Author: h3np3stk1ngsh0d

I recently facilitated a ‘Reindeer’ sculpture piece with kids from Park Grove School (where my kids also go).  This was done over a few sessions getting the kids to paint the and assemble parts of the reindeer, printing a word on each in response to the question ‘what do you hope for the future?’.  The kids gave some excellent responses, which I then later audio recorded with the kids voices and attached to a speaker and a button on the reindeer.  When you press this it randomly plays one of the words read by the kids. The piece is now on the wall in the school.

 As you maybe aware the ‘Reindeer’, ‘Magpie’ and ‘Ox’ were previous pubs in The Groves area which were mentioned by interviewees in a recent ‘consultation / oral history’ report commissioned by the council as part of the regeneration project’.   My plan is to create further pieces of a Magpie and an Ox with others in the Groves. And maybe from this and work up an Aesops fable style story based on the ‘Reindeer’, ‘Magpie’ and ‘Ox’, possibly creating a puppet based community performance piece.

Recently I worked with the Joyful Connections group who meet at St Luke’s Church in Burton Stone Lane.  Together we created the following lino cut portrait ‘group print’ piece.
Beginning with smiley photos we digitally traced and transferred the images onto lino.   
Next while chatting about ‘what makes us happy and well?’ We carved out the faces in the lino.  Once carved, on a large and colourful sheet we printed the happy faces.Then using a old wooden typeset, from the Delittle wood type foundary of York, part of the things we said while chatting about ‘what makes us happy and well’ were printed around the faces. 

This includes things like ‘this is a friendly place’, ‘if anything goes wrong, people come round you, they surround you’, ‘I keep positive, cos there’s still an awful lot of people to annoy’ and ‘there’s a strong sense of comradeship, community here’.   Then once dry, the piece was framed for the group.Joyful connections is a cracking group. Such a remarkably happy and supportive network, for more details of them see here. 

As part of  ‘York’s Dead Good Festival’ and ‘Dying Matters Week’ 2019, I facilitated a group doodle in the reception of York Hospital.  This clip from ‘That’s York’ explains a bit about it all.

And here is the final doodle. 

In March 19, I was fortunate enough to have an interview for the role of ‘York’s Town Crier’. While I did not get the job, part of the interview process was to prepare a ‘cry’, and so this is what I said, quite loudly outside the council office one cold friday in March .   
A pdf version of the above is available here too.

Typically when towns and cities create visual skyline banners they include the places most popular with tourists.  While this can be good for getting people to visit it does not always include those places that hold important meaning to the often diverse and disparate local communities. Banners, web headers and posters of York are no different, presenting the usual suspects of the York Minister, Cliffords Tower, the city walls and its various gates and bars.   However, for the York’s local communities there are other places of much more personal and collective meaning. These are many and include a range of hidden place based gems, as is featured in this piece.

People of York were asked; What is community? What does it mean to you? What does York’s Community Skyline look like? What community places and spaces are important to you? From this several places were suggested and linocuts made of each;

These included;

St Luke’s Church on Burton Stone Lane, nominated for the community café and various groups they put on, with also a reference to York FC floodlights as many people also highlighted the importance of sports and fitness clubs as important ‘communities’.

Priory Street Centre, as a hub of voluntary sector activity, and including the hosting of many diverse organisations.

The Reading Café at Rowntree Park, to represent the many Explore libraries as well as Parks of York.

The Central Methodist Church on St Saviourgate, not with specific reference to the church, but rather organisations such as Kyra Womens Project and Carecent, a breakfast centre for all homeless, unemployed or otherwise socially excluded members of our community

Folk Hall and New Earswick for its strong community, including Nelli (New Earswick Less Loneliness Initiative), CAN (Community Action for Nature) and NEST (New Earswick Sharing Together).

York Mosque at Bull Lane to reflect the range of faiths celebrated in York 

St Nicks Nature Reserve, appreciating the many great outdoor community spaces in York.   

Using the linocuts two pop art style ‘group prints’ were facilitated. One at St Luke’s Church with people attending the Friday activities, and a second at Priory Street, at a People Helping People event.

Group Print, St Luke’s Church 2018.

During the ‘group prints’ people were encouraged to add key words about what community meant to them using a letter print stamp set made from handwriting samples collected visitors of York Explore Library. This font highlights the unique shapes people express when making marks, and the wonderfully distinct style of when they come together.

Be Part Find Shelter Join In Love Play is a collective piece that reflects on the subjective meanings of ‘community’. This can relate to identity, but also to interest. It can be about where you are, but also where you want to go. And we are not just part of one, but rather we connect and move between many communities through our shared ideas, experiences and preferences.

– by Stephen Lee Hodgkins, for Live Well York, July 2018.

Group print is a fast paced low tech participatory method that can help capture the experiences and perspectives of a place based community. The approach values and emphasises the importance of everyone’s involvement, and combines place based icons with emotive key words from participants, in response to questions like what is community? Or what does the library mean to you? Group print creates co-produced art pieces that capture everyday diversity as well as highlighting the social interconnectedness of people and place.  The above images show the process and end results from previous group prints I have been part of.

Made as part of York Disability Pride 2017 celebrations, this short film remembers Lynn Jeffries who played a key role in setting up York Independent Living Network (www.yiln.org.uk). Lynn Jeffries was a disability rights campaigner in York. She made a significant contribution to equality and inclusion work in the city. Lynn passed away aged 58 in August 2014. This film includes some memories from people who knew and worked with her. Continue reading “Remembering Lynn Jeffries” →

I’m currently working with Explore York  as part of their celebrations to mark their 90th year.  At the anniversary event on 23/09/17 I  asked people to give me 90 words for the 90th year of this wonderful library. More specifically, on a large sheet with a doodle of the building in the middle of it I asked; 

‘What does Explore mean to You?’ Continue reading “Libraries Gave Us Power” →

If you have a few moments, watch this and please vote for Once Seen Theatre Company York to support their bid to the Aviva Community Fund.  They are an amazing group of actors with learning difficulties who want to tell their stories of power and suvival – being told no, being given no chances or choices, living in institutional care for 38 years and more. But they are not bitter, they just want a chance to give it a go. As they say, ‘they want people to come and see what they can do, not what they cant!’  Vote here – https://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/vot…/project/view/17-4234 until 21st November 2017.