Nocturnal Night Walk / The End (sort of)

I'm sure you'll all agree that this year's Made in Roath Festival was amazeballs! So much to see and do, with all types of art and event, bustling like a bee-hive with people of all hairstyles (I even saw a mullet!), and pretty decent weather for most of it, too. Did you see E.T.? I missed it, sadly, as I was busy 'being a poet' in the bookmobile van, sat silently waiting next to this tealight-lit Edwardian Doll's house (I wish I could say it was lit by the memories of childhood joy! Though, perhaps in a way, it was) for the nocturnal walkers to arrive.

Post-ET-n-popcorn bicycle fun, they meandered towards me... A good 100 people or so! And I duly read out the pieces of work that I had compiled from the 60 or so poems/stories you all wrote in the bookmobile with Christina Thatcher. I read two of the pieces to you, anyway, and they will be featured in a further blog post here (hence this not being 'the end', exactly).

The night walkers continued, then, and I packed up the bookmobile, only to meet with you all again in Milgi for DJ Eclectic Mix, popcorn and hot apple punch, plus art from Kim Fielding. A fantastic end to a fantastic festival! And - only 365 (or so) days till the next one..................... Can't wait!!!

DJ Eclectic Mix and Andor of Mississipi Big Beat

Art!

Milgi warehouse

Roathbud

Ah, Roathbud! The festival film-in that brings budding film-makers as well as the more established to a glorious, glowing screen! This year, we were treated to films featuring local legend Boyd Clack, and by (the VERY talented) students of the Welsh College of Music and Drama. Dave Daggers entertained us with a a couple of shorts, one a speeded-up walk around Roath Park, the other featuring a beautiful dancer (Kitch n Sync's Kim Noble) and a male voyeur/bird watcher (!) (Dave!) who is then violently attacked by said beauty. Ha (ha ha)! I particularly enjoyed the satirical piece which detailed the long-standing 'war' between Roath and Splott, across the 'no-man's land' of Adamasdown... The Elm Street Marbles mystery was duly solved, and the packed room of full of people at G39 could, finally, breathe a sigh of excited relief! Some very funny, and very well-done, pieces of work here, and a very happy (£1-wine-again!) time was had by all! :-)

Meet the Poet (and Organiser!): Christina Thatcher

Christina reads at Cider and Seduction

My grandmother kept a junk room tucked away in the back of my childhood home. Before she moved out it was her master bedroom and contained only a few boxes of photos, scrapbooks, tax papers, and linens. She loved that room, decorating it with pictures of my grandfather who had died after World War II. I had never met him, he died before I was born, but I knew him through her stories. 

So many nights when I was growing up I’d fall asleep to the familiar, sweet smell of this place. The aroma of dust and mothballs settled on boxes at the foot of her bed while 1930s perfumes hung in the air. I remember breathing in the strong scent of Rose Water caught in her damp, blue comforter. 

When I was nine my grandmother moved out; she could no longer live in a house without air conditioning. Her room became a dumping ground for everything my parents hated. Her knick-knacks, pictures, clocks, coats, and other items were quickly rounded up and thrown in her room only days after she left. I didn’t venture in for weeks. 

It was only after I had thrown up in the hall at school one day – not my proudest moment - that I decided to go in again, for comfort. 

Soon after, I began making periodic, secret trips into my grandmother’s room. Each day I’d take a new box, bag, or pile – sifting through the black and white photos, sitting every little perfume bottle in its proper place. I’d piece together parts of stories I was told. “This doll was your Aunt Kathy’s” she had said when I was 6, “Oh, she held this doll so tight and cried when that black snake from the cotton field wrapped itself around her playpen in Florida”. I’d pull the raggedy doll out of the box, sip the story out of it like some nostalgic lemonade, and then put it back, refreshed. 

It was my ritual and I don’t think my parents ever knew.

Christina coordinated the literary events for the MiR programme this year. An American graduate of the Teaching and Practice of Creative Writing MA program at Cardiff University, she runs creative writing workshops for at-risk youth and vulnerable community members across the Valleys. Her poetry has recently been published in The London Magazine, Neon Literary Magazine, and The Lampeter Review, among others, and is forthcoming in Dream Catcher Magazine. To learn more about her work please visit her website: https://collectingwords.wordpress.com/ or follow her on Twitter @writetoempower.

About the Organiser (and Minister!): James Karran

The antiquated building stood out like an elephant at a squirrel’s only Halloween party. Shop after shop after bank after shop lined both sides of a narrow high street that rose at an Everest-esque angle, much like a hundred other streets in a hundred other valley towns, and there it was, sandwiched right in the middle. I stood outside the church, psyching myself up to go and bring some clichéd message of hope to the seven octogenarians who waited for me eagerly inside. A shout from the other side of the road shocked me from my melancholy musings.

