10/02/2010 by James.

Please share the following information with any 14 to 19 yr olds you know of in the Stonehenge/Salisbury/surrounding areas, who may be interested in this exciting opportunity to advise English Heritage on the development of the new Visitor Centre and learning/outreach programmes.

Thank you!

STONEHENGE YOUNG PEOPLE’S PANEL

WHAT?

English Heritage at Stonehenge needs the options of young people to decide how to make their new Visitor Centre an interesting and fun place to visit in the future.

WHO?

Young people from 14-19 years old, who are interested in design, archaeology, or the environment, in sharing their opinions and having something different on their CV.

HOW?

We want to hold on Open Meeting, and four Young People’s Panel sessions, based at Salisbury Museum, with visits to Stonehenge and other local venues.

Open Meeting:

The open meeting will give you a chance to see artists’ impressions of the new Visitor Centre, handle artefacts, explore the Museum and give ideas on what needs to happen next. If you decide to become part of the panel you can sign up for that here too.

Panel Sessions:

At each session there will be a different theme and content – such as meeting the architects, designing interactive exhibits, and exploring how we can make facilities more environmentally sustainable.

The Young People’s Panel is free. Local transport costs will be paid and refreshments will be provided for all of the four panel sessions.

WHEN?

Open Meeting:

Saturday 13^th February at Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum, Cathedral Close, Salisbury, 10.30am to 12.30pm (just turn up, no need to book).

Panel Sessions:

Saturday 27^th February, 20^th March, 17^th April, 8^th May at Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum, 10.15am to 12.45pm (sign up for your place at the Open Meeting).

It is hoped that the panel sessions will continue after this initial project.

For more information please contact James Aldridge:

Email: info@creative-ecology.co.uk Telephone: 07931 407 186

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13/01/2010 by James.

  Not an original title for a post but hey… its everywhere at the moment, you can’t avoid it, and it certainly adds an element of excitement to early January. Things look fresh, shapes and patterns stand out like never before, and our embedded-ness within nature is in-escapable. The snow stops us from getting to places, covers up our cars and gardens, and takes over our lives… at least for a short while.

Personally I find it quite refreshing to see how weather can change the way we relate to the world around us. I know it can be hard, frustrating and even dangerous, but it also gives us permission to play, and to stop and stare at beautiful everyday things. It alters our perception of the world around us by literally changing the shape of things, the way that they look and feel. Wonder becomes a part of our lives as water freezes into clear sparkling blocks, and soft white clumps fall from the sky.

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09/12/2009 by James.

I went in to the studio today to have a bit of a blitz… to clear out old images on the walls and generally de-clutter. I wanted to clear the space and clear my mind and to focus on what’s really important in my work.

But that’s just the point, when I start to think about it I know what’s important to me in terms of my focus and my values, but its not all that easy to work out if/how that comes across to others.

I can know that my participatory work supports people to explore themselves and their environment creatively, because I’m there with them, I get the feedback and I can get involved in the evaluation. And I know that this work feeds me, that I learn about how people can use art to learn in creative and ‘joined-up’ ways.

BUT… when I make more individual work, how do I or any other artist for that matter, know what effect it has on anyone else, unless you are actually there with them?

I had an interesting conversation with one of my 5×5x5=creativity colleagues yesterday, about the relationship of participatory and individual practice. In some ways it worries me that my work on projects such as 5×5x5 is focused on the importance of the creative process, and yet the next day I might be in my studio making a wall-based piece for exhibition, that I will leave and walk away and never really know if it is having any positive impact.

And yet, I reassured myself today that its okay, because, as I wrote in my sketchbook…

the artwork acts as an indicator of the level of personal/environmental awareness, whilst the process of exploring that leads to and informs the creation of the artwork supports the development of such an integrated awareness of self & environment.

The artefact is the evidence of the process and of its effects on the perception of the individual (me).

The creation of the artwork also further supports a sensory exploration of the world in a more focused way, and (if made in the right way) can act as a conduit for the flow of life energy, through the senses, through the individual and into the artwork.

So, as I came to realise after clearing the clutter, and (s)crawling across a rolled out sheet of paper to get my ideas ‘out-there’, how the different areas of my practice link up and relate to each other…

I am researching culturally influenced perception  (its impact on our learning, our behaviour and the ecosystems on which we depend), and its relationship to more direct, individual, sensory engagement. My resulting work supports the development of greater understanding of the relationship between the two, and the gap between them.

