Tuesday 30 July 2013

NBGW to host Tethered Fairy Ring Quilt-a-thon! 9th & 10th September 2013!


 
stop press stop press stop press
Monday September 9th and
Tuesday September 10th
are the confirmed dates for
The Tethered Fairy Ring
Quilt-a-thon
with Shelbyart Community
 
Read on to find out how you can come to The Great Glasshouse at

 The National Botanic
Garden of Wales
 
and take part in making my beautiful quilted story telling circle, as well as earn time credits via Spice!

 
Mmmm ... I thought to myself, as I lay in bed wondering how on earth I would fund the making of my HUGE design for my Fairy Ring Story Telling Quilt ... think outside the box!
 
I can visualise the story quilt; patchwork, Indonesian and incorporated into it are the fairies of my logo with the ukulele ... there are red toadstools ... there are tassles and bells that the children can jingle jangle during the story, it is very tactile, they can't help touching it as they sit with their parents listening to the story of The Tethered Fairy Ring.
 
 
 
 

It took me a while to get to a Story Telling Quilt.

Initially, I had visualised an almost Stonehenge arrangement of fairies & toadstools ... but then I thought about transporting it on my own in my beetle, and even with all the magic fairy dust in the world, I needed to be conscious of how I would travel with my fairy ring.
 
I have a disability that means I shouldn't lift heavy things,  so when the Story Telling Quilt popped in my head ... all rolled up with a tie, fitting very neatly into the back of the car ... it made me smile.
 
But how on earth would I get it made?
 
I looked on line and it would cost an absolute fortune. Besides, I wanted to have something that was community focussed, had drawn people together, that was made with excitement and love, something recycled and up-cycled ... not a commercially made story quilt.
 
 
foto taken by Llanelli Star
 
 
 
When I'm not tethered to my fairy ring, I am the Creative Director of Celtic Womenfest: A 2 day Women's music and spoken word festival, and this year, we are having a Knitting Rhythms table.
 
Deputy Mayor, Ruth Price, who is opening the festival for us again this year, suggested that I get in touch with Michelle Williams, who had set up Shelbyart, for some festival knitting volunteers.
 
So, I added Michelle Williams to my facebook friends and she very kindly offered to find volunteers who would stay with the knitting table all weekend, helping others to get started.
 
I decided to watch Michelle's work and see what kind of other things they got up to at Shelyart, which then became Shelbyart Community ... Mmmm ... I thought, this looks interesting!
 
 
 
 

Then the clincher was a project that Shelbyart Community got involved with called 'Dress a Girl Around the World' where groups of people came together to make a dress for an African child out of a pillow case and up-cycled materials donated by the community. WOW! They were absolutely beautiful. How wonderful for people to volunteer to come together and get involved in this way.
 
 
 
First Dress made by Shelbyart Community

 
I rang Michelle and she told me about a huge quilt the volunteers had made to hang in Llanelli Library! Mmmmm, I thought ... starting to get very excited indeed.
 
And how did Shelbyart make it so? ...  through the vision of Michelle, working in partnership with an organisation called Spice. Spice have made an arrangement with the County Council in Carmarthenshire, called Time Credits whereby the volunteers are rewarded with tickets to venues and arts opportunities across the county, such as the theatre, cinema ... just about anything!
 
 
 
 
I love this idea! That people all come together to make something via the arts and then are rewarded by credits that enable them greater access to their community.
 
I told Michelle about The Tethered Fairy Ring and asked her if Shelbyart Community, via Spice, would be able to make my Story Telling Quilt.

Michelle got approval from Spice for the quilt to become part of time credtis! WOW!!!
 
 
Last week, I went to Michelle's house and talked through my design ideas. She had loads of solutions and suggestions. I really like her. It felt like I'd always known her.

We rummaged around her big box of recycled materials and she decided she would put a shout out for more things donated from the community for the quilt. I LOVE this! So many people's love will have gone into the quilt! Now that's magic!

 
 
Kindly taken by Darren Boxer
 in The Great Glasshouse at The National Botanic Garden of Wales
 for the launch of my Snow Tracks Album.
 
 
We are recruiting 30 volunteers and I have been in touch with Bruce Langridge, remember him? our Waxcap Wizard at The National Botanic GArden of Garden ... and he has agreed we can use The Great Glasshouse to run a 2 day Tethered Fairy Ring Quilt-a-thon.

That sits perfectly in my heart!

It is the heart-home of my story line, right in the hub of the garden, where resides a fairy ring thought to be over 150 years old! Thank you so much for your support & kindness NBGW!

