Installation by Jeremy Walton June 2009. Roskilde Festival

Going along with the Circus theme, I studied in detail (a couple of online photos) Cannon Smoke from human cannon ball acts. I attempted to recreate this using the lampshade diamonds made of craft paper, waste paper and good old milk cartons.

The majority was made on site using a cutting knife, a staple gun and with help thanks to my festive festival helpers. The result was a battle against the wind and humidity. some amount of smoke built up over the duration of the festival. I did manage to test and learn a lot about the diamond shade and the E-craftbook which presents how to make your own diamonds into smoke, candyfloss or what ever takes your fancy.

I started with an explosive centre, which aptly vanished late one night leaving a cloud of smoke.

Bang!

I don’t have many photos due to my camera having a battery life of about 5 minutes. I have filmed the development of the smoke and shall include that at some point.

The story of the human cannon ball. After 40 years in the business he had the accuracy to propel himself into a bathtub from 300 meters. One final night he over loaded his cannon and created a cloud of smoke that took eight days to clear. It was some years later that a silver sequined leotard was found two miles away in the local duck pond. Some people say he was attempting to out perform the new sensational trapeze artists, while others say, it was a perfect shot from two miles and a smoke screen to cover up his disappearance on the same night that the bakers wife left town.

All handmade with a knife and hours of love.

Using waste paper from a printer, waste packaging and craft papers.

JW 001 Wall Display ‘Making’ by Jeremy Walton 26th April 2009. Kl 12:00

Jeremy Walton and SoupaNatural have teamed up to create a special Sunday afternoon event, a ‘Making’.

Come along for Sunday soup and celebrate the process of making.

In groups there will be time for socialising over a pair of scissors and you should each manage to take home one completed unit of the JW 001 Wall Display by Jeremy Walton.

Ticket availability is limited and can be bought at www.DesignYouMake.com or at SoupaNatural, Guldbergsgade 7A, 2200 København N, +45 32 13 17 35.

Ticket price is Kr 150 and Includes:
Øko Kaffe eller The, Søndag Suppe, Øko Saft og JW 001 pdf E-craftbook.
Come with 9 clean Tetra Rex milk cartons and a pair of scissors.
Making commences at 12:00 and will take a couple of joyous hours.

An open event at SoupaNatural by Jeremy Walton, Thursday the 26th of March 2009

The Jungle will be at: SoupaNatural.Guldbergsgade 7a. near Skt. Hans torv, opposite Rust. Making commences from 9am and aims to be finished and hung up before 6pm.

I shall be making Neo Tramp Art, a lampshade following the soul and ideology of the 19th Century Tramp Art phenomenon. Using commonly found and readily available tools and materials, combined with self invented techniques, I shall be making design creations that rejoice commitment more than perfection.

The original Tramps lived, worked and moved between what they called Jungles. The making of Neo Tramp Art shall take place in a soup bar, which will act as the Jungle for the day.

In true Tramp Art fashion the technique and making of the lampshade is for sharing.

People visiting the jungle on the day will be welcome to help in the making of the shade and learn how they can make their own Neo Tramp Art. The final results and Ecraftbook will be available at www.designyoumake.com soon.

Some unsubstantiated misconceptions about original Tramp Art by Jeremy Walton.

Adding to the gossip and hearsay, where misconceptions become truths.

Tramp Art of the 19th century is an American phenomenon, but the techniques are said to originate from Germany and Scandinavia, introduced in the early 1860s by wandering apprentices (Wanderbuersons). While examples of their work can be found in America, I have yet to find any examples originating from Denmark. Not even a single knife notch.

Come on Denmark, I know that they have been overlooked or even deleted from Danish history, amidst the perfect hum of industry. Plucked out like weeds from amongst the clean roots of so called taste.

You can try all you like to pass the buck on to Germany or Norway, but these were folk of the wandering kind and they could not have travelled between Norway and Germany without spending some amount of time in between. (I have neither found reference to them in Germany or any part of Scandinavia, as of yet)

To disown these so called folk artists is a loss. These Tramps and Hobos have similarities with modern day designers and crafts people. They were trained Tinsmiths, Carpenters and Blacksmiths etc. They worked between different clients. Hobos sought commercial work more so than Tramps. Tramps would see any paid work as a means to finance their own personal creations. Tramps creations were of functional use, such as chairs, tables, boxes.

Tramps being of the wandering kind were the net surfers of their day. Living in camps, known as Jungles, they would share and pass on news and thoughts. They would discuss politics, society and who has built the most impressive box. These people I would describe as being like trees, with their roots in passed on traditions and skills, a solid trunk of originality and independence continuously taking on new layers and lastly, the top bushy part, reaching out into many different facets of society, communicating and intertwining with others and absorbing. They were model designers a long time before the distraction of industry.

These Trampers are possibly the Great Great Grandfathers of sustainable design. They focused on objects of function and utility, developed new techniques, used available resources to good effect (most commonly being the reuse of wooden cigar boxes) and broke with tradition to create their own unique and individual designs.

Who knows in 200 years time America may choose to overlook the episode and principals of Raymond Lowery and delete that from the history hard disc.

