All’s Well in Ludlow

Despite the tension beforehand, all went well with our Meet the Artists event last Friday at Ludlow Assembly Rooms. It was well attended in the evening and it was good to talk with everyone.

Not only that, we also had a very pleasant stay in Ludlow at The Mount guest house and awoke the next morning to another beautiful day.

The exhibition runs until 26th October so there is still time to visit. Exhibition pics  some of Ludlow are below and more will be posted on Facebook over the next couple of weeks.

Finally, on another matter, please check out the StillWalks Crowd Funding pitch and help me help kids and adults enjoy “Sights and Sounds of the Countryside”.

StillWalks exhibition

StillWalks exhibition

StillWalks exhibition

StillWalks exhibition

Jean Duncan Paintings

Jean Duncan Paintings

Evening in Ludlow

Evening in Ludlow

Morning in Ludlow

Morning in Ludlow

Today’s the Day

Meet the Artists at Ludlow Assembly Rooms this afternoon from 3.30 – 7.30 pm.

All are welcome, no charge, free wine and a chance to meet us, Alastair Duncan and Jean Duncan, and ask about our work. There is tapestry weaving, digital prints, painting on metal and canvas, photography, video and video interventions.

The show continues until 26th October and can be viewed during normal Ludlow Assembly Rooms opening hours which includes evenings.

Work from the show can be seen here.

Tenses 3

Tenses 3

West 1 by Jean Duncan

West 1 by Jean Duncan

Tension Mounting for Meet the Artists event

Last week I delivered my exhibition and my mother’s to Ludlow Assembly Rooms Alastair Duncan (tapestry, prints and StillWalks) and Jean Duncan (painting)

The weather was atrocious and I thought en route, “If I get a puncture, I’ve had it – I can’t unload everything from the car to get to the spare tyre when the weather is like this, it would all be ruined!” Fortunately this did not happen and by the time I reached Ludlow, the rain had dried up 🙂

Our Meet the Artists event has been arranged for 3.30 – 7.30 on Friday 12th October – that’s next week! Neither of us are known in the area and I am concerned that nobody is going to turn up, so the tension is mounting as with all events like this.

Other attractions – Aside from our exhibition, which of course is reason enough to visit Ludlow, there are other attractions as well. The comedian, Marcus Brigstocke, will be playing in the theatre after our event on 12th October and I think there are still some seats available. There are great places to stay overnight and the town itself is a very charming place.

So if your wondering what to do next weekend, that is the place to be. Finish early on Friday and book yourself a visit to Ludlow 🙂

Ludlow

Ludlow

Ludlow Assembly Rooms Arts Centre

Ludlow Assembly Rooms Arts Centre

 

Crowd Funding – Sights and Sounds of the Countryside

StillWalks Sights and Sounds of the Countryside Project – Crowd Funding

The StillWalks Crowdfunder pitch for outstanding funding towards the Sights and Sounds of the Countryside project is now live and looking for sponsors / investors.

This is a brilliant project that I hope, in future, to replicate with many other schools and communities.

Only £10 – Invest anything from as little as £10 and get a reward for your support.

Please take a look at the Crowdfunder pitch and help me promote the project and pitch by passing on this publicity to your network of contacts and friends.

I have personally guaranteed to cover this shortfall if the funds cannot be raised as I feel the project is so important not only to the schools and groups taking part but also to StillWalks and its development to say nothing of our natural environment.

All or Nothing – All the funds required through the Crowdfunder pitch must be raised if anything at all is to go towards the shortfall in the project funding. If the target is not reached in the time allowed (30 days), then you pay nothing and my guarantee comes into play.

All details of the project are on the pitch.

Production Day

Production Day

Exhibition and Meet the Artist event.

Tapestry weaving, original digital prints, photography, video and painting.

Alastair Duncan and his mother, Jean Duncan, will be exhibiting their work at Ludlow Assembly Rooms Arts Centre from 5th – 26th October, 2012.

Alastair’s work will include examples of his work as a tapestry weaver and digital artist as well as his work with StillWalks which will include screenings of selected StillWalks as well as two “alternative” videos that he has described as interventions!

