WINTER 2010

Winter 2010

During these cold, dark months we have had large amounts of snow and ‘The Big Freeze’ has affected my garden and other green spaces.Although the water will have been good for the soil, there is no telling how it has affected the plants and shrubs. A lot of preparation is needed for the New Year such as ideas to build

structures out of brick and wood. These will need to be gathered, stored and utilised in the coming months. During this time of the month is a planning stage where I mostly discuss, draw and contemplate ideas for gardening months ahead.I have been given the keys for The Pod space and am hoping to use the space productively.

The Avant Gardeners looked into a local school called Welsh House Farm School where a small patch of land could be worked with to create a sensory garden for children to use and learn from.The school has great garden areas as there are playground features, a seating area, a vegetable patch and garden ornaments.

Another location is in Selly Oak Park which we feel needs improvements. It used to be a graffiti park but this idea has been stopped as the space was obliterated with tags. We are going to look into this to see what could be done to enhance the space. It is a prime location which connects the canal, the railway and the retail park. There is a lot of abandoned space around the park and we want to contact the council to introduce innovative, communal design.

THE HUB

Another example of where i see change could be improved is a local park near where I live. A small youth community project has been put together by Chantel and friends who are willing to get young people motivated using creative arts. The name of this is called INFLUENCE. This is situated in the metal Hub off Selcroft Avenue based in Quinton. This project is the umbrella organisation of Welsh House Farm Youth Project.
I was concerned about this pod looking building as there had been graffiti art painted on already and i didn't know what this metal hub was used for. The hub was vandalized over time with tags and it needed a new makeover. Luckily I had been asked to paint the hub by a friend who lives locally and we are now in the process of decorating this hub. More local artists will get involved so please stay tuned to see the finished look.
Discussions are being made to work with related organisations to improve the existing surroundings.
For more information please contact liftyouthproject@gmail.com

Project Progress

Now that the funding has been secured,

the Garden

Project is now is progress!
With new volunteers, Sally Sherlock, Faye Binnell, Tim Skinner has agreed to participate and help out.
Faye Binnell is currently studying at B.C.U, Visual arts and Tim Skinner freelance artist specializing in abstract lettering painting. Tim has an interior modern geometrical style working solo on commission freelance work who has been involved in graffiti art since the early 80's.

Creative designs amongst us are being discussed and a wall art feature is being painted which eventually will compliment the garden space when finished.
Plants and various materials are yet to be brought, however we have acquired some recycled items which we plan to utilize within the garden space.
The publicity and advertisements are being planned out.

Stay tuned as there will be more updates.
The final show will be commencing on the 5^th and 6^th of September.

Project Garden Space

With funding nearly secured the project garden space hit upon several problems earlier on in the month. Firstly the actual space that we had spent so much time clearing was earmarked for the council to use for their ‘silver guilt medal’ award winning design in the urban garden category at the Chelsea flower show. They will be showcasing this garden at the gardeners weekend show in September. The group involved in our design were all very disappointed, however after talks with the park staff and college tutors we have now managed to secure another area we can develop. This caused a few problems with the designs as the new area is totally

different. As well as this one student has now decided he no longer wants to be part of the project and another is away on holiday and cannot be contacted to sign forms that the Princes Trust need to release the funds to the project. So, it has all been rather stressful and the future of the project is now in question. We have written an email to the awards manager to explain the situation and are hoping that the enthusiasm and dedication of the other members of the group will shine through and that the Princes Trust will still fund us. During this time we have also been discussing how the art that we are interested in showcasing and our other ideas can be best promoted and shown to members of the public. Talks have begun with local galleries and we are looking into other gallery spaces. A huge part of the design project is arts based with a portfolio of works collated over a period of nearly 12 months now. We are trying to use this body of work to complement the garden design in the park. Leon will contact the arts council and also ‘Edgbaston one’ to see how best to do this. So, we are waiting to hear back from the Princes Trust and

will post an update as soon as possible.

The Original space was split into three sections with the themes. 1.House Home Garden 2.Global Spirit 3.Concious Number 9

With a new and smaller area it became difficult to include these subjects into our new space.

LANDSCAPE12

AVANT GARDENERS

http://www.horticulturefile.blogspot.com/

http://www.avantgardeners.carbonmade.com/

Original Photographs taken by Michelle Byrne

Digitally re-mastered by Leon Sparkes

Robin Hood Bay, North Yorkshire

Landscape 2.The Sea thought sail

As man stands

Looks across an ocean sea

To see the distance that he may travel

Our land

To Inherit and sow seed

To live and work with nature

As a graffiti artist there are no rules.

No barriers and limitations.

Our city street landscapes are our canvas.

If we are to make markings and deface walls with image art,

Then, our streets become a gallery.

I had been asked to add my creative approach to photographs that had been taken by

Michelle Byrne

To merge graffiti markings on to natural landscape features.

My approach to these collections is to make a stand and question our environment, to set sail to new horizons to bury graffiti and take on new approaches by using natural and other forms of media.

The Avant gardeners approach is simply this, to decorate the land and to make creative changes to how we live and use our surroundings.

Leon Sparkes

Rachael Hawkins

AVANT GARDENERS

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The Town Hall Birmingham Exhibition

The event at the town hall was a success. A range of different artists had displayed work ranging from contemporary Abstract fine art, sculpture, textiles and illustrative works. Performers of all age ranges took part in singing dancing and spoken word.


Photos will be upload soon
further infomation on http://www.edgbastonone.org/
http://www.blogedgbaston.com/