Untangled Threads, Totems & More - Scarborough Art - July 2024

Untangled Threads - The Butterfly Effect
Colourful Stitchbook Collective Members' Squares

From mid June to early August, Scarborough Art is in full flow.  It is a festival that takes place across various venues in the town, showcasing the work of the creative community.  I popped along in late July and just visited a couple of venues...

Untangled Threads - The Butterfly Effect - Birds

The first was Untangled Threads which runs collaborative textile projects and is led by Helen Birmingham, a talented mixed media textile artist.  The current project is The Butterfly Effect and the aim is to create a large-scale textile art installation which will represent Mother Nature, and show how, with very small changes and co-operation by us all, she can ultimately win the battle over the misuse and depletion of the earth’s resources.  It is also a charity fundraiser for Mind, the charity working for better mental health.

Untangled Threads - The Butterfly Effect
Colourful Stitchbook Collective Members' Squares

Untangled Threads has a committed community - the Stitchbook Collective, a subscriber group, who produce fabulous textile work under Helen's guidance.  Now in its 5th year, their current project is The Butterfly Effect.  Members have already been making colourful squares which will go to making up the skirt of Mother Nature's dress along with other slow stitched pieces.

Untangled Threads - The Butterfly Effect
Bird

This will flow into an entangled mossy bank populated with flora and fauna.  Helen is already working on birds and bugs that the Collective can make (or you can buy a kit here)...

Untangled Threads - The Butterfly Effect
Bugs

Untangled Threads - The Butterfly Effect
Butterflies & Flowers

The bodice of the dress will be covered in butterflies which will be wired so they seem like they are moving.  You can join in the project by subscribing to The Stitchbook Collective here or you can buy a pack to make two butterflies or two flowers and keep one and donate one to the project here. Money from each kit is donated to Mind and sale of the brooches at a later date will raise more money for them.  I can't wait to see the finished installation!

Untangled Threads - The Butterfly Effect

One of the Collective's previous projects was Primordial Soup. This was inspired by Helen's DNA textile work. Two ideas which are explored in the work are Homophily (the tendency to form friendship networks with people of similar occupations, interests and habits), and also the science of basic genetics where the letters C, G, A & T represent the nucleotides which pair to form the structure of DNA...

Untangled Threads - Primordial Soup

I also visited the Old Parcels Office (OPO) Artspace.  They had an exhibition - Totems - which displayed giant sculptures made by a variety of community groups led by different artists. These were wonderful.  I particularly liked the work that Julie Bailey, Wendy Galloway and Nikki White had made with the Blueberry Academy.  The Blueberry Academy provides specialist support to young people and adults with learning difficulties, autism, social, emotional and mental health needs.  They had made two Totems.  A magical tree, focusing on the healing power of nature, and a cityscape, symbolising how we have become more insular in recent years, where homes can be both a place of refuge and security but also isolation...

 

Blueberry Academy

Katie Gill, working with activity co-ordinators Debby Hill & Lucy McGuire, and patients of Esk Ward at Cross Lane Hospital also produced two Totems.  Cross Lane Hospital provides mental health care to people in Scarborough.

Made from cardboard boxes, packaging, newspaper, pva glue and brightly coloured paint they produced a number of symbols that represented what community meant to them.  For example rainbow - acceptance, dove - peace & unity, teapot - comfort from having a cuppa and a chat, tree - support, heart - kindness & love, peas in a pod - being together, never lonely...

Cross Lane Hospital

Also on at the OPO Artspace was Mary-Ann Stevens - Sometimes I feel So Happy, Sometimes I Feel So Sad.  Her unconventional, quirky sculptures are made of papier-mâché and explore women's identity, expectations and representation. Here are some to give you a flavour of Mary-Ann's work...

Mary-Ann Stevens - Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town, Gloria, Edith & Scooter Girl
(clockwise from top left)

After the exhibitions, a swim and a long walk, I very much enjoyed a latte and a slice of lemon meringue at the Clock Cafe.  If you go to the cafe, remember to take cash as they don't have a card machine! 

Lemon Meringue & Latte at the Clock Cafe, Scarborough

Scarborough is a good day out and there are lots of events and places to visit.