June 2nd 2021
An Artistic Celebration of a Bluebell Wood in West Dorset.
The Bluebell Day Out
On May 29th Wraxall Woods came alive with art and music. Local families enjoyed a day out for the first time for ages. It was “Fabulous! Wow! Amazing!” Watch the film of the day below…
Audience members said:
“Full of surprises and discovery, entertaining and inspirational.”
“Really sensitively blended in with the forest“
“Best day out for families that I have ever experienced, it felt very safe.”
“Thank you Emerald Ant for your energy, creativity and artistic genius“
26th May 2021
Emerald Ant commissioned artists to create The Badgers Bedroom (Kathy Kelly, Kim Sibley), Gi-Ant (Sarah Butterworth), squirrel puppets (Holly Miller / Bryony Moore O’Sullivan), Foxy Glove (Sarah Butterworth, Marnie Shaw, performed by Jonny Hoskins). Music included Bournemouth Symphonic Brass Quintet in the Woodland Concert Hall, a Sound Bath by Katherine Prado, the New Scorpion Band, and saxophonist Rob Mills.
Tickets available at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bluebell-day-out-re-scheduled-tickets-156005531745
Trail Guide
To assist you around the trail we have created a guide. Please download it to your phone as reception is not great in the woods.
What to expect….
On Saturday May 22nd Emerald Ant will be hosting a special musical art trail in Wraxall Woods; a Celebration of Spring and an Emergence from Lockdown. On the trail you will be invited to decorate the badger’s bedroom, meet Foxy Glove, encounter ‘Gi-Ant’, operate squirrel and deer puppets, and play music in the Woodland Concert Hall. It is a free event and not open to the general public. The day replaces the Bluebell Parade we had planned for 2020 and is funded by Arts Council England, Dorset Council and Dorset AONB.
Children at Sticklands and Greenford Primary Schools will be involved in art and music activities in the lead up. Artist Kim Sibley is running Art zooms, to support children to relax and focus in school post lockdown. Sarah Butterworth has created 3 films for classes to make woodland hats and raggedy deer for the event, (below). Ellie Velazquez and her troupe of musicians will be running music sessions. We will run the event to be Covid-safe. Nearer the time you will be invited to book a slot online. In the meantime, put the date in your diaries!
Below is a short video introduction.
Videos for Schools
Meet the Musicians that will be playing in the woods. Watch them play, and learn about their instruments… https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsX8Vy04vXekQ38r0-hqk1Po_kpC7TKx9
Art Workshop 1 – Chiff Chaff Hats
The film below is for Reception children, Year 1 and Year 2. It will take 4 afternoon sessions to make the hats. I will take you through all the steps. Boxes of materials are in school, quarantined. Please complete the work by May 12th so we have time to assemble the hats for the event. Please watch the whole film through before starting. Timings: Session 1: 0- 9.23, Session 2: 9.23 -13.39, Session 3: 13.39 -18.00, Session 4: 18.02 -end. Thanks, Sarah
Workshop 2 – Woodland Headdresses and Garlands
This film is for Years 3 and 4 to make headdresses and garlands to wear at the Bluebell Day Out. I suggest doing 4 sessions, one per afternoon. The timings are as follows: Session 1: 0 -13.59, Session 2: 13.59 – 26.49, Session 3: 26.49 – 35.45, Session 4: 35.45. Stringing the Garlands: 44.48.
Workshop 3 – Raggedy Deer – For Years 5 and 6.
This workshop is for Years 5 and 6, and will only take a day. Children will make deer to be hung in the woods, and used as puppets. A large space is needed, and drying time, all explained in the introduction. Teachers, please contact me to book a live zoom slot if you would like support. Sarah@emeraldant.com
Bluebell Hat Designs – Summer 2020
We love these hat designs by children with parents, done during lockdown 2020.
Calling parents! A Hat Design Activity for Children at Home.
June 10th 2020
How we Make Hats –
And here’s a worksheet to take you through it step by step –
Please let us know how you get on via the Contacts page. _______________________________________
For more outdoor creative activities, click on this image:
Following a successful woodland workshop programme in 2019, we have been planning a Grand Bluebell Parade in Wraxall Woods in 2020. Our application for Arts Council funding had been successful. Dorset Council and Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty are also funding the project, as well as the local community through Cattistock Flower Show and Quiz Nights at the Fox and Hound. Both Sticklands and Greenford Primary Schools, and local people are on board, artists were all ready to start workshops…Then the Coronavirus happened.
At present schools are closed and we are unsure when the project will happen. Our funders are being supportive and the parade and workshops will take place in the next year, and it will be all the more exciting!
Expect, at some point, giant badgers, bluebell hats, foxes and boxing hares on children’s shoulders, all set to the hurdy gurdy and instrumental birdcalls.
The Hanging Forest…
In cold December children at Sticklands Primary School ventured back to sunny days in Wraxall Woods. Under the trees the birds sang and the bees buzzed. Each child made a tree or animal for the woodland wall. Artist Ed Jobling put together a beautiful soundtrack recorded in the woods. The Forest has been to Stickland and Greenford Primary Schools and spent January in Maiden Newton Church.
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Our Bluebell workshop in the tent at Wraxall Woods
The exhibition in the tent shows work created by school children on the Bluebell Project. All work is created in, or inspired by the woodland.
Some snaps of children’s leaf prints –
And colours collected in the woods
Woodspeak Creators Workshop, Evershot, July –
What’s the Bluebell Project About?
The project is a celebration of our local woodland in Wraxall, West Dorset. Every spring the woods are carpeted in bluebells, campion, stitchwort, primroses and celandine. Amongst the wildlife, a resident white stag can be seen rutting in the early mornings.
With the support of local landlords the Parry Family, Dorset AONB, and a grant from the Ashley Family Foundation, we’ve opened up the woods to children from Greenfords and Sticklands Primary Schools, and the local community. A programme of workshops is a-foot. Children learn about the woodland habitat with Nick Gray from the Dorset Wildlife Trust, then with artists Sarah, Kathy or Flora, they create artwork, often amongst the bluebells, or in the project tent. Our explorations this year will lead to a spring puppet parade in 2020.
Visit us on twitter: wwww.twitter.com/bluebellwraxall
Workshops and Exhibition
18th May – 1-3 pm Mono-printing Weed Workshop and Exhibition
Location: Project tent, Wraxall Woods.
On the A356, before / after the Rampisham Radio Station, take the turning for Cattistock and Wraxall. Drive through the woods and after the Manor House turn immediately right into the farmyard. You may park there, and walk back up the road to the gate.
Please let us know if you require a lift up the hill to the project tent. There is a portaloo on site.
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July 26th & Aug 29th – Woodspeak Creators Workshop (Children), Evershot Village Hall.
Our Spring Workshops in Cattistock…
