The Art Station held two Welcome Walks to the beautiful Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in East Suffolk on Thursday 26th September and Thursday 17th October 2024, led by artist Max Clements and The Art Station team.
On the 26th September, our group walked along the coastline from Thorpeness to Sizewell, stopping to engage in creative activities along the way. Attendees took photos of the landscape and sea, as well as making beach sculptures on the sand out of found materials such as pebbles, sea glass, feathers, and shells.
On the 17th October, we walked from Eastbridge from Dunwich cliff, where participants wove foliage such as fern, evergreen, flowers, and sticks together using string, to make their own bouquets. We also explored natural forms such as mushrooms and moss using magnifying glasses and collected our found objects in small paper bags. Using tracing paper and chalk pastel, attendees made sketches of their surroundings, taking inspiration from the shapes and colours around them.
Rural settings can be prone to displacement and isolation, but events like this prove crucial to unification within communities and provide an effective creative outlet in an inspiring landscape. Participants described the event as “collaborative, a shared experience, wonderful and creative”.
“I received a lot of positive emotions today, which I will save for a long time. It was a wonderful and amazing day, with a kind and amazing community and friends. It was an unbelievable day because of you, it wasn’t like a regular walk, and it’s made me happier, thank you very much”.
“I had one of the greatest days of the last few months, because I was with our incredible community and new friends. I was in the open air and received a lot of energy from the sea and this walk, it was so amazing”.
This project has been funded by the Amenity and Accessibility Fund, with thanks to Greater Anglia for free train tickets, and Suffolk Refugee Support.
Suffolk Refugee Support Website