“Mate, did you see the score from last night?”

“Er, no, sorry,” I gingerly admitted.

The baseball-capped twenty something bloke continued his trek up Everest, without even the merest glance at the ancient structure I was stood beside. 

It was then a question struck me. Would it ever be possible – ever – to get young, normal people into a building like this for anything that did not involve a coffin or bouquet?

I have concluded, no.

Times have moved on. People no longer go to church. Nobody wants to get up at some ungodly hour on a Sunday morning to sing cack songs and be talked at by a middle aged white bloke for an hour. 

It just isn’t appealing. Now don’t get me wrong, folk in this day and age are more spiritual than ever and there is a veritable banquet of spiritual dishes out there to be sampled. But not church. It’s just too… Downton. 

But, I think Christianity still has something to offer. There is still some life in the old girl yet. So, in September 2012, I along with a few others started Llan in The Gate Arts Centre in Roath. Llan is a church, but not as you know it Jim. A church for the unholy. A place for seekers. Somewhere you can come with all your irreverent ideas without fear of judgement, whoever you are. We don’t sing, but we do eat!! If you want to know more, well, you’ll have to come along.

James Karran is a pretty awful Baptist minister who leads Llan at The Gate. During Made In Roath, we curated an art exhibition and hosted a spoken word event, both at the Gate, on the theme ‘Spirituality in Art: Seeing The Unseen’. Both events went very well and I met lots of lovely new people, which was nice.

The Hand of Roath

The Hand of Roath (in true MIR style) is a playful little exhibition in terms of curation, diversity of works and execution. The many varied and mostly figurative pieces combine and interact to hold a discourse (albeit with some very odd conversations) about the pop-up gallery vs the white cube space and the types of work engendered and typified by both.

Here you can see Bianca Theresa’s photorealist portraits in graphite next to Phlegm’s pen drawn animal heads on the organic topography and texture of fruit. Sarah Younan’s meticulous and haunting ceramic heads with Alex Waddle’s joyfully carved and painted puppets, Matt Redman’s strong and satirical painting ‘Grey British’ opposite Arron Kuiper’s 3D suspended oil paintings.

The collection, while being diverse and varied, isn’t bitty and disparate - overall it generates a strong identity for the show from within the ghostly trace of extinct commerce.

Only open Friday and Saturday (10am-5.30pm), it’s well worth coming to see what the Hand does outside the bulging pocket of Roath.

http://madeinroath.com/event/hand-of-roath/

 

Inkspot In House Studio Show

I really enjoyed catching this exhibition yesterday, which features the work of several artists, all of whom are resident within Inkspot itself (no 68 in the programme). With studios in the basement, an art supply shop at ground floor, and a gallery space above, truly all and any artistic needs Are Here (though - what about the wine....??!). Some very interesting work on show, from the tattoo-like and fantastical (Andrew Lanning) to the fine and cleverly contemplative (Ed Fairburn). The paintings by Leo Ciuma, too, stopped me in my tracks, with their heady mix of bold colour and white, spashes over-written by careful and angular lines... A great stop on the Mir trail, yes indeed.

All The Wine, and Beer as Well :-)

A very small blog post to thank Made in Roath for all the wine, this time... For those whoserved it... For the mere quid coins that made it so easily and readily within reach... For the glasses that held it, like crystal chalices, golden goblets, holier-than-holy grails... This liquid lithely slipped its way down my eager and easeful throat too many times this week, but - it was - wonderful...

Wonderful, too, were the pictures by Phil Morgan (no 62 in the programme) which were on display amongst the many wines and beers (slightly more than a pound, but still very tempting to procure) at the Bottle Shop on Pen-y-Lan Road. Phil's illustrations have appears in mags and on websites, as well as on skateboards, adverts, t-shirts, and in the Washington Post. It was easy to see why his work is so popular. The colourful, clever range of 'beer pun' pictures had me chuckling quietly to myself, by myself, as the chocolate-coloured dog in the shop doorway looked at me, bemused... Ah me! The life of a solitary blogger! Anyway, do find out more at www.philmorganillustration.co.uk 

Cider and Seduction

This week, live literature has played a big, bold, and beautifully buxom (ooh!) part in festival proceedings. As a poet, I endeavoured to attend most of these events, including last night's Cider and Seduction, an open mic welcoming 'adult-themed' poems, stories, monologues, etc

Ably hosted by young poet Renn Hubbuck, who opened proceedings with her piece 'Strap On? Strap Off!', it seemed all of Roath turned up to share their salubrious snippets. Love 'tastes like worms', we were assured by very funny but slightly surreal poet Simon L Read, before hearing more love- and lust-themed things from the likes of Julie Pritchard, Sheila Hart, Mark Blayney, Ceri Destefano, Gillian Brightmore, and more.

