Category Archives: craft

Repair Cafe Glasgow

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Restoring locals’ belongings and sense of belonging is the Repair Cafe Glasgow. The Kinning Park branch has been providing free repair workshops and services since 2017, as part of the wider Repair Cafe International movement.

Repair Cafe Glasgow Communications and Events Officer, Lauren Crilly, said: “Repair Cafe International started in the Netherlands in 2009, and the idea was to open a repair space to the community, where people could come and get their things fixed for free, as well as up-skilling themselves.”

She added: “In 2017-18 we ran a little Repair Cafe in Kinning Park, as part of Social Sundays, which we started as part of a Climate Change Project. It was quite busy, but there was quite a lot of other things going on in the space, so John, our Project Manager, decided the Repair Cafe needed its own space and organisation to flourish.”

The team then applied for the Climate Challenge Fund, in Feburary 2018, and started the Repair Café Glasgow in April.

Crilly said: “The challenges of bringing Repair Cafe to Glasgow has been the same challenges that any small business faces; just getting the word out about your organisation.

“We maintain a presence on social media, so that has been a great way of getting younger people involved. A lot of our volunteers are under the age of 30, and that is not the same as other Repair Cafes across the UK, which tend to have a lot of older, retired volunteers.”

Volunteers of all ages, genders and backgrounds are welcome at Repair Cafe Glasgow, with the current team including Scottish, Irish, German and Spanish repairers.

Crilly said: “We have increased the amount of events that we are doing and increased the amount of people involved as volunteers, but at the moment we are continuing to build our network, get people interested, and build diversity in our team. Just now we have a team dominated by men, so it would be really good to get more women on board!”

As well as a mix of demographics Glasgow Repair Cafe has a mix of skills.

Crilly explained: “Our volunteers are amazing, they are able to tackle electronics, textiles and other materials, but we also get people bringing in things that aren’t any of those, for instance someone recently brought in a broken suitcase.

“When someone brings in something for repair that we don’t specialise in fixing everyone is just willing to have a go; within the Repair Cafe everyone has to have that mentality, because there is only a short amount of time to get things fixed. Sometimes the instinct to repair and have a go just kicks in.”

Crilly added: “At the moment we could definitely use more sewing and textile repair specialists; I think that is the backbone of the Repair events, people tend to have broken clothes, and at the moment we only have two textile volunteers.”

While textile repairs are the most sought after, the Repair Café has had niche requests.

Crilly said: “At our last event we had someone come in with a salad spinner that we weren’t able to fix! It was funny because we had four engineers standing around that broken salad spinner trying to figure out what was wrong with it – turns out it was just a piece of plastic that needed replaced, and we just didn’t have the right part. That woman was quite attached to her salad spinner, so it was sad that we were unable to fix it.”

The sentimental aspect of repairing peoples’ belongings came as a surprise to Crilly.

She said: “People have come in and said things like, ‘this lamp belonged to my mum and my mum’s passed away; I’d really like it if you could fix it’, and then when we’ve fixed it, it has totally put a smile on their face.”

However, Crilly acknowledges not everything is as easy to fix.

She added:  “If someone brought a broken heart in for repair, I would have a cup of tea and chat with him or her, maybe offer them some cake.  There are no professional councillors in Repair Cafe Glasgow, but I do consider myself a slight agony aunt!”

Goodwill is also fostered through Repair Café Glasgow’s community outreach efforts.

Crilly explained: “We are based in Kinning Park Complex, which has a big refugee and Asylum seeker community, so we informally work with organisations that help these groups. The Team that leads Repair Café Glasgow has worked in the community sector for a number of years, so we have a built up a number of community contacts.”

She added: “We go through all avenues and connect with other community organisations; we had an event with Locavore community food shop, on Victoria Road, last month; and now we are having an event at the Rig Art Centre in Greenock, and one at the Broomhill Community Hall, on 24 November, so we are connecting as many existing organisations together as we can.”

Repair Café Glasgow is as much about bringing people together for sustainable living discussions, as it is for reducing waste through repairs.

Crilly said: “When you think about waste reduction, Repair Café Glasgow is quite small scale, but it is about creating a community of people and discussions about environmental issues on a greater scale.”

