onwards and upwards

Today the piles of stamped and addressed bird cards that have gathered so far from Africa, Spain, Bhutan, London and Ullapool were posted north to the Hebrides.  Isn't it nice to think of them all out there in the air somewhere - a great squawking feathery conglomerate gaggle of them? 

long haul flight

Iona is drawing an owl in flight: she has carefully traced and transferred it and has yet to turn her fingers blue with felt-tip sky. 

Today An Talla Solais held the Ullapool leg of the Flock migration, creating a fabulous range of birds to send on their way.  We mapped our own local migrations, made our own constellations to steer by, discovered incredible bird facts (do swallows really spend the winter in South Africa?) and created weird and very wonderful birds to fly north.  There are pictures of some of the birds - including Iona's finished owl - on the Ullapool page. 

The Flock is nearing the end of its migration after a long haul flight of several weeks and thousands of miles.  Next stop Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides!

Small artists from Ullapool Primary School in the Scottish highlands have started adding to the Flock by creating beautifully observed cards like this one.  An Talla Solais (Ullapool Visual Arts) is hosting the next Flock workshop, on Saturday 15th from 11am - 2pm.  Please come and join us for all or some of it, and help us make more birds using coloured paper, maps and your own migration patterns!

In the meantime other birds are arriving by post from the south every day.  The Flock so far will be on display alongside the workshop - come and have a look!  See the Ullapool page for more info about the workshop.

birds of London

Today over 100 people flocked to Art in the Park in Camberwell to make migrating birds for the London phase of the project.  Using the birds of Burgess Park as inspiration (swans, woodpeckers, herons, pigeons and possibly a pterodactyl), visitors drew and cut out birds which they then painted with Art in the Park's two spectacular painting machines.  They were indeed a spectacle to watch: one of them involved shooting bright paint at a moving picture, and the other was a demanding wood and string contraption which got people levering paint onto their pictures at a safe distance of 6 feet.  At the same time others were making a series of clay pots and imprinting them with bird patterns.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the workshop was much enjoyed - see the Camberwell page for more pictures of the day.  The birds made today will now be posted up to Ullapool, flying northwards on their migration to the Hebrides.

the eagle has landed!

This week the first bird cards have started to fly in from the south.  These ones set off from Morocco, Bhutan and Spain, covering incalculable air miles between them, and have arrived in London for a well-earned rest before travelling north again later this week.

Speed, bonnie birds

Down at the Equator, Beatrice and team are sending the first birds north this weekend.  Wish them a fair wind and swift journey - they have over 3000 miles to cover before they arrive in Camberwell...

This is the Flock's London destination.  The Aylesbury Estate is maybe the biggest of its kind in Europe.  Artists at Art in the Park will be bringing out their crazy painting machines on Sunday 9th October and inviting the residents from this Camberwell Estate to come and make birds of all sorts which will be sent on up to Scotland to continue their migration.  See the Camberwell page, and come and join us - everyone's welcome! 

Sealed With A Loving Bird

Here in Ullapool the Post Office doesn't stock stamps with pictures on (a matter of principle).  However we do not mind as much as we should, because we have just received an anonymous donation of the most glorious stamps you can imagine!  We are going to enjoy putting our Big Draw drawings in the post with these little beauties on them.