Cyanotype Flags photographic printing with the sun and locally foraged and pressed plants.
Cyanotype is a printing process using iron salts that react to UV light (found in sunlight) and turn blue. This workshop was developed for Dandelion at Lauriston Farm and has since been shared with participants at Pilton Community Health Project. Workshop Design, Facilitation & Community Engagement Officer : Emma Brierley, Workshop Assistants youth volunteers from Granton Youth & Project Esperanza.
Make Your Own Cranky Toy Theatre or Moving Panorama.
Crankys are traditionally used in folk singing and storytelling, rather than turning a page to reveal the images, they appear across the “screen” of the box by turning a handle (or crank). The Moving Panorama or Cranky Theatre was an innovation on panoramic paintings in the mid-nineteenth century. It became a new visual element to theatre and was among the most popular forms of entertainment, serving as an ancestor and platform to early cinema.
This workshop has been shared with participants of all ages at Festival of Curiosity, Puppet Animation Festival, SEALL Festival, Create Puppetry Festival and Dandelion at Lauriston Farm. Workshop Design, Facilitation & Community Engagement Officer : Emma Brierley, Workshop Assistants ; Jemima Thewes, Jess Raine & Fiona Oliver Larken.
Soil Health = Community Health a co-created cranky toy theatre show.
This creative workshop series explored the micro-organisms that live in soil and make it and us healthy. Our Cranky Toy Theatre box was made by North Edinburgh Art's Community Shed in Muirhouse.
In our visual art workshop, participants detailed a section of a collaborative Cranky scroll - illustrated by Natasha Russell. As part of the Open Music Sessions - led by Shea M - we worked towards building a short set of music to accompany the illustrated scroll. All musical styles, instruments and abilities were welcome. In our writing workshop - facilitated by Vicky Nyanga - we looked at how the inner-workings of soil health echo the principles of social justice, regenerative farming and community health to create collaborative text that was read aloud as part of the "Cranky Toy Theatre" performance at our Harvest Festival event at Lauriston Farm.
Our artist team who facilitated the workshops for this project were : Writer - Vicky Nyanga, Visual Artist - Natasha Russell, Soil Health Specialist - Jamie Sommerville, Musician - Shea M, Ethnographer - Agnes Taiti, Performance Director & Creative Producer & Community Engagement Officer - Emma Brierley
Harvest Cantasoria a co-created theatre show with painted banners.
Cantasoria comes from Italian for "story-singer" and is known by many other names around the world. It's a form of theatre where a performer tells or sings a story while gesturing to a series of images. These images can be painted, printed or drawn on any sort of material.
In this creative workshop series we explored the spoken languages of North Edinburgh to make a series of banners that celebrate the word "harvest" in its many forms. We also devised and wrote short pieces of text for song and spoken word to make a Cantasoria Performance that was set to live instrumentation at our Harvest Festival at Lauriston Farm on Sep 10th 2022.
Our artist team who facilitated the workshops for this project were : Writer and Visual Artist : Hailey Beavis, Performance Directors and Community Theatre, Facilitators : SaltyDolls Theatre, Musician in Residence - Jose Rojas, Ethnographer - Agnes Taiti, Creative Producer & Community Engagement Officer - Emma Brierley Photos : DumiVisuals & Bella Thewes
Puppet & Costume Making For Lauriston Farm's Harvest Festival
Participants of all ages used clay, paper mache, cloth and paint to sculpt, build and decorate our puppets and costumes that celebrate the biodiversity of our Unexpected Garden's home at Lauriston Agroecology Farm.
Our team who facilitated the workshops for this project were : Visual Artist, Puppet Maker & Workshop Facilitator : Emma Brierley, Visual Artist & Workshop Facilitator : Natasha Russell, Puppet Maker & Workshop Facilitator : Ella Mackay, Creative Producer & Community Engagement Officer : Emma Brierley , Project Partner : Muirhouse Youth Development Group (MYDG), Photos : DumiVisuals & Bella Thewes
Vege-Tables a choreographed dance act in celebration of our favourite vegetables performed at Lauriston Agroecology Farm's Harvest Festival (2022).
Choreographer : Ruxy Cantir, Performers : HND Students from Performing Arts Studio Scotland, Edinburgh College - Granton Campus, 2D vegetables, jars & peppergrinder puppets : Natasha Russell, Ella Mackay, Emma Brierley & Jillian Lee Adamson.
Together We Grow Our Future a collaborative sewing & writing project.
Project Partner : Project Esperanza. The group worked together to design and complete a large banner and shared it at Lauriston Farm's Harvest Festival (2022) as an act of community resilience.
My Body My Voice 2D puppet making workshop exploring our relationships with body image.
Devised in collaboration with Yamina Peerzada and delivered at WOW Perth & Rafi Peer Theatre in 2018/19 with funded support from the British Council. It has since been shared with participants from British Council Scotland, Museums and Galleries Scotland, Surge and Edinburgh College of Art.
Past client for visual arts and performance workshops include:
Edinburgh University and Edinburgh College of Art’s shared Postgraduate Course: Introduction to Community Arts Practice : Oct 2022 Create Puppetry Festival : Oct 2022 Performing Arts Studio Scotland, Edinburgh College : Sep 2022 Dandelion at Lauriston Agroecology Farm : Jul - Sep 2022 Granton Youth : Jul 2022 Project Esperanza : Jul - Sep 2022 Pilton Community Health Project : Jun 2022 Festival of Curiosity : Jul 2021 Puppet Animation Festival : Apr 2021 Morningside Family Art Club : Apr - May 2021 Rafi Peer Puppet Theatre : May 2020 British Council Scotland & Museums and Galleries Scotland : May 2019 British Council & Rafi Peer - Pakistan : Apr 2019 Edinburgh University and Edinburgh College of Art’s shared Postgraduate Course: Introduction to Community Arts Practice : Nov 2018 British Council & Women of the World Festival - Scotland : Oct 2018 Dream Community - Taiwan : Apr - Sep 2014 Anatomy : Sep 2012 Theatre Modo : Aug 2012 Saprinu - Nepal : May 2012 Umbrella Foundation & Sattya - Nepal : Feb - May 2012 Circus Kathmandu - Nepal : Nov 2011 - May 2012 EBTN - Nepal : Nov 2011 - May 2012 Knockengorroch Festival - May : 2011 WHALE Street Arts : Sep 2010 WHALE : July - Aug 2010 The Big Tent Festival : July 2010 Milton Arts Centre : July 2010 Leith Academy : June 2010 Powerpod & Alchemy Arts : 2010 Grangemouth Children's Festival : 2008 Myths & Legends Festival : 2007 Puppet-Lab : 2007 Honeywell Primary School, Clapham : 2006 Beltane Fire Festival : 2006-07