The project looks at old industrial work places, & the history of the workers’ home lives & work conditions; the skills they had, the materials & plants they used, the effect their work had on the landscape.
What better way to start the year than to join us for a warm welcome at our Open Day at Craig-y-Nos half-term Saturday 26th February, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Where we will launch the project with a selection of workshops, walks & project information. Alan Bowring will lead a walk, on the geology, geography and history of the park at 10 a.m. & again at 12.30 p.m. Adele Nozedar will run 2 Walk with Trees sessions at 11am then again at 2pm. Numbers limited to 15, (so first come, first served). Join - Rebecca Buck in making ceramic tiles for the Curvy Heritage Bench, (drop in, all ages welcome); Alun with sculpturing a stone; Bridget upcycling Christmas cards, (no glue needed); Emma, needle felting creatures, (8 years and above), Katey, Button Bracelet & Hearts & beaded bubble wands; Karin, upcycling plastic bottles and household items to make figures of our past, (bring a plastic bottle, please); Julia, Painting in the park, all ages and abilities. Annabel with her metal fish for the lake. Joseph Herman Foundation. Sunday 27 February, Julia Harris, painting; Helen, glass painting; Naomi Gaskill; reclaimed wood and wire; Carol Speckman, potter; Joon, Silver Jewellery; Bob Granger and friend, spinning wheels; Tina O Keef will be doing workshops making birdie beakers and pom poms for the younger children. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Workshops & Walks will help you explore the past & re-imagine the life of those who worked here, whether that was in the kilns or the quarries, the mines or the fields, the servants & gardeners in the big houses, the patients in the TB hospital, or the industries that kickstarted the industrial revolution.
Help us research the history, or, via our camera conversations, share stories that have been passed down to you. The project will look at the language, culture & skills, that those who migrated into the area brought with them, & the places where they took their skills when they emigrated.
Create connections with these communities, & with those communities living at the locations where the Valley’s coal seams reappear on the other side of the Atlantic.
Traditional skills will be revived for environmental work, for pleasure, for socialisation & sharing of skills, or for work enhancement.
By the Wellingtonia a bench made up of clay tiles depicting heritage and wildlife will be erected; out of the old stocking lake, will appear fish made in the workshops; clay sculptures will be set in the area where resurgence waters emerge from the Ogof Ffynon Ddu cave system (made ‘famous’ recently when, cavers from all over the UK came together to rescue an injured colleague).
Nearby past Adelina Patti’s boating lake is, the pavilion. This had 3 lawns – croquet, tennis & entertaining, as well a place to listen to Adelina performing. Even now in the dead of night under a cold moon, it is said you can still hear her singing a lament for her mystery lover, who disappeared on that fateful night all those years ago.
The project is designed to once again open up creativity with workshops, not only at Craig-y-Nos & local centres, but also throughout the Beacons with 60 centres projected to participate at the BBNPA Sustainable Development Fund’s Beacons & Surround Crafts Festival 18th – 26th June.
Although the project has one eye on the past, it has the other on a sustainable future & environment for the area, by running creative workshops, enriching tourists’ experiences, providing accredited training and work opportunities, as well as zero waste initiatives such as a Waste Recycling Register, Make Do & Mend & Proud to Patch projects, & crafts from waste courses. Please join us at our Open Days on Saturday 26TH 27th February 2022.
You can be involved in many different ways:-
Design & create clay tiles for the Curvy animal & heritage bench. Help mould the model for the sculpture in the Resurgence area. Paint a picture of the area or your ancestors. Take a walk to the limekilns & quarries & to identify the forgotten plants. Make recycled metal bugs & fish for the lake.
Carry out research projects such as the history of the industries, limekilns, quarries, mines. Where the workers came from, where they emigrated to. Living & working conditions of the workers. The life of Adelina Patti & the history of the house & servants. Plus, when the house was later used as a TB hospital.
Design projects to engage & immerse tourists in the activities on offer.
Own your waste by designing a Waste Recycling Rating (e.g., 1. Compostable. 2. Completely Recyclable. 3 Repairable. 4. Non-Compostable but Repurposeable. 5. Craftable. 6.Minimum Packaging. 7. Reusable. 8. Throw away on a later day) & attending a Make Do & Mend & Proud to Patch (Boro) workshops.
Volunteer to help with protection of the riverbanks, dry stone walling, hedgelaying.
Share stories of your grandparents with our camera conversations.
Forge Links with the communities where local workers emigrated to & where local seams re-emerge in the Appalachian Mountains & in Spain.
Provide a placement for someone seeking work experience.
Sign up for an Agored Cymru qualification with courses that include – crafts from waste, dry stone walling, park maintenance.
Connect with others with our Craft & Chat Workshops, which include clay, painting, felting, textile upcycling, willow craft, recycled metal bugs, embroidery, charcoal making, bushcraft, forest bathing, dry stone walling, hedgelaying, spinning weaving.
Help set up QR history points & Geocaches
Visit Craig-y-Nos for other festivals this year such as the Geopark Festival, end of May. Green Spaces, Dark Skies, 5/6 July.
