Category Archives: what happened

storify Voluntary Arts Week 2014

June 2, 2014UK wide action, what happenedlooking backWiley Weaver

Click on link below to read the stories of the Voluntary Arts Week 2014 adventures around the UK and Ireland.
Ours is there, too!


[View the story "Voluntary Arts Week, 9-18 May 2014" on Storify]

Evaluating our efforts

May 20, 2014National, publicity, what happenedevaluationWiley Weaver

Encouraged by your (people of Penicuik) comments from last year members of the PCAA offered to organise a Brightening Penicuik, covering public places again with handmade crafts. Since September last year we built up the outreach, and now the question is: were we bigger, better, brighter in 2014 than we were in 2013?

Check the photos and the videos 🙂

We say: In a nutshell, on balance, YES.

In detail, here are the ayes and nays:

AYE: a good number of groups and clubs got involved and were largely self organised (Kitcat, PNK, Beeslack craft club, Community Access, With Health in Mind, Guides, Brownies, Rainbows, South Kirk Hall, YWCA, Library, Glencorse Centre) and we had 2 shops participating (Hospice Shop, and Peni Deli) and all thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the positive comments their joined up efforts brought. A couple of very bright and even spectacular installations. Real nice launch and workshops. New skills were being learned, new friendships being made, and new ideas being born. MANY People were reported to have said how much they enjoyed seeing the crafts everywhere. And when it came down, esp the one at the North Kirk, people very much missed them! And above all: voices are being heard: next year better, brighter, bigger!

Now what was then not so good, big and bright this year?

NAY: no big installations in the precinct. Very little response to the workshops we held in the Arts Centre. No real contributions to the blessed (growl!) insurance the PCAA had to take out for this very dangerous craft work. Inspite of all the outreach to the schools no participation from them directly. There could have been still more of clubs and groups participating. Some good stalwarts from last year did not come back.

Understanding the latter is important, and a lot of it has to do with people not wanting to see their labour of love cruelly vandalised. We responded to that one by having installations in doors and in shop windows. Also the burden of the insurance is felt as ridiculous and a big turn off. We will still respond to this with a letter to the Council (they should be much more encouraging this gentle way of brightening the place) and by doing a fundraising party as soon as possible!

Responses to having less in the precinct were mixed: some folks were glad to see less (one person also said she still doesn’t like that kind of public art so far) and some (the majority of the voices we heard!) were sad: they had been looking for and forward to many brightly dancing displays!

Two installations were hailed as spectacular and outstanding: the bright and complex one at the PNK, making everybody driving through Penicuik aware of there is something bright and beautiful here in town, and showing off the united efforts and skills of Arts and Crafts Fellowship; and the magical Rainbow Trail one hiding away in the Lost Garden, highlighting artistic ingenuity and commitment.

It was applauded that the shops with their windows took part, and that confirmed for us that the Arts Trail habit is becoming part of Penicuik, and that there should be made MUCH MORE use of this, such as creative groups and individuals sharing their work that way.

Overall the artistic and crafty level of engagement ranged beautifully from simple to complex, and all had one element in common: made with love in the hope and trust it made people smile and their eyes light up as the streets and places were more creative places to see.

“Lack of time” to do great and creative things has been widely named by people who showed this year lack of involvement (the schools, PCAA members, and many more). “Lack of time” seems a misery of our day and age, which at the same time is being transcended and transformed all round the Voluntary Arts week celebrations and efforts. A very special round of applause should therefore go to the Senior Pupils Thomas, Charlotte, Rachel and Chloe for staying connected with this project during the last 8 months which were riddled with A-Level exams for them, as we planned and prepared together what was to be seen at the Beeslack gate and in the Hospice Shop window. It IS possible to make time for the Brightening of Penicuik! Please read what The Penicuik Cuckoo wrote here about the colour wave!

In that said window something else was displayed that was appreciated very much: the letters CRAFT BOMB 2014 crafted big and 3D out of decorated card board. This had been an artist led enterprise commissioned for the nationwide Voluntary Arts Conference in Glasgow, and it shows a few things: having experienced artists lead installations can be of benefit and the group that has been making it under their guidance (senior citizens in a residential home in this case) are feeling very uplifted and valued through that engagement.

This leads us nicely to the summary of our evaluation so far:

people of Penicuik want both, showing their wee efforts as well as spectacular collective impact efforts
people need more encouragement

That then leads to finally paying tribute to the hidden 3 from the PCAA in this venture who worked tirelessly behind the scenes next to their busy lives, encouraging people and groups, preparing installation materials, finishing them off, and keep the online presence alive, linking this project to the wider map of which Penicuik is now firmly part of.

We will post that map here in our next blog as soon as the Voluntary Arts team has added it all up! Meanwhile – please get in touch with your feedback and plans!

cuckoo cuckoo cuckoo !

Big Thanks to All

May 19, 2014what happenedthanksWiley Weaver

“Brightening Penicuik”, Penicuik’s second year of participation in the “craft bombing” action of National Voluntary Arts week has drawn to a close. One or two installations staying up safely for another couple of days, and then the summer is a-cumen in and the Hunters and Lass are getting ready as we speak.

So, quick lets have a quick tour of what was the crafty hand-work here last week. [click on image strips to enlarge or go straight to album and slide show there.]

We want to say a huge thank you to all and everyone who made it happen this year, and this blog post is about these wonderful behind the scenes people of Penicuik and the work of their joined-up, clued-up hands and minds. Crafting keeps both healthy, you know!

