Holmfirth Arts Festival 2012

En route to Holmfirth last Sunday (17th), I started my festival experience by parking up at the Toad and Tatie and walking up to Malkin House Barn (jel!) to see the Tributaries exhibition. I loved it! I thought that Judith Tucker's drawings were stunning and Harriet Tarlo's poetry was simple but effective. Both captured the area and landscape perfectly and worked really well together. The walls of the Barn were white and simple, so nothing about the interior distracted you from the striking drawings- save the amazing scenery outside! And the poems were published in simple font on clean white boards. I think the presentation helped the impact of both mediums superbly.
I would love one of Judith's drawings on my walls at home as a reminder of the area I have walked in so much myself and recognised so well within her work. The venue is a bit of a trek from the main road but more than worth it.

My first port of call once in the centre of Holmfirth was to stop by Towser Bothy to check out the zine library (very inspiring!). I particularly liked the book stand made from reclaimed materials- it really suited the venue and emphasised the 'do it yourself' vibe of the zines. The dry stone wall bar also looked fabulous and seemed to be doing a good trade.

After that I caught the 2.30pm performance of Repiano at the Holy Trinity Church. The performance was really busy, which was good to see. I enjoyed this installation very much, the music and lights went really well together and were stunning in the venue- the church interior made an ideal 'silver screen' for the colourful, fast paced images that Illuminos had created. I think I would have preferred the 'music' to be an actual piece of music rather than just warm- up sounds of the Skelmanthorpe Band and an occasional note or two from a tune, but that's a small criticism really. A visual and audio treat on a Sunday afternoon.

Sadly the poetry busk had been called off the previous day due to the naff weather, so next I headed up to Victoria Park for the workshops, of which there were 2 that afternoon. The sculpture workshop was awash with children and I didn't feel right muscling in on their space and fun, so below are some pics from this workshop which I casually observed.

I did however get a turn on the Cyanotype workshop. This is the practise of using silk or paper treated with chemicals and sunlight to create simple and unique images. My own creation is below (this piece isn't for sale ha ha). Lots of families with young children were making the most of these (free) workshops, which was brilliant to see.

Finally, I stopped off at Emma's Tea Parlour for the Poetry Parlour. Things were very much winding down by the time I got there but I did get to hear a few poems and the event took me inside a place I'd never been before but will definitely be returning to- the decor was lovely and the drinks selection was brilliant.

All in all I had a fantastic afternoon and look forward to next year's festival, at which I'll hopefully be able to attend much more and possibly even do some volunteering. There's still some stuff going on this weekend so do have a trip to Holmfirth and check the Festival out if you can.

Now, I feel so inspired by Judith Tucker, where are my pastels and chalk....