To join the discussion, come to Glasgow Repair Café’s next event, on Saturday, 20 October at Kinning Park Complex, featuring a ceramics repair workshop and drop in repairs sessions.

Crilly added: “We are doing an event in Greenock in November; we’ll be doing some workshops with the swap market in Govanhill in the New Year, and we’ll be doing another event in Locavore; so we are really wanting to get involved with as many organisations as possible.”

To volunteer with Repair Café Glasgow email hello@repaircafeglasgow.org, follow the café on social media, or join an event to have a chat about volunteering.

 

Glasgow Paranormal Investigations

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GPI 

Exploring the unknown in Scotland is Glasgow Paranormal Investigations, one of the country’s oldest ghost hunting clubs. Founded in 2008, GPI investigates places like castles and military bases; as well as businesses and homes.

In fact, it was haunted house that led to the club’s formation.

Investigator Billy Binnie said: He said: “One night I was at home watching TV, with my back to the door, when my wife went upstairs for a shower. I heard her come back downstairs, open and then shut the door and go back upstairs. I didn’t think anything of it until she came back to watch TV.

“I asked her what she had forgotten and she was confused; she said that she hadn’t been down the stairs until right then. But I had felt and heard the door open and close. So if it wasn’t her then what was it?”

Intrigued by their experience, both Billy and Kim Binnie attended a ghost-hunting group, where they met paranormal investigators Lisa Maxwell and James Hume.

Binnie recalled: “After going to a few of these meetings we decided we could do much better ourselves; so we broke off and formed our own group, which became Glasgow Paranormal Investigations.”

Now the four work with ‘relief investigators’ to track paranormal activity.

Binnie said: “We can help people understand what is going on their houses; we can track the paranormal activity and attempt to communicate with spirits through our technology.”

The group does not however perform exorcisms.

Binnie explained: “For that you would need a priest or a really good medium.”

He added: “If people have genuine poltergeist activity then they should seek help, not attempt to tackle it themselves. Care should be taken when dealing with spirits.”

Despite this warning, Binnie perceives ghostly activity as a positive thing.

He said: “Belief in the paranormal has given me more hope in life after death. It makes me think that when people die it is not just the end; that they continue on in another plane of existence.”

While firm in his belief, Binnie wants to find more evidence of ghosts.

He said: “Paranormal activity centres around personal experience, which can be hard to translate into solid evidence.

“For example when GPI went to Renfrew Baths, we heard a faint cry about four or five times in a row. Of the eight of us in the room, six of us heard it. No one in the room made the noise, but I am at a loss to say what did. I would say it was a spirit, but I can’t prove it beyond doubt because I didn’t have a camera on everyone.”

Video cameras are just some of the technology GPI use to track ghosts.

Binnie said: “We now use spirit boxes to scan radio frequencies and look for manipulation. This allows us to ask questions and hear answers in real time.”

As well as spirit boxes the club uses electromagnetic frequency (EMF) detectors, video and thermal imaging cameras.

Binnie said: “Thermal imaging cameras detect change in heat, so you can see hand and feet prints left by spirits. The cameras used to be thousands of pounds to buy, but now you can get ones that you plug into iPads and capture the thermal images through its screen.”

Evidence of the clubs’ findings can be seen on its website, but Binnie said this is no substitute for a live investigation.

He added: “Sometimes when you are just about to pack up the tracking technology goes crazy or you hear an unusual noise. Sometimes when you are chatting as a group the spirit can feed of your energy; or seek to get the energy directed back to them and let you know they are around.”

While exciting, Binnie said GPI work was hard.

He explained: “The club is not for everyone. There can be hours and hours of video footage and audio files to go back and examine after an investigation takes place.”

However, enthusiasts are always welcome to try the club.

Binnie concluded: “The best way to join GPI is to come along on our investigations and get to know us. We have very high standards/expectations from members. So at the moment it is a case of working alongside us as a relief investigator until everyone is happy.”

To join GPI gatherings enthusiasts can find the details on the group’s Facebook page.

 

Origami Scotland

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Origami Scotland

 

Origami – the art of folding paper into decorative forms – has many appeals: it’s cheap, easy to practice and beautiful, so it’s no surprise that the craft has grown from Japanese to global culture.

