Forest Weave
Materials
Willow branches - Jan Griffiths, Little Forest Land Art
Plant - Waterfront Garden Centre
Garden plants, flowers and leaves - Carrie Swinburne, Hotwalls Artist
Allotment & garden plants - Jan Mein, Project Evaluator
Warp - Old string from my studio
paper messages - leftover paper from Louise Braithwaite prints
Artists
Laura Bennett - Foil embossing workshop
Katie Munro - Watercolour and pencil drawing
Alice Hume - Plant weaving workshop
Incredible photographs by Alex Fountain.
“I will have a go at home and at other crafts. It has been a long time since I have done anything like this”
“Climate before coal”
“Everytime I come to hotwalls I have a lovely time and despite coming from London I feel more part of the portmouth community after a visit”
“I feel more confident in my ability to do craft activities - I always assumed that I wasn’t artistic so didn’t try, but these workshops have taught me that you can still enjoy being artistic even if you’re not brilliant at it! I also found all of the messages on the weave to be comforting and inspiring, and they made me feel like part of a fantastic community. Thank you Alice!”
“It felt so peaceful and meditative working on this huge weave together with other people and to have contributed to the collective result”
“it’s great to get the chance to be creative together as a family, thank you”
“it’s inspired me to try something new and to advance my own creative practice ”
“It made both of us feel calm and concentrate on one thing”
“It was fantastic. I have done this for first time in my life and I really liked it”
“Relaxed, enjoyable and rewarding workshops - we loved them! So lucky to have been able to join in, and the event being free makes it so inclusive. Thank you so much”
“I am excited to attend more workshops! It is a wonderful community led activity”
“Love the world, this is our home”
“I decided to capture the scene of the Forest Weave in a pencil drawing and then used watercolour to pick out the colours used in the weave itself. As the weave developed and was added to by members of the public, so was the painting. It was a real life drawing, working in real time.
The extremely windy weather was quite tricky to work in, and probably had an impact on the marks made In the drawing.
I enjoyed the way the workshop of embossing with Laura, the weave itself and myself drawing all tied in together in the same space and I felt the weave looked like a beautiful piece once it was completed”
“Thank you Alice, your workshops have been a bit of a lifesaver for me”
“My mental health can make things like leaving the house a bit tricky! Alice has created an amazing creative space that is always welcoming. I’ve been to most of the workshops and always leave feeling a lot better than I arrived”
“My kids loved it and it was a great for my family to be involved after being couped up for the last 18 months due to covid”
“Such a peaceful and meditative experience. Feels great to contribute a small bit to this collective artwork”
“Believe in yourself. You can do anything”
“My husband and I found the workshop to be a very relaxing and grounding activity, very inclusive too”
“Lovely workshops - something I would not normally do, but will definitely come again, looking forward to the final exhibition”
“It was a fantastic inclusive workshop which provided a sense of satisfaction and relaxation. I wish there was more such activities in Portsmouth!”
“Wisdom lives in the light, wisdom radiates in the light, the wisdom of the world radiates in the light”
“It’s inspired me to reuse or upcycle materials and to care more about the planet”
“Lovely workshop, really enjoyed myself. Would definitely recommend and go to other workshops”
“loved the workshop, Alice and Laura are so kind and friendly”
“The planet is fine, it’s the people who are in trouble”
“Love the initiative and talking to others. Gets community together”
“Your life is a garden look after it”
“Jack and I felt a positive glow, and very tranquil and calm after your workshops. Thank you so much, we both feel very lucky to have taken part”
“Lovely workshop, really enjoyed myself. Would definitely recommend and go to other workshops”
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