CASE STUDY willow sculpture

May!eld Arts Newbury HouseArt Action Toolbox: Case Study Willow Sculpture Art Encounter 2005background

Participants:

Young people fromMay!eld Arts Newbury house, Ógra Chorcaí, COrkFunarte, NicaraguaCentro Colombo Americano, Medellin Colombia

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Art Encounter 2005 was an artistic exchange which saw young artists from Cork, Nicaragua and Colombia, living and working together in Cork for three weeks. Their work was exhibited to the public in May!eld and in the City centre.

The young people were encouraged to explore issues of equality, while sharing cultural experiences and working together on a public art project.

They used painting, sculpture, photography and gra"ti art to explore the dreams of young poeple all over the world and how these relate to the Millenium Development Goals. The young people had clear messages that they communciated in very innova-tive ways.

This is a case study of the willow sculpture project that took place during Art Encounter 2005 with young participants from May!eld Arts, Ogra Chorcai, NIcaragua and Colombia.

Ennismore Retreat Centre May!eld, Cork

Art Encounter Summer 2005

Theme: Equality and Dreams

HOW DID WE DO IT?Step 1: Getting Started

Step 2: Creating the Sculpture

Step 3: Finishing & Exhibiting the Sculpture

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The group began exploring the theme of equality and dreams together and answered questions like:-What message would it convey to people who saw it?-Where would it be located?-How would it suit its location?-What materials are required?The participants individually sketched their ideas and then came back together as a group to pool their ideas and decide on a !nal design.

First they wove the willow to make the world. Then they built wooden frames for the !gures. They !xed these in pots !lled with earth and then planted the willow and wove it around the frames to make the !gures. The group referred to the preparatory drawings while weaving the willow. It was really important to make the frames strong enough to support the !nal willow !gures.

When the sculptures were !nished, and the group had ensured they were stable and strong enough, the local community in May!eld and the wider Cork community were invited to view the sculpture as part of Art Encounter 2005. The three !gures in the sculpture represent the three countries working together to build a better world, which was part of the Art Encounter theme of Equality and Dreams. This willow sculpture process was also documented with video and photography so that the process and !nal product could be viewed afterwards.

IMAGES OF THEFINISHED WORK

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Watch a video of the willow project here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc5WWjoq7lM&feature=player_embedded

Di!erences in equality don’t have to exist…we real ised through the workshops

that we have to work to achieve this equality.

We learned many things including about culture, tolerance and sharing with others.