And we'll spend the whole 2 days in the absolutely stunning Great Glasshouse. People can drop in and join us but  we need 30 core volunteers, all of whom will be part of time credits as long as they join the Shelbyart Community.

You can easily do this by leaving me a message here, or on facebook or email me at cherylbeermusic@gmail.com
 
... and then I will add you to the Shelbyart Community group page on facebook.
 
 
 
Michelle has already put the shout out for volunteers for The Tethered Fairy Ring Quilt-a-thon on the group page and there has been lots of interest .
 
 
The dates are  Monday September  9th & Tuesday September 10th.
 
 
Let us know if you're interested in coming to volunteer for all or part of the 2 days.
 
Volunteers taking part enter the Garden for free and as long as they are part of The Shelbyart Community Group, they will also receive time credits for taking part.
 
Couldn't be simpler!
 
And let's face it, who wouldn't want to spend 2 days at The National Botanic Garden of Wales with a bunch of creative people!
 
Great chance to make friends
and have a lovely time!
 
And if you've never sewn, well, what a great opportunity to learn!
 
So, come along and put your love into my Tethered Fairy Ring Story Blanket.
 
Following the launch of The Tehtered Fairy Ring at the launch on NAtional Fungi Day, the quilt will come on tour with me  in its own right, making the story even more exciting for all the people who sit and share the experience.

In phase 2 and 3, the quilt will become the centre piece of a much larger Fairy Ring installation ... and I'll tell you all about that in a later blog! Aside: I can hear my Nan in my mind's eye saying, 'One step at a time darling.'

 
 
Oh, & one final thought-share about 'funding' 

... as the artist making her visions become reality within the context of a tough economic climate, I may not be in receipt of arts 'funding' for this journey, but I will receive the most incredible Story Telling Blanket that will be with me for the rest of my life, making children and adults smile as they listen & experience my stories ...

... this type of reward may not please my bank manager, but it pleases me immensely.

Thank you so much to Ruth for linking me to Michelle, to everyone in Shelbyart Community, to Spice, to my friends and people I don't know yet, who will all come as a result of this post, to The National Botanic Garden of Wales on 9th & 10th of September, thanks to our Waxcap Wizard, Bruce Langridge, for making the Great Glasshouse the home of the Quilt-a-thon and to YOU, yes, YOU, for following my thread ... I simply can not wait to show you the story telling quilt!!!


 
 

Sunday 28 July 2013

Ceremonial Sun Gong Film to Ring in the Fairies



 
 
To welcome  The Tethered Fairy Ring: A Symphonic Poem & Ukulele Overture for the Light Hearted, I decided I would like to go to the West Wales Coastline where I wrote the story & welcome in the journey with a ceremonial gong.
 
 

 
The reason for this is that I plan to go to Kerala to make a Shadow Puppet Film of The Tethered Fairy Ring & the team of 8 puppeteers that I will be working with, usually perform their traditional Puppet Theatre as part of 5 months of Temple Ceremony. This opens for them with a Ceremonial Gong ...
 
 
 
So, it seemed fitting to me that I do the same here, in West Wales.

put out a shout on facebook and Isobel Eleanor Sinead Stevenson put me in touch with Jim Fox from The Centre of Holistic & Complimentary Therapies in Swansea.
 
Jim very kindly came with me to Cei Bach Beach, New Quay, with his Sun Gong ...
 
 
 
I have edited the film leaving in the environmental sounds including the wind noise, which is traditionally edited out of film, because I wanted to capture how the elements worked with the resonance of the gong. 
 
 
 
 
It was really very magical indeed and impossible for me to capture on my little hand held camera the whole ambience of the wind, the running water, and how the gong resonated with my body making me smile involuntarily.
 
It was also quite funny because I became so engrossed in the piece, filming Jim, that I failed to notice the growing crowd of people who stood on the wall above us watching. It was really quite spooky! They didn't smile, or speak, or show emotion: they just stood stock still watching, wide eyed and in awe.
 
One little lad had almost forgotten he was  holding an ice cream, and I noticed how it was melting slowing and had run down the cone and was coiling around his sun kissed arm, such was his fascination.
 
And then once they had seen what was happening, the disappeared back to the other side of the wall! Almost as quickly as they had arrived, no doubt continuing with their own form of factor 15 sun workshop!
 
When I put the photo's of the day on facebook, Daisy Davies wrote about jim, 'He looks like a very magical man.' and I thought ... yes, he does, doesn't he!
 
I have never met Jim Fox before this day. How generous of him to simply offer to come. I was so very touched. We had such a wonderful time from the cuppa and chat before we left, through to carrying the gong and equipment to the beach and filming the gong ceremony.
 
