ECA Casting Day

21 November 2009

On a stormy day in November Edinburgh College of Art’s product design students led by Andy Law came to Jupiter to explore the history of casting. The workshop involved the casting of chocolate as well as aluminium. The aluminium was melted in a barbeque furnace fired up with a leafblower, a furnace developed by Thomas Thwaites of the Toaster Project. Robin Astley from the AB Fine Art Foundry and Alan from the ECA coaxed the furnace into life whilst being blown in a howling gale protected only by a flimsy awning which is more suited to a summer garden party!

Edinburgh College of Art’s visit

This image is of the Edinburgh College of Art’s product design students. Images: Andy Law

To warm up the students retreated inside to cast their chocolate. Jupiter Artland chocolate bars were melted down and used to cast anything from a banana to a hand grenade. The chocolate was spun in a rather “Heath Robinson” rotational moulding machine to make them hollow. Ginger bread was another material used to create sculpture and some very lifelike chicken legs resulted!

Edinburgh College of Art’s visit

This image is of the Edinburgh College of Art’s product design students. Images: Andy Law

Jupiter Artland Foundation Education News

10 November 2009

Over the last four months we have had an enormous range of workshops and educational visits here at Jupiter Artland.

Shawhead primary school visit

This image is by Silvy Weatherall of the magic carpet that the Shawhead primary school made on their visit.

Festival workshops
The Festival workshops were kicked off by the artist Shane Waltener leading a hugely enjoyable knit and knot workshop in the woods. The trees were festooned with colourful garlands and both children and adults learnt a huge amount about Shane’s radical craft tendencies!
A very enthusiastic group of children joined our Arts Festival workshop which involved a tour of the Artland followed by some sculpting using found materials in the woods.

Juniper Green primary school visit

Juniper Green primary school visits Jupiter Artland - image by Juniper Green primary school.

 
Duke of Edinburgh
September saw the arrival of our first group of Duke of Edinburgh students. They have joined us from Balerno High School and Simon Duffy, the estate manager, is leading a skills course based on landscape and sculpture management.
 
Edinburgh University
Edinburgh University’s History of Art Masters course has sent us an intern for a 20 week placement. Judith Dunlop is working predominantly on the huge task of our archiving but has been very helpful with anything that comes her way.
 
Juniper Green Primary School
Juniper Green Primary School approached us to help with the creation of their own sculpture garden. Nicky Wilson and I visited the school and were extremely impressed by their new space and their enthusiasm. Over a series of three days nearly 100 Juniper Green pupils visited Jupiter Artland for “inspiration days.” These involved looking at the sculpture, sketching and writing notes to form the starting point for creative writing back at school. We also did three different workshops on the work of Laura Ford, Andy Goldsworthy and Shane Waltener in which the children created group sculpture. We are going to go back to Juniper Green to follow up and will host a performance here of the plays generated from the creative writing inspired by Jupiter Artland. 

Juniper Green primary school visit

Juniper Green primary school visits Jupiter Artland - image by Juniper Green primary school.

George Heriot’s
George Heriot’s School launched their own week long Arts Festival in October and we were very proud to be invited to be part of it. We held a family day on Saturday the 15th of October. A large number of people visited and walked around before enjoying coffee and cake next to wood burning stove in the Proposals room.

Later that week the sixth form art students from Heriots visited and had a guided tour.

Juniper Green workshop on shane walteners work

Juniper Green workshop on shane walteners work - image by Juniper Green school.

 
Edinburgh University Architects
The 3rd year architecture students visited with Mark Cousins in October too. It was a crisp golden day and we walked around to look at the sculpture before the students investigated our gallery space as part of their 3rd year project.
 
Nether Currie Primary School
Nether Currie Primary School’s P5 class visited us to take part in an Appleman workshop. We gathered fallen apples from the orchard and created forms and body outlines. It looked like a weird crime scene for days afterwards!

Nether Currie primary school visit

Nether Currie primary school visit - image by Nether Currie primary school.

 
Queen Margaret’s University
November was soon here and Queen Margaret’s University first year Art therapists group visited us to look around and generally soak up the atmosphere.
 

Shawhead primary school visit

This image is by Silvy Weatherall of the magic carpet that the Shawhead primary school made on their visit.

