Calling all Artist's, its Art Time!

Somerset Art Week is really close, and the storywalk player which we have been tinkering with behind the scenes will be tested during art week (fingers crossed!)

On the 22nd September I will be leading the storywalk 'The Watching Way' in Dulverton, along side the regular player (as a back up!) The idea is that I gather a group at the Tantivy cafe, talk a little about the walks, what they are, where they come from, and then do a little wifi jiggery pokery putting the walks into peoples iPads and smart phones if required. 

The latter part here can really be a headache so I've created some handouts which are simple walk through guides, but truthfully I will be reading out anyway so every one can follow me.

At 11.00 when there is no more cake in the Tantivy cafe and the coffee pot is fully drained we'll start the walk which actually starts at the Church. The walk then weaves through the town then out into the woods so bring your welly's! The narrative requests you to make things as you go, so by the end of the walk we should have quite a few little sculptural installations in the trees and along the path. 

We will record these to post on the storywalks web and here in the blog, but I love this reader interaction and the legacy it creates beyond memory of the day itself.

This story is all about clocks, and so the inspired art should reflect this, clocks, dials, pendulums, cogs, gears, ratchets, watches. I think you get the idea, here are a few images of some works that have been installed over time. 

Note they are made from the organic materials available along the route, bracken, ivy, nuts leaves, twigs, and because the art is so accessible and simple everyone can have a go, everyone can pop a couple of twigs in the moss and say 'ah ha, 4 o'clock - cake time!' And thankfully nobody has gone crazy overboard with dragging logs across the paths just yet!

So join us if you can, even if it's for only part of the walk, you can always come back and do any of the walks at a later date, as they are available all the time not just during art week. Personally I think this is a great tale to return to and see what has been made by others,  and what has been added to, decayed away, refreshed, its only then that the tale really come to life.

Thanks to Somerset Art Works and LARC for support in authoring the storywalk player, and also Exmoor National Park for allowing me to hide the journal at the end of the walk.