I played The Tethered Fairy Ring Ukulele Composition to Jim and he not only said he liked it but that he had never heard the ukulele played quite in that way before ... I was  touched.
 
I found myself saying to him that I wanted to take my l'il ol' uke away from her comfort zone, to make her into the story telling instrument that she is, to give her the respect and love that I feel in my heart for her, to repay her  for the joy she has given to me in my world ...
 
 
 
 
In that moment, I swear I felt her pulsate as if she had a heart beat of her own and I was merely the vehicle for her to shine through.
 
 
 
 
Thank you so much Jim for your generous kindness.
 
Here is a link to Jim's Healing Centre in Swansea
 

They do amazing things there ... like the Labyrinth Book Store which raises money to give free holistic therapies to cancer patients ...
 
I'm definitely booking a session there because I really like the idea of doing tonal voice work with Jim and his set of Tibetan singing bowls ... will let you know how that feels ...
 
Meanwhile, I will send some of the books I have written to the Centre to help in a small way ..

 
 
 

Monday 22 July 2013

Gong-tastic Day!

 
Can't tell you how excited I am!
 
I put a shout out on facebook for someone adventurous to come to my place with their gong and we pootle off down the beach to record the it resonating with the sea rhythm of the waves ...
And Jim Fox replied.
This is a picture of his gong and prayer bowls.
 
He'll be here this afternoon and we'll go down to one of my favourite quiet little beaches ...
 
I'll take my little hand held video and my Tascam digi recorder ... and we'll see what happens!
 
Watch this space!!
Later, I'll explain why the gong is relevant & how it fits into
The Tethered Fairy Ring
 
 
 
 
 

Sunday 21 July 2013

How to join the Fairy Ring






Do you want to join the Tethered Fairy Ring?
 
Than just contact Michael Kennedy and book your performance as part of Cheryl's forthcoming tour ...



 

Magic Spells to help with performance fees: Night Out Scheme


 
Great News!!
The Tethered Fairy Ring
is now registered with Night Out
 

 
'Night Out is a public service, organised by the Community Touring Unit of the Arts Council of Wales in partnership with NEARLY all of Wales’ local authorities.
 
Night out has been operating throughout Wales
for the past 30 years. 
 
Night Out exists to bring exciting professional performances to community venues, and since its inception has helped thousands of performances in 100’s of venues. By helping local community groups to host live professional performances  without incurring the normal financial risks. 
 
 
IF YOU ARE A COMMUNITY ORGANISATION WITH ACCESS TO A SUITABLE HALL (e.g. Village Hall Committee / Parish Council / Youth club / School PTA etc),
you are ideally suited to use the scheme.
 
You don’t need to have a stage or special lighting but the hall must be wheelchair accessible and friendly to people with disabilities.
 
Night Out pays the performer fees.
 
You get the performer at a standard subsidised
price which is currently 50% of the full fee.
 
 In nearly all cases we can arrange for this to be completely or partially guaranteed by your local authority so that your risk of losing money is either minimised or eliminated.'
 
The full fee for The Tethered Fairy Ring is £150.00 plus travel. So why not register with Night Out and make a booking!
 
 
 

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Away with the fairies ... does the story work?




The only way to tell if a story works ... is to tell it!
 
The Tethered Fairy Ring's very first airing was at Ammanford Theatre as part of Ffocus FFwrnes
 
 
 
These little girls loved it. I told them the story and then asked them to guess the characters as they came along in the ukulele performance.
 
 
They got really excited shouting out the names of the characters.
 
 
Ammanford Theatre foto's by Lucy May Constantini
 
 
It was enchanting.
 


 
Then I took The Tethered Fairy Ring to World Within a World Festival at Cwmdonkin Park to celebrate No.5 Dylan Thomas Birth House.
 
 
This lovely photo was kindly taken by Lazarus Carpenter.
 
 
 
Then, the very beautiful Mathew Belcher from Swansea Ukulele Group asked me if I would come and perform the piece in a quiet place in the park for a group of ukulele players.It was a very lovely experience and taught me a lot!   
 
Thanks a million Mathew, you rescued my little heart that day.

When my friend asked me to perform at his joint 110th Birthday Party ...

 
The Fairy Ring came with me & we had such fun.
I was amongst lovely like minded chums whom I love very much so it felt gorgeous.
 




The next outing for The Tethered Fairy Ring was ...

 


  at  People's Kitchen near Lampeter ...
 
 
 
 
 .... organised by a very beautiful soul
called Lunar Rage.
 
