This week is Sherwood Art Week here in lovely Nottingham! Sherwood Art Week is a celebration of local artists, amateur as well as professional. After doing a little research on the web I find out that there is a lot happening over the course of the week. Activities ranged from poetry to music to crafting workshops to secret garden fairs. Unfortunately because I have been at work most of the week I was unable to try out any of the workshops on offer, which was a shame because they sounded great. However there are two particular aspects of this week that I did manage to check out and enjoy.

Firstly…

YARN BOMBING

I love the snake slithering up the tree

I thought the whole street looked fabulous. So many people must have contributed and put a lot of time, effort and planning in to every single one these pieces and I think it looks awesome. All the art and yarn bombs add cheer, colour and a real sense of pride and community spirit to Sherwood. I love community spirit, I love reading those notice boards in supermarkets or on street corners which are full of leaflets that display all the community groups, the fairs, the fundraisers, markets, events and all the people attempting to build bridges and bring local people together.

The second aspect of Art Week that I think is great is the art that is on display. In pubs, in charity shops, in law firms, in hairdressers, in polish restaurants, in bookshops. It’s bloody great. Everywhere you look there is something creative and colourful for your eyes to feast on and enjoy. I, and my partner agreed, that all streets should be like this all the time. Why not? What better way to include people from the communities by inviting them to contribute to the aesthetic development of their shopping area or nature area. A place they probably pass everyday, a place where they walk their dogs, a place where they shop and socialise. There are plenty of budding artists and crafty people in every community and I bet they would jump at the chance to display their work in such a proud and effective way.

Here is a small selection of some of the art we saw.

This isn’t even a tenth of what is on display so if you want a look at anything on display or perhaps a better look, as my photos aren’t great, I suggest you go and visit!

So after a long day exploring Sherwood we were peckish and needed a little sustenance . We had a look around before we stumbled upon a little place called Kiosk, it was tucked away but looked very intriguing. So we had a walk over and we were warmly welcomed by the staff. We took a seat inside a shipping container. Yup, you read right, a refurbished shipping container. Light and airy with plenty of windows, comfortable with a selection of crochet blankets on offer. After a lot of consideration, we ordered a Quesadilla and Mexican Meatballs. It was very tricky to choose from their menu, which was seasonal, fresh, local and delicious. There weren’t a lot of dishes to choose from, around 10 – with a selection of cakes that made my mouth water. But that is the best way, less choices with less waste. Check out this lady to see what I mean.

Anyway. It was a fantastic day, the weather was great, I grabbed a few bargains and we discovered some new places.

Ciao for now