Project Reports – Creative Art Works

Teaching Resource designed and produced by Creative Art Works CIC

The remit was to design something which would encourage both school groups and family groups to get out into the great outdoors, to have fun learning outside of the home and the classroom, without the need for group leaders and creative practitioners such as ourselves. The resulting pack of “Woodland Happy Families” was illustrated and designed by Creative Art Works CIC. This was also promoted to celebrate 100 years of Scottish Forestry. Scottish Forestry funded the printing of 500 packs of cards, and during the remainder of 2021 and during 2022 these were widely distributed, at no cost, to schools, community centres and community groups in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh and the Lothians. They have been received with huge positivity, along with excellent feedback.

Community Artwork Project by Creative Art Works CIC

Portraits from a Family was created by the women and children of the Sikh Sanjog working with a small team of artist facilitators including Joanna Boyce of Creative Art Works CIC. The six paintings are a meditation on friendship, on family and on the values of Sikhism underpinning the women’s lives and work in the Sikh community today. The finished artwork was exhibited and a promotional leaflet and set of six postcards were created as a means of commemorating the event.

Community Project designed and delivered by Creative Artworks.

This engagement work involved 8 woodland engagement sessions which started by meeting in Southside Community Centre’s garden to a wooded area into the secluded and magical site called “The Wells o Wearie”.

Across these woodland engagement sessions, we worked with a diverse group of 30+ individuals from Edinburgh Southside’s mental health community.

We used a wooded area in Holyrood Park’s Wells o’ Wearie Site. Here we delivered a successful series of outdoor music /writing sessions with a diverse group of clients.

Visit our dedicated ‘Wells 0′ Wearie’ page.

Creative Art Works CIC. Image is Copyright Protected

Wild in the Woods was an outdoor creative arts project designed to encourage creative engagement with nature, inspire a love of trees and the great outdoors and instil a sense of ownership and stewardship of local. The participants were a multi-cultural, multi-generational group of local children aged between of two and eleven years old and some parents and carers. Adult participants included several FCS Community Leaders.

The programme was part of Scottish Forestry’s (SF) Engagement programme in central Scotland which aims to promote the use of the woodlands to hard-to-reach and minority groups and communities, ensuring that all individuals are equally able to enjoy the benefit from accessing woodlands and forests. Way of the Woods, North Edinburgh was the fourth rolling out of an innovative outdoors creative arts/environmental project: The Way of the Woods.

Way of the Woods was an innovative outdoors creative arts/environmental project set in urban woodland and greenspace – Craigmillar Woods and Inch Park, in Edinburgh. It was delivered by an artist and a drama specialist and was specifically designed to help develop confidence and responsibility in young people with complex additional support needs and to foster in them a love of woodlands and the outdoors.

In keeping with the spirit of Holi the Edinburgh Holi Spring Day encouraged visitors, staff and volunteers to participate in as many of the celebratory activities as possible. Participatory groups and individuals were given a platform to enjoy the woodlands and welcome the arrival of spring – through celebrating the Holi festival, with its messages of joy, re-birth, colour and love, among a natural backdrop of trees and leaves.

There were two complimentary strands to the project, The Himalayan Garden (Project A) and BSL Botanical Vocabulary (Project B). Many of the individuals involved in the delivery of these projects are experts in their chosen field(s) of study (arts, science, environment) and have a personal interest/background which spans across both projects. So whilst at first glance Projects A and B may seem divergent and will ultimately progress in different directions, there is a continuity and synergy that was realised, by combing the two projects into a one day event.

Signs of Life was designed to bring hands-on practical activity into the garden and to enhance it through the creation of an eye-catching exhibition, which would also act as a learning and teaching resource. At the same time the project was to provide a meaningful way for groups from different social and cultural backgrounds (some isolated and hard to reach) to meet, share, exchange and find communality. Participants were to be recruited from across the city, in order to bring together children and adults from a range of community groups, some new to the Hermitage of Braid and Blackford Hill nature reserve and others already using the community garden.

All the activities were run on a drop-in basis, with sessions repeated throughout each day. Woodland Rambling and Brambling was promoted to a range of targeted organisations in the run up to the event but was also open to the general public. As the event was part of The Luminate Festival.

Woodland Rambling and Brambling 2016 was an inter-generational event held over one day at Newhailes House, Musselburgh. Nature Engagement Activities including woodland Inspired Arts and Crafts activities took place next to the old Curling Pond area in the Newhailes Estate and were complemented by FCS, NTS, Changeworks, Beach Wheelchairs and TCV Ranger-led activities in the grounds. The event was aimed at the “Over 50s, and their parents” but was open to all ages and abilities.

An integral part of the Edinburgh Mela. In keeping with the spirit of the Mela, the event was designed to encourage visitors, staff and volunteers to participate in as many of the celebratory, artistic and cultural activities as possible. The Kidzone incorporated a number of different spaces, within which there were different multi-sensory, hands-on activities and experiences aimed specifically at children aged between 5 and 11 years and their families. All areas were highly interactive and full of opportunities for children and adults to relax and learn together as families. There was also a programme of activities specifically targeted at Under 5’s.

The Kidzone event was called “Go Bananas”. This year’s emphasis was on fun, dance and action with a creative exploration of monkey gods, other animal gods across the World and art activities. The event was designed to encourage children and their families to get “hands on” and explore all the celebratory, artistic and cultural activities on offer.

Forestry Commission Scotland Black History Month/Diwali 2016 was an inter-generational event held over two days at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh (RBGE). The event was delivered as part of Black History Month (BHM) and the annual Diwali celebrations and was designed to compliment the current RBGE exhibition at The ‘John Hope Gateway’ entitled ‘Flora of Nepal: a 200-year connection’