Craft and Design)

Fun Palaces

On Saturday 1 October 2016, I took part in Mansfield Museums’ first ever Fun Palaces event. “Fun Palaces is an ongoing campaign supporting culture at the heart of every community, with an annual weekend of arts and science action created by, for and with local people.” The Fun Palaces campaign began in 2014 by Co-Directors Stella Duffy and Sarah-Jane Rawlings, and producers Hannah Lambert and Kirsty Lothian. Their fabulous tagline is ‘Everyone an Artist, Everyone a Scientist.’

When Mansfield Museum’s Community Participation Officer, Sally Evans, put a call out for local people to get involved I couldn’t wait to contribute as I feel passionately about engaging local communities with cultural events.

Mansfield Museum, Mansfield Palace Theatre and The Old Library were brimming with fun, free Arts and Science activities for all ages. The Nottinghamshire branch of the British Science Association demonstrated how to make balloon kebabs, there were dancing robots, live music, animals from White Post Farm and many more exciting things to see and explore.

My activity took the form of a low tech animation workshop that explored the theory of persistence of vision via the creation of a thaumatrope (a toy that combines two images to create an early form of animation). Thaumatropes are easy to make and really effective. In short, visitors could get a taste of animation by creating a magic moving picture. The activity beautifully married Art and Science together in one activity, full STEAM ahead!

I have run animation projects in my previous role as Community Co-ordinator at Sale Grammar School and you can see an example of one of them here.

New beginnings: Bus and Bird

Background

I have been fortunate enough to teach Art and Design for the last eighteen years and work as Community Co-ordinator for the Visual Arts for the past fourteen years at Sale Grammar School in south Manchester. However, I have relocated to Nottinghamshire and it is time for new beginnings. As an experienced Community Co-ordinator, I have planned, organised and delivered creative learning sessions for a broad spectrum of learners from pre-school and school age children through to PGCE students and professional adults. I have taught in diverse settings, the most unusual being at Manchester Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre’s Pearce Ward teaching ceramic sculpture and stop frame animation to cystic fibrosis patients in their bedrooms.

What is ‘Bus and Bird’?

I am taking a leap of faith and using my experience of providing high quality visual arts workshops to set up ‘Bus and Bird’ where I will act as a Freelance Artist Educator running Community Art projects. ‘Bus and Bird’ will promote the Visual Arts by delivering projects of benefit to the community of Mansfield and its surrounding areas.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the projects that I have managed over the years:

Read more about this project here

Read the pupils' interview questions and Mr Finch's replies here

‘One’ - Local Creation

‘One’ took place at Local Creation on Thursday 28^th March 2013. The event celebrated Local Creation’s first birthday with an enjoyable array of activities ranging from drop-in clay workshops and a graffiti demonstration to live music and open studios. Oh and not forgetting John’s barbecue in defiance of the bitter and unseasonal weather!

Local Creation is an Arts facility situated on Central Way right at the heart of Altrincham (behind the Bricklayers Arms). Director, John Wonnacott set up the space in 2012 with the intention of developing a creative hub in the area. John firmly believes that creativity and culture have a role to play in the regeneration of the high street. 

Jo Cushing works alongside John as Director of Local Creation Altrincham, the charitable part of the company. Both John and Jo work hard to maintain, promote and develop the gallery and studio spaces whilst building up an ever expanding range of workshops for the local community. 

The past year has seen the building transformed from a run down unit to a busy arts space hosting a range of eclectic events such as Burlesque Life Drawing and Glazed Expressions, an exhibition of ceramic sculptures by local pupils as part of the Crafts Council’s Firing Up programme. Since taking on a studio there in December, I have really enjoyed the opportunity to get stuck into my own creative practice and meet like-minded people. 

If you’re out and about in Altrincham, pop in and see what Local Creation can offer you!

SGS Explorers - Hydrotherapy Arts Project

Earlier this year Gifted and Talented Sale Grammar School students in Year 9 and 10 were commissioned by Lime, one of our Trust partners, to produce art work for the Hydrotherapy Arts Project at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.  The Therapy and Dietetic Department was in the process of being refurbished by Lime artists. The overall theme was based around the idea of journeys and sea voyages to reflect both the funding from Thomas Cook children’s charity and the hydrotherapy area within the unit.

The Secret Treasure Map that the explorers are next to is by Dawn Prescott and located in the Waiting Room of the Main Reception Area

Lime took inspiration from Thomas Cook’s round the world tours and aimed ‘to create a sense of journey of discovery and wonder for everyone who visits and works in the Therapy and Dietetic Department’. The theme runs throughout the unit and art work was especially created for corridors and changing areas to treatment rooms and the pool.

Our students were given the brief of creating art work for the waiting room and treatment areas. The work had to be suitable for the patient age group (1-16) and fit into a small box frame. I decided to tackle the brief by showing students the work of folk artists such as Julie Arkell, and challenging them to make an ‘explorer’ each. The students worked on the projects on several Saturdays from January to March, starting off with a wire and papier mache base and ending with stitched or knitted costumes. Each explorer was mounted on top of a map inside the box frames. The students also produced an account of the journey that their individual explorer was taking. The resulting accounts are humorous and imaginative.

The students’ work is absolutely outstanding and sits very comfortably with the commissioned pieces by artists Helen Kitchen, Brian Chapman, Rob Vale and Dawn Prescott. The project has afforded students the unique opportunity of a live commission and has made a significant contribution to our local community. It is now a bright, fun and interactive environment for all users of the unit– from patients to staff. You can see an overview of the transformation of the unit by clicking here.