Visual Arts in Rural Communities Newsletter Summer 2012

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1 Visual Arts in Rural Communities Newsletter Summer 2012 Creative activity day with students from Thornhill School, Sunderland May 2012

2 School groups visit Highgreen Groups from both Thomas Bewick School in Newcastle and Thornhill School in Sunderland visited Highgreen in May. With a great team of staff, volunteers and carers, along with artists and assistants at Highgreen, the students with autistic spectrum disorders enjoyed a range of activities. Shelter building with LEO in the woods, making stained glass panels with Julia Barton and big painting with Karen Rann were all part of the day, as was eating baked potatoes around a camp fire. We are very grateful to Liz Beech and Maureen McCracken for their help and to everyone whose donations at a local event made it possible for Thornhill School to bring two groups instead of one. Building a shelter with Thomas Bewick School, May 2012

3 Printing with Thomas Bewick School Art group from CRISIS Skylight Centre in Newcastle visits Highgreen Also in May, we welcomed fourteen members of CRISIS Skylight Centre to Highgreen for the day. The group visited LEO s nearly completed Be Curious wall on the moors and then spent the afternoon drawing after an enjoyable walk back to Highgreen. Members of CRISIS Skylight Centre visit LEO s wall

4 Workshop Exhibition Day People who had attended LEO s night photography and outdoor environmental art workshops returned to Highgreen on 13 th May for an exhibition day. Sculptures were completed in the nearby small wood, and friends and visitors came to view these and prints of the night photographs which were displayed in the studio. Liz Reekie and Kate Hersey, The Bigger Picture (2012) Robbie Hudson s Swimming Lake Ullswater project Robbie is swimming the length of Lake Ullswater with the intention of visually translating this physical movement through an environment into large-scale

5 drawings on canvas. These are currently submerged in the river Eden. After he has retrieved them Robbie will work into the stains and colourings made by the rocks, plants and flowing water of the river to create finished pieces that he hopes will represent the Lake using the same rough materials, but in contradiction to the traditional watercolour paintings of the area. Robbie quotes Roger Deakin, founder of Common Ground:...I grew convinced that following water, flowing with it, would be a way of getting under the skin of things, of learning something new... Follow Robbie Hudson s progress online at Robbie Hudson, Lon Fiodhaig (2012) Graphite and pencil on paper, 20 x 28 cm

6 LEO completes his Be Curious Wall LEO has worked through all weathers over the past few months to rebuild a section of dry stone wall about two miles from Highgreen. He has incorporated the words Be Curious into it using the paler cut edges of stone to form the letters. The words come from a quote Stephen Hawking made during his 70 th birthday speech earlier this year. Visitors to LEO s exhibition in July will be able to visit the wall as well as see other work made by the artist during his residency. Thanks to David Walton for allowing part of his wall to be rebuilt as an artwork. LEO, Curious Wall (2012)

7 Forthcoming Events LEO s Residency Exhibition Back to Nai-Cha Opening party at Highgreen Saturday 14 th July, 2pm - 6pm The exhibition continues until 12 th August. It is open Friday to Sunday, 11am - 4pm, and by appointment only after 29 th July. Transporter Creative Workshop Saturday 18 th August, 10am 4pm Led by artists Suzanne Hutton and Sam Taylor at Highgreen. Free but booking is essential, ring or janet@varc.org.uk Transporter is a multi-cultural research and arts project developed by artists Sam Taylor and Suzanne Hutton which gathers and shares knowledge between artists / communities and countries through cultural exchange. It focuses on the transportation of art skills, crafts and cultural traditions and heritage across countries with a focus on sustainability within the arts (both economically and environmentally). The workshop aims to highlight the idea of sustainable arts practice, looking at people s relationship to their environment, cultural heritage and the value of traditional craft and skills. Follow Transporter via the project blog: Visit the Transporter Flickr page:

8 VARC Aims Visual Arts in Rural Communities was set up to promote the understanding and enjoyment of visual arts in rural communities through contact with an artist, through creative workshops and through mounting exhibitions in the area. At the same time VARC intends that the residency and other projects it initiates provide artists the opportunity to develop their practice and create new artwork in response to a remote rural location. To receive e-flyers promoting events and an version of our quarterly newsletter, please join our mailing list online at If you have any project ideas or would like to discuss anything in this newsletter please contact: Janet Ross, Project Director, Visual Arts in Rural Communities The Dovecote Office, Highgreen, Tarset, Hexham Northumberland, NE48 1RP Tel: janet@varc.org.uk Edinburgh A68 Rothbury Otterburn B6341 Highgreen A696 Newcastle Greenhaugh Lanehead B6320 Bellingham A68 Kielder Hexham Corbridge Visual Arts in Rural Communities (VARC) is a registered charity no Design by Supanaught Print by Holder Print