Dennis Walker, Origami Scotland member said: “Origami seems to have originated in Japan. Early Japanese records show representative models, depicting things such as cranes and flapping birds. Then in the early 20th century the craft was developed almost singlehandedly by Akira Yoshizawa.”

He added: “Yoshizawa’s work reached 1950s America and its enthusiasts were inspired to hold an exhibition in Holland. At the same time origami societies started popping up, hosted by people such as Lillian Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer founded the OrigamiUSA club and went on to help establish the British Origami Society.”

The British Origami Society will next year celebrate its 50th anniversary, showing just how far the craft has come.

Walker said: “About 15 years ago people didn’t know what origami was. Now the British Origami Society holds conventions every year. A few years ago we had the first one in Scotland, situated in Edinburgh and organised by Origami Scotland.”

A member of both Origami Scotland and the British Society for Origami, Walker explained his love of the craft.

He said: “Origami is versatile; it is both mathematical and creative. It can be as cheap or as expensive as you like; and it is mobile, you can pick up a bit of paper wherever you are and start practicing.”

This accessibility was what first got him hooked.

He confessed: “Some of my early models were made from the inside sheets of my school jotters; so my early origami has little blue lines across it.”

Having practiced the art for years, Walker then went on to create his own origami model, the Snowflake.

He said: “I like snow, so a few years ago I had gone looking for a design for a snowflake fold. I found a diagram by a well-respected artist called Joseph Wu; but the edges seemed quite curved and didn’t seem spikey enough. I wanted something that had more spikes and a layered effect.”

Failing to find the design he wanted, Walker set about making it from scratch.

He recalled: “I understood the techniques that would be needed to create such a pattern -having folded many models before – and knew that I would need something based around a centre twist fold; to give me paper to create the spikes and overlaps. So after trying a few variations I settled on the pattern that you can see now.”

Walker added: “I can now fold this pattern in about 20 minutes; it’s quite mathematical and includes repeating the same pattern of folds around six times.”

Repetition is – Walker explained – one of the things that causes origami to be so relaxing.

He said: “Modular origami – which repeats folds in paper the same way – can be quite meditative. But another way practicing origami can be relaxing is through following technical designs that require concentration; this allows folders to focus on following diagrams – step by step – and forget their troubles.”

As well as relaxing participants, origami can stimulate its creators.

Walker explained: “Origami creators can be likened to composers. Like composers origami creators will make the diagrams detailing construction of the final piece. Folders are then like musicians; they take these patterns and use them to perform the final piece. Folders also put their own interpretation into the pattern as they go.”

Walker recalled his favourite origami creators.

He said: “I like the work of the late French artists Eric Joisvl; his work is very artistic, but very difficult to diagram, because all the folds were improvised.

“At the opposite end of the spectrum is an origami artist called Joel Cooper who folds beautiful masks using a polygon technique to form faces.”

Both artists’ creations can be found online, along with a host of many other origami and how-to videos.

Walker said: “My favourite video sharing site is Happy Folding, but beginners can visit the British Origami Society information site and visit the Origami Scotland Facebook page for support.”

The internet – Walker said – has been a double-edged sword for origami clubs.

He explained: “Social media has made it a lot easier for origami clubs to stay in touch, however it has made it harder to attract new members, as the art form lends itself to online resources, which enable people to practice more and more from home. Sometimes this makes people less inclined to join a society – which means that they miss out on the social aspect of the clubs.”

Walker explained the other benefits of origami meet ups.

He said: “When members go to clubs they get a varied understanding of the way in which people fold. Some fold more accurately than others and these differences lead to different techniques that are easier to understand when meeting in the flesh. I certainly find it easier to be more creative when I can listen to live feedback.”

Walker encouraged people to come along and try Origami Scotland.

He said: “Every two months or so we meet up. Before our meeting we have a look through books at origami patterns that we would like to share. If there are beginners struggling with a fold then we all muck in and try and give them a hand. It can help to have a few people put their heads together.”

For information on clubs in the UK, Walker explained that fans could visit both the Origami Scotland and British Origami Society websites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wasps Hanson Studios

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Hidden inside a Dennistoun building is a feast for the eyes; Wasps Hanson studios. Here ceramics, stained glass and drawings are just some of the treasures tucked away. But – once a year – the studios hosts an open weekend, to show the public what it has been missing.