Not a lot of cider around, and very little seduction - more like, glasses of wine, a few beers, and some very attentive, interested listeners. A lovely night out at the Crwys, yes indeed! :-)

To the Bookmobile!

Hello! I’m Jamie Woods. I’m a writer from Swansea, until very recently a student at Cardiff Universtiy, and I was one of the Made in Roath bookmobile volunteers. Books have always been a massive part of my life. I’m lucky enough that my parents encouraged me to read, and that I can do the same for my kids. Not everyone is always so lucky, which is why I took part in World Book Night last year, and why I was so keen to be involved in this project.

We started the Saturday with a street reading. I went first, followed by the talents of Oli, Hannah, Rachel and Pru. In turn we read our work on Plasnewydd Road, and then Albany Road; beguiling passers-by and getting in the way of people pushing pushchairs.

While reading, the bookmobile had its first visitors. The bookmobile – the Milkwood ‘milkfloat’ caravan – was beautifully decorated and stocked with books by the MIR literary organiser Christina Thatcher. The premise was simple – leave a story and take a book.

We asked the visitors for stories about Roath, about Cardiff, about community. Some people left sentences, while one lovely man sat down
on our little caravan seats (so cosy) and wrote for about 10 minutes. The stories were to be collated by Christina, and will be made into a community poem by our resident blogger here, Mab.

My snippet of a story was about the first time I visited Roath, watching the bustle of the school run from the sanctuary of a coffee shop window. In return I got a book of Donald Barthelme short stories. Not a bad deal.

My favourite visitors were the kids – at one point I did a quick run to the local charity shops for children's books as we soon ran out – and hearing their stories, of lost scooters and annoying little brothers. Seeing these children so excited by the books, and by telling their stories, I knew we were doing something good.

A quick confession: I changed the words to some of my poems. Apparently, I swear a lot in my work.

Jamie Woods has had stories published in a number of journals and magazines, reads at live lit events when he can, and writes for Wales Arts Review. He also has a blog.  www.jamiewoods77.com

About the Artist: Sarah Younan

I am a PhD student at Cardiff School of Art and Design, where I also studied for my BA and MA in ceramics. I began to experiment with 3D scanning and 3D printing technologies in 2011; using these technologies to access and re-imagine ceramic museum artefacts from the National Museum of Wales. This collaboration with the National Museum of Wales has developed over the years and is still ongoing. I digitize objects from the collections at the Museum, and then create new work from the 3D scans. These digital artefacts are then 3D printed, and sometimes altered further through physical manipulation. While the original museum artefacts are fixed and static, the digital models are fluid and open to re-interpretation. This has led me to share the digital models with a number of artists, and to invite them to create new work from them. My practice and these collaborations explore notions of authenticity and meaning, as the artefacts travel through different media and materials, mutating and transforming along the way.

I guess the theme of travelling, translation from one thing to another, and mutation run through my own life. I was born in Germany, and lived there until my father (who has roots in Lebanon) decided to take up a job in Kenya. I was nine when we moved. Since then moving, learning new languages and feeling my way into new cultures has become a big part of who I am. I moved home about 12 times since leaving Kenya 7 years ago. I speak 4 languages, my close family life in Kenya, Namibia, Germany and my dad travels almost constantly. He is a vet and has specialized on Camels. He does research, which means that he gets to work with nomadic pastoralists: people who move about with their livestock, herding them across dry bush land. I have been lucky to be able to see so many different things. 

Sarah Younan (no 6 on the map) has lived in Cardiff for 4 years and says it is "too rainy for camels" here! Find out more about her work at http://sarahyounan.wix.com/work

A Tale of Two Attics

Grip the handrail as you step sideways (if your feet are as big as mine) up the steep-angled steps into this airy attic space that is now home to six ceramic artists. For me, Northcote Lane Studios (no 23 in the programme) was, and is, a sheer, sensory delight, with bowls, figures, pictures, and cool arty oddities attending every corner, wall, and table top in view.

As I entered, a small group were watching one of the residents working clay with bare arms, and another of the artists was engaged in deep chat with a visitor. Beautiful white birds soared opposite eerie, fox-headed figures; dust motes danced lazily in front of hazy windows. The atmosphere was one of calm, yet creative, repose - musing and making, but in a meditative rather than manic manner.

