Soundwalk Warwickshire – an appeal for help

We have made it through the first round of the Nat West Community Force funding application.  We have now been invited to post photographs and videos and have to put some effort into encouraging people to vote for our project.

As well as posting photographs and videos another idea would be to create a dynamic and media-rich presentation that would tell the world all about Soundwalk Warwickshire and what we are trying to achieve.

To achieve this we need some volunteers to help us put this together .  I have put the basic framework of the presentation together, but now need to add in graphics, additional photos, video footage and a soundtrack.

If you would like to get involved and help us get this programme off the ground please get in touch.

About Soundwalk Warwickshire

Soundwalk Warwickshire is part of our larger Wild Echoes workshop programme which focuses on acoustic ecology.  Our aim is to explore the natural world and our cultural heritage through sound and acoustics.  We will offer a wide range of activities from the very simple to the highly complex.

At a very basic level a soundwalk could simply be a walk in the park, woodland, farmland, an urban environment.  The only criteria are that the soundwalker(s) become attuned to their aural landscape and take some time to reflect on their experiences.

At a more complex level we will be recording natural and displaced natural sounds and using art and technology to create soundscape pieces.  We will also explore what sound, noise, silence and acoustics means to different cultures across different timelines.  For example, exploring historical soundscapes and comparing them with modern soundscapes.

If you want to be a part of this exciting journey, then please get in touch.

The magical power of art inspired by nature

The past few months have not been easy.  Losing my father, after he suffered a long battle against cancer, has been a difficult and emotional time that has tinted my  life with sadness in the past year.   Trying to move E4C forward is also a constant battle, with funding in short supply to get projects off the ground, and rejection for innovative programmes becoming increasingly frustrating. On the business front, it’s a much tougher market place out there for service-based companies, making it harder and at times exhausting just to keep pace.  And to cap it all, whilst the recent crop of Bank Holidays has given me a well earned rest, it has meant that much of April has been written off as being unproductive. 

The culmination of all this left me feeling pretty down in the dumps until I started going through my Twitter feed this morning.  I’d even read on one of the postings that  “Twitter can make you happier”.  One of the ways it does this is by providing  a distraction which takes you away from your negative thoughts!  Well, it certainly did that, and my mood has been lifted tremendously by links to two blogs that have reminded me of the wonderful and magical power of art and nature. 

Art Discovery in Wales

The first Twitter discovery was an article and slideshow about a series of wall paintings that have been found in old toilet block due for demolition on a remote Welsh island off the Pembrokeshire coast.  Twitchers and other visitors there have documented sightings of rare birds by painting them on the walls.  Started in the 1960s, this practice continued for many years and there are now over 100 paintings.  Is this the modern equivalent of cave paintings?  Since the dawning of human consciousness, we have always felt the need to depict the world around us through art, and this is a wonderful example of this.  But what also lifted my spirits with this blog posting, is the story itself.  In an increasingly fast-paced world, and in a remote corner of the British Isles, a group of people have been quietly documenting the wild bird species in the most unlikeliest of places. 

To see the slideshow, follow the link:  http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/arts-in-wales/2011/05/04/stunning-wildlife-paintings-discovered-in-wales-91466-28635241/

The second posting I found on Twitter was a tweet that simply said:   “Sand Dancer – Enjoy!”  I was curious enough by this tweet to follow the link, and I’m so glad I did.  The Sand Dancer in question is artist, Peter Donnelly, who creates amazing “paintings” in the sand using a stick and a rake.  These are done on a large scale, and, by all accounts, he does not use plotting tools or visual perspective.  

When you are feeling down, seeing the passion with which someone else lives their life, in all its simplicity and self-belief, somehow inspires you with the motivation to face the day with a smile in your heart.

(Thank you to Eco Preservation Society for the original post)

I hope these two postings have the same effect on you, and bring a smile to your face too, and perhaps a little reflection on the wonders of nature, and the inspiration she gives us to use her as our muse.