Homage to Andrew Brown

 Homage to a friend   24.10.24

Andrew Brown

Today we received the news of the departing of an old friend and as we remembered so many stories of such a humble, loving, sensitive, serving man,. I immediately thought of a piece of performance we created that he was pivotal in.

So that is why i turn to this blog and as well as wonderful, family and friendship stories, there flood in how he quietly helped Shallal.  How he willingly became a trustee for a short time when we first became a charity and was always quietly supportive with wise gentle insights when asked for.

So back to the performance, as always, she has always kept us on our toes, agile, inquisitive, I was looking for a platform to showcase Zoe's dance skills, that would stretch her and give her visibility, and I thought of Andrew. Why? Because one of his many and main talent was music he had studied in Cremona, Italy, the home of violin making for seven years learning Italian and how to make violins, https://www.myluthier.co/post/violin-making-in-cremona

He was often seen cycling along the seaside 'prom' in Penzance with his cello strapped to his back. He would often sit and improvise for us and had an innate sensitivity. So we asked him if he would play for Zoe, at the same time i met Victoria Field who had just finished a poetry residency in Truro Cathedral and her poems were beautiful, insightful and, again, sensitive. So then we had a trio and then we needed space. We had no funds for it so we asked local churches to be our venue and toured to three! It suited the quiet, respectful, beauty and peace.

http://www.poetrypf.co.uk/victoriafieldpage.shtml

Thank you to Andrew for sharing his love of music, for his sensitivity as a musician and a person and his innate, kindness and generousity.  He moved into a care home a few years ago as he had increasing dementia and Parkinsons, however his brother recalls that he still would sense when someone was unhappy and just go and hold their hand. 

All the best communication with him was within silence and stillness. He was also an Alexander teacher.https://alexandertechnique.com/

We are considering doing some dance pop ups inspired by him and his care for others.

Which could link into our new On Board project...more soon

post....https://www.instagram.com/p/DBhukdkIisk/?img_index=1

Women of Cornwall features nominations for Shallal's chairperson and creative director!

 Women of Cornwall

TAKE PART IN WOMEN OF CORNWALL! Find out more and suggest a woman to feature in a new collection of plates for Art Centre Penryn 

https://www.instagram.com/womenofcornwall/

A friend told me I was 'on' instagram, "no "i said, then yes was the answer as i found the post and more importantly the post for Hennie our chair person.

For those of you who don't have access to instagram i'm copying them into here!!

Henrietta Boex 
Arts, Culture, Activist 
 
Suggested by Janet Mitchell 
 
Janet says, “Before taking up the post of Director at Falmouth Art Gallery in 2013, Henrietta Boex was project manager of a major redevelopment at Porthcurno Telegraph Museum. During her 10 years in her ‘dream job’ at the gallery she used her energy, enthusiasm and tenacious spirit to create an ethos of inclusivity. She adopted innovative approaches to accessing the gallery, underpinned by a belief in art as a source of inspiration and wellbeing for all, and opening it up through exhibitions, events and activities for all. Henrietta was particularly interested in the Cornish marine artists, notably Charles Napier Hemy (1841 –1917) and Henry Scott Tuke (1858 – 1929) and curated some terrific exhibitions of their work.  
 
As head of cultural services for Falmouth Town Council, Henrietta has been involved in the restoration of the Dissenters’ Burial Place, the regeneration of the Princess Pavilion as a cultural hub for Falmouth, and the Kimberley Park Lodge project, revitalising the building for the benefit of the community in partnership with the local, community radio station, Source FM. 
 
Henrietta’s love for art, Cornwall and life in general bubbles over infectiously. She makes me want to join in, find out, explore. I think other people respond to her in the same way. 
 
Henrietta is only one eighth Cornish, but that strong thread goes deep and a long way back through a connection to Nicholas Sara shipbuilder (d.1894), one of the oldest members of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society.” 
 
On her retirement in 2023, Kirstie Edwards then deputy Mayor commented “her patience, tenacity and kindness … has been hugely helpful and supportive”.  Henrietta is Chair of Trustees at Shallal and a consultant at the Royal Cornwall Museum.” 

