Wrexham in Bloom – Week… Seven?

I think it’s safe to say I buggered this project from the beginning. Ok, so there was reading week, which doesn’t count, and two weeks of “mitigating circumstances”, but to be honest the main reason I fell behind on this one was my BBC project, which is now complete. So ahead with the focus, shall we!

Next week sees the return of Claire from the council, coming to see how we’ve gotten on with our Wrexham in Bloom/Bee Battery ideas. I know for a fact I’m not the only one struggling, but I don’t want to be one of those people.

Ideas-wise, I’ve had a few mundane ones pop into my head; poster designs, crappy little comics for kids. I’ve completely dropped the character re-design idea, because too many people are doing it, and I don’t think the council are that bothered about re-designing all their leaflets.

So I’ve come to a couple of conclusions for myself:

1. Do an illustration/poster: I have the experience, and the time to do something straightforward and simple, and I loved graphics and typography in collage.

2. Try out different media: I am really into trying out all kinds of media at the moment, from Photoshop to printmaking, to acrylic paints and 3D models (then again, thinking about it, if I could design a character I could produce it as a 3D armature…)

So far I have only come up with two very unimaginative ideas. The first one is inspired by ’60’s-era poster design. I love the hippie generation, all about free love, music and flower power. To me it speaks of celebrations, festivals, colours… and let’s face it, hippies are all about the environment.




So my friend Mark suggested a couple of catchy slogans I could use:

“It’s a bloomin’ good idea to recycle batteries!” – I love that one, very cute.

“Don’t plant a battery, plant a flower!” – This one was in reference to showing a landfill with a bright flower growing from the rubbish.

I could quite easily come up with some funky-fresh poster ideas for that. I’ve also recently been influenced by the Gorillaz “Plastic Beach” album, which refers to an island made up from the debris of mankind’s wasteful nature. Maybe there’s something there?


The second idea I had was in conjunction with the Natur Cymru competition. As an enthusiastic nature-lover and health freak I go walking almost every weekend with my partner. We’ve discovered Loggerheads, Betws-y-coed, Ty Mawr and our very own Alyn Waters where we live. I found out about the competition from a leaflet. For a £500 prize and a printed article in the magazine I have to write a thousand-words about a wildlife venture or environmental issue. I was thinking of tying this in with the Wrexham in Bloom campaign. The only problem is there is no guarantee I would win.

However, the competition states that I can include illustrations, so I had the idea to include some imaginative watercolour paintings of the different areas where Wrexham in Bloom takes place to accompany my entry. If I won the competition, then my article would be a great way to advertise Wrexham in Bloom. If not, I could use the illustrations as posters for the project.

After speaking to Adam I feel somewhat calmer, as he has insisted we don’t panic, there are many in my situation, and the final deadline is in fact NOT next Tuesday, as I thought. But it would be awesome if I could get an A3 concept done, because I hate falling behind (don’t want a repeat of last year’s fiasco!)

The Paper-Maker Workout!

Despite being swamped with work since September, I still have time for the odd bit of fun. And for me, fun is in the form of crafts (I’m like an old woman).

Last week I finally managed to get hold of an affordable paper making kit, after months of searching. I remember making paper with my Aunty when I was younger and I found it so fascinating. Not only is it fun but there are tons of things you can add to the paper (among them seeds and onion skins!) and it’s also a great way to recycle used paper. Handmade paper also looks fab for gifts and artwork! So having been given two briefs in the last fortnight that involve recycling, I thought what better time to start honing the craft.


The kit I bought off eBay was a beginner’s starter kit from House of Crafts and did a great job of introducing me to paper making so that I can adapt it my own way. The frame I was given was circular and very small but it did the trick for me, and now that I can see how it all works I can build my own A4 or A3 frame.

The kit included the frame and some mesh, a few sheets of pulp paper, colouring dye in primary colours, and some extras (box template, ribbons, card, PVA glue and a glue spreader) to create some cards and gift boxes. It’s all very quaint and pretty.


I thought I’d try something simple to start with. I cut a sheet of pulp in two (half a sheet makes two fine pieces of paper) and then chopped it into little pieces.



I left it to soak in half a litre of boiling water for about 2-3 hours. The longer you leave it the finer the paper will be.


