Transition Town Tooting

Tag: Creative

  • the heART of the libraries: videos from a community group project in Tooting Library

    the heART of the libraries interactive project has been devised by artist Sam Haynes who has been piloting it with Wandsworth Libraries since the new year, and some of the results are can be seen in Tooting Library until the end of April.

    Two of us from TTT have been involved – this is a creative and original project which is working with diverse local groups and new technology. It’s all about new skills and ‘social’ sustainability linked with the accessible and welcoming community setting of local libraries.

    For example, members of the South London Tamil Welfare Group took part in a short workshop where they learned to use iPads, coached by Chris Nash from the Wandsworth City Learning Centre.



    Even though many participants had never touched an iPad before…

    …very soon they were onto the next step, which was to make a short video of subjects in the Library itself, recording their own commentary alongside the images..

    Now these videos are on view in Tooting Library by a very novel method – each video is accessible via a unique barcode which can be read by a smartphone or iPad with the Microsoft Tag application.

    You’ll find this on the App Store, or download to an android phone from http://gettag.mobi

    Here is one of the barcodes from the set by this group.

    If you download the app to your phone, you will be able to scan this barcode image as it’s shown here on TTT’s blog, in order to see one of the project videos.




    If you go to Tooting Library in the next week, with the app installed on your phone, you can find the other barcodes throughout the libary, and see all the other videos too.
    Sam’s website: http://www.samhaynesart.blogspot.co.uk/

    This technique has encouraged me to think about including this appoach in our Community Garden, Tooting Foodival or Gatton School projects. Children or adults could quickly share their own reponses to their experiences, and participate in fascinating new ways to communicate a story made of images, music or commentary in any language….and we can even design our own barcodes (seasonal vegetables?) to suit each project!  – Charles

     

  • Meet & Make Tonight

    Much like a tree in winter the Meet & Make notice board is looking a little sparse due to the season, we are all drawing our energies and preparing for flourishes throughout the rest of the year!

    Do check out the picture for what is going on and get in contact or chat to me tonight for more info on any of the items.Meet & Make Notice Board page #0-1
    And not to worry as this just leaves us with more making time at our Meet & Make tonight which is now confirmed to be at Sprout, who are kindly lending us the venue, at 6:30 – 8:30ish. See side bar on the right for the address.
    We have an official feature craft tonight which will be making ‘Ribbon  Zipper Bags’ as demonstrated in this fab Marc Montano video. I will bring materials and sewing machine!
    Come along to try this out or bring along something else you are working on to get in some quality making time.
    Hope to see you there, contact Jeni for more details or to join our Meet & Make mailing list – jeniannewalker@gmail.com

  • Festive Meet and Make – this Sat 7th Dec

    A little taster..

    of the kind of mad things…

    you could be making…

    if you come to Festive Meet & Make …

    this Saturday 7th Dec…

    3-7pm at Mushkil Aasaan hall, 222 Upper Tooting Road SW17 7EW (next to Nandos)

    We will also be creating cards, producing pomanders, stirring up sweets and reusing recyclables for wrapping gifts.

    Drop in, no need to book, all free but donation buckets will be on hand for loose change.  Monies raised go to Mushkil Limited charity and TTT funding.

    email jeniannewalker@gmail.com for info

  • Tooting Community Garden Open Day: 10:00 – 5:00 Sunday 9th June

    We’re a surprising community vegetable garden within a hidden-away space that we share with exuberant native trees and plants, just off Tooting Common at 5 North Drive, SW16 1RN. Look out for the signs.

    It’s our second birthday this weekend, and do come and visit our Open Day on Sunday, being held in conjunction with two great London-wide initiatives: Open Garden Squares, and the Chelsea Fringe.   

    At the start in 2011
    • Come along and relax in our secret garden-within-a-garden
    • Do some gardening if you like
    • Chat about your ideas for the space
    • Explore what Gatton School children have been doing as part of their outdoor learning programme (more info here)
    Bread wheat, autumn 2012


    There are two timed events within the day:

    12:00-14:00. We’re offering the historic and fascinating art of printing from plants. You’ll like this if you are interested in looking at plants in a new way, experimenting with textures, shapes and patterns, playing with rollers and ink, and making beautiful images to take away. Suitable for all ages, and all materials provided (and there’s plenty of leaves here for printing).

    15:00. Join Emily Duizend from Story Island for Bring me sunshine! Tales of the Sun from around the world ‘I plan to tell a Japanese and a Maori myth about the sun, maybe peppered with some sunny songs on the ukulele and a bit of harmonica’. Outdoor storytelling for all ages. www.storyisland.net
    
    

    Spring 2013

    All welcome
    admission is by voluntary donation, and under-12s are free

  • Magical Day of Stories with Tooting Library May 11th

    The 2nd Day of Stories with Tooting Library was a surprising and experimental day. In the morning and afternoon we were transported from the centre of Tooting to join five storytellers’ worlds of wonder – crossing boundaries of geography and time from Norfolk to the Great Plains, with sound effects from the beautiful (the harmonica) to the funny (blowing custard through straws).

    In the middle of the day we offered two and a half hours of printing from plants (it was difficult to stop), using leaves gathered that morning in Tooting.  Have a look at the slide show below, to see concentration and the work of many hands in action!
    We rolled out ink, selected leaves and coloured paper, folded it all up and rubbed with our hands to transfer the image, feeling the different leaves through the paper.  Some continued with another colour or a different leaf, producing detailed and dramatic results.

