Play/Ground | Maes/Chwarae
Play/Ground is a programme of creative workshops for a group of Young People (14-18 years old) to come together and learn new skills with artists, designers and gardeners. As a collective, we’ve started to imagine a new community garden by experimenting with print making, growing, natural dying, composting, ceramics and foraging. \ Rhaglen o weithdai creadigol yw Maes/Chwarae sy’n dod â grwp o Bobl Ifanc (14-18 oed) at ei gilydd i ddysgu sgiliau newydd gydag artistiaid, dylunwyr a garddwyr. Fel casgleb, rydym wedi dechrau dychmygu gardd gymunedol newydd drwy arbrofi gydag argraffwaith, tyfu, llifo naturiol, compostio, serameg a fforio.
Thank you to Felix Stevenson-Davies, our production assistant on this project, who has written this reflection on the programme for us.
As part of Play/Ground, in 2024, young people from the local and surrounding towns were invited to help realise the potential for the garden space and Yr Hen Ysgol through a series of workshops.
These workshops started with a group contract collaboratively written up by the young people and facilitators followed by a talk about the work of architect Sahra Hersi. Sahra led the young people on a creative journey inviting them to collage and design a brief for the garden to get them imagining a new life for the space. We spent time in the space answering prompts like “if the site could talk what would it say?” and from this, and guidance from Sahra they created the collages.
The second workshop started with a brisk walk around Crickhowell with Adele Nozedar where she introduced us to the local flora and fauna. With masses of knowledge, she showed the young people which plants are edible, which are used for herbal remedies and which ones have significant histories and stories. The young people were invited to collect any flowers or plants they find interesting. After lunch we were joined by Jordan Sallis where she showed us how to make natural paints with the materials we had collected. We made paper tiles with Jordan using the inks made and watched how when different materials dry they can change colour or texture. The young people went home with the knowledge and materials to make their own inks outside of Play/Ground.
The third workshop was focused around the stakeholders of the space and what their needs were. The morning was spent setting up their “conversation stations” and planning the questions and statements for the shareholders. These conversations helped the young people and Sahra to realise what was needed in the space for those who use it. The stakeholders were George Hampton Wale, Melissa Hinkin, Martin Craddock, Polly Hunter and Owen Griffiths, and they gave the young people crucial information which they took to Sahra.
The next month’s workshop was delivered by Sophie and Daisy from Hay! We got Worms where they taught the young people to make wormeries in order to show how the garden can be used for more than just flowers and how beneficial worms can be to a garden. After lunch we then worked with Lucy Dickson and used oil pastels to draw patterns to translate onto clay tiles.
The next workshop was led by Ophelia Dos Santos who is a mixed media artist and specialises in embroidery, and she taught us all some simple stitches and having taken inspiration from the garden we made some simple art. She gave a brief talk on her practice before teaching some simple stitches. The afternoon was spent in reflection of the project as a whole and glazing the tiles produced in the last session.
The last session was a return to the roots of the project which was the garden, so we went back out into the space and repeated a similar activity whereby we mapped out designs for the garden in light of all the knowledge and talents developed over the last months - drawing and developing ideas to then turn into scale models to be a visual aid when the models were presented to the parents that joined us at the end of the day. At the end all the parents were shown the work produced through Play/Ground and the young people were presented with certificates for their work.
Play/Ground is a part of Our Plot, supported by Powys Making a Difference Fund, The Ashley Family Foundation and The National Lottery Community Fund.
Diolch i Felix Stevenson-Davies, ein cynorthwyydd cynhyrchu ar y prosiect yma, sydd wedi ysgrifennu’r darn myfyriol yma am y rhaglen.
Fel rhan o raglen Maes/Chwarae, yn 2024, gwahoddon ni bobl ifanc o’r dre leol a’r ardal gyfagos i helpu i wireddu potensial yr ardd a’r Hen Ysgol drwy gyfres o weithdai.
Dechreuodd y gweithdai yma gyda chontract grŵp wedi’i gyd-lunio gan y bobl ifanc a’r hwyluswyr, cyn sgwrs am waith y pensaer Sahra Hersi. Aeth Sahra â’r bobl ifanc ar daith greadigol, gan eu gwahodd i greu gludwaith a dylunio briff ar gyfer yr ardd i’w hannog i ddychmygu bywyd newydd ar gyfer y lle. Treulion ni amser yn y gofod yn ateb sbardunau trafod fel “pe bai’r safle’n gallu siarad, beth fyddai’n ei ddweud?” a thrwy hyn – a gydag arweiniad Sahra – fe greon nhw’r gludweithiau.
