Category: Art

Day 58: Cows about Cambridge

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Between 28th June and 4th September 2021, residents & tourists could enjoy a bit of cow-spotting around the city of Cambridge! Cows are a familiar sight in public spaces such as Midsummer, Stourbridge and Coldham’s Commons and the meadows in Grantchester and Newnham. However, the Cows about Cambridge didn’t need a grass diet (with some obvious advantages!) This was a sculpture trail around the streets, parks and some indoor spaces around our beautiful city.

There is a serious side to the art project. Cows about Cambridge has been raising money for the children’s charity, Break. They’ve done this by producing a fundraising pack with sponsored event ideas, setting up a text-to-donate facility, and, perhaps most excitingly of all, they’ve organised a charity auction! On 23rd September 2021 at 7pm, 43 cow sculptures will be auctioned to raise money to support vulnerable young people and families across Cambridgeshire.

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Day 56: Window Wanderland Ely

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Ely has joined the Window Wanderland revolution! As the sun went down on 23rd October 2020, the lights in 140 Ely homes & businesses went on, illuminating their window artwork.

Window Wanderland began in 2015 when Lucy Reeves Khan used her experience of isolation as a force for good, inspiring communities to transform their streets into unique ‘galleries’ for neighbours to enjoy together. Such a fun idea and Lucy can’t have known how much this kind of togetherness would be so desperately needed in 2020.

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Day 55: Somewhere in Ely

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Back in July, I read about a collaborative community arts project in our home city, called All Together Now. An invitation was extended to artists & makers to propose some “fun and unexpected things to happen in the city”. Intriguing! The focus was on encouraging local people to get creative during lockdown and involved in activities to be shared & enjoyed by locals and visitors.

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Day 54: Draw With Rob

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We’re in the fourth week of COVID-19 lockdown. It’s certainly been tense at times in the Smith house, but we’re all still healthy, and I’m incredibly grateful for that; I sincerely hope you and your loved ones are well, too. The weather has been gorgeous for the most part, which has helped as the boys love being outdoors.

For less favourable days, I’ve tried to find some new indoor activities that we can do as a family, and I was delighted to find Draw with Rob on YouTube.

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Day 38: Painted Pebbles

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As we head towards the end of 2017, it’s a time when many will reflect on the year gone by and look to the year ahead. It’s the busiest season of the year with so much going on every single day – we know that this time of year can be particularly daunting for people living with mental illness, in its many forms. Fortunately, there is help out there for anyone who needs support. 

On Day 38 of #100DaysNoTV we left some festive-themed painted pebbles around our little city of Ely. These are no ordinary pebbles; we hope they will help to spread the word about a wonderful community project, Talking FreELY.

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Day 18: Resin Jewellery

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One of the most exciting aspects of my #100DaysNoTV project is the opportunity to spend time with a friend, indulging for a short while in their passion. On Day 18, I spent a morning with Tali – of the brilliantly named Tallulah does the Hula – making resin pendants.

The last time I made jewellery with Tali was in 2011 when were both seven months pregnant! With tummies up to the craft table (too much info?), we made beaded necklaces and earrings. Since then, Tali has gone on to create beautiful pieces with polymer clay beads before turning her attention to resin.

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Day 17: Pressed Flower Art

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A super simple activity for Day 17 of #100DaysNoTV. I made a little memento of an autumn walk I had with the boys last year. They love being outdoors and collecting “treasure”, and we had carefully chosen some fallen leaves and – incredibly for the time of year – buttercups and daisies. I pressed them, stored them, and now (finally) they’re displayed!

Luckily, I was able to use things we already had in the house. I used a frame that had been sitting in a drawer, for goodness knows how long. We have an abundance of card and poster paint, so there was no issue with making a background for the flowers and leaves to stick on. I just had to decide how I wanted it to look.

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