Tweave

Knitsonik – August Craft Month

Ed Holroyd — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:18:35 +0000

We’ve been updating the way the Tweave sound map works so that we can feature a variety of smaller maps on the site. Each one will focus on a particular place or group of recordings. Here is the first of these. It shows the recordings made by Dr Felicity Ford during her workshop at the University of Ulster in Belfast as part of Craft NI’s August Craft Month. You can read more about the workshop on the Knitsonik site.

Craft Crawl at Stowford Manor Farm – final activity

Amy Houghton — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:34:25 +0000

Our final activity of our stimulating and enjoyable day was a group making session over tea and cake at the Stowford Manor Farm cream tea outlet. They produce their own cream and milk from their herd of jersey cows, several people saw fit to try this out. We made more pompoms and knitted with Alison Harper’s crisp packet yarn. You can here sounds of our making and conversation on the Tweave map. Here are some pictures showing our activity:

Hazel Plowman, Annie Beardsley and Alison Harper in conversation and making

Annie Beardsley knitting with crisp packet yarn

Myself recording the sounds of Alison Harper knitting

Alison Harper guiding the making of pompoms

The exciting final stage of making a pompom created by Hazel

Annie untangling the crisp packet yarn to use in her knitting.

A little token left behind by the group

A big thank you to Simon Neaves for taking all the photographs of the Craft Crawl activities that are featured in these blog posts.

Craft Crawler

Amy

Craft Crawl at Stowford Manor Farm – Lexa Lawrence

Amy Houghton — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:18:18 +0000

The last maker we visited at Stowford Manor Farm was ceramist Lexa Lawrence. lexa demonstrated several of the techniques she uses including the use of a kick wheel and hand building creating textures with fabric and card. The rhythm of the kick wheel was soothing and the sound of corrugated card being whipped off clay was a pleasant surprise. Here are some images of Lexa working in her studio during our visit:

Lexa Lawrence using her kick wheel

Lexa rolling her slab pot

Lexa joining the edges of her slab pot

Group Craft Crawl at Stowford Manor Farm – Guy Thomas’s studio

Amy Houghton — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:12:46 +0000

During our time at Stowford Manor Farm we visited sculptor Guy Thomas allowed us to record sounds of him welding, grinding, heating and hammering his steel sculptures. The sounds here where much louder and more dramatic with more of an industrial feel than those we had encountered in our previous visits to glass artist Katrina Beattie and carver Keith Newstead.

You can hear the sounds we recorded in Guy’s studio on the Tweave sound map. Here are some images and a stopframe animation showing Guy at work during our visit:

Guy Thomas welding

Guy grinding

Guy heating a steel rod

Guy plunging heated steel into water

Click on the below link to see a short animation of Guy hammering hot metal:

Guy Thomas hammering heated steel – stop frame animation

You can find out more about Guy Thomas and his work by visiting his website: www.guythomas.eu

Craft Crawler

Amy

Group Craft Crawl at Stowford Manor Farm – Keith Newstead’s studio

Amy Houghton — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:06:12 +0000

After visiting Katrina Beattie in her studio we popped next door to visit Keith Newstead. Keith had a tiny studio full of objects of curiosity. The floor was fully coated with a thick cushion of wood chippings, we joked that Keith would at some point find his head touching the ceiling as he carved more. Keith pointed out that it would be good insulation for the winter months!

Keith was in the process of making a Wabi Sabi bowl to hold wine. Keith’s chipping at the wood had a rhythmic sound which seemed to effect the quality of his breathing as he settled into the making, you can listen to the rhythm of Keith’s carving on the Tweave sound map. Here are some images from Keith’s studio visit:

Keith showing us the bowl that he is working on

Keith explaining the design, process and concept involved in the making of his bowl

The bowl shown with the ladle that will be used to serve the wine

Craft Crawl group squeezing into Keith's studio to see his work

Keith carving

Alison Harper showing Craft Crawl group some crochet techniques whilst sitting outside Katrina's and Keith's workshops

Alison Harper demonstrating some crochet techniques

More images from the Group Craft Crawl to come in future posts.

Craft crawler

Amy

Group Craft Crawl at Stowford Manor Farm in Wiltshire – Katrina Beattie’s studio

Amy Houghton — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:01:27 +0000

After recording, making and lunch at The Glove Factory Studios we headed off to Stowford Manor Farm http://www.stowfordmanorfarm.co.uk/index.php where there are plenty of makers workshops, cream teas, camping and wild swimming.