Speaking from the event, ceramicist Eleanor Caie said: “Open weekends are a rare treat, and a lovely chance to let the public explore our working space.”

Elanor

Caie’s shared space showcased her Scottish landscape pots; Japanese style bowls and sphere lamps, which cast patterns from tiny holes.

She said: “I spend a lot of time making things and developing ideas, and the Glasgow ceramics studio [at Hanson] is the best space for this kind of work.”

As well as studio work, Caie helps run an arts fare on Royal Exchange Square, showcasing her and other artists’ produce.

Such multitasking seems common among Hanson’s artists, as stained glass specialist, Alan Robinson showed.

Alan

He said: “I am a full-time artist; I create work here at Hanson, but also use the space to run stained glass classes, for people interested in learning the craft. Students come as beginners, develop their skills, and often end up honing them over years.”

These skills, Robinson explained, are vital to a city renowned for its stained glass.

He said: “Glasgow is the UK’s leading stained glass city; so restorations make up about fifty per cent of my commercial work.”

The other half he listed as original wall mountings, windows and sculpture.

Robinson explained: “I have sculptures on display which I showed at an exhibition in Edinburgh, called Number, Sign and Pattern. These pieces include both fused, and cast and painted glass, with layered surfaces. The pieces explore the relationships between marks and signs, textures and patterns, images and objects.”

Another artist using glass in a different way was Alicia MacInnes. MacInnes showed functional jewellery and sculpture, made via bottle slumping and multiple firings. Tartan patterned glass pendants and bottle dishes were some of the results.

Alicia

MacInnes reflected on the changes she had seen during her time at Hanson.

She said: “I originally came to Wasps Hanson about fifteen years ago, to work in the collective glass studio. Long before that the Hanson building was a tobacco factory, which was eventually turned into artists’ studios. Then – in 2001- the studios were further refurbished with Lottery funding.

“At the time they looked fantastic; since then they have worn a little around the edges, but are still a good space.”

Another long-standing resident showing at the open weekend was artist Susan Eaton. Eaton joined the studios fourteen years ago, after leaving art school.

Susan

She said: “I have always enjoyed the space here. The Hanson Studios have a huge variety of artists working across different mediums.”

Eaton’s medium of choice had recently been pencil, as she explained: “I have been focusing on drawing for the past few years. I work with fine leads and build up layers to get a dense black effect; it’s time consuming but worth it.”

She added: “The works I have on display are incomplete portraits of women, focusing on the texture of their clothing and the weight of the limbs, as opposed to the identity of the subject.”

Also focused on the human form was artist Lindsay John, who showed a series of drawings he had made in Japan, 1981. Each drawing depicted several stylised characters in motion.

L2

He said: “I have had these drawings hidden away, and have just recently had them framed, so am showing them for the first time. They are very special to me.”

John added: “The images were made with a pen brush, common in Japan, which I used to show movement and performance. The figures are a mix of human and animal; reflecting different aspects of the human condition.”

Further anthropic thought was put into John’s screen sculpture, a fan-like object that unfolded into landscapes.

He said: “I made the screen as a gift for one of my friends who recently had a child. It can be held by an adult and shown to their child, to sooth them.  Then, as the child grows up, the screen can be a memento.”

John concluded: “The screen shows landscapes from different places in the world. Each scene has a person in it; these represent the journey that the child will go on.”

Escapism was present not only in John’s work, but throughout the Hanson studio. The open day showed how the space works to bring bespoke experiences to a diffident district.

StrEAT Glasgow

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StrEAT Glasgow pic

Combining Glasgow’s love of arts and eats; StrEAT food festival is coming to the Briggait on September 26 -27, and the best part is it’s free!

After witnessing the success of its London events, StrEAt organisers: Nicky Modlin, Simon Foy, Donald MacLeod and Vanessa Gilpin brought it north of the border.

Vanessa Gilpin explained: “A lot of culinary festivals just focus on food, but this one will include music and visual arts.

“There will be craft workshops throughout the day for kids and adults, including a live art session, where members of the public can use materials provided to get inspired.”

StrEAT Glasgow will also have artists playing between 2 and 9pm; with music ranging from folk to acoustic and jazz.

