Victory Wood Heritage Open Day

BOOKING ESSENTIAL, see below.

On Saturday 21 Sept at Victory Wood, Outdoor Studios artists, Sara Trillo and Amanda Thesiger, will be offering a range of activities inspired by Shrill Carder Bees. Some of these are activities that take a while, some will be quick to do, but they have been researched, tested and chosen because they all reflect aspects of the Shrill Carder Bee; its appearance, nest-making and foraged plants, and its unique high-pitched sound.

Outdoor Studios work with natural materials first and foremost, however when this is not possible, we use simple, low-tech and environmentally friendly alternatives. Our creative events reflect our artists’ own backgrounds and techniques and we encourage an investigatory, playful approach to all the education and engagement we undertake.

Specific activities at the event on the 21^st include making kazoos to create bee sounds using simple household objects (lolly sticks, rubber bands and starch-based straws). When put together as a kind of sound-machine, the resulting vibrations create a fantastic high-pitched buzz, which can be altered to go higher or lower in pitch. Once we have made the kazoos, we will assemble a Shrill Carder Bee orchestra!

We will also use natural beeswax to make model bees - and nests from grasses and clay. These materials reflect some of the nesting habits of the bee and we will be working in a sculptural way to fashion small, simple bee shapes that will fit inside the woven grass bee nests. The grasses can also be used to make the wings and antennae of the bee models.

The third activity will be based around simple printmaking, drawing and painting methods; constructing zines/booklets with letter stamps and drawings, and making paintings with inks created from hedgerow plants and berries. Each participant will create their own booklet or zine – and build up a few pages in words and pictures, all about the life of the Shrill Carder Bee.

This could feature portraits of the bee, rubbings and prints of the grasses it nests in or paintings of the bird’s foot-trefoil or red clover flowers, made with the natural inks we have created for the event. We will encourage everyone to add some thoughts or feelings about the bee with the letter stamps.

We think that everyone who takes part will go home armed with some clever and fascination handmade items - and know a lot more about the Shrill Carder Bee as a result!

 

BOOKING ESSENTIAL! To book, please go here.