I am breaking down the perceptual barriers to direct engagement with ‘the one’ and ‘the now’… my research and my explorations inform my own understanding, which in turn supports my work’s ability to engage with its audience.

In other words I don’t need to make someone feel anything or think anything specific. I just need to provide the audience of my work, whether object based or participatory, access to a place where they can engage with the stuff of the world, and the issues that I am interested in, and allow them to gain from that experience in whatever way they need to at that point in time, as part of their own learning journey.

…Phew!

(by the way, the scruffy dog at the top is Moshi, who often accompanies me on my adventures, and was patient enough to wait in my studio, so I thought I’d include her too.)

Since writing this post I came across the following article on twitter (via @dryearth) which looks at the experience of the artwork by the artist/ audience, and the context within which the work is created/experienced -

Situated Cognition, Dynamic Systems, and Art: On Artistic Creativity and Aesthetic Experience - Ingar Brinck

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03/12/2009 by James.

I was back in the studio yesterday and it felt great - I didn’t have my camera with me so not such great quality photos…

I want to do more map-based pieces on native wildlife and previously native species which may be re-introduced. I’m fascinated by the idea of re-wilding areas of our country, and the red kite, sea eagle, beaver and crane introductions that have been happening or are in the pipeline now.

I’m also itching to get back into some more 3-D pieces, maybe which combine found objects/materials and fragments of man-made clothing or other ‘detritus’, so watch this space….

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25/11/2009 by James.

Its been a while since I got chance to get back on here and share what I’ve been up to.

First of all I went to the Brecon Beacons for a few days of space, air, and mountain views, a beautiful area just along the M4 and up a bit, gorgeous!

It was great to be amongst the last of the Autumn colour, to be out walking and watching Red Kites, and come to a log fire. Here’s a photograph I took of the reflections on the canal near where we were staying, this reflected view for me gives the woods a much deeper, darker, mysterious, almost primeval quality, like a fairytale wood of dreams and stories.

Since then I’ve been busy with the Stonehenge Young People’s Consultation Project again for English Heritage, and have set up a blog for the participants. As soon as that is made public I’ll be sure to put the details up on here.

So far I’ve worked Years 5, 7, and 10, looking at designing the interior of the new education space,  creating a booklet for Geography students on the changing visitor experience past and future, and developing ideas for new face-to-face tours and workshops for Travel and Tourism students.

So its been a case of taking time to explore the monument and its surrounding landscape as it is now and then using discussion, drawing, writing and other creative ways to help everyone share their ideas for the future visitor centre. Here’s a couple of before and after shots of the changes planned for the area immediately around the monument.

This last week I was staying and working up in Lancaster alongside children and staff at the University’s Pre-School Centre. We were using different media to encourage the children to explore and learn from their interaction with the outdoors, whilst supporting the staff to develop their own skills in facilitating child-initiated learning.

We used mark-making materials, clay, natural objects, and a variety of recycled objects to explore shape, pattern, space, height, letter, numbers, and whatever else the children were interested in.

And finally, for today at least, I’m off to Kingston on Monday to run a professional development session with the new 5×5x5=creativity research cluster there. Its aimed at Pre and Primary School educators and will focus on Creativity and Inclusion, concentrating on supporting boys to learn creatively, especially in the outdoors.

So its busy at the moment, which is great, and its all connected and all so relevant to my practice, which is even better!

All I need now is a little time to get back in the studio and make some new artwork…

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29/10/2009 by James.

This is a little gem of a nature reserve just outside of my home town (or village…) of Pewsey.

You can wander along boardwalks through the fenland, across winding streams and past fields of flag irises, whilst the Belted Galloway cattle munch on the surrounding meadows. It has an ancient feel to it and is the perfect place to go to for some peace and quiet.

It’s between the village and the Kennet & Avon Canal, which is handy for a wander back home along the towpath and a drink in the pub.

Here’s some info from the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, with a link to the reserve’s page on their website.

From the plants, such as Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus) and Great Horsetail (Equisetum telmateia); through to insects and birds, such as the Snipe (Gallinago gallinago), there is much to see at Jones’s Mill. Rare plants include the Bog Pimpernel (Anagallis tenella) and Flea Sedge (Carex pulicaris). In areas where the Belted Galloways have managed to keep the vegetation short, the tall spikes of Southern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) and Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) can be seen. 

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23/10/2009 by James.

