Crafts and Indusrty - Back to Books Wellbeing Walk at Unique Cottage Studios by Katie Smith

This walk was designed and delivered by artist Katie Smith who invited us to her wonderful studio at Unique Cottage Studios in Spalding. Carolyn Bantin conducted the Mindfulness Meditation and we were joined by some inquisitive sheep. Carolyn's ancestors had been shepherds so sheep wrangling seems to run in the family! 

Katie designed a photo mission to help us look at our surroundings in a more creative way and we split into small groups to create an environmental intervention made from collected natural materials.

We walked through allotments and pumpkin fields under the strangely glowing pumpkin Sun.

Back in the summer I was contacted by artist Carole Miles to see if I would be interested in leading a Creative Wellbeing Walk for a group of young people as part of the Back to Books project; of course my answer was ‘YES PLEASE.’ Carole explained that the concept of the project was to connect walkers with the history, landscape or location of a place in a unique and creative way.

I am really lucky to be based at the picturesque Unique Cottage Studios in Spalding, Lincolnshire; not only is a working sheep farm but it’s a stones’ throw away from agricultural land and a thriving allotment. It would be impossible not to be inspired by landscape that surrounds me and I can often be found foraging for interesting leaves to create prints and cyanotypes from or searching out interesting sheds to photograph. I also walk through the landscape using it as a thinking space; I like the Latin phrase ‘solvitur ambulando’ which means ‘it will be solved by walking,’ and it often is!

As a socially engaged artist I generally take a ‘go to the people’ approach so the prospect of having people visit me in my studio for this project was an exciting one. Carole’s group arrived in good time and we started our creative adventure in the best way, with a cup of tea and a delicious picnic. I gave each of the visitors an enveloped stuffed with creative suggestions for ‘finding the magic in ordinariness’ which would be our theme for the day. We also decided as a group that we should leave ourselves open to possibility and to wander rather than walk putting the emphasis on responding to the sights and sounds of the landscape rather than getting from A to B.

The first point of interest on our wander was a clay pit which had been repurposed into a large pond. Clay Lake is the name of an area in Spalding which before the drainage of the fens, was a large clay bottomed lake. The pond is located in the garden of the owner of Unique Cottage Studios and accessible via a walk through a paddock – it was here that our first ‘possibility’ presented itself. 

Two curious sheep managed to follow us into the garden which led to a completely unplanned and totally unexpected sheep herding experience. We were pleased to discover that we worked very well as a team and disaster was quickly averted. We took full advantage of the peace and tranquillity of the garden and used it as an opportunity to take stock with a mindfulness activity.

We continued our wander through the allotments, down a winding country lane and through a pumpkin field collecting interesting found objects as we went. It was a lovely relaxed opportunity to chat and enjoy each other’s company. 

 Allotments

 

Artichoke

Mighty cabbage

Naturtiums growing in compost heap

Field of pumkins - orange glow

It was also quite surreal as we were bathed in the eerie orange glow of the red sun, the phenomena created by Storm Ophelia as it whipped up dust from the Sahara.

Back at the studio I introduced the group to the work of artist Any Goldsworthy and we talked about how we could use of found objects to create natural sculptures within the ground of unique. 

Fuelled by more tea and Lincolnshire plum loaf topped with cheese, we worked in pairs to create our own site specific art works. 

 

Abstract arial view of sheep made from leaves and twigs

Heart-shaped harvest

Leaf parcel

Wrapped pebble

Looking at the finished pieces we felt that not only had we found the magic in ordinariness but we had found the magic in each other’s company which is definitely the power of walking and making.

Walk Themes - Crafts and Industry

Unique Cottage Studios - What's On - pottery, mosaics, stained glass, textiles, painting, jewellery

Katie Smith - Socially Engaged Artist - more about

Allotments

Industrial agriculture - Spalding

More photos

Branching Out -The Crocheted Web We Weave

A wellbeing walk from The Green Patch 

along the Ise to Cheyne walk by Carole Miles. 

Since May Carole has been training her new whippet and has connected with a group of older walkers and their dogs who have shared training tips, treats, stories and friendship during their daily morning walks. 

Digger -who was thrown in a dustbin as a puppy because his lower jaw and teeth were mishapen and he looked a little alarming. He was rescued by another owner, when she passed away Gary adopted him. Digger has a strange, high pitched bark, a loving nature and is always delighted to meet and greet everyone!

As a way of thanking them for all the advice and confidence building Carole designed a wellbeing walk for the group and embellished the route with a series of yarn spiderwebs made by other Back To Books members and designed to delight, inspire and intrigue.

Gary, Archie and Logan find web 1

During the walk we talk about the past, work memories, 

health issues, near death experiences, careers and 

the webs seem a perfect metaphor for the way 

we are all connected by place, pets and histories.

Star web on the willow stayed in place for a week

 

Art gallery?

a place for a dip

and a sit down.

