The OURS project reached successful completion in August 2009. Young poeple across Sutherland have challenged themselves, created some fantastic work and inspired others!
Please browse through this Spanners blog, which began in November 2007, to learn about all the project activities.
8.05.2009
7.07.2009
The Visitors Have Gone....
Our visiting Icehouse artist have left after the succesful opening of their exhibition on Friday 3 July, THE VISITORS, but before leaving they spent a very rewarding afternoon with some of our young helmies!
Saturday 27 June, Anne Brodie and Yael Rosenblut led an eager group of 5 young artists on a journey of discovery, exploring and manipulating scale, composition and collage to produce some beautiful art works.
Thalia's paw
The group began by collecting specimens from the Timespan garden in transparent bags. The bags and their content were then photocopied and blown up to different degrees. The detailed results were then mixed with found images and further copies of the artists' choice.
Jodie examines her bag of collected specimens from the garden.
Anne and Yael
The results of the groups activity were then framed within clock faces. Time is a theme that has run through the work Anne and Yael since they have been here, and now the group will have an artwork that will remind them of their time in timespan forever!
Emily, Jodie, Audrey, Isobel and Thalia
Saturday 27 June, Anne Brodie and Yael Rosenblut led an eager group of 5 young artists on a journey of discovery, exploring and manipulating scale, composition and collage to produce some beautiful art works.
Thalia's pawThe group began by collecting specimens from the Timespan garden in transparent bags. The bags and their content were then photocopied and blown up to different degrees. The detailed results were then mixed with found images and further copies of the artists' choice.
Jodie examines her bag of collected specimens from the garden.
Anne and Yael
The results of the groups activity were then framed within clock faces. Time is a theme that has run through the work Anne and Yael since they have been here, and now the group will have an artwork that will remind them of their time in timespan forever!
Emily, Jodie, Audrey, Isobel and Thalia
6.22.2009
The Visitors Workshop
THE VISITORS WORKSHOP
SATURDAY 27 JUNE 1-5 PM
Explore new dimensions in printed image. Rediscover photo copy, cut out and collage. Make the micro, macro! Create miniature collages and etchings and see the unexpected images that they create when magnified and projected. This exciting workshop into the unknown is led by our two visiting artists Yael Rosenblut and Anne Brodie .
Open to all young people aged between 8 and 12 yrs old.
Bring in magazines, photographs and using Timespan’s printing services, explore scale, repetition, colour and change.
For more information and to book your place, please contact Ruth: art@timespan.org.uk
01431 821 327
5.10.2009
YOU ARE INVITED
The Ice House, Helmsdale’s monumental deep freeze. Once a store for salmon catch, later a coal fired fish and chip shop. Now the vaulted chamber plays host to the second in a series of three double sited works, marking the end of two years as Timespan’s artist in residence and youth arts curator for Ruth Macdougall.
‘’Anything worth doing is probably going to take longer than you think ‘’ wrote my late friend Dave, on a note pinned to the door of his studio. Would two years be long enough?
Since August 2007 I have led nearly 300 participants in 8 communities across the region in the OURS youth arts project, facilitating their interaction with over 50 artists from the UK and abroad through trips, events, workshops and apprenticeships. Driving forward the next chapter in the life of Helmsdale’s Ice House, illuminating and establishing an environment in a building for which the possibilities are now limitless, is the permanent legacy that I leave. Yet amidst all this activity, I was all the time hoping that I would recognise my own work when I saw it…
The circus elephant in the picture below is called Bosko, the photograph was taken circa 1900 and he is one of three unlikely creatures that live in Timespan’s photographic archive; a llama, an elephant and a camel. He is approaching the two children at what would appear to be a bit of a trot – elephants cannot run. What happened next? I reckon he slaps the kid and makes a run for it.
ESCAPED CIRCUS ELEPHANT LIVES THE DREAM
Ruth Macdougall
ELEPHANT TEST FRIDAY
22 MAY 7-9 PM TIMESPAN GALLERY AND HELMSDALE ICE HOUSE
TUESDAY 26 MAY 7-8 PM ARTIST’S TALK
‘’Anything worth doing is probably going to take longer than you think ‘’ wrote my late friend Dave, on a note pinned to the door of his studio. Would two years be long enough?