JO WILLIS
Inclusive performing arts

Suggested by Deborah O’Nyons

“Jo Willis established Shallal, an inclusive dance theatre company in 1985, welcoming everyone regardless of age, ability or gender. She was ahead of her time in recognising the talent of people society chose to isolate and cast aside. Shallal is an improvisation performance group and a family, supporting members through loss, change, ill health and hard days.

Jo enables people to connect with parts of themselves long forgotten, to awaken joy in movement and dance. With a gift for holding space and bearing witness to things that everyone brings to a group, Jo has a vision of equality and the ability to see beauty in everyone. Meeting Jo changed my life: her open invitation to dance with Shallal brought such joy and connection.

Jo’s home is embedded in community, a place where she welcomes people, offering shelter. During covid she connected with communities digitally and coordinated visits to people’s homes where an individual dancer would perform in the garden for an isolated individual.

Born and raised in Cornwall, Jo says she has the heart of a Cornish gypsy. Her connection with the land has driven her creative vision. Passionate about environmental protection, signing Shallal up to culture declares a climate and ecological emergency, she educates the group about climate action, and seeking ways of working that will protect Cornwall.

Shallal has grown from its beginnings in Newlyn into community groups across county and a studio at Krowji, Redruth. They have created artwork, dance and poetry performances in libraries, church halls, outdoor spaces, heritage sites and theatres in Cornwall. In September 2024, Jo accepted a prestigious Awen Medal from the Grand Cornish Bard, on behalf of The Shallal Dance Theatre

Jo has created an amazing legacy of visual, signed, spoken and written art by people living and working in the county.”

Back Lane West Diary

Draft

Back Lane West Residency Diary

Please confirm times and book in with Jo W - travel can be claimed

weekends available and other times 

 Jo L, Sam and George one Tuesday afternoon? 

a Wednesday event tbc

On Board R&D a Friday pm or Thursday pm

Get in Monday 30th Sept

October 

1. Tuesday  am Studio group

2. Wednesday  pm Studio group 

3. Thursday am 10.30 online zoom talk by artist Eddie Callis ‘Then and Now’  pm Eddie and Stuart? Colin R&D

4. Friday pm SDT?

5.Saturday

6.Sunday

7.Monday 1.30-3.30pm zoom Illustration and characters in art

8.Tuesday am Studio group

9. Wednesday pm Studio group ?

10. Thursday am 10-12 Studio group all day Colin 2pm

11.Friday pm Shallal Dance Theatre artists 2-4 On Board

12. Saturday Bunny Ladd - textiles

13. Sunday Bunny Ladd - textiles

14. Monday

15. Tuesday am Studio group

16.Wednesday am KerryJ, Mel and Karen    pm Studio group

17. Thursday am Studio group pm Daniel Willoughby installation set up Sharing??Jo with Colin and Anna support

18.Friday pm Shallal Dance Theatre - dancers & installation -film, photo Sharing for public drop in between 2.30-3.30pm 

19.Saturday 

20.Sunday

21.Monday pm Star, Kerry J and Colin R&D-wheels!

22.Tuesday am Studio group pm Jo L George and Sam?

23. Wednesday am Mel, Kerry and Karen?

                       pm Studio group Zoe fashion & dance party Shallal 2+ Adam Drake photographer R&D portfolio

24. Thursday am Studio group (Erin)  pm Eddie and Stuart music video

25.Friday Elizabeth Tomos - photo shoot? Shallal Dance Theatre Artists On Board

26.Friday ElizabethTomos ? 

27.Sunday Get out

Back Lane West Residency 2024

 Back Lane West Residency 2024

A favourite time of year again!

Connecting Circles & On Board

Eddie Callis: story board of new music video shoot at BLW for heaven and dreams

Shallal originally started their annual Back Lane West Residencies as the answer to a request by Jane and Patrick Lowry to have the community more in the space and the enthusiasm of Jo Willis to have a residency for Shallal, somewhere to delve deeper into new ideas and ones that float around but have nowhere to be explored at depth in the year of Shallal sessions. 