 

The other attic space I puffed my way up to was also called ATTIC (no 58 in the programme). This currently houses an exhibition called Rapid Response - "creative reflections" on the new work created by the six artists who have held residencies in the spaces far, all exploring "aspects of the mind" - quite fitting for its location, as it is situated directly (the headspace, perhaps?) above a counselling service (the heart??).

Here, a jigsaw puzzle containing words "taken out of context from the blogs of people with mental illness", and a CD playing jokes about mental health (jokes being the first stage on the 'pyramid of hate', of course), invite the viewer to wonder about missing pieces, the possibility of life's jigsaw never quite being completed, the nature of laughter and why we find certain topics amusing, and so on. Thought-provoking work indeed, if not even slightly unease-making.

In any case, this very 'mental' artistic approach contrasted strongly with the tactile earthiness of the other attic space... But, both were very interesting indeed and both are highly worth a visit.

Really, It's All About the People...

As lovely as it was to see all the amazing art, and hear all the brilliant literature, and see all the fantastic sights, that were on offer over the weekend, what's really the best part of anything, for me, is meeting up with friends and acquaintances, old colleagues and new enemies (hopefully... Life would be dull without 'em!), and meeting new people from every area of the city and, even, beyond... So, here is a blog post about just some of the people I bumped into in this region's little back alleys, over the cake tables at many open houses/studios, and at the openings and private views and readings that make the thing such a stand-out celebratory shindig, really.

Beginning at the beginning, with those closest-to-birth, as it were... This little chap clearly finds the Made in Roath programme a very tasty treat! Nom nom nom! (Greedy thing, grumble, etc...! ;-)  )

Standing on tables is de rigeur at very large openings, for example this one, on Saturday evening, at Cardiff MADE... Holding a glass and wearing glasses at the same time (as I do myself) is also very 'in' ;-)

Feather in hair... I approve! A reluctant Patricia Brien smiles for the MabCam #pretty.

It was great to catch up with Emma Geliot randomly in Milgi's yurt... Here she is, showing off her latest purchase and pulling a funny face. Ha ha, Emma! Shouldn't do that when there's someone standing there who's willing to blog people's confessions, secrets, and so on... Embarrassing poses, postures, faces, accidents, faux pas, etc. are a bonus as far as I'm concerned! In any case, I was happy to see the lovely Emma, and also to receive a copy of the new magazine she edits, Culture Colony Quarterly, which offers 'An Independent Perspective on the Arts' and features articles on the Venice Biennale, Diffusion Festival, NoFit State Circus, and much more besides.

A poet we all know *cough, hum* is featured in the mag, along with young poetry prodigy Johnny Giles, who *does* feature rather a lot at events I put on, as well in my own life generally, but I promise I am only including him here because, like myself, he is performing at a fair few of the literary events this week - so far, this weekend, he has read at Mark Blayney's Octopoet (Friday), Spirituality in Art (Saturday), and last night at Back of the Pub Poetry Club, which wasn't officially part of the festival, but made a link by having the quietly astounding poet and MiR literary co-ordinator Christina Thatcher as the feature. Here is young Johnny, still just 20 years old!

Outside the Cardiff MADE opening, this pair caught the eye of my camera... Tom Dewhurst and Antonia - Dewhurst. Hey.... Are you two related??! *Checks Facebook quickly* *Is still unsure...* Glad to see you enjoying the wine, though!

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Having one's picture taken is one thing, but having it captured by the artist's implement - well, that is quite another. Here, Rachel Helena-Walsh and Erin Rickard have their faces fondled, figuratively speaking, by young artist Wing Tang.

Anyway, more art n stuffs to be posted, later, along with further confessions as well as some guest posts from people involved in the festival... Until soon! x

Confessions #4

So, the confessions are coming in now, thick and fast... Or, clever and slow... Perhaps a bit of both! These are the ones collected yesterday and - there are names to some of them... Brave people!! By the way, the box with be in Milgi cafe bar from today, instead of the Andrew Buchan. So, make your way to City Road, gentle Roathians, and confess your sins therein... As well as the usual sexual mischief, petty theft, and love-lies, some of these are actually quite tender I feel......

I play Pokemon when I should be spending time with my love.

I've told 2 people I loved them in my life. But I only ever meant it when I said it to one of them.

I am writing poetry to impress a girl but that doesn't subtract from the joy of reading it aloud for the first time - Liam Simpson

Stole a book from someone else. 

Ran away from a children's home because the boy who wanted to was too scared to go alone.

Stole food as a child (malnutrition).

