Shanti ShantiGuruda Bird

Shanti ShantiGuruda Bird

The Garuda is a legendary bird or a bird-like creature found in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain mythology. 

In Hindu he is described as a divine eagle-like sun bird, king of the birds, and is also ridden by the god Vishnu. The Garuda is generally a protector with the power to swiftly go anywhere, ever watchful, an enemy of the serpent, with powerful wings and the ability to shape shift...

My company, Festive Road, has been working in partnership with the Northampton based Indian Hindu Welfare Organisation (IHWO), for many years now. With their support and through their commissioning we have been able to create some amazing things for the annual Northampton Diwali celebrations over the years. 
This year we were commissioned to create Rama and Sita, giant lantern puppets which were paraded at this years Diwali event. However, in September last year they commissioned us to create a Guruda bird for the parade.

We began with a scale drawing: The plan being to have two mounted cyclists; one driving the creature forward and the other driving the wing mechanism.
Clive and I have learn't so much over the last few builds, we have a good collaborative process, so that we were able to complete this in just over three weeks!

We often begin by drawing the outline of the frame to scale in chalk on the floor. This enables both of us to continue with different parts of the build and have the drawings and chalk lines for reference.

Whilst I started to create the birds body, head, wings and tail, Clive started to work out the steering and the wing mechanism. This proved to be an enormous challenge, not least because of the limited space for mechanisms within the body. We really wanted to keep the frame beneath, which we shaped like a 'wish-bone', as pure as possible. Which meant arranging the steering in a very creative way!
I made the wing and tail parts using bicycle rims and the feathers from foam and fiber rod which I sprayed a design onto.



I also created a steering wheel (I've made all the steering wheels on our cycle powered creatures!) and welded the head, body and neck into shape using steel rods. I incorporated paisley shapes into the body design. The design of the frame was important as the body was to be covered with a semi transparent skin and the metal shapes would be visible once the creature was lit from inside.
All of these parts had to be created separately so that the creature could be taken apart for transportation. 



Meanwhile Clive continued to work out an ingenious wing flapping mechanism using the wing pieces that I had created and we decided to take no chances -having seen a couple of wheels buckle under some weight previously - and we beefed up the rear drive wheel with steel rods!

The most challenging part was devising the drive system to the wing flap, which all had to be done within the body of the bird, whilst still being safe and leaving space for two cyclists. This took some working out. It was managed using a long shaft which took the length of the bird and some trampoline springs.

The time ran out as usual and we were left with a couple of days to complete the creature who was now known as Shanti. 

The idea came to me to create a parasol cover for the pilots, so we purchased a canvas umbrella from Argos which definitely looked the part!

The surface was cling wrapped for strength and then covered in wet-strength tissue -like a large scale lantern and we air-brushed some hints of colour on too.

However, although this was an excellent finish and Shanti made a spectacular appearance at Diwali 2016, I realised that the finish was not a permanent solution; tissue and glue has a shelf life and more time was needed to create the finish I was looking for. 

Thankfully we were able to find some funding earlier this year to re-cover Shanti. All the panels of the steel rod frame were painstakingly filled in with odd bits of white net fabrics -including an old wedding dress that I bought second hand. I also had a delivery of trims which were specially selected by a friend who was travelling back from India. All of this was sewn on by an amazing team of hand sewers and it took ages!



It was well worth it to see him in all his glory, flying around at the Walking with Giants Festival this year and then again at Diwali 2017. He has even been featured on BBC Look East!
Shanti, shanti, shanti, to you all xxx

How we built an Elephant in 30 days!

How we built an Elephant in 30 days!

It was in the week beginning 15th September 2014 that I received a call from the Indian Hindu Welfare Association in Northampton. They had been successful with their Arts Council application and we were to go ahead and build an elephant for the Northampton Diwali celebrations. We had 30 days to complete the task; from the drawing to the actual event.


Initially, because of the timescale, Clive Doherty and myself had been thinking to use the 4-wheel chassis that was created for our Dinosaur, Hilary. But we quickly decided to make the elephant from scratch and made some sketches, worked out the scale and made a plan.

We decided on a 3-wheeler with a wide wheel base, a single rear drive wheel and rider whose weight would be just behind the front two wheels. 

