Richmond Park

Isabella Plantation

Two weeks of workshops in the Park trundled to a close yesterday

Two weeks of exploring...

our 4 metre long leaf-string caterpillar

the caterpillar growing

pirates....

birds....

lanterns...

we started card lanterns last week....

one of our poly-birds inspects
 an almost-finished lantern

finished lantern

...and treasures

Thanks again to the Holly Lodge Centre and to all the groups who visited us during that times (some more than once!): Triangle Resource centre, United Response, Hounslow Extra Club, Merton Mencap, Kingston Fun Class, Hammersmith and Fulham Mencap, Acorns Group, and thanks, of course to the Holly Lodge Centre, Pat and all the wonderful volunteers; the Richmond Park Staff (especially Adam, Holly and Linden) and of course to the Park itself for its beauty, hospitality and wildlife!

Personal time found me enjoying isabella Plantation...

Down in the Park

I'm in the middle of a 2 week residency in Richmond Park. My relationship with the Holly Lodge Centre here is an old one - we reckon that I've probably led workshops on their "summer fun" programme for 10 out of the last 13 years, leading adults and children alike astray with pirates, treasures, puppets and printing. We've gone from making big flags and lanterns through various puppets and book-building to this year where we've been doing (more) pirates.

everything an adventurous
pirate might need

"Pirate" themes help us look at the nature trail here as a place where adventures might happen and we go off looking for resources our tiny pirates might use. We build them shelters, find them camps. We make them plastic-bottle boats to sail on the pond. Draw treasure maps inspired by the area we work in and collect natural treasures here for their chests of ill-gotten booty!


Other sessions have been drawing more directly from the Park, using leaf-rubbings and printing to give us patterned cards, cutting tree and insect silhouettes to work together to make card-lanterns. these aren't finished yet - groups returning next week for final stages....so more pictures to follow!

pirate camp

ready for launching

setting sail over wide, uncharted waters

our pirates came in many sizes

Richmond Park is full of wildlife 

leaf-rubbings 

enthusiastic printing 

I always think black-wax rubbings look the best

half-finished lanterns