Gilpin said: “We are still confirming the full line up, but we have arranged a live jam session on Sunday for musicians to turn up and preform.”

She added: “There will be lots of seating for people to take in the atmosphere while enjoying their food.”

The festival will have an area of cold stalls, with chocolates, cakes and artisan beers; as well as a vendor catering area, where visitors can grab a hot bite to eat.

Gilpin said: “StrEAt Glasgow will feature food traders already quite popular in the area, such as Babu Bombay Street Kitchen,  Mighty Mexican, and Smoak.

“Then to wash this down there will be lots of craft beer and cocktails.”

Gilpin explained that people can follow StrEAT Glasgow on social media, to discover the traders as they are revealed. She vowed the festival would appeal to all tastes and ages.

“From noon – 5pm there will be a chilled vibe and we expect a lot of families to attend at this time. Then, toward the end of the night, as the DJs hit the stage, there will be more of an adult feel to the festival.”

She concluded: “StrEAT festival is an exciting new concept for Glasgow; it will showcase great food and arts that no one should miss out on!”

A Stitch Online

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SIAS

Designer Iona Barker is known to many as the face of Say it ain’t Sew, Scotland’s free sewing classes. Hoping to expand this network Barker has launched a website to promote the craft’s physical and mental benefits.

She said: “Sewing can be therapeutic; one of the reasons I took it up was to forget my own worries.

“Before I started Say it Ain’t Sew I had moved up from London, after been made redundant from my dream job; so I was having a really crap time. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I wanted to do something to help myself, and others in the same situation.

“I did some research into Glasgow’s sewing movement and found that while there was a lot of ‘stitch -and -bitch’ groups there wasn’t any free classes. So I formed Say it Ain’t Sew and made admission free, so that anyone could turn up and get creative.”

Say it Ain’t Sew is a beginners’ class, where equipment and fabric is provided for students. Barker founded the class in 2010, at the Hillhead Book Club. Then after years of successful tutorials, she established a second class, in Edinburgh’s Cabaret Voltaire. Now the two run weekly (on Monday from 6.30 to 8.30pm in Edinburgh and on Tuesday from 6.30 to 8.30pm in Glasgow).

The classes’ success, Barker said, comes from student’s satisfaction in their finished projects.

She explained: “Making fun things for family and friends gives people a great sense of achievement. The distraction also helps people that suffer from mental ill health, such as anxiety.”

Another way the class helps those struggling with mental health is through philanthropy.

Barker said: “Every year Say it Ain’t Sew does an event for charity, last year it was a 22 hour stitchathon for SAMH (Scotland’s mental health charity). The stitchathon raised about a grand-and-a-half, and made two huge wall hangings.”

She continued: “This year’s stitchathon will be for Scottish Autism. We are going to create an interactive sensory floor map, with electronic components sewn in, which light up.”

This and other Say it Ain’t Sew projects will soon be documented on the movement’s website.

Barker said: “Say it Ain’t Sew is on a lot of social media channels, but they can be limited when it comes to hosting static information; for instance a lot of people ask me the same questions every day, so the website will answer frequently asked questions.”

She added: “The website will also act as a resource for those not on social media.”

It will do this via text and multimedia content, with Barker’s YouTube sewing videos taking pride of place.

She said: “The YouTube Say It Ain’t Sew tutorials are a new addition to the movement. They came as a result of a brainstorm in taxi, between myself and a film-maker called Grant Lynch.

“Grant wanted to produce edgy cooking shows; and I told him that I wanted to create something similar, but covering sewing instead of cooking.

“So we swapped details, discussed it again, and met to shoot the initial videos. Grant has since moved to Canada, but I am now working with a new filmmaker, Sean Gill, on the latest tutorials. As ever, the videos will be fun, short and sweet.”

As well as showcasing design innovations, the tutorials will answer viewer’s sewing queries.

Barker said: “We get a lot of requests from people who want to alter and repair their clothes. For instance, a lot of people manage to rip the crotch of their jeans when lunging, so I am making a tutorial to address this problem!”

Barker’s repair experience comes as part of her illustrious wardrobe career. Recently she worked as part of Glasgow SEE Hydro’s costume relief; prepping touring stars’ wardrobes before they hit the stage.

