Villagers' willow project to go on show in Brompton Regis

RESIDENTS of Brompton Regis will be showing off newly-acquired skills in working with willow on Good Friday, when the whole village is being invited to celebrate the completion of a special project which has been taking place during the past few months.
ARTlife, West Somerset’s arts consortium, working in partnership with West Somerset Council, has organised three village community arts projects across Exmoor recently, thanks to funding from Arts Council England South West.
More than 30 people have taken part in workshops, led by Joolz Doncaster, each making various pieces.
Project co-ordinator Jan Ross said: “We have been delighted with the response from so many members of the community.
“Young people have been involved, as well as some of the more senior members of the village.
“The children started by making boats, to learn the basic techniques of creating a base and then weaving willow onto their frame.
“They then progressed to three dimensional pieces, and now come along each Saturday afternoon, having decided themselves what they want to make - they have shown great creativity and ingenuity with their creations.”
The adults have been attending weekday or Saturday morning sessions and many have recently tackled making animals, including several pigs and a badger.
Those who have taken part will be working on special pieces using living willow, outside on the village’s Millennium Green from April 3.
A bower and a tepee are planned and the whole village has been invited to a special celebration on the green on Good Friday, when the new structures will be unveiled and to view an exhibition of all the pieces made during the project.
Hot cross buns and an Easter egg hunt will also be on offer.
“We hope as many people as possible will join us to look at all the wonderful work created in the village,” said Joolz.
“Even if the weather is against us, we will have all the pieces on show in the village hall.”
Photo submitted.

Exmoor community art project reaches Winsford

A START has been made on a new and exciting stage of a community arts service developed over the past six years by ARTlife, the West Somerset arts consortium which works in partnership with West Somerset Council.
The ARTLife community arts development service is run for and by the people of the district, working in many different ways.
Residents of Wheddon Cross and Brompton Regis have already taken part in the project.
Wheddon Cross residents held a series of stained glass workshops during the autumn and contributed their ideas for a larger piece of work - a stained glass window for their recently refurbished village hall, which is currently being created by arts worker Avril Silk with help from local people.
In Brompton Regis, residents have recently started on a series of willow workshops to learn the skills needed to make individual small pieces with arts worker, Joolz Doncaster.
They will shortly begin to design and create a larger willow structure for their Millennium Green over the Easter holidays.
Now, residents of Winsford, led by the village hall committee, have spent time considering all the possibilities and have decided to look at making a tiled wall mural for the village hall, which is currently undergoing major refurbishment.
An introduction to the project is being held in the village hall at 10.30 am on Saturday, March 17, when anybody who is interested can attend and meet Simon Wyard and Anna Fraser to see a demonstration of their work and ‘have-a-go’ with some clay.
Following the first session, people in Winsford will then have the opportunity to attend further sessions during the next few months, to start on their own small mural for their home, and, at the same time, plan the larger village hall mural.
Project co-ordinator Jan Ross said: “We hope people will come along to the first session so that we can involve as many as possible, whether by just giving us their ideas for the final piece, learning the skills involved in making small pieces, or assisting Simon and Anna with the final mural.
“We have had a staggering amount of interest in the project so far, with 27 people
taking part in Wheddon Cross and 25 people in Brompton Regis, far more than we were expecting.”
Further information is available from Jan Ross by telephoning 01398 323818, or emailing janaross2003@yahoo.co.uk.
Image submitted.

Community is creating stained glass window

WORKS of stained glass by people living on Exmoor have been on public display in the Moorland Hall, Wheddon Cross.
The mini exhibition was part of a Creative Communities project for some of the rural villages of Exmoor which is being run by West Somerset arts consortium ARTlife.
ARTlife has received funding from the Arts Council England South West to run Creative Communities and the stained glass project is the first to be held.
For several months, 27 local people have been joining stained glass worker Avril Silk in the Moorland Hall to learn how to make their own small pieces.
They have also started to plan a final, larger piece which will be a stained glass window for the recently refurbished village hall.
The exhibition gave people an opportunity to view and comment on the proposed design for the hall window. Coffee and mince pies were also on offer.
Project co-ordinator Jan Ross said: “We have been delighted with the response from so many members of the community.
“Young people have been involved, as well as some of the more senior members of the village.
“They have had to work hard on their designs and, during the making, getting to grips with the art of cutting glass and soldering.
“It is an art form that has appealed to so many, and some of the participants will be helping Avril in making the final piece, too.”
ARTlife has worked in partnership with West Somerset Council during the past six years to develop an arts service run for and by the people of the district, working in many different ways.
The Creative Communities project is a new and exciting stage of its development, by offering a community arts development service for the area.
Further information about Creative Communities is available from Jan Ross by telephoning 01398 323818 or emailing janaross2003@yahoo.co.uk.

• Our photographs show stained glass pieces made by (left) Sean Kendall and Matthew Fowler and (right) Dan Matravers and Alex Sparks. Photos by Mark the Photographer, ref M1218008 and M1218010. Order photo reprints online at www.tcpbymtp.co.uk.