Last of the lost cats

 

Setting our Lost Cats free

Would it be wonderful to see them

In Pavilion Gardens catching fish?

Would it be wonderful

For them to be free?

We have prowled to the end of our Lost Cats of Buxton project. There have been drawings and beautiful puppets on strings to dance across the museum’s carpets. We released wild cats into Grinlow Woods, and watched worrying Prehistoric Mice taking shape. There were masks and more masks and a giant Scimitar-toothed Cat (a Homotherium – you can visit their memory in Buxton Museum and Art Gallery and find out more, here). In schools, we wrote poems and shaped ancient landscapes, made masks and more masks and released a few mammoths. We danced our cats through the streets of Buxton

 

Now pictures of our wonderful creatures are appearing in The Wild Escape Creature Gallery. Inspired by the Wild Escape initiative, right from the start, Lost Cats set out to encourage people to look at museum collections and use that inspiration to go exploring and get to know their local landscapes better. 

 

Follow this link to visit the Wild World

 

Pictures are coded by 3 word locations.

Some of ours can be found at these locations

·      wet violet roll

·      dark rain gallop

·      dull candles say

·      heavy olives care

·      violet tools knock

·      tall houses yell

·      twenty animals open

 

The animals shown bear no connection to the words that map their places! There are more to follow so this list will get longer

 

We’re going to close these #LostCats posts with two more poems from Burbage Primary School. These poems grew out of words and phrases collected and comments said during workshops at the school

 

BEAR

found in a bear's cave

They come

From dark, gloomy caves,

And the shadows under the trees.

Dangerous,

Strong,

Intimidating apex predators,

But

Sort of cute,

And

Sort of cuddly.

From a distance.

Would it be wonderful to see them

In Pavilion Gardens catching fish?

Would it be wonderful

For them to be free?

 

MICE

Running, running,

Whiskers twitching,

Scampering,

Scuttling,

Following noses

Tracking scents.

Acorn, apple,

Chewy Chestnut and

Wild wheat,

The dark-juice of berries

And precious plums.

There is no escape

The mice are coming.

 

With many thanks to all our artists, makers, maskers, mice and monsters (you can decide who you are) and especial thanks to Babbling Vagabonds, 2 Left Hands (samba - find them on facebook), Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, Buxton Our Street, Buxton Civic Association, Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust and the Wild Escape for setting us all a’growling in the first place!

 

Schools involved

Earl Sterndale C of E Primary School

Buxton Junior School

Burbage Primary School