Work in progress - Activities - Upstream

Work in progress

Participants have found satisfaction in practical end-products and in collective projects that bring several groups and individuals together, producing works of real quality exhibited publicly and easily accessible by all. This is a chance to celebrate and share what people have done, and to belong to something bigger. Mentors emphasise the importance of the process as much as the product, so this collaborative work is often thought of simply as ‘Work in Progress’ – moments at which participants can enjoy a sense of fulfilment whilst confident they will continue to achieve more in the future.

Here are some examples of ‘Work in Progress’: 

• ‘Poetry and Paintings’ by a group in Tiverton, created by participants most of whom had never painted or written before.
• ‘Calendar 2005’ with 12 seasonal paintings by an Art group in Tiverton.
•  ‘Exploring Sound’, a CD by participants who experimented with a wide selection of wind and percussion instruments.
• ‘Christmas Card’ produced annually from the work of participants.
• ‘Jackdaws in My Chimney’, a chapter from a former poacher & gamekeeper.
• ‘Dorothy’s Memories’, poems and paintings by a lady whose style changed as her eyesight failed.
• ‘Memories of World War II – Silverton and Beyond’ a book of reminiscence produced independently by the group in Silverton.
• CD of reminiscences recorded by the group in Witheridge.
  

The collaborative projects below were each created by 25-50 people from different groups as well as housebound individuals. Professional designers/artists conceived the overall themes after discussions with participants who then created the individual components that were brought together for the final product. The artists toured groups to encourage and train where necessary. The products are exhibited in GP surgeries, local libraries, council offices, etc. 5,000 people a week pass through an average mid-Devon GP surgery; that is many more people than would see a normal exhibition. The projects are also used as a focus for Upstream ‘Event’ days, which bring people together from all over Mid Devon for work on the project, healthy eating, enjoyable socialising and ‘conversational consultations’.

• Upstream Quilt: 3’x6’, on the theme of water, with individual squares made by 25 people across Mid-Devon working individually or in small social groups. 
  
• Upstream Banner: 3’x11’, made for an exhibition at Exeter Royal Albert Museum.
• Upstream Weaving: 3’x5’, on the theme of the countryside, with every little section created by participants who learned to weave on small home-made looms.
• Upstream Felt: ‘The Four Seasons’, 8’x8’, an outstanding piece for which participants first had to learn to make felt and then to work with it.
• BBC ‘World at War’: More than 30 participants recorded memories, visited the Tiverton Museum exhibition and joined a celebratory tea-party. This is being followed by a Transport project, also with the Museum.
• ‘Tiverton in Flood’: Participants worked with the Environment Agency and pupils from the High School to record memories and a DVD of the great flood of 1960.
• Upstream Cloak, 2007: A collaborative project made by more than 50 men and women from Upstream groups (and individuals) – a patchwork of many sewing techniques in a magnificent full-length cloak with a raised collar.