The Walthamstow Poetry Trail

At the Paekakiriki Press

 

 “Little did I know how many poets and poetry fans were living, working and just hanging out in wonderful Walthamstow”, says Penny Rutterford who has edited Home – An Anthology, for Walthamstow’s first Poetry Trail. Inspired by the themes of Home and Community, poets and artists have contributed poems and illustrations that are on display in estate agents’ windows along Hoe Street. Matt McKenzie of Paekakiriki Press, a traditional letterpress printers, which has opened its doors for the Art Trail, has created the display prints and the beautiful, hand-sewn, printed anthology of the poems. I can’t wait to stroll down Hoe Street and read poems from contributors who Penny says include “young and old, published and beginner, confident and tentative”.

At the Paekakiriki Press

If you’d like to buy a copy of the anthology of the poems and illustrations on the Walthamstow Poetry Trail, copies are on sale from 2 September at Vestry House Museum, E17 Art House, Paekakiriki Press and Penny Fielding Beautiful Interiors. 

Preview night

Mind the Gap, Alke Schmidt

Last night I went on a wonderful preview tour of the Trail, taking in art in gardens, on the street and at the Quaker meeting house. First stop was Mitre Studios, where painting, printmaking, sculpture and installation is on display. Using alluring colours and decorative patterns, Alke Schmidt’s often provocative work comments on contemporary themes from local politics to globalisation, war and oil spills. She made “Mind the Gap” in 2009 when the economy was in freefall, capturing the feeling of impending doom being reported in the media. Two years later the economy is still fragile and “Mind the Gap” is still relevant to contemporary society. Alke is selling prints of “Mind the Gap” and donating 25 per cent of profits to Fairbridge, a charity that works with young people that other organisations find difficult to engage – giving them the motivation, self-confidence and skills they need to change their lives.

  

Sitting Around, Esther Nelsen

Some of Esther Nelsen's work can also be seen as a comment on the lives of young people. Seeing her sketches and casts got me really excited about seeing “Sitting Around”, a life size sculpture of two boys sitting on a wall outside her house on the Crescent (which I spotted later but it was getting dark so apologies for quality of the picture). It's also worth a trip to Mitre Studios to see the movement and form in her charcoal life drawings.

Another artist at Mitre Studios is Martin Adams, who works according to themes and has an eclectic mix of work is on display here. His colourful, Bauhaus-inspired mobiles, one of which is called “Grappling with Gropius” are playful and lovely. It’s nice to see art displayed differently, in this case hanging from the ceiling and slowly moving around. Zebra crossings are another theme, with the "Road Crossings" pieces. Monochrome Prints and woodblocks with a zebra pattern and even a small sculpture of a zebra.

I got a tantalising glimpse of Della Rees’s piece using different coloured bottletops, given a new life as a sculpture on the brick wall but the studios were so busy that I’ll have to make another trip to see them and Kirsten Schmidt’s work properly. 

Della Rees

Downstairs, in the high-ceilinged Quaker Meeting House is Alyssa Moxley’s “In-Between Two Sounds: a project investigating silence”. The empty room is the perfect place to contemplate awareness of sound, space and movement, away from the bustling streets of Walthamstow. Sit on a wooden bench, put on headphones and listen to a field recording of the surrounding area that responds to the intentional listening fundamental to Quaker practice. Books about work by composer and theorist John Cage, and studies of the culture of noise and silence are on hand for those who want to learn more. 

In-Between Two Sounds

 Another place that feels far from the city is the Makers Yard studios. Danielle Michalitsianos, Yvonne Overton and Russell Lowry have transformed a derelict yard and outbuildings that used to be a cattery and kennels into working studios with outside installation space/gardens where fruit and vegetables grow. In Russell Lowry’s studio there is a table covered in neat rows of bottle corks that he plans to make into sculptures. Danielle’s shiny prints are displayed in the garden. There is something sad about the pretty faces they depict. Yvonne Overton's beautiful stained glass catches the light as it hangs in the window.

In the garden at Makers Yard

 Last stop was the garden of Hayward House, to see Owen Bullett’s sculpture alongside Adrian Anderson’s photography. Owen Bullett’s sculpture has been described as “man sculpture”, it is robust and uses wood and metal. However, there is a lightness of touch too, especially in a curling wooden piece in the corner of the garden. The photography and sculpture complemented each other perfectly. Looking back and forth between photographs and sculptures I started to see similar shapes emerge in the photos and sculptures, the curve of a wooden ball replicated in the circular shore of a lake. I had a chat with a resident of Hayward House and he was thrilled to have this work in his garden.

Ceramic works by Amanda Doidge

With the Art Trail about to begin (!), I am delighted to present our first guest review, by Leo Krushelnycky. 

