Steve and I have been working hard to get the wheeled walls I mentioned in a previous post into being. We were bending metal on this machine from another dimension it took some serious elbow grease, but we got it done in the end. The idea is that they will house a series of climbing plants and interesting sensory delights. We want them to be used by service users and staff, visitors and other life forms to create walls where needed in the large communal area. The will never be the same from day to day, as they will be growing and reflecting what is happening in the center. But what to call them? I affectionately call them wheely-wallys, but think they need something more informative and directional – can anyone suggest something?……. Laura Aldridge

What can you do with a space that has become like a waiting room for a doctor’s surgery? How can you make it an engaging space for individuals to not just spend time waiting for their next activity, but to experience and learn and experiment with. This is what artist Steve Hollingsworth and myself (Laura Aldridge) have been steadily working on over the last few months at a day centre for people with learning difficulties. We started talking to everyone at the centre, finding out what people liked and didn’t like – what they would like to see happen. The we begun by making simple changes – drawing focus to certain parts of the room, making zones and furnishing the space in a way that service users can change and direct the space – A wall of curtains to be drawn, and opened – wheeled walls, containing plants, chimes, crystals, mirrors, precious stones – that can be configured into different arrangements depending on who is in the space. All this happened within the space – we set up a work area and made everything in the space, so that whatever we were doing was informed by the people and architecture of the building. The space need never be the same from day-to-day, and is constantly evolving. This excites us and hopefully those using the space too.