She said: “The most exciting project that I worked on at the Hydro was Beyoncé’s Mrs Cater tour.

“The show was crazy, it was so much fun, but very stressful.”

Talking of her time at the Hydro, Barker said: “I loved it, but it was very fast paced – for instance sometimes you would only have 30 seconds to repair things – after a while I was tired.”

She added: “I gave up working in Hydro wardrobe last December, after a very busy couple of months. I felt as if I had hit my peak in costume work, and I wanted focus on helping other people get to that level.”

Now Barker encourages anyone seeking sewing advice to contact her via the website.

She concluded: “I hope the website speaks to people who are stressed or anxious and looking for alternative relaxation; sewing really can meet that need.”

Representing Dennistoun

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In the past Glasgow’s East End suffered a bad reputation, but keen to show its transformation is community group Impact Arts. This group is working on a three year Representing Dennistoun project, using creative works to depict residents’ realities.

Representing Dennistoun is a collaborative project between Impact Arts and the Glasgow Centre of Population Health. Funded through the Arts and Humanities Research Council, it comes as part of a national project called Representing Communities.

Impact Arts Project Manager, Natalie McFadyen White said: “The idea behind Representing Dennistoun was that we wanted to make a new narrative for Dennistoun, because a lot of images of the East End (portrayed through film or books) are now outdated.

“Dennistoun is almost regenerating itself; it hasn’t had a lot of investment, but it is up and coming, with good housing, restaurants and a large arts community.

“There town also has a huge multicultural community, with people who have lived there for generations mingling with newcomers.

“Everyone we have talked to has said it is a very positive place to be, and when we asked the question: ‘what is Dennistoun’, the main answer ‘friendly’.”

This community spirit was showcased, during the Celebrate Dennistoun: Our 2014 Story exhibition, which ran in May 2015, at the Hanson Street Wasps studios.

The exhibition focused on Dennistoun in 2014; a pivotal year for the East End, with many Commonwealth Games events hosted there.

McFadyen White explained: “We asked professional and amateur artists to focus on 2014 and tell us their personal stories from that time and place.”

Participants told these stories through a mix of mediums, such as sketching, photography, film and writing.

McFadyen White  said: “We worked with an artist called James Gow who delivered workshops to local primary schools; getting children to explore the community and create visual responses to it.”

Local community groups also got the chance to collaborate with professional artists. Film-maker Bash Khan formed a photography group in Dennistoun Library, and author Ellie Thom used stories – collated during the first part of the project – to create an original novel.

McFadyen White  added: “We were also lucky to be able to include Eoin Carey photographs in the exhibition, because he and his partner Paula Morgan were running a ‘Washing Line’ show at exactly the same time as we were gathering our work from the community.”

She said: “The exhibition was great to be a part of; everyone involved has been super talented, and I have felt really privileged to work with them.”

During the exhibition visitors were encouraged to write on postcards, sharing their stories of Dennistoun by pinning them to a board.

McFadyen White  said: “I was recently looking through all of these postcards, and we had some really funny local stories.

“Everyone who attended the exhibition loved it.”

Although no longer running in the Wasps studios; an online tour of Celebrate Dennistoun: Our 2014 Story will be stationed in the town’s library. The Representing Dennistoun wider project will continue through 2015, with a final showcase in spring 2016.

McFadyen White  concluded: “There is still scope for people get involved in the project; they can use the Representing Dennistoun Twitter account, an Impact Arts Twitter, Facebook and my own email to get in touch.”

Galoshans Festival

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GALOSHANS PIC

There’s a new UK arts festival and it’s called the Galoshans. With the Scots name for ‘guising’ it’s unsurprisingly scheduled North of the border. The exact location is however, more surprising. Unlike most Scottish festivals, it isn’t going to Glasgow or Edinburgh, rather Inverclyde.

Bringing the festival to Inverclyde is Scottish charity UZ Arts. The group works to commission, produce and distribute art in all its forms.

UZ Arts Executive producer, Jo McLean, said: “The Community Trust had been organising events as part of the Inverclyde Space programme and, in 2014, they spoke to UZ Arts about growing a festival.

