The E17 Art Trail Blog: Day One In Awesomestow

Hello Trailers! Here's the round-up of Day One of the E17 Art Trail from "the other" blogger, Kate.

First up on my rounds was Walthamstow Library, where the E17 Puppet Project were putting on a shadow show entitled "Tortoise and Hare". As the title suggest, this was a re-imagining of Aesop's famous fable.

The target audience for the show was children aged 3 - 8, but I just couldn't resist a shadow puppet show, especially one staged in the round in a library, with the "theatre" made up of curved children's book shelves!

Once I was sitting comfortably (and many of the children very comfortably, on cushions and beanbags), the show began. The "players" were full of enthusiasm and instantly had a captive and captivated audience. The show was narrated by a lazy lion, and there was a real sense of fun to the storytelling.

The re-telling of the famous tale centred around the Olympics and our Great British Summer of Sport, but the morals of the story were all present and correct, with a few new ones added too.There was even something for adults in the use of well-known sports-themed tunes. Walthamstow Market had a cameo role, complete with cries of "Paaaand a bowl!", which went down very well.

The shadow show will play again (to a packed house, I'm sure), on Saturday 8th and Sunday the 9th, at 10:30 and 11:30 showings.

I then marched over to Wood Street, narrowly avoiding the EDL march. I must say, despite the EDL's best attempts to stir things up, Walthamstow really did ourselves proud yesterday, showing our solidarity, vibrancy, and creativity in the face of fascism.

On a more positive note, my first stop in Wood Street was Folly and Frill in the Indoor Market, where Louise has set up a very special postbox. Art Trail artists Anja Jane, Paul Lindt, and Danny Cope were commissioned to turn some of their works into special post cards. For a small fee, visitors to Folly and Frill's Awesomestow Postbox can post a post card to a loved one, or write a message to be sent to someone special (or even themselves!) in one year's time! The idea is to start writing about and celebrating our local heritage, whilst taking the time to slow down and hand-write a message. Often a challenge nowadays!

Folly and Frill is stocked to the rafters with postcards sent from in and around Walthamstow, framed so the original message can still be read. Also available are prints of local landmarks and areas of natural beauty.

Here I am posting myself a message scheduled to arrive in the future!

The final exhibition on my route was one which I might be ever-so-slightly prejudiced in favour of; Significant Seams's Celebrating the Significant, in Images In Frames on Wood Street. Not only am I currently interning at Significant Seams, but one of my embroidery pieces is featured in the exhibition!

As I said, I may be slightly prejudiced, but I was blown away by the talent on display in Images In Frames. So many mediums were represented; mosaic, quilting, painting, photography, embroidery, and soft sculpture.