WELL DONE EVERYONE!

The Penicuik Community Arts Association started the journey encouraging people and projects where we could. ‘We’ = in this case especially the Knitting Ninja, Ragged Edge, and the Wiley Weaver, three artists, crafts people and general dogs bodies 😉 having shared fun and shared vision for the love of it. Our main theme started out as the Cuckoo, the bird that is said to bring spring. So we did live up to the calling-in of spring, as after all Penicuik means ‘hill of the cuckoo . Colourful birds had been felt crafted by many hands and with smiling here at the fun that was had when working with skill-full 6year old Rory.

Recycling for the gate: The Beeslack High Craft club, Charlotte, Rachel and Chloe adorned the school sign and trees and fence at entrance of estate with sparkling dancing recycled craft bomb creations.

Buntings: Knitting Ninja – praise be to her ! – prepared all the bunting: then the Senior Girl Guide section made a beautifully embellished blue bunting and the 2nd Penicuik Brownies proudly painted on their triangles creating a very long bunting chains. The latter was displayed in the town hall and the former in the Hospice shop window. At Cuiken Primary the 5th Rainbows had their lovingly created installation mysteriously damaged and were gifted this as comfort by behind the scene “Knitting Ninja”, forever preparing, mending and sparkling with very smart ideas.

The town hall group label reads the name of the group there – and indeed Brightening Penicuik was a community access project this year in many ways. But here a dream came true for one woman who always wanted to decorate the outside of the town hall!

For months at the Penicuik Miners Club a growing crowd met to share and explore their knitting and crocheting projects – and it was Gill from here who gave us the confidence that “Peni is cuckoo about crafting”! And that crafty Kitcat club at the Shottstown Miners Club got now round to casting their nets to brighten the Penicuik road side, with darling hearts sparkling in the sun, and accepting a glorious gift from the Balfron Pompom festival now lining our streets on this side of the country. One brilliant bonus feature for the ladies is also the bridges that have been built to the YWCA who will be thrilled to have Gill and Audrey come more often to skill share crocheting and knitting with the after school kids.

The group “With Health in Mind” created a stunning display inside the porch of the Penicuik YWCA, ensuring it was thoroughly admired by many people here and being indoors here made it was not going to get damaged but could delight all for a long time!

A knitted rose tree however bloomed and stayed outside here, along side more fabulous pieces of hand crafted installations… …created by the Arts and Crafts Fellowship, this most formidable team! They also had prepared for months, and the Peniuik North Kirk. There greatly admired by Cassandra the events officer from Voluntary Arts Scotland visiting us to write a blog about Brightening Penicuik for the Voluntary Arts week on-line magazine

Undeterred by the rain someone secretly had given the trees in High St a bracelet of soft pompoms and at the cross roads bunting old and new swayed colourfully in the wind, whilst last year’s beautiful embellished bunting embraced the flowerbed in the precinct. And a beautiful bunting appeared outside the South Church Hall, and another one outside the Library.

Birds, bunting, crafted roses brightened the windows in the Gallery Cafe, ah, and Knitting Ninja has been at it also here, demonstrating the easy peasy way to make long lasting flower for the table. Now it is time to go hunt cuckoos, who has seen them where…?

And there is what was “The Penicuik Cuckoo” magazine created over the years by Thomas Scott and team being upcycled into colourful paper roses …

to be displayed in the Hospice Shop window here alongside the CRAFT BOMB 2014 letters crafted by the group in Glasgow and giving to us on loan by Voluntary Arts. And here us our Jen’s stunning felted cuckoo clock alongside the blue girl guide bunting! Oh, talking about clocks: this super busy lady had always dreamt of decorating the town clock ….., well, it is almost there, at the balcony!

On launch day, whilst inside the town hall the PCDT folks got ready with a stunning quilt exhibition, to show the intricacies of traditional crafts in form of quilting, Mose – the Citizen of the Year – was needed to fasten the scary faces on the pillars so that we could hold a safe launch event that Saturday! Right, Stuart, hope you got the password before we let you through the gate!

And here is star gift of the day, emerging from under the Brightening Penicuik mascot, the cuckoo knitted by our Knitting Ninja: Claire from Peni Deli with the cake of cakes, decorated with felted wee cuckoos, whilst in the window the cuckoos of the children are still calling in the customers… 🙂

OOPS somebody got to the cake before us! and is caught on camera! “wasnae me ! it is all your work!” So it is coffee and cake time for the proud teams gathering today!

And whilst at the town hall all were busy – here is the feat of the week secretly being woven in the Lost Garden: the most magical Rainbow Trail! … the trees’ eyes wide open – and light at the end of the tunnel!

check you tube for the trail with bird song and music..

Almost a week later… and it seems our efforts to let the cuckoo call the summer in have been rewarded – lovely day at Auchendinny Glencorse Centre making and installing the gift of pompoms! Just wished we had more people – as that fence is just calling out for collective impact action! The gifted pompoms were also joyfully received and made by the YWCA team 🙂 And here at the ‘go wild at the Y’ Open Day, the final show-off show is about to start, furiously woven behind the scenes by the Wiley Weaver…. and online for the world to see… we have put Penicuik on the Map again…
oops – where did the map go? Jenniiii!

There is something getting ready for that coffee afternoon Knitting Ninja and Ragged Edge are planning…. the Rainbow wheel keeps turning ….. where will it land next May?