There was to be a platform for a dance performer and a series of cables and ropes to operate moving parts. Clive was keen to link the movement of the legs with the drive action of the mounted cyclist.This was the first time either of us had attempted to create something like this and we learnt a great deal along the way.

Clive began to work on the chassis which was no mean feat without proper metal working facilities in the free office space that we occupy. We were working on the first floor too so we had to ensure that everything could be taken apart to be loaded into a service lift and would fit through a regular double door to outside. The welding was all done outside in a landscaped office courtyard!

Many of the components were built from scratch using recycled bicycle parts and without guillotines, pipe benders or even a flat surface.

We achieved the curved shapes by part cutting slices through the tubes, bending the gaps together and re welding -a satisfyingly organic finish!

Working from the scale drawing, I began work on the main body and the head which was done with aluminum bar riveted together. At the time we thought that this would reduce the overall weight but in hindsight it was alot of riveting, the shapes were complicated and not as rigid as it could have been in light box steel -my arms became pretty strong though!

I filled in the body shape with hours and hours of spiraling wire work design, onto which I sewed a flexible steel mesh to create an elephant skin. The idea was that we wanted to create a partly transparent finish so that the a mechanical parts would be seen.

I made the eyes out of syrup tin lids and the tusks were the cast-off horns from the Triceratops head that I had carved previously and replaced in wood. At some point she became known as Harminder -an Indian name for both boys and girls, as we weren't sure if she could be a girl elephant with tusks...

Meanwhile Clive tackled the steering and drive to the rear wheel. He also worked out, though a series of arms, chains and pulleys, a way to mechanize the walking movement so that the elephants legs were jointed and lifted as it moved forward and backwards. And a clever articulated trunk design which didn't completely work because of the weight of the materials and lack of time to develop it.

We were working around the clock to get Harminder completed and lots of friends came in to help. I remember nodding off on the job a couple of times and near to the deadline we did a few 'all-nighters'. It was worth it though.


One of the main problems was not having suitable facilities. 
The weather was turning, there was no under cover space for the frame and there was no space for test runs or time to keep taking parts up and down to the ground floor.


Two days before the Diwali event, around 16th October, we took Harminder the elephant in lift-loads to the ground floor and outside, where we rigged her up to test.

This was all uncharted territory that we were treading and once we had managed to push her to some level ground I mounted her, whilst everyone watched to see what was going on. We really didn't anticipate the weight on the rear wheel and within a few moments it buckled. 

This meant we had a great deal of tweaking and fixing to get done and no time to test her again before the event. We worked all night to finish her. Clive re-enforced a new bmx wheel replacing the spokes with steel rods. And we did the best we could and get her ready for her premiere performance!

Miraculously she performed beautifully. But once the deadline was reached, we knew that there were lots of improvements to be made. I think we'll always be messing around with her.

The Jurassic Jockeys on the road

The Jurassic Jockeys on the road 

So, I managed to secure Festive Road some Arts Council funding for research and production of the Jurassic Jockeys - a concept that I had been prototyping. 

And in the Spring, a group of us -7 artists from the South East and London - went on a Research and Development trip to see La Machine's workshops in Nantes, France. For me this trip was so inspiring. It rekindled my ambitions as an artist and my desire to make big scale sculpture again; to make amazing structures for Outdoor Arts. I needed to get back into the workshop and out of the office! 

On our return from France a core of us went into production. It was a really great opportunity to collaborate and learn from each other; there was studio exchange, skills sharing and lots of creative debate. 

We also went on a research trip to the Natural History Museum where I made lots of drawings and had a good look at the Triceratops skeleton that they have there. Clive Doherty and I built a booth for me to carve the bones and skulls in polystyrene. It's a long time since I'd done any carving and I'd forgotten how rewarding it is turning a block into a 3-D shape -despite it being very toxic and getting everywhere! 

Initially we were aiming to present the new work at Luton International Carnival at the end of May. 

Throughout the make period the stilt walkers came in to try things on and test things out and began to get quite attached to their creatures: There was Clive on Abigail, Zena on Bruno, Vicki on Bernard and myself on Vanessa. 

Meanwhile we were also working on a Pterodactyl which was mounted on a boom from a Pashley 3-wheeled bike. Clive went off to work with Mike Pattison on the design of the bike frame and boom. Mike is a very experience Theatrical designer and maker who has made large scale puppets and structures for Emergency Exit Arts, Kinetika and others. 