Jean Duncan’s work will be displayed in the Cafe Gallery in the arts centre and includes painings on metal as well as on canvas. The paintings are from her works known as The West.

Meet the Artists

On Friday 12th October from 3.30 – 7.30 both Alastair and Jean Duncan will be at the Arts Centre to answer questions and talk about their work. All are welcome.

Why not stay over and visit the beautiful market town of Ludlow at the same time. There are some great places to eat and stay as well as things to do . . .  Marcus Brigstocke will be on stage at the Assembly Rooms at 8pm the same evening!

You can find Ludlow assembly Rooms here.

Further examples of both artists’ work for the exhibition can be seen on Flickr.

Tenses 3

Tenses 3 by Alastair Duncan

West 1 by Jean Duncan

West 1 by Jean Duncan

John Muir Award Training Day

I had a great day in Singleton Park, Swansea this week where I and about 20 others enjoyed a day of training in the delivery of the John Muir Award (see pics below). John Muir’s environmental philosophy and the award criteria fits perfectly with the ethos of StillWalks.

Appreciation and understanding of the natural environment is at the top of the agenda with StillWalks as are other features such as stress relief, health and wellbeing – these elements are also a part of the John Muir philosophy.

Town and Country – StillWalks, however, does not exclusively feature the natural environment and wild places. Indeed, the urban environment is of as much relevance to StillWalks as the countryside – and in fact this is the case with the John Muir Award as well. The young and the old, school children, teachers, families and individuals are all encouraged to look at and listen  to, explore, discover and appreciate the wild places within urban areas as much as those in our countryside.

And the news is – StillWalks is going to be carrying out a project with schools and communities over the Autumn and Spring called Sights and Sounds of the Countryside. The project will tie in closely with John Muir Award work also being delivered to schools by Tim Orrell and Swansea Nature Conservation Team (hence the training day). StillWalks has successfully applied for funding for the Sights and Sounds project from Swansea’s Countryside Connections,  Sustainable Development Fund and Literature Wales to work with an artist and writers to produce a collection of videos similar to those made on the Josef Herman project.

The training day was interesting, useful and great fun. Fortunately it was good weather and we were able to get out and about in the park for some fun and games.

logos

 

 

Time to Pause

Time to Pause – This is largely what StillWalks is about – taking the time necessary to keep calm and not get too stressed. Whether it be relaxing at the end of the day or taking 5 minutes out in the middle of the working day, StillWalks can be both enjoyable and a useful alternative to actually getting out there for a real walk.

The queue of things to do – There never seems to be enough time to do all that I want or is necessary. So, considering what I have just said about StillWalks, I have decided to make a priority completing the four or five StillWalks that are half way through the post production stage by the end of September. The production days for these walks date back to the middle of March and completing them should be a priority because this is work I enjoy doing and, like taking a real walk or watching a StillWalk, has it’s therapeutic value.

Current explorations – In the meantime I have been enjoying finding a new place to produce a StillWalk – Singleton Park in Swansea and its botanic garden. I joined Martin Humphreys and others last Wednesday for a Bees and Butterflies walk through the botanic garden – it was very enjoyable and relaxing. The walk will take place again next Wednesday at 10 AM – anyone interested should meet at the botanic garden entrance in the park. Enjoy the photos from my phone below.

Singleton Park, Swansea

Singleton Park, Swansea

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden

Singleton Park Botanic Garden - Twisted tree

Singleton Park Botanic Garden – Twisted tree

Hoofing It – A blog entry on the hoof

At the weekend I was busy again, this time with StillWalks Equestrian. Earlier this year I was asked if I would be interested in doing the photography for Clydach Riding Club and, what with nothing better to do at the weekends (ha, ha), I ventured on down to their new show field at Ynystawe.

I don’t have the best camera for this kind of work as the photography I do for StillWalks does not involve that many fast moving objects. However, I manage well enough and enjoy watching the events. Having watched my daughter riding for many years, it is very useful to have an understanding of what is going on. This also allowed me to appreciate the equestrian Olympic events that much more than I have in the past.

Here are some alternative shots from the weekend. The event photos can be seen here.

Hooves 1

Hooves 2

Hooves 3

Hooves 4

Keeping in the Cool

Keeping in the Cool