Tea with me and my dollies

An artist plans to spend ten days in a camper van in different places around Radstock to find out what home means to people.

Jill Carter will be taking on the role of artist-in residence for art|works creative arts festival, which is taking place in the town during September.

During her residency, Jill is planning to create a travelling Museum of Possibilities which will explore themes of contemporary fairytale and urban myth.

As a starting point, Jill has been loaned a red camper van and will bring in it a 1950s picnic set, dressing-up materials and some other interesting artefacts.

Jill said: “I will be here and there in the camper van around Radstock, setting up my small table and chairs. I hope people will come, share tea, create, discuss art, life and other stuff.”

In the hope of getting an insight into the lives of people who live in the area, Jill is asking people to bring their personal treasures and interesting collections to create unique stories and scenes.

She will also invite participants to be involved through performance, drawing, writing and photography.

She added: “People have already started to participate by offering to knit clothes for small dolls, make glass wings for figurines, and write stories. I’m hoping that this is just the start of a great adventure for the red camper van and me, and I hope people will join me on my journey”.

Jill will already be familiar to some people in the area. She has already been involved in several art projects with arts charity nesa (North East Somerset Arts), which is co-ordinating the art|works festival including cataloguing people’s stories, hopes and aspirations during the Clandown renewable project.

Jill’s first outing will be at the celebratory opening of the art|works festival on Saturday, September 18 at noon around and about the Church Tea Rooms, Kilmersdon Road, Radstock, where the red camper van will be in good company with the other classic vehicles of the Midsomer Norton and Radstock Classic Car display.

The festival will have a ten-day diary of free workshops and community events running until September 27.

Details of all these events will be on the nesa website