The boom turned 360 with a puppeteer operating Terry's wings, head and beak movements. I made the puppet out of polystyrene and latex and the movements were all made through ropes and cables running down the boom. 

Lots of people helped with the costume making. Also the narrative behind the Jurassic Jockeys was developed a bit more to give the performers something to work with -it was all still very much in development!



We managed to get four stilt walking Dinosaurs finished for Luton Carnival as well as the chassis and the head of the Triceratops. It took me about 4 days to carve the head of Hilary, as she became known. The bicycle-powered chassis for Hilary was largely created by Clive in his dad's garage -the first of it's kind.


We also brought in some of Mike Pattison's bikes -a collection of amazing contraptions that he'd been commissioned to make for the London 2012 Olympic ceremony. 

The carnival was long and it was a hot day; a marathon for the stilt walkers and not all of them made it to the judging point!

The Jurassic Jockeys were without doubt the peoples favourite: we were interactive, highly original and oozing with dynamism but we did not fit comfortably within the traditional 'carnival arts'. The judging criteria, which is geared towards Caribbean style, particularly in Luton, doesn't accommodate the kind of work we're doing. 

This has made us all the more determined to start presenting at more Outdoor Arts events where we can properly interact with audiences and develop the performance elemenys.

After Luton Carnival we began to work towards completing the Jurassic Jockeys as a perambulating show which could be toured and hired for events. We aimed to present the finished work at The Walking with Giants parade which Festive Road director Simon Tipping organises annually in central Milton Keynes.

As the project progressed we decided to bring in Nick Garnett's wood carving skills too. Nick created a beautiful wooden rib cage, shoulder and hips, and horns for Hilary the Triceratops.

By the time we got to June we had created a cycle-powered Triceratops called Hilary, a stable of four stilt walking dinos and a flying Pterodactyl on a bicycle. 

But not only had we skilled ourselves up -had the chance to test and try out new ways to make puppets, mechanisms, combine materials and develop a narrative- we had also built a close group of performers, puppeteers and makers, with tones of skills to offer Festive Road in future projects.

Jurassic Jockeys do Dino Dressage

Story so far: The Jurassic Jockeys are an ancient and indigenous clan with a special gift. These extraordinary explorers, (otherwise known as the Dino Whisperers), navigate time on the most wonderful bespoke bicycle-like contraptions! Once they arrive in town they round up and bring to life the skeletons of Dinosaurs which have lain dormant for billions of years. They have been known to tame and even train these old skeletons, so watch out for the most amazing Jurassic ‘Dino Dressage’ displays!

At the Festive Road workshop in Milton Keynes I've been working on a prototype for a new production, The Jurassic Jockeys. 

The ideas have come from our stilt walking group, The Extreme Ramblers, who meet regularly at Festive Road for some wild stilt walking adventures. 

Over the last few months a couple of us have been working on designs and testing out different materials; we are almost at the point of going into full production... pending on funding!

I've been carving our first polystyrene dinosaur skull,(I've named her Vanessa) and Zena has been cutting and gluing. Clive has been working out how to best animate our dino-puppet.

The final piece will be in two phases of production. Firstly, the creation of a herd of stilt walking, raptor-like, creatures (of which Vanessa is the first), which will premiere at Luton International Carnival in May this year. Secondly, the creation of a very large scale creature which will be designed over the summer by a group of lead artists from Festive Road, in collaboration with Theatrical Engineer, Mike Pattison.

The ideas for this piece are still in development and we would expect that over the next couple of months, during the devising and rehearsal period, the narrative, characters and designs would develop further. 

We are thinking that the jockeys will have the feel of a cross between cowboy midnight robbers and steam punk palaeontologists.

We are aiming to create a part promenade, part site-specific show which will feature stilt-walking dinosaur puppets, physical performance and some large scale bicycle based and motorised structures. We're also thinking about a specially designed sound-scape created by Steve McDaniel, a Milton Keynes based artist.  

For the Luton outing, our Jurassic Jockeys will also be riding some wonderful bicycle-like contraptions which we are borrowing; they were fabricated by Mike Pattison for the Para Olympic closing ceremony.

