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Bounce Back Upcycling

Our Bounce Back project, led by Martin O’Neill has been popping up in and around North West Dumfries over the past few months, including film screenings and the launch of the Ignition Fund, as well as supporting other events in the Lochside and Lincluden areas.
A month ago, Bounce Back began a series of Upcycling workshops, sharing skills and ideas to repair and reimagine unwanted clothes into something new.

Upcycling Workshop Poster

Workshops run every second Thursday, with sessions still to come on the 10th and 24th of August at the Lochside Family Centre.

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Musings News

For the Love of… Sphagnum

An extract from SUBMERGE artist Kate Foster’s most recent blog post. To read the post in full visit her blog here

Kate joined in our recent craftivism workshops, wearing Sphagnum on her sleeves (more on that here), inspiring a love of moss blog post.

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‘Living with water is important around the Solway, and I’m learning that Sphagnum is a kind of aqueous super-hero. An individual Sphagnum moss is a strand of water-holding cells that can collectively create raised bogs many metres deep, over thousands of years.

Complete raised bogs are now rare. Dogden Moss in the Eastern Borders and Kirkconnel Flow west of Dumfries give hints of what the landscape in Southern Scotland was like before bogs were drained and dug. Beginning  a tour of mosses,  I have discovered the equivalent of mountain-top removal has been inflicted on them. My eye is getting tuned to tawny strips on the low horizon.’

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‘This human-made drainage ditch has been dammed, a recent reversal of policy. Peatland Action is a restoration programme co-ordinated by Scottish Natural Heritage: the reasons to conserve peatbogs are beautifully laid out in the National Peatland Plan. Importantly, peatbogs sequester carbon and are sinks for atmospheric carbon. This process is starting in the blocked ditch at Kirkconnel, as Sphagnum strands start a slow and steady occupation.’

Kate has been working with Nadiah Rosli on her recent work Peatland Actions, which is part of our SUBMERGE exhibition. SUBMERGE runs daily from 10-5pm until Saturday evening, 12th December.

Kate and Nadiah will be speaking as part of our Question of Scale event on Thursday, 10th December from 6pm.

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News Project Updates

Craftivism at The Stove

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Every Wednesday during November, The Stove is running a series of ‘craftivism’ stitch in’s. These are drop in events running from 5-8pm, anyone is welcome whether you come with craft skills of your own or whether you’d like to learn some basic techniques in a friendly and open environment (we have cake!).

What is Craftivism?

Craftivism is a form of ‘slow-activism’, sharing crafting skills in a social space, inviting discussion and reflection whilst making – engaging in the time consuming processes of stitching and making. It is a growing movement of crafters and open-minded people, looking to create new ways of exchange and discussion on issues and topics that we hope to share with others. Come along for a blether, a cup of tea and help contribute towards some of the projects we are currently working on. These sessions are self-led but with plenty of support from our Herald Moxie, and craftivist Joy Cheroukai.

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Why Now?

The Stove is participating in ArtCOP, an international cultural programme that coincides with this years Paris Climate Conference (also known as the COP21) in December. We are looking for new ways to talk about the environment and the constantly changing nature of our world – what is changing for Dumfries and Galloway? What does anyone mean about climate change? Do we need a new language for talking about global climate issues? What has Dumfries got to do with it?

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Our craftivism group is working towards two projects:

Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve is a national campaign from the Craftivist Collective and the Climate Coalition, and asks everyone to think about the things they are passionate about – and in turn, how they could be affected by changing climates and rising temperatures.

The Stop Climate Chaos Rally is on the 28th of November, Scotland’s Climate March will take place in Edinburgh. The Stove has been invited by the Crichton Carbon Centre to join their bus to take part in the rally, and stitchers and makers at our Craftivism sessions are working towards a large banner that can be carried in the march, made up of smaller patterns and designs using unwanted fabrics.

We will be having an intensive banner making weekend before the rally on the 21st and 22nd of November.

If you would like a place on the bus (travel expenses covered by The Stove), please get in touch as we have limited spaces [email protected]

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Drop by any Wednesday evening to find out more, or speak to Moxie on our Stove Herald facebook page www.facebook.com/thestoveherald/

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