“That? Here! No, we have never done anything like That! Not here”. Says the librarian.

Maybe it is true, maybe Denmark can’t lay any claim to these Great Great Grandfathers of design. It could be a German and most probably a Norwegian that developed the penknife carving technique while they were on the boat travelling to America. Yet, is that not an even better example of design ingenuity, which should not only be filed under folk art, but given a place in design history.

What is more, these two tramps on the boat came up with the ingenious marketing ploy of selling their technique as being all the rage in Germany and Scandinavia. It has taken over 200 years for that truth to be questioned.

I am loving these tramps even more.

To invite some friends around and lay on some sort of appropriate hospitality, such as brunch, lunch or dinner, suitable to the time of day and worthy of the task in hand. Besides everyone lending a helping hand with food preparation, everyone collaborates in a spot of Do-It-Yourself.

“One advantage of ‘A Do’, is being able to invite yourself around other people’s homes for dinner, by suggesting they have the perfect ‘A Do’ to be done” Jeremy LeifOleReily Walton.

As a so called Design Actionist, I thought it was about time to start doing and making before working out exactly how to compile and present my design action-ism. I start with starting some definitions of ‘A Making’ & ‘A Do’ and see if I get to learn anything from a Facebook Group. and a definition.

A definition of ‘A Do’.

To invite some friends around and lay on some sort of appropriate hospitality, such as brunch, lunch or dinner, suitable to the time of day and worthy of the task in hand. Besides everyone lending a helping hand with food preparation, everyone collaborates in a spot of Do-It-Yourself.

That is to say, you invite some friends around to help you get that long standing job finally to be A DONE.

‘A Do’ gets done with the help of some friends and warm hospitality. By invitation and customary rotation.

Note, ‘A Do’ is not to be confused with a ‘workday’ event, such as the type arranged by schools and similar institutions with the aim to complete a long list of varied unconnected jobs and maintenance that has stood neglected and ignored by the local council.

‘A Do’ is not to try and do too much. It is more about getting a little something DONE. Once and for all. All for one, sharing the work load together with friends. Aim to accomplish one single job together, completely together on it. Doing is so much better if done together. Even if it means one person is just holding the nails and offering casual conversation.

A short definition of ‘A Do’.

Turning a long standing Do-It-Yourself job into a social event, celebrating the accomplishment of getting it done.

A definition of ‘A Making’.

‘A Making’ is marginally different to ‘A Do’ (see ‘A Do’). It is an action that can often be more satisfactory than the result.

A making is the coming together of people to partake in the activity of making without the necessity of it being a necessity.

It is a creative social togetherness without the pressure to finalise a necessitated result.

Am I alone in this? That won’t make for much of ‘A Do’.

Video by Keith Fletcher of people in Kazakhstan Building a Yurt, .

Process.

Exhibeted at Dansk Design Center, Hi honey Im home exhibition.

Exhibited at Real Craft In Dialogue. Röhsska museet, Sweden. 2005

Design by Claus Bjerre, Ditte Hammerstrøm and Jeremy Walton. 2003.
The organisers of Glentavej Plads felt the ‘Bench is yours’ concept fitted their park project and commissioned the starting block to be placed in the park. The local residents built the bench further.

Built at Glentavejplads, Nørrebro, Copenhagen

Glentavejplads project. Bench III, 2003

The visual artists Marie Markman, Jesper Dyrehauge and Nis Rømer initiated the Glentavejplads project because of their interest in the design and functionality of public spaces. They have taken waste land and given it to the local people along with encouragement to take initiative.
About the project: In 2002 they stopped a 10 year rental contract of a private car dealer on the plot. Later had the old cars and junk removed in collaboration with people from the neighborhood, House for the Homeless and “Kvarterløft NV”. Exchange of ideas and debate with local residents then went on to implement the communal green space with the help of people from the area.

The Bench is yours, build further.

Bench three is a particularly charming bench, it is solid and direct in its approach to trying to be a bench. With less creative designers, but a variety of locals passing by and getting involved, has meant that it is not challenging the concept of a bench, but just trying to be one.

Built at Paustian in Copenhagen as part of the ‘Derfor’ exhibition. in association with danish Crafts and curated by Louise Campbell.

Starting with an archetypal chair form, waste and found wood is added on to the bench following the archetype of a basic chair, needing legs, seat and back. Any one can add to the bench with the waste wood. It is a democratic project that cannot be designed in advance. We create the base, there after it is up to the people that use the park to continue where the last person stopped. From initial experiments in scale models we have now started several benches in public spaces around the city and the experiment continues.

Louise Campbell – “Hvorfor? – Why have you made such a wild bench?.”

Culture Corporation – “Derfor! It is a democratic project that cannot be designed in advance. We create the base, there after it is up to the people that use the park to continue where the last person stopped.”

60% of bench II was constructed in the garden of our studio by friends. From here it was transported and reconstructed and continued at Paustian.

A Culture Corporation project by Claus Bjerre, Ditte Hammerstrøm and Jeremy Walton. A starting block is laid and people use waste wood to add to the bench where the last person left off.