 
So, look out for a herd of Jurassic Jockeys doing Dino Dressage at a festival near you this summer! And take a look at the video of Vanessa causing havoc at our workshop this week!

Finger crossed we'll get the funding we need to go into production...

Milton Keynes Festival Fringe 2013 -Headline Data!

Milton Keynes Festival Fringe aims to champion the arts and people’s perceptions and expectations of the arts, animating unusual spaces and staging experimental activity which engages, challenges, surprises and entertains audiences.  The 2013 MK Fringe inspired and enthralled audiences and participants alike; a very successful four day event was delivered seamlessly, in time and on budget.




In contrast to those surveyed last year (who just happened to be passing), visitors to Milton Keynes Festival Fringe this year were visiting specifically to engage in the wide range of events available. Over 90% rated the experience as “good” or “very good” and 91% would be likely to recommend the events to others.

Most strikingly less than 5% of those asked, were ‘accidental audience’ ie had ‘stumbled upon’ the Fringe. In comparison, last year over 60% of those asked were just passing through and had ‘stumbled upon’ the Fringe -on the way to shop or attend the International Festival. This represents a huge increase in our dedicated audience or following. In fact, some of those asked had come specifically to an event because of the “reputation of the event”.

The largest number had come to ‘be entertained’ and because ‘the children wanted to come’! Furthermore, there is more evidence to suggest a growing trend in our audience following: There was a 20% increase, from last year to this, in people who responded ‘yes’ to having attended a similar event previously.


Nearly half of those asked had found out about the events by ‘word of mouth’ (including social media) and there was also an encouraging increase in those who had seen printed material (including press). This is in comparison to last year when most had ‘stumbled upon’ the events and only 10% had seen any press coverage or posters. 

The press coverage generally, was excellent when considering the amount of summer festival activity, including music and arts events, which were happening over the same weekend as the Fringe locally.

The audience numbers were also up on last year, although we ran a much shorter festival period this year. We once again used a sticker system to count those who were actively engaging directly with events (not just walking past).
We counted 11,805 but this figure does not include the Walking with Giants parade which we estimate attracted an additional 8,000-10,000 people.
This figure does not include the on line audience either which was also good; we received 4275 hits on the website during the week of the Festival with a peak of 1015 on the final day.

We recruited over 30 volunteers and we programmed over 20 events, mostly in the Theatre District over the four days, which involved the staging of over 50 artists, all of who gave us brilliant feedback and many of who are keen to return next year. 

The Fringe was very good value; 80% of the total budget was artistic expenditure i.e. artist fees and staging costs and less than 20% was spent on admin, management and overheads. This was down to the good will of our volunteers and also the dedication and commitment of the Fringe team.

The programme showcased outdoor arts, dance, walkabout theatre, vignettes, visual arts, music, workshops and events, staged in unusual spaces that aren’t always associated with the arts. It included a mix of invited and open call commissions with opportunities for local regional and national artists. About 50% of the participating artists were local to MK.

The Fringe supports local arts organisations to come together to collaborate, share skills and evaluate practices and resources. A successful Fringe Festival can benefit arts organisations, independent producers and venues by bringing in new audiences and extra income opportunities.
We are looking forward to working closely with some of these organisations again and hopefully others too.

Fair Play

This was my first experience of directing a show without having a co-pilot! 

And this is what the bumf said:

 “A small show with a GIANT message, Fair Play is fun and thought-provoking. Plus it’s suitable for all the family!

Festive Road is keeping it local with their new theatre piece Fair Play.

This is the story of two sisters who begin their journey on the family farm but everything changes when the Trickster comes on the scene (cue: boo, hiss!)

The characters tell the story of trade, taking the audience from the fields and power houses of past and present, to the most recent incarnations of market places; the disconnected shopping experience presented by faceless corporations. And as the sleeping giant is gradually revealed within the ever transforming landscape, hand held puppets, projections and larger than life characters are played and animated with physicality and humour. The show even uses a cycle powered generator!

A positive future is in sight, in which we are all responsible for the giant that commerce has created; the solutions remain in our hands." 

The ideas grew out of a round-table discussion among friends. In hindsight the subject was fairly predictable for me: consumerism, the take over of public space, the faceless face of modern commerce. The older I get the more I realise the latent Maxist within! 