I am lucky enough to live next to a ceramicist exhibiting in this year’s E17 Art Trail – venue 103. Lucky in that I have watched, over the garden fence, over the years, new work emerging from the kiln and I hope that E17 Art Trailers will also go behind the fence and enjoy her latest exhibition.  

Amanda Doidge’s work is always changing, changing our perception of everyday objects. A cup is still a vessel holding liquids but it can also be a mythical creature ready to wreak havoc. A vase may caress and enfold a flower or it may embrace and devour that plant.

Amanda’s new work for the E17 Art Trail has an archaeological feel to it, as if the objects have been nestling in a newly discovered kiln. There is a vulnerable look to some; almost bone-like in look and feel, while others have charred layers revealing glimpses of glistening bronze. Every piece is tactile and the feel is as good as the look.

Each item echoes Amanda’s passion and concern with change, with vulnerability and how every object, however sturdy, can be altered. But it is her knowledge as a ceramicist and her refined use of the raw materials, the clay, chemicals, and slips that will delight you in this new exhibition. She will show you how a subtle change in the basic nature of wet clay can metamorphose a piece and bring it new life. 

Ceramic works will open tonight (1 September), 6pm - 10pm at 54 Church Hill. It will then be open on Saturday 3, Sunday 4, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11. If you want a head start on the Trail, lots of other venues will be holding previews tonight, click here for more info.

There's a lot going on at Batten House

Urban Dunes, a site-specific installation by Toby Poolman

This Saturday Batten House is having a mini open afternoon on the lawns and we would like to invite everyone to come and maybe bring a picnic. We have sculptures, an 'Espy' hunt, huge canvases displayed outdoors, a poetry installation and poster and pizza making with The Drawing Shed. At the centre of all the events is a group of performance artists, two of the artists are 'getting married' outside the Nag's Head, Orford Road at 1pm and would like to invite any young bridesmaids, pages or other characters to come along and get involved in the 'wedding'. We are then processing back to The Drive for 2pm for an afternoon of silliness with all kinds of characters, such as Elvis on stilts and the Balloon Man.

Paris Shah in her wedding dress

Paris Shah's Spectators, Toby Pullman's Urban Dunes (limited opening), SHED - John Hudson's poetry and sound installation and Robbie Stuart's Paintings, Art Outdoors, all venue 97, will be on display until 11 September.

The mini open afternoon at Batten House, The Drive, E17 3BX, is on Saturday 3rd of September from 2pm until 5pm.

A people's history of the EMD/ Granada Cinema

Memories and hopes about our cinema jewel.

As London prepares to welcome back the Olympics in this age of constant access to breaking news on the internet or TV, it’s worth remembering how the people of Walthamstow watched the last London Olympics in 1948, before having a television at home was something we took for granted.

Newsreels were an important part of a trip to the pictures. Amongst the cartoons, serials and full length feature films, the stories people were reading in the newspapers and hearing on the radio came to life on the big screen. The cinema is where the world’s best athletes thrilled and inspired people with their quest for excellence. In Walthamstow, that happened at the Granada.

The stories you’ll see and hear in our Art Trail exhibition are full of vivid memories of the excitement and sheer specialness of going to the EMD / Granada, not just for this window on the real world but also for the luxurious grandeur of this flamboyant cinema, an adventure in itself into imaginary worlds. These real-life stories are sweet, warm and very funny.

The EMD / Granada has been woven into so many people’s lives over the last 80 years that we wanted to capture all those stories. We asked the people of Walthamstow for their own anecdotes and opinions to find out why they care so much about this cinema with its history and pizzazz, a world away from cloned multiplexes. As well as hopes and ideas for the future of our cinema, people have shared stories of childhood matinees and being a Granadier, new romances, big name concerts, trying to get past Uncle Ernie and most of all, the breathtaking splendour and character of this very special cinema.

We’ll have fun things for people to do at our exhibition. While you take in the stories, you can also write your hopes and wishes for the cinema on a postcard or if you’re ready for your close-up, write your own  I LOVE WALTHAMSTOW EMD/GRANADA People’s Placard and have your photo taken with it.

Essentially, this is Walthamstow giving our cinema a big warm collective hug. We hope you join in and enjoy this outpouring of respect and affection from the people of Walthamstow for our irreplaceable EMD / Granada cinema. Come along and see for yourself.

On Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 September from 10am to 4pm, we’ll be at Walthamstow’s shiny new community centre The Mill, 7 Coppermill Lane, where the High Street meets Blackhorse Road and St James Street (that’s 24 on the Trail Guide map). If you use a wheelchair, The Mill is fully accessible. 

On Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September, again from 10am to 4pm, we’re at delightful quirky Daisy’s Café and Gifts, 176 Hoe St, right by the cinema and a five minute walk from Walthamstow Central station  (50 on the Trail Guide map).

