DIY Artisan's Handbook

[Will Golding]

Artists, Writers, Artisans and Crafters alike – we need you!

Please help us to make the most awesome collaborative DIY Handbook of arts, crafts and any other unsolicited activities, for the Forest Cafe in Edinburgh.

We are looking for any submissions of 'how to' guides and example sheets for whatever art, craft, game, activity or technique you spend your time doing, or know a bit about, and would like to share with others.

All we are asking for is a one sided A4 sheet which describes the method, materials and processes involved in that activity, art or craft – in whatever form you would like. You know, a kind of step-by-step guide but with writing, images, cut-outs, games, scratch 'n' sniff...whatever is necessary and you can add. On the other side of this sheet will be a basic profile about the chosen activity and a little bit about yourself. (An example of this is attached with this message, along with the cover). This should help to tell people a bit more about it and where to find out more, and also a way to connect up many artists and artisans from across Edinburgh and with those from different cities and link up the kind of brilliant things everyone is doing and creating.

From all these entries we will be creating an online, downloadable book for people to buy containing all these different activities as a Forest DIY Artisan's Handbook. Everyone involved will be credited directly through their own profile, and the project will run totally non-for-profit.

Please do help with this; It is something that can last for a long long time – and if successful will not only help support the Forest fundraising but will become an artisan's craft menu at the Forest Cafe alongside the food menu. Any input is more than welcome – anything from Bookmaking to clay modelling, creative writing techniques, making a woodburner, crochet patterns, kinetic sculpture, hatmaking, homemade instruments, basic illustration, songwriting, origami animals, knot tieing, Lino cutting, drying herbs, fingerknitting, forraging, storytelling games, Qi Gong steps, shadow puppetry, frame-making, eyebrow trickery...etc...you get the idea. It's as open as you can make it.


What is this all for?:
For those of you that don't know, The Forest Cafe is a volunteer run, not-for-profit, DIY, multiple arts and action events space in Edinburgh with a vegetarian café, gallery, darkroom, rehearsal space, library and loads more. It is “one of the few truly autonomous arts and cultural space in Edinburgh and have hosted thousands of free events, exhibitions and straight-up parties, put out acclaimed books and records, given grants and studio space to struggling artists, hosted award-winning theatre programmes and much much more.”

Unfortunately The Forest is currently under threat of closure because the building is for sale and the previous landlords have gone bankrupt. This would be absolutely terrible for the arts scene in Edinburgh, and for Edinburgh as a whole. To try to save this space The Forest is trying to raise as much money as it can to possibly buy out the building and continue on with their programs and projects there.

To help support this, and to act as a way to bring together the support and ideas of artisans from across the Isles for others to share, we are going to create this Forest handbook of different DIY activities which is to be released on the Internet as a downloadable book before christmas. Yes, before christmas – so we need submissions and input as soon as possible, please, please. If we can get everything together by early December that gives us a week or so to sort out the design and layout and get it out there to sell. You all have some skill, technique, knowledge or secret activity or game that we would all love to know about and how to try ourselves at home, or in the home of the Forest, so please share it with us.


What next?:

Choose your art, craft, activity – start making your sheet and send it in to the Forest (3 bristo place, eh1 1ey) or to willowords@gmail.com (either a hard copy or something scanned in). Please act fast on this if possible – we only have 3 weeks or so to try to pull it all together!

We would love all of your inputs, and don't want to miss out on any – so forward this on to friends, family, foes and far-off allegiances as soon as possible – gather that critical mass for the sake of Forest.

Finally, if you want to help with the organising of this book and the design, layout, internet loading etc then please get in touch.

If you cannot donate anything else to help the Forest – please donate your skills and ideas to this book. Any other questions about what to do/send in/how to help out etc just email me back.

We cannot wait to see all of your amazing ideas and input.

Will Golding.


The Forest Is what you Make it.

[scoutwinter]

this is an excellent idea.
xxx