Since August 2007 I have led nearly 300 participants in 8 communities across the region in the OURS youth arts project, facilitating their interaction with over 50 artists from the UK and abroad through trips, events, workshops and apprenticeships. Driving forward the next chapter in the life of Helmsdale’s Ice House, illuminating and establishing an environment in a building for which the possibilities are now limitless, is the permanent legacy that I leave. Yet amidst all this activity, I was all the time hoping that I would recognise my own work when I saw it…
The circus elephant in the picture below is called Bosko, the photograph was taken circa 1900 and he is one of three unlikely creatures that live in Timespan’s photographic archive; a llama, an elephant and a camel. He is approaching the two children at what would appear to be a bit of a trot – elephants cannot run. What happened next? I reckon he slaps the kid and makes a run for it.
ESCAPED CIRCUS ELEPHANT LIVES THE DREAM
Ruth Macdougall
ELEPHANT TEST FRIDAY
22 MAY 7-9 PM TIMESPAN GALLERY AND HELMSDALE ICE HOUSE
TUESDAY 26 MAY 7-8 PM ARTIST’S TALK
4.03.2009
Mask Making Workshop - Day 3
Mask Fossils
Today our masks are dry, we cracked them open and look what came out!
More pics to come.....
4.01.2009
Cath Whippey Mask Making - Day 2
Tuesday, and work began on the papier mache process. 5 layers if possible in alternationg colors. No folds!
The group liked the glue, which stayed warm for a little while after turing into paste/ semolina!. As the masks turned different colors, the group found that the personalities of their masks changed. Blue and Purple were the best colors for papering.
A special archival glue was used on the masks. This glue is normally used in book binding and has no acid in it, so it's kind to hands and doesn't effect the paper.
Cath helps Dawn smooth out any unruly folds.
Joel's wolf looked good in pink!
The wet papier mache made the masks look almost plasticy.
The hog.
Ruth's blue elephant.
The masks will have to dry next to the raidiators for two days before we can extract the clay and begin painting them. We next meet on Friday to do just this.
The group liked the glue, which stayed warm for a little while after turing into paste/ semolina!. As the masks turned different colors, the group found that the personalities of their masks changed. Blue and Purple were the best colors for papering.
A special archival glue was used on the masks. This glue is normally used in book binding and has no acid in it, so it's kind to hands and doesn't effect the paper.
Cath helps Dawn smooth out any unruly folds.
Joel's wolf looked good in pink!
The wet papier mache made the masks look almost plasticy.
The hog.
Ruth's blue elephant.The masks will have to dry next to the raidiators for two days before we can extract the clay and begin painting them. We next meet on Friday to do just this.
3.30.2009
Cath Whippey Mask Making workshop - Day 1
In to the workshop 10 am and straight to work on the clay models of our masks.
Audrey, Dawn, Connie, Jodie and Joel have some great ideas and managed to produce some beautiful models, inspired by Cath's fantastic Golden wolf and other masks.
The group got on so well that they even had time to cover their models in cling film, ready to begin the papier mache process tomorrow. Cath says it will take two hours per papier mache layer and we need at least three layers, so they better not be late!!!
Jodie's mask
Audrey
Joel is inspired by Cath's wolf
Big improvement girls!
Audrey, Dawn, Connie, Jodie and Joel have some great ideas and managed to produce some beautiful models, inspired by Cath's fantastic Golden wolf and other masks.
The group got on so well that they even had time to cover their models in cling film, ready to begin the papier mache process tomorrow. Cath says it will take two hours per papier mache layer and we need at least three layers, so they better not be late!!!
Jodie's mask
Audrey
Joel is inspired by Cath's wolf
Big improvement girls!
3.28.2009
OURS AND TIMESPAN INVITE YOU TO THE DOUBLE SITED PREVIEW OF
STUDIO 1824
ICE HOUSE ARTIST. NETLABEL. LIVE SHOW. EXHIBIT
FRIDAY 10 APRIL 2009
SCALES : LIVE : ELECTRONIC MUSIC SHOW
LOCATION : HELMSDALE ICE HOUSE
6.30PM (SHARP) TO JUST AFTER 7PM (FLAT!)
ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY
STUDIO 1824: SOUND : PHOTOGRAPHY : VIDEO
LOCATION : TIMESPAN GALLERY
7PM - 9PM
SATURDAY 11 APRIL
ARTIST’S TALK 2-3PM
NEXT IN THE SERIES
RUTH MACDOUGALL 23 MAY - 28 JUNE 2009 | PREVIEW 22 MAY
The Ice House, Helmsdale’s monumental deep freeze. Once a store for salmon catch, later a coal fired fish and chip shop. Now the vaulted chamber plays host to a series of three double sited exhibitions, marking the end of two years as Timespan’s artist in residence and youth arts curator for Ruth Macdougall. The first Ice House artist, Chris Dooks, is commissioned and curated by Timespan’s youth arts group, OURS, led by Ruth.