Situated deep in the heart of Redruth, and therefore also central to Cornwall, it allows artists to meet from both ends, Newlyn to Liskeard and beyond, enjoying visiting artists as well.

This year we are as excited as ever, bringing in many groups and collaborations, researching new projects such as On Board, -migration and journeys, along with: improvised dance - balance and wheels! recycled fashion meets dance party, music, illustration, installations, drawing, painting, writing, music video, film and photography.

Starting with an online Artists talk by Eddie Callis, a reflection on his creative life journey,https://eddiecallis.co.uk/ midpoint an installation of work, to be explored by dancers, by new Studio artist Daniel Willoughby and potentially ending with performance art by new trustee Elizabeth Tomos.https://elizabethtomos.com/work

In between we hope to have Sharings/events also open to the public and will post them as they come up.

Throughout the residency we are continually asking ourselves: what can we do better? how can we best respond to the issues of our times?

We believe that, at it’s best, the ethos we aspire to work with can model a way of being in community.

see next post for draft diary

The Fragility of Connection: info, prices and comments

 

It was a cheery evening and 

some work sold, and more still in the process of being sold and some good feedback/reviews, from other artists, two written informal ones below...

 "I loved her show, especially the oak gall work, but also, with all the work, something about being able to move into the creative space very easily with only the most subtle of cues and gestures, I felt like I could tap into it but also be in a space of unknown - how does she do that?! Amazing artist, thank you Anna"

"her beautiful sensitive work yesterday
We had a marvellous day .........the evening was the healing and beauty of the day for all of us
Please do thank Anna for letting me buy her work I have it up in front of me already here. Tell her I will treasure it and take it with me when we go back down to ..... valley"

Many people spoke of the connection to the work which they felt viscerally, which feels quite an unusual response, but also makes sense due to the work and how it is created.

Anna's words for exhibition

Originating from my early exposure to improvised dance in Shallal, I am fascinated by

fleeting moments of meeting and how improvised movement can be traced, transcribed,

and expressed through various mediums, whether its poured out onto a surface or

captured and distorted in video, drawings, and photographs, all while preserving the

essence of gesture. I view the abstraction of the body through different media as an

exploration of the indescribable sensations and connections to one’s own body that arise

during improvised movement.

I frequently explore perspectives of space: the internal and external facets of improvised

movement as perceived and experienced in and on the body. The internal aspect

encompasses the limitations of our flexibility and our preferred movement pathways,

while the external encompasses the physical boundaries of rooms, buildings, and

landscapes.

Visually, these themes are conveyed through minimal works that emphasise line,

exploring how line exists and can be extracted from the body. It represents the

ambiguous interplay of movement and stillness. This contradiction and multiplicity of line

remains continuously elusive and intriguing. In photographic or video works, there is an

element of distance and a sense of removal from the event offering a stilled experience of

embodied action. The combination of these elements creates an embodied use of line

alongside a detached visual record, highlighting the complexity and duality of authentic

movement.

Some of the works in this exhibition are part of a larger series “The Fragility of

Connection’. This series engages with the dynamics of the body’s internal and external

facets as a vehicle to explore ideas of isolation and detachment from one’s physicality.

@anna__sophronia

Title & price List

from the door

1. Connecting Forms £150

2. The Fragility of Connection I £30

3. The Fragility of Connection II £30

4.  Woven £45

5. Two Forms £50

6. The Fragility of Connection III £45

7. Suspended I (Oak gall, onion skin and avocado ink)  £50

8. Suspended II (onion skin and avocado ink) £45

9. Suspended III (Oak gall ink) £45

10. The Fragility of Connection IV £30

11. In flight (Oak gall ink on dyed avocado canvas) £65 sold

12. The Fragility of Connection V £55

13. The Fragility of Connection VI £80

14. The Fragility of Connection VII £70

15. The Fragility of Connection VIII £80

16. The Fragility of Connection VIIII £70

17. The Fragility of Connection X £80

18. Green and Gold (Not for sale) 

19. Weighted £95

20. The Fragility of Connection XI £40

21. The Fragility of Connection XII £40

22. Landscape (Oak gall ink) £60

23. Still life £60

24. Untitled (Oak gall ink on dyed avocado canvas) £90

Ask cafe for sale contact details 

Thank you Anna and Private View invitation!

