in honour of 45 yrs Penicuik Community Arts Association

It is now 9 years ago that the last post was posted here. This is just a wee note to say to all visitors here who might want to enjoy walking down memory lane and see the full photoalbums linked in the posts: Google elimintated picasa and all links are broken now unless one renews them one by one. We have loads of links here to the beautiful albums which would need renewing. However - unless you, dear reader of our dear by now historic blog, request one or the other specific link to be restored, you will have to make do with the pics in the actual blog post bodies. You are most cordially invited to request, via the comment function, access to a photoalbum you love to see. Here is a taster of what the google album page looks like

Thanking you once more for having been part of the Once upon a time "Making Space Penicuik" journey, and for reading and enjoying this blog, that is so full of inspiration and evidence of self led community arts and crafts co-creation. We are proud of having been a small but very vibrant part of the 45 years of the PCAA, with their help and the help of all of our friends, and of nature. This venture of 'Making Space Penicuik' gave seeds to many more small yet vibrant initiatives over the years following 2013, such as Brightening Penicuik and the Penicuik Epic, and of course supporting the annual arts festivals, called Penfests of late. See here about this year's, when Penfest moved to May to coincide better with Hunters and lass; or see the one from 11 years ago, ever so ambitiously with volunteers only embrace locations and initiatives in the Borders, too. Today, in 2022, more than ever we need eachother in community led heart and art based creativity. Please support Sue Owen and all at the PCAA with your joy, appreciation and above all with active down to earth support of your own marvellous creative faculties to keep the PCAA evolving and nourishing us all.

Creative Cafe Garden

The 3 'Crafts for All' sessions are (weather permitting - touch wood!) envisaged as 'Creative Coffee Garden' times at Gallery Cafe's secluded secret garden:

Since the beginning of the Arts Association this best kept secret of Penicuik has seen creativity of all kinds, and some of it can still be seen today, or again be seen today like the ivy embattled colourful mural here - of unkown long ago origin now cleared by Mary

Mary and Jan exchanging ideas midst coffee guests

or that drumming sessions with Ron as part of a not so long ago  Midsummer party

check it out on you tube

The planned session for July

are envisaged to encourage you to use the garden for co-creative pursuits: come and play, practise, improvised a tune or too, come and help making the garden beautiful whilst we can still!

rescued craft bomb reinstalled after vandals had gone to town over it

now lets gather and dance

watch this space for a last month or two! Lots could be done....esp now the broken and then vanished ivy fence is exposing a ragged space with potential:

the end of "Making Space Penicuik" -> the beginning of "Crafts for All"

  Making Space Penicuik: Summer 2010 - Summer 2013

Many have enjoyed this wee labour of love, and "Making Space Penicuik" that has been around here now for 3 years.  Hope you enjoy remembering when you read the above document.

And hope you will enjoy the new team emerging now over this summer through the transition into "Crafts for All".
Looking forward to see you being part of the change.....

we ARE on the National Craft Bombing Map!

we ARE on the National Craft Bombing Map here

Explore!

click on link  Voluntary Arts Week CraftBomb in a larger map
or zoom/zone in below to find and view us 

Penicuik Craftbomb poem anonymous

Shining a light on the significance of craft and art

A transparent 'craftbombed' tree in Belfast, May 2013

Never has art and craft been more important to be nurtured and to be nurturing us than today. Respecting and caring for what we have - at home and in public spaces - is connected with how we use our hands and our mind as a result of that.

The global and national rise of 'craftbombing' (see slide show page links) is highlighting the irrepressible need of a human being to be creative in a meaningful way as a service to the community. The fact that there are people who willfully destroy what other folks in their community created with endless love and care points even more to the need for true skillfulness and service (= real "work"!) to be given to those destructive hands, within the context of a community that is in response-able touch with each other.

This necessity of being and staying in response-able touch with each other is something that was very alive, as a matter of life and death, in any mining community. Penicuik and environs has a history of the mining loyalty, and it also has army barracks with a community of service men and women. Also in the army that loyalty and interdependence, and dedicated service is what makes people treasure being part of it and makes people wanting to serve with the best of their skilled strength and power.

Ever since mankind walked this earth 'craft' was part of its survival and pride, - and power.  'Craft' as a principle is applicable to every kind of work and 'making things'. Even the breaking down of things. As often the raw materials have to skillfully get broken down and newly assembled with both a sense of ownership and service.

Where wanton destruction happens in a community, especially when it happens on a regular basis, it a sure tell-tale sign that there is urgent need for hard hands on community building. HANDS ON!

an ode to anonymous

In other languages the word for 'craft' is commonly used  in connection with the word 'hand' and 'strength'. And it also implies 'artfulness' and 'texterity', as in fine and precise flexibility and having a bright intuitive mind.

Lets have a look at what we can learn from the  word itself (words are very crafty!) 

our wee Slide Show for the Nationwide Craftbomb week

Hope you enjoyed it?
Looking forward to your feedback!

We are also printing it out to add to our current Library display to celebrate the makers and the event