Cherise Ward ‘My Time’ Residency – Puppet Building Workshop

May 26, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

For my community outreach for the residency, I decided to do a 3 hour Puppet Building Workshop with students from Workmans Primary. The students were from both Class 3 and Class 4.

As part of my preparation, I made a test puppet. I wanted it to be a simple hand puppet that I thought the students would be able to make themselves. I used fabric, felt and construction paper.

On the day of the workshop, I had the assistance of Fresh Milk volunteers Versia and Ronald, and they were a great help.

I started by teaching the students about 3 different types of puppets, and doing a brief demonstration of how they worked using puppets I have made. They took notes, and were interested in trying to operate the puppets themselves. Then we got started making their hand puppets.

Puppets made by Cherise, demonstrating different techniques.

Annalee Davis introducing Cherise to the Workmans Primary students.

Cherise demonstrating one of her puppets.

Cherise showing one of her completed puppets.

Cherise assisting with the puppet construction.

The students cut out their templates for the glove part of the puppet, and traced them onto the fabric, and we helped them cut and glue the fabric. They drew the designs for their puppets, and then cut the shapes for the heads and hands, and decorated them using felt, paper, and crayons.

The workshop was really well received. The students were enthusiastic, and excited about the puppets, and we had a great time. Thanks to Versia and Ronald for their help as well as Annalee and the teachers at Workmans Primary.

Follow Cherise on Tumblr for updates on her residency & practice.

John Berger Makes Me Dizzy – #CCF

May 22, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

How can I review a John Berger book? How do I gather my thoughts on his thoughts, simplify them and concisely and articulately present them in a 500 word summary? I can’t. Whether through my own honest inability or fear of even trying (I’ll give myself the answer to that later), I found it impossible to do. But under the watchful eyes of two of my teammates here at Fresh Milk (Katherine and Amanda) I feel I must say a little something about the man in the photo above.

John Berger is a writer, a poet, and an intellectual. He is one of the few minds of the 20th century able to dissect a wide range of matters and re-present them with precision and clarity. John Berger Selected Essays is a compilation of some of the most prolific writings of his career. The editor, Geoff Dyer, has gathered works from a number of his collections, including: “The Look of Things” (1972), “About Looking” (1980) and “The White Bird” (1985).

The above excerpt is from Versia Harris’ review on Selected Essays of John Berger, this week’s addition to the Fresh Milk Books Tumblr – the online space inviting interaction with our collection in the Colleen Lewis Reading Room.

For new Critical. Creative. Fresh reviews every week, look out for our #CCF Weekly and see the good reads we have available at Fresh Milk!

Colleen Lewis Open Archive Residency

May 21, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

FRESH MILK is pleased to announce the Colleen Lewis Open Archive Residency between September and November 2014. Applications from artists worldwide are welcomed. This residency aims to support visual artists, writers and creatives by offering a peaceful working space for a minimum of 4 weeks, and the opportunity to interface with the Colleen Lewis Reading Room (CLRR) as an archive with which to engage, respond and activate. For more on the archive, view our online bibliography.

The CLRR is continually expanding its collection and has a special focus on the visual arts, with particular interest in archiving material on visual arts in the Caribbean. Resident artists will also be able to meet with the Fresh Milk Books team of young creatives on a weekly basis to converse and collaborate.

Spaces are available between September 1^st and November 28^th, 2014. For more information on the residency and associated costs please visit our International Residency Opportunity page.

Artists wishing to apply for residencies with projects outside of this targeted call are also welcome to submit proposals.

The deadline for applications is July 4th, 2014.

Cherise Ward’s Residency – Week 4 Report

May 13, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

Final Week

Week 4, the final week of the residency, was spent experimenting with mold making and casting, and working on the puppet.

While making the molds, I was anxious to see how they would turn out. I poured the molds, and let them stay overnight. The next day they were turned from liquid to rubber, and I was happy with how they came out.

I was excited to pour the first cast. This did not turn out as well as I would have liked, so I tried again. I was able to make 3 casts of the girl and rooster, plus one made with the very last of the liquid plastic. These are to be wall hangings, and I’m looking forward to painting them.

I also made 5 bunny casts. The shape for the bunny was a simple design, keeping in mind that I wanted to make a simple mold. These can be painted in any way, and I gave one to Annalee, and one to Katherine, to see what ideas they come up with.

I painted one using acrylic paint, and started a second one.

I enjoyed the time spent at Fresh Milk during the 4 weeks of the residency. I would like to thank Annalee and Katherine for their support during these 4 weeks. The residency allowed me to work on ideas that I had not had time to explore in the past. It gave me the opportunity to try new things, and watch initial ideas develop into concepts I had not considered before. Through the residency I was able to meet Juliana, and through her feedback, I have new ideas that I’m looking forward to exploring. I’m happy I made the decision to do a local residency, and I’m pleased with what I have taken away from my experience at Fresh Milk.

I will be doing a Puppet Building Workshop on May 20th as the community outreach portion of the residency. I will be teaching primary school students about puppets, and puppet building, so I will update the blog with images from the workshop.

Follow Cherise on Tumblr for more updates on her residency & practice.

Cherise Ward’s Residency – Week 3 Report

May 5, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

Puppet Beginnings

The first day of Week 3 of the residency was spent completing the clay sculpture I started last week.

On Tuesday, I began building a rod puppet, using air-drying clay. I cut wooden dowel sticks for the arms, and next week I will work to complete it.

On Wednesday, Juliana Inniss came to visit the studio. It was great to meet her in person. She was able to see the sculptures I made, and gave helpful feedback, as well as tips for future projects.

The mold making and casting kit I ordered arrived last week. This week I started developing ideas for what I will create with this, and I’m looking forward to experimenting with it.

Follow Cherise on Tumblr for more updates on her residency & practice.