Yarn Bombing for Six Streets Derby

Six Streets is an area of Derby not very far from the city centre. This year it celebrated it’s second Art Trail over the weekend of June 22nd and 23rd. Residents opened up their homes and local artists and makers were exhibiting their work. As part of the trail, trees on Wheeldon Avenue were decorated by individuals and local groups, the theme was the natural world . We at the Angel Eden Blog have been solely responsible for two of the trees and have also been involved with a number of the group efforts. Two of the trees have been decorated by local schools and each tree has a label to advise who has done the work.

I think there were twenty trees decorated in total and the road really did look good. The Art Trail was open for just the one weekend but the Yarn creations will stay up for a couple of weeks.

I have not included pictures of all the trees as they are far too many but here are just a selection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Derbyshire Well Dressings

Well dressing is a wonderful traditional art-form practiced across many towns and villages in Derbyshire. It is believed to have originated in the small village of Tissington back in 1349. The dressings were said to be a way for villagers to give thanks for the pure water given from the well during the harrowing threat of the black death.

Unfortunately by the 19th century the art had all but died out, but thankfully enthusiasts revived it in the 1920s and 30s and it is now once again practiced throughout the whole of Derbyshire and some of her neighbouring counties.

The pictures are made by constructing wooden frames which are then covered in clay. A design is sketched on paper and then carefully hand pricked into the clay. Some towns and villages insist that only natural materials are used in the dressings but others allow the use of coloured stones etc to make the designs easier to construct.

In Derby this year the well dressing pictures were put together over a three day period at Quad and (due to a lack of surviving wells in the city) left in the windows for visitors to admire. With the Olympic torch visiting the city this weekend they are sure to have a large audience.

Here are some pictures of work in progress:

Anne took along my twins and they were able to make their own small design which has been placed in one of the windows for all to see (cue a proud Mummy moment!)

They began by choosing their design (a rabbit), they then outlined their picture in black peppercorns.

Next they chose which colours to use and how to fill in the background. I gather that they worked very hard for an hour and were very proud with the final piece.

All the well dressings can be seen in Quad this weekend along with a chance to see the Olympic Torch passing by.

Details and dates for all of the Derbyshire well dressings can be found here www.welldressing.com and they are well worth seeing.

Win 1 of 5 Pairs of Tickets (each pair of tickets admits up to 2 adults & 2 kids) to The Weald Of Kent Craft Show!

The Weald of Kent craft show is being held this year at Penshurst Place near Tonbridge between 30th April – 2nd May. The show offers handmade crafts, delicious food and drink, live music, inspiring displays and a stunning show garden.

There will be everything from art workshops to tutored wine tasting.

There will also be interactive family craft activities, face painting, rural crafts and an adventure playground and falconry displays. So there promises to be something for all the family whether young or old.

Now the exciting part! We have been given 5 pairs of tickets to giveaway. UPDATE: the tickets admit up to 2 adults & 2 children, so whether you’re a family or a couple it’s a great day out!

How to Enter

As usual it’s ridiculously easy to enter our comp (open to UK readers this time).

1. Follow this blog publicly (using either Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin or Feedburner on the right) and leave a comment mentioning you are following the blog (current followers need only comment). Remember to leave your email or twitter so I can contact you if you win.

Extra entries – for each extra entry leave a comment to let me know:

1. Tweet about the comp for an extra entry

2. Like our page on Facebook (link to the left)

The competition will end at midnight 16th April 2011.

Comp listed on:

ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions.

Loquax Competitions