A clearing past the bridge with it's 

first scattering of autumn leaves

The clearing where we sit and the dogs play

Web with spider

Gary and Logan investigate

Red web

Taking a rest, all dogs and walkers have a range of years 

and abilities, Sophie the Chihuahua is blind but 

unphased by all the mayhem

Laurence and Portia

A sunflower growing in the

 wildflower meadow by the river Ise.

Older webs at The Green Patch.

The River Ise joins the Nene at Wellingborough, flowing in from the north. Its other major urban areas are Kettering , Desborough and Rothwell. The River Ise is at good ecological status, with its main tributary, Slade Brook at moderate status. It remains largely rural with mixed farming, but is subject to major development pressures. It has an important riverine Site of Special Scientific Interest upstream of Geddington that is in need of improvement. The river forms part of Wicksteed Park, an important amenity for the local area.

Branching Out - Sacred Spaces of Milton Keynes - Guest Blog by Jo Dacombe

Part of  a series for  wellbeing walks through a park, garden, growing space, heritage site or an area of a history rooted in a particular industry or craft. It is always good to walk a new place with somebody who lives there. And so it was that I explored Milton Keynes with David Mason.

David took Project Coordinator Carole Miles and me on a walk from his house to some of the places he was interested in, and able to give us extensive insights into the history of the town’s construction. I have only ever driven through Milton Keynes, and we discovered that walking through the town is a completely different experience.

There were many themes that I could have taken from David’s tour, but I decided to develop a walk around the idea of Sacred Spaces.

I was intrigued by the different spaces that we encountered, which were both of faith and secular at the same time. The planners of Milton Keynes seemed to have recognised that the town didn’t just need infrastructure for navigation and green space for exercise, but that people also needed to connect with the place in a more spiritual way. Thus they have built in to the design spaces to inspire connections to belief and contemplation.

Carrying out my own research, I discovered more about how the geometry of the town was also a manifestation of certain spiritual geometries:  shapes and connecting lines that are thought to signify the energies of the earth and a relationship with the sun.

The result was the Sacred Spaces of Milton Keynes walk, where I attempted to convey these sacred geometries and spaces through walking them and interacting with them in creative ways.

The walk first passed the medicine wheel standing stone circle, which merges at least three faith ideas into one physical structure. We then climbed the steps to the Peace Pagoda, the first such Buddhist structure built in the Western world. We folded peace lotus flowers from rainbow paper, and played with their symmetry and the geometry of the pagoda’s white marble grid platform.  The geometry of the flowers lined up with the grids, and interacted with the cracks, promoting a discussion about the importance of imperfections and the Japanese idea of kintsugi, celebrating the cracks that tell a history.

Lotus Intervention

We stopped at a wishing tree on the way to the Tree Cathedral, a beautiful space planted with different varieties in the shape and orientation of a cathedral. 

Stained Glass Window Intervention

"Your measurements were spot on Jo!"

The hornbeams gently curved their branches towards each other to create the vaulted ceiling of the nave.  Here we created our own instant stained glass window which temporarily glowed with colour in the cool autumn sun, and breathed with the breeze.

The window now just a memory, we turned towards the town centre and climbed the hill to the pyramid.  Sudden strong wind hit us as we looked  back over the views and the connecting line that we had been walking.

Then down to the Milton Keynes Rose, as it is known. Here I explained that the image on the badges that the walkers had been given at the beginning of the walk was taken from an aerial view of the place we were now standing. The image is a known sacred geometry of the Torus, a representation of the movement of energy flow that occurs from the very largest things in the universe, planets and galaxies, down to the very smallest at the atomic level.  I demonstrated the toroidal energy flow with a continuous spring loop, which we all tried out on our arms, watching its movement like a bubble spinning, gently massaging us.

Torus Intervention

Finally we walked most of the length of the Midsummer Boulevard, built to align with the midsummer sun, although it is thought to have missed its mark by a few degrees. A new shopping complex now cuts the Boulevard in half, negating the idea of the sun shining along the Boulevard to strike the mirrored façade of the railway station, where we ended our walk with a much needed coffee and met the bus for our return.

Thank you to everybody who came on the walk and engaged with the ideas with such enthusiasm and generosity; to Back To Books for asking me to create the walk and to Carole for organising it all; and to Dr Dave Mason, for the beginning sparks of inspiration.

Photographs by Jo Dacombe and Andrew Rushton

Further images from the walk can be seen here

A curated creative wellbeing walk for Back To Books by artist Jo Dacombe exploring Parks and gardens, Woods and water, Sacred Spaces in Milton Keynes, the New Town celebrating it's 50th Anniversary. Walk informed by Dr David Mason.

Willen Lakes
Circle of Hearts Medicine Wheel
Peace Pagoda
Tree of Wishes
Tree Cathedral
Head' by Allen Jones 1990. Made of Corten Steel
Light Pyramid by Liliane Lijn in Campbell Park, Milton Keynes

The MK Rose by Gordon Young 

If you'd like to find out more about Milton Keynes 50 follow the link we hope this walk will inspire you to explore  the Parks and Gardens, Woods and Water to be found there.