“The Galoshans was an idea that the Community Trust had introduced to us. They told us it was a traditional folk play about George and the dragon. The original custom was to perform the play in spring;  but Inverclyde adapted it to take place around Halloween [alongside guising]. ”

Now UZ Arts are expanding the custom into an arts festival. The festival will still nclude the Galoshans play, as well as music, performances, and installations throughout Inverclyde.

Galoshans will run from 30 October to 1 November, with a complimentary fringe programme that ends in  Inverclyde’s firework display (November 7).

As well as this, the festival will launch with a symposium entitled Moving Out, which pushes artists and audiences outside of their comfort zones.

Using the European network IN SITU, UZ Arts will bring artists across seas to engage with the people of Inverclyde. The artists will create work outside conventional venues, reimagining iconic landmarks.

McLean said: “UZ Arts are part of IN SITU, a 19 country network, which funds international arts projects, and enables collaberations. IN SITU artists will be coming to the Galoshans festival to showcase their work.”

As well as artists, the public can get involved with the Galoshans.

McLean explained: “UZ Arts will be looking for volunteers to assist at the festival. We will also be running internships and opportunities, especially aimed at young jobseekers.

“Whenever UZ Arts run a festival we always try to make it benefit the local community.”

All visitors will benefit from the Galoshan’s reasonably priced and free events (ticket details to be confirmed).

McLean concluded: “We hope the festival will celebrate the international community, while reflecting the Inverclyde’s local pride.”

Galoshans may continue to be an annual source of pride, as UZ Arts have provisionally planned to roll it out in future years.

To get involved with the 2015 festival, visit the UZ Arts Website or email the team.

Say It Aint Sew

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sewing1

As clothes became cheaper the art of sewing waned, but the craft fought back and was reborn as recreation.

Programmes like The Sewing Bee capitalised on this trend, reflecting the latest wave of interest.

Costume designer, Iona Barker said: “The image of sewing has shifted over the years from something girly to something androgynous and cool. This shift has been aided by programmes like The Sewing Bee, which has had more and more male contestants.

“So now I think guys are keen to get into sewing and don’t worry about being mocked by their pals.”

Barker speaks from experience, as she runs the Say It Aint Sew class in  Edinburgh’s Cabaret Voltaire (Monday 6.30 to 8.30pm) and Glasgow’s Hillhead Bookclub (Tuesday 6.30 to 8.30pm).

Barker said: “I started running the Glasgow class in May 2010, when I was working in a local bar. The Hillhead Bookclub was just about to open and its’ soon –to-be manager was a friend of a friend, looking to incorporate activities.”

“I was terrified at the concept of running a class; I had never done anything like it, but as the years passed it went from strength to strength; now I just love it.”

The love of sewing had filled Barker from a young age.

She said: “When I was a kid I was very creative; I enjoyed making things and watching old films where the actresses wore big dresses. So I started cutting up my mum’s clothes and turning them into costumes.

“Later I went on to Glasgow Caledonian University and studied Fashion Business.”

As a fashion student Barker sought craft tutorials in Glasgow; but the classes she found were institutional and costly. This inspired her to start a group that was free and accessible to the public.

Barker explained: “Say It Aint Sew is a total beginners group. Attendees don’t have to bring anything. All the equipment and fabric is there waiting for them.”

“I work as a costume designer, so over the years I have collected masses of material, and the classes are a great way to use my horde.”

Barker’s range of materials influence the items made in class. However, inspiration also comes from participant’s requests and the seasons; for example the class made chicks at Easter.

The tutor said: “We have made a real mix of things from headbands to Super Mario figurines.”

This variety of projects has led to a diverse group.

Barker explained: “We usually have a mix [of over 18s] from students, to professionals and elderly people.

“There is a mix in gender too; a lot of the girls bring their boyfriends to the class and the guys tend to find it is better than what they had expected.”

The class starts by grabbing a drink and name sticker at the bar. Then once seated, the sewing and socialising begins.

Barker said: “Everything is explained from the start, from the amount of thread needed, to the technique of a basic stitch.

“Beginners can be a bit apprehensive, but after an hour they get totally into it. Everybody leaves with the finished piece and a sense of accomplishment.”

She concluded: “The class is a great way to discover a new skills and people. Everyone gets the chance to chat and I have seen lasting friendships formed.”

For more information visit the Say It Aint Sew Facebook page.