    Many thanks to all who came and took part, and to our colleagues from the Library

    We’ll be offering plant printing, and storytelling with Alison Royce, in Tooting on Sunday 9th June, at the ‘Tooting Community Growing’ open day at the Community Garden at 5 North Drive. For more information click here, and all ages very welcome.

  • Tooting and Wandsworth bursting with activity

    I’ll let the pictures do the talking: 48 hours of local creative activities by the Wandle, in the Community Garden, on Tooting Common.
    
    

    The ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ by the
    Wandle opposite the Ram Brewery
    ‘It’s a Wandleful Life’: opening
    the Wandsworth Arts Festival
    The climbing frame:
    freshly painted by Gatton School
    ‘Wish you were here’ in
    Tooting, with Crafty Pint

    

    

    We’ve put this off for a year- thanks loads!
    Potatoes spouting: planted on 
    TTT’s ‘Fresh & Refresh’ walk in April
    Conversation, with weeding
    A beautiful sight: telling The Jigsaw Horse story today

    We’ll share a report soon on last week’s TTT AGM & 5th Birthday party. Next weekend it’s the Day of Stories on Saturday, and a picnic at the Community Garden on Sunday. Details in the calendar….all welcome.

  • Be creative in Tooting! ‘Day of Stories 2013’ on Saturday 11th May, plus two events this weekend

    Saturday 4th May: ‘Wish You Were Here’ Crafty Pint’s workshop printing souvenirs of Tooting, at the Tooting Tram, 12:00 – 6:00. For details click click here

    Sunday 5th May: ‘The Jigsaw Horse’ storytelling and art promenade leaves Sprout Arts in Furzedown at 1:00. For details click here
    Saturday May 11th: Welcome to the 2nd Tooting Library and Transition Town Tooting ‘Day of Stories’
    This free, exciting and diverse day is on Saturday May 11th, 10:00 to 4:00, in Tooting Children’s Library, 75 Mitcham Road, SW17 9PD

    No need to book – just pop in any time to join in some stories and make creative nature prints and stay as long as you like. This is a family day for children and their parents / carers – all welcome to take part.



    10:00-11:00 ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’+ Bill. …see below!

    11:15- 1:45 ‘Stories of Wonder’ + Alison
    12:00-2:30  ‘Nature printing ‘+ Chuck and Jane from TTT
    2:30-3:00  ‘Snakes, Lizards and Giants!’ Stories on sharing + Emily
    3:15-4:00  ‘Adventures of the Jumping Mouse’ + Marika and Hannah


    More details:

    Going on a Bear Hunt with Bill!  A great way to bring a book to life is by making sound effects to go along with your favourite story, and even recording these sounds to play the next time.
    Join Tooting Children’s Librarian Bill Bawden for a fun creative workshop with the aim of making a recording of Michael Rosen’s classic “We’re going on a Bear Hunt“. Learn how to use everyday objects to make sounds such as splashing through rivers, squelching through mud and stumbling through forests!
    The final recording will be made available to download for free and can be used to bring the story to life again and again!

    Nature Printing  Come and try an unusual, historic and magical technique: printing directly from leaves and plants. It is quick to learn, and it is not hard to get very beautiful results.




    We’ll collect springtime leaves in advance from across Tooting – or you can bring some in.          Then we’ll pass on this historic method for creating surprising and detailed prints.


    You’ll enjoy this:

    Ø if you like trying new things
    Ø if you are interested in looking at plants in a new way
    Ø if you like experimenting with textures, shapes, and patterns 
    Ø if you want to make cards, posters or presents to take home
    Come at 12:00 for an introduction, and we’ll show you how to print, or drop in anytime until 2:30. Materials provided, and we’ll adapt this to all ages and abilities: all welcome!
    There’s a blog for the Day of Stories: click here 

  • Re-SPARKLE! and SewVember

    TTT’s last two monthly public sessions in Tooting have both been         all about making – creating things, making time with other people, learning some new skills.

    SewVember was a great success, and here’s some pictures from last Saturday’s Reduce, Re-use, Re-Sparkle! crafts event run together with colleagues in the beautiful Tooting Library:

     
    You’ll see we made bird decorations, reindeer, wallets from juice cartons, scrap paper bags for gifts (or to keep), and small worlds in jam jars….and more. We’ll post a slide show of more photos soon…it was a great afternoon, and thanks to all the helpers and participants.
    Looking forward to the next time!
     
    

  • Reduce, Re-use, ReSPARKLE!

    Please join us on Saturday 15th December from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm for an exciting afternoon of Christmas making in Tooting Library, 75 Mitcham Road. This time we’ll be focusing on what we can do with paper: folding, cutting, glueing, decorating…
    All welcome: drop-in activities for all ages. No need to book. For flyer, please click here.

  • Day of Stories in Tooting Library – Visions for Tooting on a big jigsaw

    On Saturday 3rd November TTT helped Tooting Library run a drop-in Day of Stories.
    Library staff and volunteers read engaging stories, Alison offered a participative ‘live’ story, and Jane & Charles ran 2 hours of making and crafts that also told a story: ‘What would you like to see in Tooting?’

    Children and adults took part, and there was a great atmosphere on the first floor of the Library – the sun streaming in the windows, mixed ages busy on different activities on the carpet or tables, a row of other young people on the computers, storytelling in the middle of the space: all in all, certainly what we love to see in Tooting! 



    Many thanks to Liz, Bill and Heather in the Library. We are hoping to be be offering crafts and making again on Saturday December 15th in the Library – more details to follow, and please come along.