Just So Festival 2014

This year I have been working on the design team for a family arts festival based in Kidsgrove, Cheshire called the Just So Festival. The area I designed for, working with Hannah who studies Fine Art at Nottingham Trent, was called Peekaboo which is for ages 0-4. I have been working on the project since January, collecting materials, designing ideas etc ready for the event in August.

The brief had two parts:
1. Dressing the area including 3 trees and several tents- budget £100
2. Designing and building a giant sheet fort (shell provided)- budget £150

The directors Rowan and Sarah wanted the area not to feel to cutsie baby, more "gypsy baby" running wild. I kept this phrase in mind through out the project. We thought it would be nice to make the area really sensory and tactile as it was aimed at such a young age group, so texture, shape, colour and sound were all things we wanted to emphasize.

- 3 Willow Sculptures
-Mexican Stars; small (about 30) and large (10) scale
-Tin Can Bunting
-100m bunting each
- Giant Dream Catchers
- Constructing Giant Sheet Fort
- Signage

Hannah got an amazing opportunity to study over the summer in Salsburg, Germany so wasn't able to contribute as much as she wanted to, but she enlisted the help of her friend Ailsa who studies Graphic Design at Nottingham Trent, which was a relief and she made a load of bunting and Mexican stars and also collected loads of fabric.

For the 3 trees we wanted to make 3 large seed pod sculptures. Making them was a massive learning curve. We first decided to make them using paper mache onto a bamboo frame so one weekend in May Hannah, Ailsa and I went to work in the Whirligig woods where the Just So team are based all tear round. This way we had the space we needed to work on a larger scale. We made the bamboo frames using cut up inner tubes to tie the bamboo together. I then went back the next week to start covering them with paper mache but it didn't look great so the next time I visited I tried weaving willow into the frame. This was really successful and fit much better with the natural feel the directors wanted for the area. I then attached strips of different coloured fabric to the inside so that they hung out of the bottom.

I also collected bags and bags of sheets, curtains and blankets to construct the sheet fort. An outer tent was provided and I was asked to transform the inside. This was one of the more difficult tasks as I wasn't given much guidance on how to construct it. Luckily one of the other volunteers, Angie, wanted to help me. I was so glad as I was really struggling to visualise how we would do it as there were no poles to attach anything to. Angie had some great ideas we tried out using rope, hay bales and bamboo sticks, so working together and problem solving we created structures to hang the sheets from. The space turned out better than I could have imagined, and it was a really magical place for the children to play. I've not got any picture of the inside but it really was amazing!

After I had finished everything for Peekaboo I helped with a few other things that needed doing such as making a Humpty Dumpty sign to stop kids climbing on the wall. I learnt how to use a jigsaw and angle grinder in the process. Angie is an illustrator so I asked if she could paint the face and she did such a good job.#

The festival was such a rewarding project, and getting to see families interacting with my work was amazing. The directors have also mentioned commissioning me to do some work for next years festival which I am really excited about and would like to see if I can incorporate into my 3rd year studies.