See you there!

Make your mark with the E17 neighbourhood quilt

Designer-maker Catherine West will be offering a series of 'plot your spot' workshops throughout the 2011 E17 Art Trail in order to complete the 'The E17 Quilt' with you the public. The completed quilt is to be the centerpiece of Art Trail listing 84 A patchwork neighborhood, next weekend. Between now and then, you are encouraged to come along to one of several of events where you can make a thumbprint in fabric paint onto the location of your home in E17.

The first opportunity is this Sunday at the 'Back Garden Fayre and Tea party' at 27 Thorpe Crescent. Artists Sarah Hardy (listing 31), Catherine West  (listings 84 and 91) and Alex Bell (listing 129) will all be on hand with exhibitions and a selection of art for sale from 10am to 5pm. Local company Hardy & Scott will also be offering their deliciously lovely cakes.

Workshops will also be held at Woodside Children’s Centre alongside the Making Mamas Mannequin Menagerie (entry 91) during the week. The quilt is being made to celebrate the creativity and mutual supportiveness abundant in our (too often under-rated) community, and to help launch new local social enterprise Significant Seams.

It has been made possible by the sponsorship support of a number of local companies including the E17 Art House, Churchill Real Estate, ETW Printers, The Mill Community Centre and Woodside Children's Centre.

Sponsors' locations are highlighted on the map – and proceeds support the vulnerable and disadvantaged of Walthamstow in participating in Significant Seams programmes.

Significant Seams, working with partner organisations including children’s centres, community centres, domestic violence and sexual violence charities, and other community groups (like in this instance, the E17 Art Trail), brings together people in sewing and textile themed workshops. These groups tend to include people experiencing mental health issues, isolation, or significant events affecting their sense of self.

The workshops impart skills, trigger the relaxation response, create non-pressurised contexts for discussing challenges they're facing, develop self-confidence (people get a huge endorphin rush from realizing they can make something!) and foster supportive social networks. All of these benefits better empower participants for the day-to-day challenges they face. These workshops also create a context for Significant Seams and its partner organizations to identify the most vulnerable and needy, and facilitate provision of and access to the most appropriate additional support. 

Additional quilt sponsors are still being sought. Your logo or building can still be added. Contact Catherine@significantseams.org.uk for sponsorship information. Workshop sponsorship opportunities also exist. Please be in touch if you can help. Sign-up for Significant Seams workshops at http://bookwhen.com/significantseams or at one of the workshop events. More information is available at www.significantseams.org.uk.

Who lived in a house like this? By Danny Coope

Danny Coope's work in progress

 We might know a little about the last family to live in our house before we moved in, but who lived there over 100 years ago? What did they do? Where were they from? I remembered that online census data would help me find out and I decided to expand my fascination with my own house to include my whole street (Grosvenor Park Road) and hit upon an Art Trail piece, part installation/part history lesson.

Alternative blue plaques are nothing new of course (Gavin Turk etc) but I'm producing a lookalike series of them to commemorate the ordinary, and not so ordinary folk that occupied the houses on this one street many years ago.

Spending hours on the internet, poring over pages of information and creating a spreadsheet of residents over the six censuses available (not very artful I grant you, but quite beautiful in its way). It's been tough honing my selection of potential candidates. All this information raised more questions than I could answer. What is xylonite? What did a compositor do? I want to include so many snapshots of peoples' lives that full-size ceramic blue plaques are out of the question! 

The real blue plaques first appeared in 1867 courtesy of the (Royal) Society of Arts as an 'Indication of Houses of Historical Interest in London'. And they've sometimes been brown! Modern plaques are handmade for English Heritage by independent craftspeople. Made from clay slip the plaques are generally 19½ inches (495mm) across and about 2 inches (50mm) thick. They are slightly convex, rather than perfectly flat, which makes them self-cleaning. The inscription is created using a specially devised font, piped onto the plaque, like icing a message on a birthday cake I imagine. Then it is glazed in blue with white lettering. Find out more here.

My plaques have been put together with Indesign software, using a similar font. My final challenge will be to have them printed as professionally and economically as possible since there are so many, and I risk repetitive strain injury cutting them all out. But I'm looking forward to knocking on doors, meeting the neighbours I haven't yet met, and hoping they'll be happy to take part with me.

I'm sure the census has always been seen as intrusive and expensive, but praise be! This piece wouldn't exist without it. And I hope I've captured the original spirit of the scheme as an Indication of Houses of Historical Interest in Grosvenor Park Road. A glimpse of the social history that could be hidden on everyone's street. 

Grosvenor Park Rd will be transformed into the street of blue plaques, Friday 2 - Sunday 11 September, 24 hours a day