In my role as Artistic Director of MK Festival Fringe, I had been working with various people in marketing companies who safeguard the commercial interests, (the shopping zones), in central Milton Keynes. There is an on going battle to place art and stage performance in these 'seemingly public' spaces but I was also interested in the idea that our huge chain shops have become unable to respond quickly to demand. Their production is so far away from the consumer (literally in another world) that they have to create the demand for products, ie tell us what we don't realise we need, predict (or subliminally set) the winter fashions in the previous Spring etc. 
I was imagining how, if only people understood the mob power they had, simply deciding that the fodder-fed fashion of the day wasn't what they wanted, maybe they could break the whole chain? 

The discussion extended to world food production, the disconnect from reality which now exists in the developed countries and the reliance on long distance imports, cheap labour and other unethical goings on...

It wasn't that there was one simple narrative we could pull out, at least nothing chronological like the revolution from agricultural, to industrial Britain -it couldn't always be blamed on the Victorians! Empire building, mass production, exploitation of people, industrialisation and consumer rich societies are not restricted geographically and pop up and down throughout time, they rise and fall like the sea.

Beyond the initial discussion of ideas (which may have been more about me getting the opportunity to have a good rant?) a group of performers were gathered -all people who I'd worked with before so we had a head start: Natali Bass (physical performer), Manuela Benini (dancer) and Allan Davies (story teller). The next stage was to create a narrative and we approached this collaboratively, all coming from different angles!

I already had a clear idea about creating a transforming set which turned from rural, to urban, to digital and which finally became a standing faceless giant so with a couple of other team members; Nick Garnett, Emma Garafalo and Paul Smith (all makers), we created the story, designed the set and sketched the characters -two sisters who begin on the family farm,  the trickster or middle man (based on the Trinidadian Midnight Robber) and the various extras; marketeers, robots, shelf-packers -which the three performers all doubled up as.

The devising and rehearsal process was also very collaborative and Natali, Allan and Manuela were very supportive of my 'learning journey'. Having co-directed a previous Festive Road production, Brewing Up (but in reality it had been more like shadowing), I was an inexperienced director. As the process continued, I became more and more confident about my ideas and how to shape the show -to make it work. It was an interesting dynamic to work with; Allan -the archetypal source rich, language reliant story teller, Manuela -the abstract, non-linear sense of a dancer and Natali -the 'turn it on its head', mime world of the physical clown. 

If I'm honest I had no idea how hard it was going to be holding all of that! But the end result was pleasing and was well received at all the schools which we performed at. 

By the time we came to share the work at a public performance, hosted by The Chrysalis Theatre in Milton Keynes, the piece had been tweaked many times and was really quite well resolved. 

I had the idea to bring in a bit of a local produce sale as a wrap around, to create a whole audience experience which fitted with the Chrysalis Theatre ethos. The Camphill residents sold their fresh picked raspberries, home baked bread and local veg box schemes spread their wares in wheelbarrows in the theatre foyer as people entered. 

Unfortunately we experience a bit of a technical mess up on the first performance which as luck would have it brought in the largest audience! The second showing was pretty perfect... we haven't performed it since but it's available for bookings. It would be great to perform at a summer food festival? Take a look at the promo video

Artists space; pop-ups or permanents?

I was very surprised to hear Duncan Smith director of ACAVA studios say, at a recent gathering, that there is more demand than ever for artist studio space. I was under the impression that, due to migration of practise from oil painting and sculpture, to project based or desk top activity, the days of community studios were declining...I'm pleasantly surprised. Perhaps I had been basing my assumptions on the set ups I have seen in Milton Keynes where there are no groups of 'fresh out of college' zealots looking to create 'love-in' Bohemian art movements to change the world. There are the few however, who do wander back here with big ideas but unfortunately they seem to quickly become diluted by those whose practise has not been challenged or moved on since the dinosaur times! 

Red dress, public performance with Manuela Benini

Perhaps if I am honest though, my perceptions may be more to do with my own practise having moved on from painting, sculpture and installation towards performance, into the realms of street theatre and dare I say it...'social engaged practise' (otherwise known as community arts!) I gave up the dream of creating the 'Bohemian love-in' after so many 'dinosaurs' had worn me down. I moved on or went underground...anything to get away from the snobbish, hierarchic, categorising of art forms which seems to get magnified in the inward looking collective. 

