HOLLY GRACE DESIGN

Handmade Parade 'good morning sunshine' parade 2022

I was employed by handmade parade as one of three community parade interns; this role involved assisting artists with preparations for public workshops, helping to deliver the workshops to participants of all ages and abilities. I spent a lot of time working with artist Sandra McCracken in the wolf section. her design was chosen by a lot of public workshop participants, resulting in a very large wolf pack in the parade. I was chosen to lead the section, maintaining the pace and engagement of the wolves; this was mainly achieved by howling with my fellow wolves.

we also took on additional projects. for example, I was given the task of creating a night cap for the giant who would be closing the parade. I wanted to show my creative abilities when making the oversized headpiece whilst maintaining the existing costumes colour palette. I made printing blocks to create the pattern. To create an exaggerated pom-pom for the end of the hat I cut a thin foam plastic into strips and used hot glue to attach them to a large plain bauble. I also painted the giant's mug and used wire and toy stuffing to create a swirl of steam.   

Another project given to the interns was building large crocus flowers to be carried in the parade as a part of the meadow section. These were formed of a willow skeleton, covered in wet strength tissue and coloured tissue. The shape and colouring was inspired by reference images, with the understanding there needed to be some exaggeration and artistic licence to create a large and impactful series. as a group we made four flowers, building our own frames, helping each other build up through the stages of papering and skrimming, and decorating a flower each. This allowed us to learn every stage and work together as a team whilst also putting our own creative stamp on a large element of the parade. 

Myself and the other interns were also tasked with costuming a small group of unicycle riders to open the parade. the theme of the parade meant that they needed to be dressed in something that indicated the morning time, intended to wake up the crowd. we decided a group of unicycling roosters would be the obvious solution. we created prototypes for both the head piece and the tail to help communicate our ideas. we eventually agreed on a variation of my initial base shape, combined with elements of the others to create a strong recognisable shape. The costumes were prepped and delivered to the group. I took a leading role here, instructing the group at each step and helping them each achieve the basic shape before showing them possible ways to personalise their costumes. The workshop was successful and on the day they were amazing. 

This experience taught me so much, not only in terms of practical skills but realising what I am capable of.