Shawhead Primary School
We were very pleased to have a visit from Shawhead School in Dumfriesshire. Artists Andy Goldsworthy and Charles Jencks are both based in Dumfriesshire and it was great to have a group undertake such a long journey to visit us. We based our workshop on their topic of magic. We created a fantastic magic flying carpet from autumn leaves with each child creating their distinct part. The resulting carpet had a fantastic range of motifs and tonal colour.

Shawhead primary school visit

This image is by Silvy Weatherall of the magic carpet that the Shawhead primary school made on their visit.

 
 

NADFAS visit

23 September 2009

We were delighted to host the annual gathering of the Scottish and Irish NADFAS societies on September the 23rd and 24th at Jupiter Artland. Coffee and delicious chocolate cake on arrival was followed by a lecture on the genesis of the collection given by Nicky Wilson and Diana McMicking. The last days of the Indian summer meant that lunch could be eaten outside on the terrace. A tour of the Artland followed led by Nicky, Robert, Diana and Richard our head gardener. NADFAS were a very appreciative group and we hope to see many of you back next year when we open in May.

NADFAS visit

Clockwise from top right: nadfas visitors and firmament by Antony Gormley, Shane Walteners web by Trevor Edwards gardens, NADFAS visitors at the Jencks by Hilary Gunkel, Robert Wilson and Susan Zuill, NADFAS chairman. 

Artsparks GPS Drawing Workshop

14 July 2009

Twenty children investigated the Charles Jencks “Cells of Life” landforms in a whole new way. Using GPS receivers we mapped the contours of the Jencks and created drawings. The workshop was led by Jeremy Wood, an artist, who walks/runs and even takes plane journeys with his GPS receiver to create enormous drawings. These drawings are generated through the computer and can then be superimposed onto a google earth image of a place. 

This was especially interesting for Jupiter Artland as the last google earth image was made before the landforms were created. The children  responded very well to the use of technology in art and produced fantastic drawings which they developed into some wonderful 3D work.

GPS Workshop

Images: GPS Workshop

Peter Liversidge - A "Midsummer Snowstorm"

21 June 2009 12 midday

On Sunday 21 June the longest summer day of the year, artist Peter Liversidge turned part of the entrance of Jupiter Artland into a scene from deep midwinter. 

Peter Liversidge is one of the artists commissioned to make work at Jupiter Artland . A central aspect of Liversidge's practice is the making of Proposals, groups of hand-typed and posted suggestions. These Proposals form the basis for works, exhibitions and performances. Liversidge, a naturally subversive character, can reliably be expected to present the unexpected.

From 1st December 2008 to 31st January 2009, Peter Liversidge typed and submitted 134 proposals for Jupiter Artland. Ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, these suggestions included installing a sign in the grounds showing the distance to the planet Jupiter from Jupiter Artland and a Midsummer snowstorm.  

Some of these suggestions are impossible to realise, others will be brought to life in the coming months and years.

Peter Liversidge, Children enjoying the snow, Snowscape

Clockwise from top right: Peter Liversidge, Children enjoying the snow, Snowscape.

Jupiter Artland opens

15 May 2009 10.00am

The gates of Jupiter Artland open for the first time on Friday the 15th of May. If you're a fan of contemporary sculpture - be there. In the 80-acre estate surrounding Bonnington House are the works of eleven of the UK's leading artists.

We hope you will come and discover it for yourself. Book your visit now.

Outdoor sculpture garden blossoms

15 May 2009

Jupiter Artland has been highlighted on the BBC website. You can catch it here.

The Opening

9 May 2009

On the 9th of May Jupiter Artland opened its gates for the first time. Hundreds of people attended the tea party and took a walk around the Artland. There were local people, artists, educationalists, gallerists and all forms of art lovers! Cornelia Parker's Nocturne ensured that the day ended with a very big bang!

Clockwise from top right: Calum Innes, Robert Wilson and Ian Howard, Nicky Wilson and Calum Innes, Charles Jencks, Antony Gormley, Cornelia Parker and Peter Liversidge, Andy Goldsworthy.

To read more about Cornelia Parker and see a video of the display click here

In the capital's outer space - a park called Jupiter shines with art stars

21 March 2009

Did you see our article which made the front page of the Scotsman? You can catch it again here.