At the moment I’m working on a range of different creative learning initiatives and as always, and pondering the links between them all.

Firstly I’m consulting with children and young people in creative ways for English Heritage, using site visits, writing, and making to develop interpretation and learning materials for visitors to Stonehenge.

Through my ongoing work with Salisbury Museum, we are running a session at a MLA event next, a seminar exploring child-centred learning and working with extended schools.

Additionally I’m waiting to hear whether I’ll be working with a Primary school with an outdoors focus for 5×5x5=-creativity next year, or a special school.

And to top this all off I am sharing my own learning through individual pieces of evaluation for art in education projects and professional development for early years practitioners, on the value of creative and child-led approaches to learning.

Now individually, all of this work is inspiring and challenging, but looked at together its the cross-sector links and the bigger picture that I find fascinating.

As extended schools services seek to connect schools with families and communities, and Museums look to work in more responsive ways with those families, and early years settings seek to build on the new EYFS and embed creative learning practices within them, I feel a lot more positive for the future.

To use an already over-used phrase, this kind of joined-up thinking - of valuing the individual child (and parent) whilst holding an awareness of the bigger picture of family and community - can only benefit our children as they learn and develop their own world-views. Children that learn in ways appropriate to their own needs and interests, within the context of their local environment (natural/cultural/social) develop in confidence, self-esteem, empathy, respect for difference, and with a greater awareness of their role within, and impact on that environment.

If we are to develop sustainable ways of being within our ecosystems and societies for the future, then for me the way that we learn is key.

We need to invest in and promote ways of learning that are creative (and recognise each of us as innately so) and which support each child to explore, reflect on, and re-interpret their natural and cultural heritage.

‘The potential for every child is stunted if the endpoint of learning is formulated in advance’                                                                                                                       Carlina Rinaldi

Children live through their sense. Sensory experiences link the child’s exterior world with their interior, hidden affective world… Individual children test themselves by interacting with their environment, activating their potential and reconstructing human culture.’                                                                                                                              Robin Moore

Images from Connect & Create Project with Salisbury Museum

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03/10/2009 by James.

A really interesting and exciting foray into the world of cultural heritage and ecological thinking -

‘This is a new blog for cultural heritage and environment professionals to share ideas on ecological thinking and environmental policies in the sector. The cultural heritage sector encompasses museums, heritage sites and landscapes, libraries, archives and art galleries.

… A key aim is to provide feedback and advocacy for Government bodies such as DCMS, MLA and English Heritage in developing ecological and sustainable practices. There are several UK initiatives on the arts and ecology but there is a gap in the cultural heritage sector.

…. This blog is not confined to sustainability in conservation or buildings management but encompasses all aspects of ecological thinking, including campaigning, community engagement, education, digital strategies, creative curating and so on.’

Well worth a look - http://ecoch.wordpress.com

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03/09/2009 by James.

There seems to have been a lot of text and not so much imagery on here recently, so here’s a couple of images that I’ve been working on recently to balance that out…

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04/08/2009 by James.

I ran my first session on the postgrad participatory arts & media course yesterday at UWE in Bristol. I was facilitating a group session around artists working in pre-school and primary education, called The Art of Learning.

I am fascinated at the parallels between creative teaching/learning practice and my own practice as an artist exploring the perceptual relationship between individuals and their immediate environment. I am excited at the idea of the artist’s creative process and the pupils creative learning journey echoing and informing each other.

Is art the documentation of an artist’s creative learning journey? Are children’s experiences of education as inspiring and adventurous as my own journey as I explore the world around me through my own creative practice? And if not, why not, when the reasearch shows the immense value of ways of learning that are centred around children’s needs, interests and innate creativity.

Through the various areas of my practice as an artist - individual, participatory, consultative - I am growing more and more to realise that the process that artists follow shouldn’t be a luxury, a thing confined to the artworld, it should be embedded within our society and our education system, supporting everyone to fulfill their creative potential in whatever area is appropriate to them.

Maybe that way we could evolve into a society that respects and values difference, and make use of what we have been given rather than striving to be something else, denying our true nature and blinding ourselves to the systems of which we are part.

 ’Ordinarily we aim for a literal picture of the world, but in fact we create a world according to our mode of participation, and we create ourselves accordingly. If we think in our present way, we will create the kind of world that we have created. If we think in another way, we might create a different world, and different people as well. Only the two together can change.’ 

David Bohm, ‘On Creativity’

(new work in progress)

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