 

So as many of you know

Anna is our youngest daughter, most of our 5 children have been swung around a dance session, crawled around the floor, been passed on, hugged and generally involved in Shallal from early years until teens...in their teens lending tech and design help and more - thank you Michael https://www.instagram.com/cuthbertwillis/as well as Anna https://www.instagram.com/anna__sophronia/?hl=en for art input.

Anna is now having a show in a community cafe, a favourite venue for me, community, where you come across art in your daily life and it can cheer, inspire you or you ignore it, no big deal.

Anna has danced, performed, created, designed, spooned baby food into Luke, our youngest's, mouth while we are all squashed in the front of our van and answered her phone for me! ( i was dragged reluctantly into mobile phone land rather late ), listened to me, helped me, supported me and inspired us all, her inspiration led to the process behind 'Connecting Forms' performance at The  Tate.

 So tonight we look forward to old friends and new faces at the Private View and i would like to stop and thank her, often she has been the most long term person in Shallal that i can easily access: to check ethos, ideas, and she understands and puts up with me, and i am very grateful.

I love her work and her approach and am, of course, totally biased!

I love the work of all the Shallal artists and believe in it being seen and enjoyed, otherwise i wouldn't still be here.

Thank you to everyone especially Elizabeth Tomos and Sam, and to Fran and all at Growbox Cafe https://thegrowbox.co.uk/cafe/for being so welcoming and supportive.

*Anna and her home ed friends also showed me that you can stay connected to your creativity and playful risk taking from childhood through your ( potentially self conscious) teens when many stop. I learnt a lot from working with them all seeing the Shallal style of work in their age  group and relating together with so many others

Nicky Harvey

Richard, Nicky and Lily

                                                                  zoom Christmas party

In grateful memory.

This year Nicky Harvey died. I was so moved by her story with us. 

I met Nicky through a mutual friend, a chance conversation, led to us chatting about our children, her youngest daughter Lily is an artist living remotely at home in Spain. We chatted about Shallal and Lily and her cross artform creativity work reminded me of Eddie. 

Lily and her family made friends with Eddie and his family, and they visited each other.

When we were starting zooms, Lily joined us, after the pandemic we didn’t want to loose touch so continued the zooms, sometimes Lily is in 3 – 4 Shallal dance or art sessions a week via zoom: Zoom Dance and Art Connection, Express Yourself, Shallal2 and Shallal Sketchbooks.

At the very beginning Nicky was out of sight but in the background supporting Lily's participation. Nicky's creativity quietly supported Lily's amazing work.

https://youtu.be/fMRwgYY7Mhw?si=E6Lt40jeidRkBc49

Lily is a core member of our zoom Art Connection group which wanted to try illustration and so Nicky wrote a childrens short story or two! for them to try to illustrate!

You can see Helens drawings and hear Nicky read the stories on ……

https://youtu.be/moIjkxp2moY?si=HiO9Tj4Hr_jn9Pw7

https://youtu.be/lEsdRcvpdFU?si=zUu-8sDAz2v-3hKR

Lily and her parents would dress up and join in the Christmas party zooms! I think we all enjoy the feeling of reaching out internationally.

We recently had an exhibition which featured many prints of of Lily’s art work firstly at the Community gallery, Falmouth Art Gallery and it is now at Proper Job Café County Hall. 

Lily continues to join us and she and her family support us.

Lily has good friends she has met through Shallal and her creativity has extended into dance sessions with Demelza over Zoom.

Shallal often makes friendships with artists families/support as well as the artist.

In our visioning meetings Nicky thanked everyone for "making Shallal such a safe and inspiring experience" and had dream of  "a Shallal week in the mountains" where they lived.