‘’A linguistic survey sound recording from 1964 featured Helmsdale fisherman Neil MacKay and wife Mary (née Sutherland). A story is told and in the background, bells chime. A knitting group helped me track down the next of kin who had never heard the recording. Using the acoustics in Helmsdale’s ice house, I shaped music from these recordings, adding fresh elements to create a mini-album of “folktronica” with accompanying photographic cover-art. The project became a “netlabel" (www.studio1824.com), a live electronic concert, community workshops and a gallery exhibition featuring an enormous salmon of knowledge, patrolling the ice house and nearby Gartymore…’’
Chris Dooks
Exhibition Runs
Saturday 11 April - Sunday 17 May 2009
Mon - Sat 10-5pm | Sun 12-5pm
Free entry
2.26.2009
Mask Making workshop with Cath Whippey
30, 31 March and 3 April 2009 | 10 – 5pm each day
Free, but booking is essential, so contact Ruth: art@timespan.org.uk
Cath Whippey is a fine artist, specialising in the culture of mask making. Her work varies from intimate head pieces to enormous full bodied works, exploring a host of materials.
With Cath you will have the opportunity to learn the process of making a mask that that you can wear. Using a process of clay modeling, papier mache and finally painting the masks.
.JPG)
Golden Wolf At Dusk.JPG)
Drummer MaskEach day will be a different stage.
Day one: clay modelingDay two: papier mache over the clay form
Day three: removing from clay, tidying up edges, cutting eyeholes, painting the mask, and wearing!
Brief: Think of an animal/human hybrid character - perhaps an animal with some human emotions e.g. - surprise, envy, in love, tranquility, mirth or a human with some animal emotions e.g. scurrying about, sniffing things out - Through the clay modeling process, you will discover the features of your mask. It's about finding a characteristic, a temperament and mood for the character you model.
Collect images of human facial expressions - the more expressive the better, maybe search for images of character actors faces - and collect images of animal faces, as many images as possible, you can bring in photocopies from books, maybe even sketches. Look in the mirror and try different expressions, see how 'pulling a face' makes you feel in your body and posture.
1.27.2009
February Workshops
Thursday 26 February 6.30-9pm and Saturday 28 February 10.30 - 1pm
Open to young people aged 12 +, max 8 participants, booking essential
Free
For more info and to book, contact Ruth: art@timespan.org.uk
Auhtor Eleanor Thom will be leading creative writing workshops on Tuesday 10, 17 and 24 February, 7-9pm in Timespan. This workshop is open to adults and young people aged 12+
Free
Write with your eyes, your mouth, your nose. Write with your ears, particularly with your ears. Give your character a black eye, give ‘em a texas twang, make their skin soft as mashed potato. Lock the whole gang in the ice house. Enter them in a singing competition. Pen punchy prose, or if you’re more composed, cook up a lyrical sentence that melts in the mouth. This series of workshops in creative writing will be full of tips and techniques.
1.16.2009
Reveal Event - Sat 17 Jan - 7pm
Chris and Eleanor are almost at the end of their research week..booo..but they will be returning for a month in February..hooray!
Tomorrow night - Saturday 17 January, 7pm in Timespan - the duo will be holding an end of research week event, during which they will present and discuss the material and research that they have gathered aswell as revealing the master plan for the commission.
The presentation should last roughly 30 mins with time for open disuccion at the end.
Everyone is welcome!
Admission free.
Tomorrow night - Saturday 17 January, 7pm in Timespan - the duo will be holding an end of research week event, during which they will present and discuss the material and research that they have gathered aswell as revealing the master plan for the commission.
The presentation should last roughly 30 mins with time for open disuccion at the end.
Everyone is welcome!
Admission free.
1.14.2009
Ice House blog
www.icehousehelmsdale.wordpress.com
Please visit Chris and Eleanor's online blog diary of their research week.
Please visit Chris and Eleanor's online blog diary of their research week.
