Alan’s Story

“Back in the 1990’s it was easy to get into a band. I remember talking my way into one because I could drive, and coincidentally played bass. I was in that project 8 years before I left to pursue wider musical avenues. But for some reason – age, location, job and family commitments – 20 years on it is a struggle to make those connections”.

“That first Clashmob was a brilliant show of anarchy – I turned up to practice at the Arts Centre, finding I as one of several bassists but still outnumbered by Guitars. Scott, CEO of seed, asked everyone “Why did you choose to get involved?”.  “It’s a jam. I’ll always come to a jam if I’m Invited.”. Turned out, that sentiment was shared by about 20 of us!”

Jay’s Story

“I first picked up a guitar when I was around 10 years old; I had a few lessons in school and then didn’t pick up another for 16 years or so.

I have had guitars (some would say too many) in the house for over 25 years and couldn’t really play any songs – That all changed thanks to Seed.

Clashmob in 2022 encouraged me to be disciplined and learn a song from end to end (unheard of for me) and play it front of a group of strangers in Bridgwater on a cold February day. I was really nervous but thoroughly enjoyed it and wanted more.

“Playing a 6 song set at the second Clasmmob and the Front Garden Music festival was a great motivator to picking up the guitar every day and practicing!”

Alan’s Story When we opened the Front Garden Music Festival, we did so many firsts – A lot of us had never performed in front of the public before, 3 of us had never sung in public before. Personally, while I had been a gigging bassist, for the first time I was now singing and playing lead guitar, and not being told to turn it down!

For me the pinnacle was playing in front of Arts Council England. Picking up my gear after work, loading the car, rigging a PA and backline in an awkward situation not designed for bands, not being able to soundcheck so just performing with the sound you have and finding the flow– then having to pack down and get it all home, ready to go back to work the next morning.

“Just like the good old days”.

Explore Cheddar and see some of the 1000 plus Cheddar Individuals – clay figures modelled by members of the community in a popular community art project which engaged hundreds of local people. Bridget Hemmings’ Cheddar Individuality Project culminates in a walking trail that invites people to explore the village and countryside of Cheddar and celebrate the individuality of people and place. The trail launches on 9 July at Visitor Center in Cheddar and will be in place for 3 months so you can visit and visit again to see how many of the individuals you can spot!

This years’ exciting programme is jampacked with acts from jazz and classical to punk and pop. There is something for everyone on the programme, including our exciting headliners Redtenbacher’s Funkestra featuring singer Jana Varga who’ll be on our full-size festival main stage in Cranleigh Gardens on 10 June.

So here it is the 2023 Front Garden Music Festival Playlist – click the image above to get familiar with tunes coming to a stage near you!

Exhibition – 21^st May.

Once the project started it became clear that we needed more than the walking trail to celebrate people’s artistic talents. We booked Cheddar Catholic Church Hall for May 21^st 11:00 – 4:00 for our exhibition.  This will  be the only day that all 1,000 figures will be together.  The hall is a new building with plenty of light to show off the figures and there will be refreshments throughout the day.

Progress so far.  Already this project has been totally amazing and at points overwhelming.  Having thought that there would be 10 workshops with 100 figures a day, we soon found out that this really was very naïve.  In order for everyone to enjoy the workshop and get creative, they needed to feel calm and relaxed in their environment.  This meant that some workshops only had 6 participants, others were much larger.  We took pop-up workshop to over 50 places altogether.  Also, we encouraged people who would rather create in their own space to have a go, leaving packages and instructions for them to pick up and return their figures.  We also posted several CIP from afar boxes.  The furthest we sent a CIP Box to was Madrid!  It was magical to find boxes of creations on my front bench and unwrap them.

Getting our message out there   We have been very keen to encourage people to follow the progress of this project.  We have over 250 subscribers to our emailing list.  We also frequently post on social media: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Film  Seed have commissioned a film to be created about this project.  Our photographer has filmed two workshops, visited the studio and interviewed participants.  We are very much looking forward to this which will also include drone footage of the walking trail.

As an artist I have been involved with several projects in my local community which have had a workshop element. Clay Club is run on a slightly different model in that you are building an ongoing relationship over several months and sessions with regular attendees alongside those who can only commit to the odd session. I am trying to run it as flexibly as possible so that there is a developing skills element, as well as not excluding those who may have missed sessions or can only come occasionally.

This term Clay Club members have been exploring the technique of Sgraffito – a surface design technique used since classical times.  Scratching through a surface layer to create patterns that reveal what may be underneath.

Clay Club is a new group made possible by Seed and the Axbridge and Wedmore Health Trust.