Flintham Weather Garden

The Second Bookbinding Workshop

2010-02-07T21:30:00.008Z

Sarah Brown shows the group how to sew signatures.

Sarah Brown's second bookbinding workshop took place in the Flintham Village Hall this weekend. It was a very damp and misty day and the temperature was only 4 degrees Celcius at the Weather Station. Although in the hall it was nice and cosy, the ideal conditions for bookbinding.

We were joined for the day by the local community and members of the Nottingham Calligraphers.

Everyone made beautiful hard-bound books, some of which are going to be placed inside the Weather Station for Flintham Museum visitors to continue the tradition of recording the weather.

Bookbinding Workshop

2009-09-13T21:54:00.006+01:00

It was a gloriously sunny day on Saturday for the first Bookbinding Workshop.

Temp: 24 c / 75.2 f

Wind: Calm

Wind

Direction: South

Rain: None

As it was such a beautiful day we decided to run the workshop outside in the Weather Garden. Below you can see Sarah Brown demonstrating to the group the precision involved in bookbinding.

The girls show-off their beautifully crafted fold out rain gauges.

Bookbinding Workshop

2009-08-23T18:57:00.011+01:00

Bookbinding: How to record the weather.

On Saturday September 12th we will be running the first of four workshops in the Flintham Museum Weather Garden.

In this first workshop we will start to explore ways to capture, record and present various aspects of the weather.

The day will be led by Sarah Brown and Martin Smith.

Image: 84 Hours by Sarah Brown.

Sarah is an amazing bookbinder whose concerns are with the traditional craft of bookbinding and a determination to raise the profile of this declining industry.

There is a fee of £5 per person that includes lunch and all materials. The workshop is aimed at family groups and it is anticipated that each group will design and construct at least one book on the day.

For more information or to book a place please email Susan Clayton at Flintham Museum.

Cabinets of Curiosity

2009-06-11T20:13:00.004+01:00

The first of the compartmentalised cabinets that are to be attached to the screens.

Weather Station and Garden opening

2009-05-20T21:26:00.009+01:00

Today the Weather Station was officially unveiled to the good people of Flintham. It was a great turn out and the temperature was 18°C with a very slight wind from the south and cloudy with sunny spells.

Finishing Touches

2009-05-10T12:48:00.004+01:00

The Weather Station is all now installed and here I am applying the final touches of paint. The official opening is 20th May.

Play Surface

2009-05-04T16:27:00.004+01:00

The re-cycled rubber surface (made in The Netherlands from old truck tyres) has arrived. We've now cut it to shape and when installed it will sit around the base of the Weather Station on the side where the steps are. This cushioned surface feels great underfoot and will offer a degree of protection for anyone who falls/jumps off the steps!

The Weather Station (view from above)

2009-04-24T20:50:00.003+01:00

Weather Station

2009-04-17T12:00:00.004+01:00

The Weather Station instruments are now painted and assembled.

White Bits

2009-04-14T19:37:00.002+01:00

The painting of all the parts of the sculpture has started.

Installation part 2

2009-04-08T11:52:00.000+01:00

Weather Station in the Weather Garden

Weather Station Installation

2009-04-07T09:50:00.006+01:00

Here are the results after a day when two men moved three ton of Trent Gravel and another two men moved half a ton of sculpture, with the help of the first two men.

Mordant Washed Screens

2009-04-02T16:25:00.005+01:00

Here are two screens that have been mordant washed (still wet) in my studio. To the right you can see one of my collecting cabinets that the garden cabinets will be based on.

Screen and Foundations

2009-03-22T14:26:00.004Z

Here you can see the steel screen nearly completed thanks to great work from Tom and Philip. The brick foundation in the foreground is where the Weather Station will sit.

Weather Garden Screen

2009-03-21T08:31:00.006Z

The made to measure steel screen has now been installed around the perimeter of the Weather Garden. At the moment it has a very bright and shiny galvanised surface but after an application of mordant solution it will be black/grey slate in appearance.

New Path

2009-03-12T20:00:00.004Z

Work has now started on site at Flintham Museum.

Philip Selby is taking care of all the ground-works, here is the beautiful new path that he has laid to match the existing path that he laid some years ago.

Studio Visit

2009-03-08T17:28:00.005Z

Site visit to the studio where members of the Flintham Society checked the progress on the Weather Station.

Weather Station Tests

2009-03-07T18:10:00.002Z

My children, Nova and Sam, are the first to test the newly assembled Weather Station. They really enjoyed it and instinctively new what to do, although Nova has suggested that I install a hand rail on each side of the steps.

Assembled Weather Station

2009-03-07T13:47:00.002Z

The Weather Station is now assembled and ready for the protective coating and paint to be applied.

Weather Station Structure

2009-03-05T20:13:00.003Z

The steel parts of the Weather Station are finally all made. You can see in the image the base plate with a quadrant cut out (background). This quadrant has then been cut into arcs to make the series of concentric steps (foreground). The next job is to lift and assemble all the parts to make up the Weather Station.

A helping hand from steve and his fork lift truck.

Anemometer and Weather Vane

2009-01-17T19:20:00.006Z

Anemometer

Here are two of the wind measuring instruments, Anemometer and Weather Vane, that will be attached to the top of the Weather Station. The Anemometer measures wind speed and the Weather Vane signals wind direction.

Weather Vane

These two pieces now have to go off to be galvanised and painted white.

Collecting Cabinets

2008-12-17T20:28:00.004Z

Here is a prototype for a section of the collecting cabinets that are to form part of the screens that surround the Weather Garden. The intention is that people will add objects into the cabinets and an external garden collection will grow.

In the photograph are a few objects that I have collected over the years, they usually live in the cabinet on my studio wall.

The Weather Station

2008-12-03T14:27:00.004Z

1/10 scale kinetic maquette for the Weather Station made from paper.

Weather Garden Proposal

2008-12-01T19:43:00.001Z

I have been awarded the commission for Flintham Museum's Weather Garden. My proposal is to build a fully working Weather Station and garden of collected objects.

Here are two drawings of what I proposed.