I can lost tough with what's real and what's not. And so am a big believer in mental health and trusting others.

I've met the women I'm going to marry!

I am the least creative artist I know.

I sneaked off to London once, by train to see the new computer invention from Sir Clive Windsor.

I once streaked naked across a cricket pitch.

I have a tendency to see myself as a victim.

I'm not.

I have a lot to be thankful for.

I get aroused from the vibrations on trains and pleasure myself in the toilets - Mr Roberts, 2013

Poems #2

More poems from the good people of Roath! You creative darlings, you <3

Patterns and Shapes

So far I've been having a very happy time on the Open House trail as part of MiR this year. My chubby legs, and running workshops/performing, mean I haven't seen as much as I would like (I would like to see everything!) but some of the work I have seen was very interesting indeed.

Spirals and other patterns feature strongly in the work of Hilary Roberts. This poet saw trees and shapes that resembled flowers, all delicately rendered on porcelain-white ceramic tiles. So pretty! See what I mean?

Also at 80 Roath Court Road were Amy O'Driscoll and Theo Griffiths. I didn't get a chance to speak to Theo, but Amy informed me that her work was greatly influenced by a trip to India last year. The intricate curlicules of her sweet, tealight-lit candle holders was truly lovely. Some small houses, which were part of an ATTIC gallery event last year were also on display.

Theo was another kettle of fish entirely, and my plan is to include his work in another post, or perhaps on my own blog. So much great art out there, anyway! Hope you are all enjoying yourselves!

Come On In

Jenny Cashmore has a number of interesting interventions 'on display' (is that the right word?) as part of MiR this year. These will be maintained throughout the week and offer doorways (literally) into another world, with ghost doorways, strange gateways, unexpectedly-placed door knobs, random keys, and more... Ring that strange, surreal-looking knocker and see what happens!

"So accidents happen, that’s part of the work. It’s going to break and it doesn’t matter. I like the fact someone has touched it and interacted in a normal way with something that isn’t really real."

Confessions #3

Hmm... A lot of petty theft in Roath it seems... You naughty, naughty neighbourhood nickers, you!

I help steal the finger of Saint Peter (I think it was Saint Peter) from a cathedral in Bruges and smuggled it home (for private use).

I fed the ducks in Roath Park and one choked to death on a piece of bread. I ran!!

I stole a 15 foot dingy when I was a student at Carmarthen Art College.

I like to impress people with my burps.

I need to use nappies at night.

I had sex with my housemate... again!!! Oh dear!

I actually ate SIX Wagon Wheels - feel quite guilty and a bit sick.

I didn't ask permission before sticking up my door knobs!

I get a thrill going to work with no underwear on - none of the customers know, but it gives me a thrill.

I am a serial cat botherer in and around Cardiff and I strongly feel that one day I'll take someone's!!!!

I confess I have a roving eye for the larger ladies. They are aesthetically pleasing.

When I was 9 I stole £10 from Friends of the Earth's vegetable shop to buy a Pacman watch (I had worked for 3 months every Saturday for no wages - so took it upon myself to issue the wages).

I once got drunk with two girls and had fun with both. I should say neither knew I was with the other one. Very sly use of different rooms. A few years later they both founds out. They were friends and, as it turns out, friends talks. I was called to account. I'm sure there's a lesson in there somewhere.

In my third year of uni, I moved into a house in Cathays. It was OK, as student houses go. And at about 8 every night, a cute guy in the house opposite would get undressed with the curtains open. Which was a bonus. One night I was in the pub, and I was introduced to a good-looking young man. He looked familiar, but I couldn't work out how we knew each other. So I asked him a bit about his life. He said he lived in Cathays. I guessed I'd probably seen him around town. Then he said his house was OK... but a creepy girl in the house opposite watched him get undressed every night :-(

Poems #1

Here are the first of the poems written for the Poetree yesterday... Remember, it's Confessions drop-in at the Adnrew Buchan from 2pm today, too! More poems to come later! x

Poetree!

Saturday I hosted a 'poetree drop-in' in Milgi's yurt. A yurt, indeed, is a perfect poet-y place for writing and residing, and plenty of you came along to write poems with me from 4 yesterday afternoon. In the end, 33 (a magickal number indeed!) were created in that glitter-and bunting-bedecked space, then hung like pretty flags from a tiny, teeny-twigged tree in the garden. I wanted us to use the small cherry tree, but it was bursting with small red fruits and I was worried these would get crushed! Thanks to all who took part, anyway, it was great to meet and engage with you all, and you made my job as easy as eating a cake (which some us did, too!) by taking pen to paper with so little prompting. Poems will be blogged later today! x