Artist in Residence – New Ferry Butterfly Park

I forgot to mention that I have a new job too :)

I leave Liverpool Biennial next week after 4 fantastic years to be ‘Activity Plan and Volunteer Manager’ at a Heritage restoration site in Kensington, Liverpool. A beautiful old Jewish cemetery that is being restored to its former glory for the local community to use in as a space in the future.

I’m pretty sure the Butterfly Park project played a big part in my getting the job which is so great.

And its only part time which means I can still stay on as volunteer board member at the Butterfly park and do whatever I can to help out in the future.

I’m already fundraising to do workshops next summer, keeping everything crossed and public vote starts 26 September here:

http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/1375

Sorry to have been awol for a while.

So busy writing my contextual report it’s untrue. However – it’s done!!!

Can’t quite believe I’m saying that, published online through Blurb, people can buy a copy, not that anyone will want to except perhaps for my family haha.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2408319

I sent the link to the Board of the Butterfly Park and they really loved it, in fact they did buy a copy to have as a reference and archive of the project.

Paul emailed the link around to the whole team and to Cheshire Wildlife Trust to let them see what we have achieved there over the last 18 months.

It’s so fantastic to see it all in print, the copies arrived yesterday and holding it was a surreal moment, so glad it’s finished and yet my work with the Butterfly Park isn’t I hope.

I’ve asked to stay on the Board and work with them as a volunteer for as long as they’ll have me, it’s such an amazing place and I love being part of it.

In July I did a good few workshops with local schoolchildren, taking them on tours of the park and then making all kinds of butterflies out of sandwich bags, paper, found objects. Great fun.

I received a pile of thankyou letters from one class, really touched me to the point that I included some of them in my thesis. That’s what it’s a been about for me, the people, it is a wonderful place and I am very passionate about helping to save it but the people have become really important, all of the volunteer team and the visitors, the kids, the traders, all in their own way have really helped and been an influence on this whole project.

I hand in my thesis on 30th August, set up the exhibition the following week (though my part in this is just a few framed map type illustrations as how can you exhibit a site that’s so far away?) and then 14th September up to Preston with the caravan visitor centre for the Private View of our MA show.

Then it’s over.

Crikey!