When we arrived we met with glass artist Katrina Beattie to make some recordings of her current making. Here are some images of her cutting glass ready to make glass Christmas decorations which she will sell at the Bath Christmas Market:

Craft Crawl Group gathered in Katrina's studio

Katrina Beattie

Katrina cutting glass strips

Form more information about Katrina’s work visit: http://www.katrinabeattieglass.co.uk/

Craft Crawler

Amy

Craft Crawl Fun – what we got up to… update

Amy Houghton — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:29:52 +0000

This update has been a while to arrive I know. As well as being out and about making new recordings, I have been busy editing and uploading the rich sounds recorded on our Tweave Group Craft Crawl, you can browse through them all using the Tweave map.

In my last post I shared some images of the group making at The Glove Factory Studios in Holt, Wiltshire. Whilst at the Glove Factory Studios we visited and recorded photographer Claire Newman Williams. Claire kindly shared with us the sounds of various shutter speeds of many different kinds of cameras. Claire told us that when she was younger she would try and guess the shutter speeds by ‘playing’ them with her eyes closed. Here are a few photos of us recording in her studio:

Recording the shutter speed sounds of a Hasselblad camera

Claire setting up her 1880's camera

Claire telling us about her 1880's camera

Claire setting off the shutter of her 1880's camera1940's speed graphic camera

Setting shutter speed for the 1940's speed graphic camera

Form more information about Claire’s work visit: http://www.clairenewmanwilliams.com/

Craft Crawler

Amy

Craft Crawl Fun – what we got up to

Amy Houghton — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:01:16 +0000

On Saturday 30th July I along with a group of makers set off into Wiltshire on the afore mentioned Group Tweave Craft Crawl. Our aim for the day was to visit the studios of makers, record the sounds that they created whilst making and to drink tea and eat cake.

The sun was shining and we had a wonderfully stimulating day. On our tour the group had time to gather and make thanks to Alison Harper (http://www.alisonharper.net/) who brought along materials to make pompoms and found crisp packet yarn that she created for us to knit and crochet. Did you know you can get 5 metres of yarn from one crisp packet!

Here are some pictures of the group making, talking and laughing together at our first venue: The Glove Factory Studios in Holt http://www.glovefactorystudios.com/. More images of the day to follow in future posts.

Me getting ready to record sounds of making in Claire Newman Williams' Studio

Group settling down to make pompoms, crochet wire and eat lunch at the Glove Factory Studios in Holt.

Pompoms and recording equipment

Alison Harper

Hazel Plowman

Philippa Lawrence and Amy Houghton

Yarn bombing with our pompoms at the Glove Factory Studios

Little gifts left by our group

Colour coordinated little gifts left by our group

Craft crawler

Amy

Invite to attend a ‘Tweave up’, 30th July 3pm

Amy Houghton — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:47:23 +0000

As promised here is an update on the Tweave Craft Crawl accompanied by and invite to join us:

Our Group Craft Crawl is happening on 30th July. We are going to be enjoying the richness of making sounds in Wiltshire instead of exploring Stroud as mentioned in our last post.

Invite to attend a ‘Tweave up’:

You are invited to join us at Stowford Manor Farm for a ‘Tweave up’ at 3pm on Saturday 30th July for some making, sound recording and tea.

Anyone can just turn up on the day. You are invited to bring some making with you which can be sound recorded ready to upload to the Tweave website. However if you don’t have any making to bring textile artist Alison Harper will be on hand to show people how to knit and crochet with her crisp packet yarn. Please bring some money with you to purchase tea and cake from the onsite cafe.

Stowford Manor Farm is one of the venues on the Tweave Group Craft Crawl which Ed Holroyd and myself are undertaking on the 30th July. For details about the venue and how to get there please visit: www.stowfordmanorfarm.co.uk. We will meet in the main courtyard outside the cream tea building.

For more information contact Amy Houghton at mail@amyhoughton.co.uk

Hope to see you there.

Craft Crawler
Amy

Invite to attend a Mini Bus Craft Crawl

Amy Houghton — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 17:20:08 +0000

Over the last few weeks Ed and I have been undertaking a ‘Craft Crawl’ where we have been visiting people’s places of making to make recordings to add to the Tweave map. As part of this Craft Crawl we are organising a ‘Tweave up mini bus Craft Crawl’ which will take place on Saturday 30^th July. We are inviting people to join us on this mini bus Craft Crawl which will involve making (bring something along for the trip), visiting people’s places of making, making recordings and a picnic. We are currently planning that we will set off from Bath, head towards Stroud and back again.

We have 15 places available so if you would like to join us please email Amy at mail@amyhoughton.co.uk. We will also shortly arrange a rendezvous place and time where people that don’t join us on the mini bus can drop in and meet us for a cuppa, a picnic, some making and recording. Watch this space for an update.

Craft Crawler

Amy