 
 
 
 
This was an AMAZING experience.
 



 
I was a lot more confident in the piece now.
 
 
 
 
 


Then I gave the Tethered Fairy Ring the biggest tester of all:



 
I performed it for 40 school children from Bigyn Primary School, funded via Arts Care Gofal Celf as part of the advertising for Ffocus Ffwrnes Family Fun Day, and then gave them all a ukulele lesson.
 
 
 

I now knew the story well enough to break within it, include the children more and to adapt it to fit the different concentration spans.
 
 
 


I asked them to leave feedback and it was all very positive. They really liked the story and equally, fell in love with  my L'il gang of ukes!

 
 


 
Then last week, I had a cuppa with Bob Edwards, who will recognise as POP from an ealier blog.
 
 



 
 
 
I performed just for him ...
 
 
 
 
 

I didn't have my ukulele with me but he loved the story and that absolutely meant the world to me because  he was part of the original inspiration for my piece. He is also a very creative person, who through working with me on lots of different projects in recent years, has become my friend.  His creative opinion means a lot to me.
 
And now I have written a few new themes into the story line and weaved the Waxcap Wizard into the composition, I reckon my Fairy Ring is almost a complete circle & is undoubtedly tethered to my roots now, in  every way.






Home Made Sparkle: Show Reel Movie



 

 
Are you now wondering ... what is
 
The Tethered Fairy Ring?
 
Well, I've made this story based show reel in my garden, on a lovely sunny day
just for you ...
 
 
 

Monday 15 July 2013

Making Magical Logo's with Lo-tech & fairy dust


 
  
This is what I really wanted my
 
Tethered Fairy Ring Story Blanket

to look like, only round,
in soft but heavy calico, quilted ...
 

... with bell & shell tassels around it.
 
But as I explained in an earlier blog, that just isn't financially an option for me just now.
 
So instead I will use my design as a logo.
I think it could also work as the book/CD cover
 
How did I make it?
 
With low tech and fairy dust!
 
 
Here's the lo-tech bit ...
First I found a fairy stencil on line.
I spray painted her ... 
then I drew in a ukulele

 
 



 
Then I found a non-copyright mushroom that I liked the look of.
 
I printed them all out and made the design with  UPVA & bits of paper
on a A3 pad.
 
You can  still see the glue drying on this pic!
 
 

 
 
 
Now then, here's the hi-tech fairy dust!
I photographed it on my Samsung 3 and used an editing app to age the photograph.
 
Then, to experiment, I kept on saving it and applying another effect. And ended up with the one below ... which I also really like.
 
 
 
 
 
Then I put  both of my designs on facebook and asked my friends which they preferred.
 
They said ...
 
The one at the top of this page ...
which I tend to agree with ..
but I have a cunning plan for the grey/silver one! (which someone on fb suggested would look nice with glitter/sparkle on it, I like the sound of that and may give it a go.) 
 
In phase 2, when a fairy brings me the funds to make it so, I am going to do some very exciting things with shadow puppets & shadows generally, and make a film from them for The Tethered Fairy Ring ... and I think this darker logo  would be perfect for that!
 
Top tip: Bank your ideas!
I never, ever put an idea in the bin ...
in a lifetime, you'll be surprised at how handy a bank of ideas might be!
 
 
 



Fairies on Fire & Fliers

 
Time to tell the world that ...  
The Tethered Fairy Ring
 
IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR BOOKINGS!
 
 
 
Now I could have just scribbled a note
on a postcard ...
 
 
 
... but I wanted it to be fairy-tastic!
 
 
 
So I needed to come up with ...
 
 
A cunning plan.
 
 
 
And like all cunning plans
 
 
 
 
 ... it started in the kitchen!
Under the grill to be more precise!
Having designed the flier I wanted it to look authentically burnt! I remember doing this for a project in junior school so thought ...
 
 
 
 ... it would be easy enough ... just put it under the grill and ....
 
 
Woops! Nearly burn the house down!!!
 
Do NOT do this at home kids!
 
 
So after a lot of ashes and words that should not be repeated, I ended up with the one above ... which for some reason wouldn't go brown at the edges of the paper ...
 
 
Not to worry, nothing  that an old teabag
can't sort out ...
 
 
Then out into the back garden for a foto shoot ...
 
And now I have put my favourite 3 as samples on facebook to see which people like the most. Facebook is great for a bit of market research ... and to see if people like the one I like.
 
Which one do you think works the best for letting people know they can now contact Michael Kennedy  at mike.kennedy@hotmial.co.uk
or ring him on 07561 104093
to book me to bring fairy-ness to their door?