Dechreuodd yr ail weithdy gyda thaith gerdded fer o gwmpas Crughywel gydag Adele Nozedar, lle cawson ni ein cyflwyno i’r bywyd gwyllt lleol. Gyda’i gwybodaeth ddi-ri, dangosodd i’r bobl ifanc pa blanhigion sy’n fwytadwy, pa rai sy’n cael eu defnyddio fel meddyginiaethau llysieuol a pha rai sydd â hanesion a straeon arwyddocaol. Gwahoddwyd y bobl ifanc i gasglu unrhyw flodau neu blanhigion oedd o ddiddordeb iddyn nhw. Ar ôl cinio, ymunodd Jordan Sallis â ni i ddangos sut i greu paent naturiol gyda’r deunyddiau roedden ni wedi’u casglu. Gwnaethon ni deils papur gyda Jordan gan ddefnyddio’r inciau roedden ni wedi’u creu, a gwylio sut mae gwahanol ddeunyddiau’n gallu newid lliw neu wead pan fyddan nhw’n sychu. Aeth y bobl ifanc adre gyda’r wybodaeth a’r deunyddiau i greu inc tu allan i Maes/Chwarae.
Roedd y trydydd gweithdy’n canolbwyntio ar randdeiliaid y gofod a beth oedd eu hanghenion. Yn ystod y bore buon nhw’n sefydlu “gorsafoedd sgwrsio” ac yn cynllunio’r cwestiynau a’r datganiadau ar gyfer y rhanddeiliaid. Helpodd y sgyrsiau yma’r bobl ifanc a Sahra i sylweddoli beth oedd ei angen yn y gofod i’r bobl sy’n ei ddefnyddio. Y rhanddeiliaid oedd George Hampton Wale, Melissa Hinkin, Martin Craddock, Polly Hunter ac Owen Griffiths, a rhannon nhw wybodaeth hollbwysig â’r bobl ifanc, ac aethon nhw â’r wybodaeth yma i Sahra.
Sophie a Daisy o Hay! We got Worms oedd yn cyflwyno gweithdy’r mis nesaf, lle buon nhw’n dysgu’r bobl ifanc i greu abwydfeydd er mwyn dangos sut mae modd defnyddio’r ardd ar gyfer mwy na chadw blodau, a pha mor fanteisiol gall mwydod fod mewn gardd. Ar ôl cinio, buon ni’n gweithio gyda Lucy Dickson ac yn defnyddio pasteli olew i arlunio patrymau i’w trosi ar deils clai.
Arweiniwyd y gweithdy nesaf gan Ophelia Dos Santos sy’n artist aml-gyfrwng ac sy’n arbenigo mewn brodwaith, ac fe ddysgodd hi rai pwythau syml i ni, ac ar ôl i ni gael ein hysbrydoli gan yr ardd fe greon ni gelf syml. Rhoddodd sgwrs fer ar ei harfer cyn dysgu rhai pwythau syml i ni. Treulion ni’r prynhawn yn myfyrio ar y prosiect yn gyffredinol, ac yn gwydro’r teils wnaethon ni yn y sesiwn ddiwethaf.
Yn y sesiwn olaf, dychwelon ni at wreiddiau’r prosiect, sef yr ardd. Aethon ni ’nôl allan i’r gofod ac ailadrodd gweithgaredd tebyg, gan fapio’r dyluniad ar gyfer yr ardd yng ngoleuni’r wybodaeth a’r doniau a ddatblygwyd dros y misoedd diwethaf – gan arlunio a datblygu syniadau, i’w troi’n fodelau graddfa a fyddai’n gymorth gweledol pan fyddai’r modelau’n cael eu cyflwyno i’r rhieni a ymunodd â ni ar ddiwedd y dydd. Ar y diwedd, dangoswyd yr holl waith a gynhyrchwyd drwy Maes/Chwarae i’r rhieni, ac fe gafodd y bobl ifanc dystysgrifau am eu gwaith.
Mae Play/Ground yn rhan o Ein Darn o Dir, wedi’i gefnogi gan Gronfa Gwneud Gwahaniaeth Powys, The Ashley Family Foundation a Chronfa Gymunedol y Loteri Genedlaethol.