New Ferry Butterfly Park; Empty Shop Project

Same day, new post as I wanted to keep the residents all separate.

Julie Dodd has now started in the space and has already made it her own.

We’ve had a few interested passers by coming in on her first day and saying they’d seen us in the newspaper and asking where the art was haha. So now there are paper book trees hanging from the ceiling and large paper trees on the walls. Julie got busy quickly.

Planning workshops even though we’re asking everyone who comes in to make trees, she needs a lot making for the installation to work in the way she’d like.

We have visitors from a University in Utah, USA next Tuesday night and a local arts and craft group ‘With these Hands’ are holding their meeting in the space another night.

We’ll be asking everyone to make trees then too.

Julie also had an experience with a drunk on her first day, he fell asleep with his head on the table whilst cutting trees (with safety scissors) hopefully this does not put her off!

At least she got an extra tree ;)

Oh and we’ve sold two fluttering butterflies once we realised what a fundraising goldmine they could be and got some to stock – hey if it brings people into the shop I’m not knocking them!

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Had no time to blog I’m afraid.

In between project managing the Comma Project shop I have a real day job I have to do! As well as helping to organise the Arena Charity Art Auction for my studio.

Busy!

Gerald’s final week kept him very busy but still with not many passing visitors, more people coming in to ask about these bizarre solar ‘fluttering’ butterflies one of our volunteers brought in as decoration. We’ve been laughing about the irony that we’ve set up a contemporary art space to get people interested in the space and get notice more for a flutterby!

Anyway, Gerald has left the building, he went out with a finale and a half. Live tweeting his community poem ‘Deconstructing Wilfred’ as a performance piece as well as a screening of his video ‘An Anthology’.

Wine at a PV is the norm but unfortunately one of the local characters came just for the wine and ended up falling down drunk, very worryingly so. He was a lovely old chap, just known locally for his drinking, so very sad.

Luckily the community police passed by to help out and as he couldn’t remember where he lived, had to call an ambulance to take him to the local hospital to sleep it off.

And the moral of the story is…. tea and coffee will do from now on at PVs, maybe the odd glass of wine out of sight in the back.

Gerald as a true pro – live tweeted his poem throughout the whole experience :/

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The ‘Official’ Open day has been and gone now. So though we’ve been open 3 weeks, its official and now hopefully, maybe people will start hearing about us and popping by.

Harriet Harman MP and Shadow secretary for Culture was in Wirral on a visit and came to cut the ribbon. Good exposure for the shop and the community I think. Alison Mc Govern is our local MP (and it was Alison who invited her) attended too. I’d have like Alison to open it really, she is a lovely person, you can tell she genuinely cares, she is opening the Butterfly Park Open day on May 6th though so I’m very pleased about that.

I’m also very thankful to Harriet who did seem impressed by what we’re doing, she was very pleasant and chatted to a lot of the locals and the artists too and of course the kids from the eco-council at Grove Street school, fabulous bunch of kids they are.

The opening was really well attended, lots of interest from the locals Yay and also got told off by someone who didn’t know anything about us and was rather annoyed by it. I can’t have done any more than I have really, in the time we’ve been open my volunteers and I have done what we can to make sure people are informed and this will happen more-so as time goes on. Have promised to deliver flyers to her this week.

Gerald had people cutting and chosing words which he then pasted onto a large roll of paper to be formed into a poem over the next week and read out at his open evening next Friday.

Julie Dodd (our next resident)+ Pam Sullivan (August resident and Manager at Arena Studios and Gallery)) came and put work up in the shop to show the other work that will be there over the coming months and Iain Broadley came down for the opening so he got to see the space, the village and the Butterfly Park too which is great, he’s resident in June/July.

We had local press coverage (all liks below) Johan (volunteer and film maker) has made a video which went onto a local TV channel and Harriet Harman blogged about her visit.

the Wirral Globe did an article about us, comments underneath from readers have upset me a bit. I need to grow a thicker skin I think. One guy clearly hasnt done his homework and thinks I’m just ‘painting’ and selling my own work at the taxpayers expense!!! What???
He couldnt be further from the truth. mad.
I’m not deigning to respond though. Hope someone else puts him right. Its a community project not a commercial project!!!

And you know what, what does it matter if it was a commercial enterprise, surely we should applaud those who manage to get funding in this day and age to help them set up a new business!!! Quite a few of the people who recieved the empty shop funds in Wirral are setting up businesses. Good on them and I wish them all lots of luck, they are very brave and there should be more people like that.

Rant over.

This week Gerald has a workshop for 30 local Brownies then we dash off to to Liverpool Art Prize after. Friday will be a last night ‘open evening’ to show all the work he + the local people have made this month.

Saturday Julie moves into the space for her month.

Quite an exciting week.

http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/9662103.Shadow_c…

http://www.baytvliverpool.com/vod/index.php?vid=HB…

http://www.wmhaltd.org.uk/default.asp?news_id=83&m…

http://www.harrietharman.org/new-ferry-butterfly-p…

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Gerald held the firsy workshop last Sunday. Eco-Poetry, writing Haiku poems about the Butterfly Park.

We had 8 people booked in but only 4 turned up (2 of those were my kids) so not well attended at all.

No emails from the people who couldn’t make it either, we waited 20 minutes and left a note on the shop door directing them to the park in case someone turned up late but no…

I do worry that Free workshops mean people might not turn up. I think if people pay for workshops they obviously dont want to lose their money so will turn up, free…..not so important.

hmmm

However, it was a really good day, we had a fabulous guided walk by Laura followed by a working lunch writing and reading Haiku poetry, some realy good ones came out if it too.

We’ve arranged an official ribbon cutting opening for Friday. We have a VIP but can’t say who it is online…just hope the press believe that it is a real VIP and come any way.

My worry is that the Giant Spectacular is in Liverpool this weekend, the press and ALL of Merseyside (including me in the main) will be in Liverpool to watch it. What happens if no-one comes Friday ….eek!

Cant worry…bubbly bought, cakes ordered, banner en-route.

I’ve asked some of the other artists to come along too. Julie + Pam are bringing some of their residency related work along so we look more gallery like and less shop like for the day too.

Gerald’s work has been mainly performance/video related and we hope to have his edit on the day but I thought it would be a good opportunity to show what’s to come as well.

Looking forward to it, with wobbly legs.

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That’s the first week in our Comma Project shop over. I’m sat here now, we’ve had a good few people in over the course of the week but only about 4 today, need may more.

It’s still in the planning phase as we had to move in 2 weeks early and we managed it but I still have much to do that would have been ready if we could have stuck to schedule.

Gerald needs workshops organising before he can get into the production of his work so it’s a slow start for him but we always knew this would be the case.

He’s got the Wilfred Owen (war poet) society involved and they’re in talks about putting on poetry reading sessions and a theatrical performance within the park, which would be great. Its something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now.

Shop is coming on, we now have display boards up and Gerald has been writing a daily poem onto the blackboards.

Boards are going down today to cover the carpets so that the artists can all work without the worry of getting paint/ink etc onto it. It’s the one thing I have to make sure stays clean as we cant afford to pay for a new carpet to be fitted when we vacate.

This afternoon I’m drawing up the list of workshops and dates so we can start promoting them and taking bookings.

I also need to start a calender of events and dates to figure out when we can open and if we can get volunteers to cover certain shifts.

Still in need of new volunteers, I’m sure thats going to be an ongoing issue.

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