For many artists, choosing an 'art house' or studio environment to make work within, understandably, has less to do with physical facilities and more to do with levels of quality and professionalism, which at best is essential to keeping work invigorated but at worst creates a stayed and unchallenged environment. 

ACAVA (The Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Art Limited), grew out of initiatives started in the early 1970’s to provide facilities for the support of the visual arts in the Hammersmith and Shepherd’s Bush areas of West London.
In 1973 artists, politicians, local authority officers and the visual art officer of the Greater London Arts Association met in the first public consultation in Britain on artists’ needs, it was called “The Hammersmith Art Experiment”.

If there are any young (or old) bohemians out there by the way, who do still have that dream, I recommend you make use of ACAVA . Sign up for membership, make good use of their expertise and latest news. 

The artist gathering which I was attending was hosted by the South East arm of NFASP (National Federation of Artist Studio Providers) which is another support organisation well worth linking up with. They have published many useful documents and undertaken a great deal of research over the years, into the nature of artist studio space.
The discussion was about Finding and Managing Property and there was representation from artist groups from across the country, all with different pictures to paint of spaces, funding cuts, opportunities and differing artists needs and solutions. There is the regional differences for example; large empty factories and ware houses which are available in the North are scarer in the South but demand for space is higher as you get nearer to college overspill areas like London.  
Interesting there are approximately 15,000 artists in studio spaces in the UK at present, only 7,000 of whom are in affordable space. Affordable space equates to paying one third of the commercial rent for a space.

The meeting was at Phoenix Space in Brighton, a long running artist studio facility itself, which, it became evident, is not without its own funding problems at present. As the picture became clearer stories came out of: cuts to some of the longer standing studio facilities, councils taking back properties, sliding levels of discretionary business rate rebates and collectives unable to pay to maintain expensive properties...it became clearer that perhaps my initial instinct was right, that the age of the 'permanent' studio space is at least under threat but perhaps not for the reasons I had first thought.

, 

Paintings by Dan Brodie on WHITEWALL, until recently an exhibition space in the heart of Milton Keynes shopping centre which I was curating

Since my trip to Phoenix, I've heard of several wrangles going on at this very moment, between local authorities and artist studios across the country, all disputes over discretionary rate rebates. It seems that unless these artist groups have full charitable status they now have no leg left to stand on and councils are attempting to charge full business rates. I wouldn't be surprised if we see The Artist Information Company following this story up quite soon.
 
Even if these studio groups become charitable trusts and do everything they can to prove their benefit to the community, there is still no getting away from the fact that permanent buildings are expensive to maintain with out the dwindling Arts Council subsidies or without organisations being forced into charging higher studio rents.
 
It is time to get clever then, artists must be much more business like. (where have I heard that before?) There is no shortage of empty buildings after all and many of these spaces are owned by landlords who, since a change in the law, are now paying full business rates for their empty properties. They can actually save money by housing arts charities who can claim rebates from local councils. There are many already taking full advantage of this regulation on empty property, the East Street Arts organisation for example who currently run three studio complexes in Leeds, CADS (Creative Arts Development Space), based in Sheffield and my own space in Milton Keynes, Centric MK, which now houses several artists and artist organisations including Festive Road, MK Festival Fringe and The Drawing Machine.

Appropriately we heard next from Dan Thomson who I've been following for a while. He set up The Empty Shops Network, and has spent time building mutually beneficial relationships between retailers, councils and artists to make use of the increasing number of empty shop units across the country. Dan has also written a very interesting book, 'Pop Up for Dummies', I keep meaning to get a copy. This is a fast growing area, as you can see from the recent Arts Council commissioned research into 'Pop-up people' and Dan is doing some incredibly exciting work. Most of these potential 'pop-up' spaces, if you are interested in making use of them, are more and more likely to be in retail areas, empty public buildings, dis-used churches...a symptom of our dying high streets. 

So if these spaces are increasingly temporary this means thinking in a more flexible way and I'm sure this is not going to suit us all but as Dan Thomsons work demonstrates, the age of the 'pop-up' is here. 
"A man's vision is his own responsibility..." so go out and make it happen!