The City of Briswool is a project to knit, crochet and needlfelt a huge model representing Bristol and it is a project that we are told makes people feel very very happy!
The initial idea was proposed by Alison Pigeon , a customer of Paper Village and has been led by artist Vicky Harrison, Director of Paper Village Arts and has begun to engage people across the city
Imagine a woolly world filled with crochet trees, beaded swans, knitted Totterdown houses, a Pieminister Pie, The SS great Britain, Cabot tower perched on top of the woolly undergrowth of Brandon Hill. Imagine an ascent of crocheted balloons surrounding Concorde. Think of a knitted Thekla on a sparkling fuzzy river/ Peer through windows of the Llandoger trow, stroll across a knitted suspension bridge or take a ride on a knitted ferry. If you are hungry you can take a bite from a knitted Pieminister pie or put your feet up and have a drink in the Ostrich.
Over 90 people across the city have been involved. Some made tiny knitted squares, others came to tree workshops and some designed buildings – there has been something for everyone
We completed phase 1 this year and the response was fantastic. We made a partial model and showed it to the public and press helping us find lots of new volunteers. We now have 160 volunteers waiting to start phase 2 which will expand the model and remake some of the tbhings like the river which will be about 4 times the current size. There will be lots and lots of new things to see and increased detail ..what we have done so far is just a taster
Just type BRISWOOL into google and you will see lots and lots of articles by people who came to see BRISWOOL - this should give you a better idea and its fun ..all of the articles have been really supportive
It is a fantastic project which a creates a dialogue about BRISTOL and what it means to people. Vicky Harrison , lead artist on the poject supports volunteers both experienced and novice knitters. It is about Bristol, about developing skills, a beautiful artwork and makes everyone smile....and its reach goes far beyond Brstol ..and is inspiring projects all over the place ..
We want the model to be a platform for lots of other learning and creativity .There are already plans to hold an election for the Mayor of BRISWOOL and to knit some of the items full size !
The funding will endable us to run 24 free workshops, staring with two in October 2014 called "how to craft a city" support 160 volunteers , design lots of new patterns, buy wool and model making materials ( the model has hills and valleys !) and to publicise the big exhibiton at the end of 2015
When we showed what we had done so far to the press we had 4000 visitors in 8 days and the news even reached China. We want to continue but cannot do so without funds. We will all be giving thousands more voluntary hours of designing and making so the project really is good value
The model will also be made into a film by film director Matt Freeth whichj will be a film about Bristol, its sounds and its knitting
The owner of this project has not made any updates yet.