1.11.2009
Ice House Artist - Chris Dooks
Hello one and all,
For the past two months, Timespan’s youth arts group OURS have been working on a curatorial project, which has presented them with the exciting challenge of commissioning an artist to exhibit in Timespan’s gallery next year.
The group designed a double sited commission, inviting Scotland based artist to propose a body of work in response to Helmsdale’s 19 Century Ice House. The work would be exhibited/performed/installed in the Ice House along with a simultaneous exhibition of work in the gallery of documentation and /or related work.
The project was advertised in all the major art forums and the response we received was fantastic. Over 200 artists requested the application pack and 52 artists finally applied for the opportunity. The group had the long and challenging task of short listing a handful of artists for telephone interview with lead artist Ruth Macdougall, and after a lot of consideration the group have finally commissioned the following artist:
Chris Dooks, Cultural Polymash www.dooks.org
Chris’ bio
‘’Trained as both photographer and film-maker, in my twenties I was directing arts-based TV documentaries such as ITV's The South Bank Show. Since then I’ve morphed and evolved to become a conceptual artist in my own right. Multimedia, sound art, music, song writing and fiction all feature equally in my practice. The Sunday Herald bestowed upon me the title of ‘polymath’. I thought that sounded a bit too mathematical, so coined ‘polymash’ to infer something softer, and dare I say it, fun!
I am a highly adaptable cultural practitioner, and more than anything else I enjoy residencies. Whether the end result is a film, an installation, a collection of songs, a podcast, or a piece of creative writing, I feel at my most useful collecting oral history, songs, and visual culture, and working with diverse communities to form elements of any given residency. I’ve made around 45 projects over the last twelve years, in Scotland, England, Holland, and the USA, and have released five full length electronic music albums on various labels. Most recently, The Aesthetic Animals Album, a collection of new songs and laptop-folk, was released on Benbecula Records (benbecula.com) I also currently present a net-radio show on unusual music. I make single screen works for video as well as build installations in galleries, do site specific work, and also design psychogeographic tours. My tours aim to tweak an audience’s perception of an environment, in this case without the need to physically create a piece of art. A good example is The Polyfaith Tour of Edinburgh (polyfaith.com).’’ Chris Dooks
Ice House proposal
The phrase “I use echo” is an anagram of Ice House.
Using techniques from my psychogeographic tOURS, which flirt with the truth, we will ironically be encouraging a sense of enquiry and genuine historical research in the community. The OURS group will work with me on looking at what parts of the building could reveal stories which will be peppered with a mixture of real facts and fiction. The tour will turn the Ice house into art/historical object and the OURS group and myself will, through the use of temporary light and sound and/or the internet, develop a tour which makes folk feel connected to the building by their creative participation of new narratives in it.
Both www.polyfaith.com and www.advocatesclose.co.uk are good examples of how I turn the everyday into more significant events. They are slightly underpinned by Buddhist philosophies that the real stuff, the juice, is always in front of you, it’s a matter of changing lenses. This is a proposal I am quite passionate about but it’s difficult to articulate without demonstrating it in action. The websites will help, but I would jump at the chance to show you some of these techniques.’’ Chris Dooks
Chris will work on this project with his partner and author, Eleanor Thom whose ancestors were in fact Sutherland Travellers. Chris and Eleanor will be resident in Timespans’ artist flat between 12 and 18 January undertaking their research week, during which time they will witness the opening of the river, take in Lorna Jappy’s fantastic story tour of the village and hold their own events to meet local people and encourage the vital dialogue that will make this project truly unique.
We hope that the people of Helmsdale will make the most of having these exciting artists in their midst, helping them to create a fantastic work that will celebrate the ice house and the surrounding area.
"I've filmed Killer Whales in St Kilda, made a Gaelic film in Harris and recreated the Wicker Man Movie in rural Aberdeenshire, but I've never worked in and around an Ice House in what I would call The Proper North East of Scotland! which is nice, because I originally hail from The Proper Northeast of England! We are really looking forward to meeting everyone in Helmsdale. Myself and my partner Eleanor Thom, who has links with Sutherland Travellers, will be delighted to welcome anyone to an introduction on our take with this project. We will be giving two presentations of our work in the research week (12-18 January) - one will be an introduction to me/us, and at the end of the week I will present what form the final project will take. In the meantime, if you want to contact us or have a poke at our websites go to two of mine here - www.dooks.org and www.bovineradio.wordpress.com - and for Eleanor go to www.eleanorthom.com"
Chris Dooks
For the past two months, Timespan’s youth arts group OURS have been working on a curatorial project, which has presented them with the exciting challenge of commissioning an artist to exhibit in Timespan’s gallery next year.
