Making Place Irregular News: August 23

Hello All
It's a hive of activity at Making Place central as we gear up for our contribution next week to the magnificent 'Craftival' programme at New Brewery Arts in Cirencester.  Have you attended anything yet?  Are you coming along to any of the Making Place events at Craftival?   More of that later but first, indulge me, here's a bit of 'Jay Waffle'.

I'm thinking more about risk this month, mainly due to two extraordinary people I've connected with over the last few weeks.  One is a great buddy with whom I invented and ran a landscape festival in Yorkshire many moons ago.  They now run a climbing wall & run extreme marathons.  The other is an acrobat, aerialist and Circus Director who I've been supporting to write a funding application for their forthcoming show.  

It is common for one to find themselves 30' up a sheer wall holding on by their finger tips, and the other to be dangling from a harness in the sky making beautiful shapes in the air.  Both of these magnificent humans share an attitude to risk that is way beyond what I can handle in my day to day.  So what makes it possible to take these risks? 

While we're all looking at that fabulous aerial artist, or gawping at the climber high up the wall, perhaps we are not noticing the anchor-person on the end of the rope, or the riggers that placed & safety checked every piece of equipment.  There is a powerful relationship between the risk taker and the supporter/sidekick here.  

And what's this got to do with Making & Mending?  Well, I realised that without my 'anchors' and 'riggers' creating the conditions for me to inhabit my creative self and take my own artistic risks doing anything becomes nigh on impossible. 

• So here is a shout out to the partners who take the kids out for a bit!
• Here's to our cohabitors who give over space for our crafting, making, mending piles! 
• Here's to the champions that celebrate our achievements with compliments, kind words and encouragement! 
• Here's to the tribe of Makers & Menders who share their skills & knowledge with generosity & care!

Without you all, we couldn't do what we do.  We couldn't take our own version risky steps and find our unique creative voice. You are unseen in our work, but our work would not exist without you.  THANK YOU
And now....Craftival!

Makers & Menders
We're delighted to be part of Craftival for our Makers & Menders session this month, taking place at New Brewery Arts, Cirencester, in the Gallery on Tuesday 15th August, at 7pm. 

I know some regulars have already booked to come along, and will make our new joiners feel very welcome.  If you are looking for a social space to bring your making or mending project, or some inspiration to get you going, come and join the tribe!  You can book here and I'll send you more info about what to expect. 

"Makers & Menders sessions are a positive thing on my calendar which I look forward to.  I like to think of [you all] as my "tribe".

As usual the session will run on a Pay What you Like basis.  £6 per person helps us cover the costs of our regular room, nice refreshments, insurance and administration behind the scenes.  If you are able to pay more this helps someone that might not have the funds this month to keep coming and connecting.  If we generate any excess ££ this starts to contribute into a shared pot to do other things like buy materials to play with, or go on a trip together.  So Pay What You Like is our way of supporting each other to find inspiration and keep our sessions reliably running without the need to rely on start/stop funding from other sources.

Crafty Bundles
Craftival is also host to our inaugural Crafty Bundles Art & Craft Materials Swap Event on the 19th August between 1 - 4pm, also in the beautiful gallery at New Brewery Arts.

So excited about this, and looking forward to meeting everyone who has signed up to take part (over 50 people to date - hoorah!).  The more the merrier, and there is still time to get involved - register your interest and I'll send you more info.
 
Crafty Bundles aims to energise a circular arts economy by moving on items that you no longer need or want in order for them to have good use elsewhere.  If you are feeling 'de-cluttery', this is a perfect opportunity to avoid the bin with 'too good to throw away but I don't want it' items, and inspire someone else that could put it to good use.

So I do hope I'll see some of you in actual-real-life very soon at one of the Making Place events.  If you can't make it this time you can follow along on Insta @itsmakingday where I'll do my best to capture what we are up to (new app....LifeLapse....so fun, watch out for results soon on my Insta feed!). 

Meanwhile, please remember to say thanks to your Anchor Person or Rigger - they're awesome!  

Wishing you a creative fun filled month ahead.
Sending love
Jay
xx