Park Traces Residency begins!

à à I'm in Stoke-on-Trent!    à à

Today was the second day of my two week residency at AirSpace Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent. My residency is part of a project called Park Traces à

'Park Traces' is a partnership project between Staffordshire University, AirSpace Gallery, and Stoke-on-Trent Council, to creatively document Hanley Park, and create a lasting record of the park as it is today. The artworks generated through the project will feed into the Heritage Lottery (HLF) project, starting April 2013 - drawing attention to the beauty of the park, and also exploring solutions for the areas of the park which need development.

More information here.

I'm very much looking forward to getting stuck into making new work and having the time to work through many avenues of thought and start to bring them together.

As a method of exploring the park and becoming familiar with it’s landscape and functions I will also be running every day. I’m interested in repetition as an important element in learning and running through the park daily will be a repetitive exercise, and therefore my knowledge of the park will be increased. I also like that running is a really normal way of using a park.

Me after this morning's run. So vibrant. à

After my first couple of days in Hanley park, walking, running, sitting, taking photographs etc. I'm interested in the design of the park in terms of it's planting. The park was designed by Thomas Mawson and opened in 1897. This afternoon I went to the Stoke-on-Trent city archives at the library to find out more about the history of the park and I'll definitely be spending a lot more time up there. More on that story later. So far I have learned that the park was designed as a 'breathing space' from all the pollution and noise of the potteries. The trees were planted to hide the industrial surroundings from people in the park and there are so many trees as they had to be planted in clumps to protect each other from the heavily polluted air. In the past, planting had to consider the damage from pollution and today vandalism is a major consideration. Tomorrow I'll be heading back to the archives and then getting on with some drawing in the park. And going for a run.

Yesterday I saved this worm that had found itself in the middle of an astroturf pitch in the park and was making a confused yet valiant effort at burying its head in the ground. I put him on the real grass. Good deed done.