But when I started to work with the paper it hadn’t broken down very well. I think this was due to the fact that I cut the pulp into little squares with scissors rather than tearing it up, which would have softened the fibres.

I took a couple of spoonfuls of pulp and put them into some cold water in a large bowl. Now for the fun part!

I decided to experiment with textures so I added some lavendar to the pulp, and used some blue and red colourent to dye the paper purple.



I fixed the mesh into the frame and dipped in into the water, moving it around under the water until I was happy with the layer of pulp.



Then I separated the mesh from the frame and laid the paper/mesh onto a teatowel, before going over it with a rolling pin to squeeze out a good majority of the water.



I managed to get two pieces of paper made from my pulp mixture. I noticed that the first piece had not been dyed very well, so I sprinkled some red food colouring onto it whilst it was still damp, letting it fade to pink.


They took a while to dry, but here they are - my pink and purple lavender paper!


They’re not perfect; because of the way I cut the pulp paper it did not break down very well, so once the paper dried it was very fragile. Also, the dye didn’t take as strongly as I would’ve hoped.

However I learned a lot and I think I’m well on the way to creating fantastic pieces of paper to use in my artwork. And hopefully this little tutorial/picture book will inspire some of you to recycle your old paper and make something new and creative!

Wrexham in Bloom - Week One

Today we were given yet another project. I believe this culmination of projects and commissions is going to destroy me.

The first thing I noticed was that half the group already had the brief, and half of the group didn't. I was in the half that didn't, which means I have missed a meeting somewhere that I didn't know about. Lack of communication strikes again.

A woman called Claire came to visit us from the local council to ask us to come up with a promotional concept to aid this year's Wrexham in Bloom campaign, an annual competition that encourages the community to look after our environment. So far Wrexham has won the Silver gilt, but this year they hope that with our help we can win the Gold gilt.

It's all very exciting, even if it is unpaid and added pressure. But I'm going to endeavor to give it a go, starting with this blog (ta da! In order to pass we have to keep an up-to-date journal).

Claire explained to us that the two themes for this year's campaign are centered "around the Pontcysyllte (no I don't know how it's pronounced either) World Heritage site and the industrial archaeology of the Dee Valley". Along the route are going to be battery collection points, as the Government is now trying to organise the recycling process more by giving us seperate crates for batteries. Also, the campaign hopes to encourage the communities to start planting Bee-friendly plants, in order to attract our fat, fuzzy friends back. So we have been asked to link these two themes and create something along the lines of Battery Bees, or Bee Battery (sounds like bug abuse).

The idea, to me, sounds very cute, and I love recycling (see previous post) so I'm all for it. The first point I want to make about the council is their need for a new "Michael" character. I like the whole "Recycle with Michael" slogan, it's catchy. But as Claire pointed out, kids love the character, teenagers hate him. I think he needs a makeover to make him more accessable to a wider range of people. Teenagers and young adults are a tough audience, and I'm afraid "Michael", to me, looks too 90's with his baseball cap, baggy pants and freckles (ironically I think he was invented in the 00's).

Funnily enough, there's another recycler called Michael. I think his style is much more age-friendly. Still kind of aimed at children, but the art-style is far more interesting, and the fact that he is a superhero who uses recycled items as his armour is an intriguing little quirk.



The colour scheme of the WCBC recycling posters/leaflets etc. also needs retouching in my opinion. Green is very typical of environmental posters and, unless it's combined with an equally or more catchy colour, it can be very droll and unattractive. I think the advertising pieces need redesigning.

As well as those two issues I am also going to aim to come up with something original of my own! So it's research time.

Before I go I need to make a point though. I think the reason (especially in my area) that people aren't so thrilled about recycling is the fact that the bin-men are so careless and useless. Countless times they have not turned up, left rubbish behind or broken our boxes by just chucking them back onto the pavement. When you live in a house as full of people and packaging as mine, we need regularly de-binning! Or better yet, a local recycling point. Having to drive all the way to Tesco in Wrexham is such an inconvenience. Thanks to our rubbish bin-men (see what I did there?) we often end up burning most of our paper, card, fabrics, etc, which otherwise could be recycled!

Do you recycle? How do you feel about the facilities in your area? And if you don't recycle, why not?

Think about it.

Until next time, peace and love!