The group designed a double sited commission, inviting Scotland based artist to propose a body of work in response to Helmsdale’s 19 Century Ice House. The work would be exhibited/performed/installed in the Ice House along with a simultaneous exhibition of work in the gallery of documentation and /or related work.
The project was advertised in all the major art forums and the response we received was fantastic. Over 200 artists requested the application pack and 52 artists finally applied for the opportunity. The group had the long and challenging task of short listing a handful of artists for telephone interview with lead artist Ruth Macdougall, and after a lot of consideration the group have finally commissioned the following artist:
Chris Dooks, Cultural Polymash www.dooks.org
Chris’ bio
‘’Trained as both photographer and film-maker, in my twenties I was directing arts-based TV documentaries such as ITV's The South Bank Show. Since then I’ve morphed and evolved to become a conceptual artist in my own right. Multimedia, sound art, music, song writing and fiction all feature equally in my practice. The Sunday Herald bestowed upon me the title of ‘polymath’. I thought that sounded a bit too mathematical, so coined ‘polymash’ to infer something softer, and dare I say it, fun!
I am a highly adaptable cultural practitioner, and more than anything else I enjoy residencies. Whether the end result is a film, an installation, a collection of songs, a podcast, or a piece of creative writing, I feel at my most useful collecting oral history, songs, and visual culture, and working with diverse communities to form elements of any given residency. I’ve made around 45 projects over the last twelve years, in Scotland, England, Holland, and the USA, and have released five full length electronic music albums on various labels. Most recently, The Aesthetic Animals Album, a collection of new songs and laptop-folk, was released on Benbecula Records (benbecula.com) I also currently present a net-radio show on unusual music. I make single screen works for video as well as build installations in galleries, do site specific work, and also design psychogeographic tours. My tours aim to tweak an audience’s perception of an environment, in this case without the need to physically create a piece of art. A good example is The Polyfaith Tour of Edinburgh (polyfaith.com).’’ Chris Dooks
Ice House proposal
The phrase “I use echo” is an anagram of Ice House.
Using techniques from my psychogeographic tOURS, which flirt with the truth, we will ironically be encouraging a sense of enquiry and genuine historical research in the community. The OURS group will work with me on looking at what parts of the building could reveal stories which will be peppered with a mixture of real facts and fiction. The tour will turn the Ice house into art/historical object and the OURS group and myself will, through the use of temporary light and sound and/or the internet, develop a tour which makes folk feel connected to the building by their creative participation of new narratives in it.
Both www.polyfaith.com and www.advocatesclose.co.uk are good examples of how I turn the everyday into more significant events. They are slightly underpinned by Buddhist philosophies that the real stuff, the juice, is always in front of you, it’s a matter of changing lenses. This is a proposal I am quite passionate about but it’s difficult to articulate without demonstrating it in action. The websites will help, but I would jump at the chance to show you some of these techniques.’’ Chris Dooks
Chris will work on this project with his partner and author, Eleanor Thom whose ancestors were in fact Sutherland Travellers. Chris and Eleanor will be resident in Timespans’ artist flat between 12 and 18 January undertaking their research week, during which time they will witness the opening of the river, take in Lorna Jappy’s fantastic story tour of the village and hold their own events to meet local people and encourage the vital dialogue that will make this project truly unique.
We hope that the people of Helmsdale will make the most of having these exciting artists in their midst, helping them to create a fantastic work that will celebrate the ice house and the surrounding area.
"I've filmed Killer Whales in St Kilda, made a Gaelic film in Harris and recreated the Wicker Man Movie in rural Aberdeenshire, but I've never worked in and around an Ice House in what I would call The Proper North East of Scotland! which is nice, because I originally hail from The Proper Northeast of England! We are really looking forward to meeting everyone in Helmsdale. Myself and my partner Eleanor Thom, who has links with Sutherland Travellers, will be delighted to welcome anyone to an introduction on our take with this project. We will be giving two presentations of our work in the research week (12-18 January) - one will be an introduction to me/us, and at the end of the week I will present what form the final project will take. In the meantime, if you want to contact us or have a poke at our websites go to two of mine here - www.dooks.org and www.bovineradio.wordpress.com - and for Eleanor go to www.eleanorthom.com"
Chris Dooks
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