Sculpture Building with Carefree Cornwall
In the early summer warmth, 7th Rise welcomed a group of refugee and asylum-seeking children in care for a day of sculpture building in the woods. The day was part of a 10-week Welcome Program run by Carefree to support young people who are new to Cornwall, in exploring the county and finding their feet and confidence here.
On the platform under the oak trees the day began by learning a Ghanaian welcome song called Senau da Dende, an ‘ear-worm’ song that ended up accompanying us for the rest of the day. The Carefree workers were delighted by how confident the young people were in partaking, and it was a joyful way to get comfortable with one another across language barriers.
We then got to work on creating our own individual sculptures out of unused pieces of wood, scrap metal and adding colour using magazines. Some of the young people demonstrated that they had crafting skills already and all of the group seemed to enjoy being entrusted with tools to create their own pieces. One sculpture came out like a kneeling man, another like a cross with a majestic bird of prey at its centre.
Though reserved during the woodwork activity, T____ and H_____, demonstrated their confidence in preparing our lunch. Constructing a fresh Shirazi salad from their home country and building the fire to cook fresh mackerel, something they had requested in preparation for the day. While we created this lunch, the other young people went off exploring the site, down to the shoreline, finding the swing tucked into the trees. Together we shared lunch and the group asked about the possibility of fishing on the river next time. Andy told them about the shrimp he had caught here in the past.
For the afternoon, we crossed the stream and headed further into the woods to build a group sculpture. We hammered stakes into the leaf mulch, creating the skeleton of a pyramid and then we were encouraged to forage pieces of wood to add to the structure, getting progressively smaller as we reached its peak. We explored different colour tones in the wood, seeking out silvery white pieces for the top. With so many hands, it was incredible to see how quickly something came into form and asserted its belonging in the space. The task had particular resonance for one young man and once we had completed the big pyramid, he carefully built his own small replica next to it. Together, for me, the sculptures looked like a parent and child.
Once this task was finished, we tidied the site and began to collect ourselves for the walk back up the hill. Andy thanked the young people for their energy and enthusiasm. The young people said they would enjoy coming back to the space for a residential and could think of friends they would like to bring.
Another day, another insight into our work at 7th Rise. Getting to see how different people interact with the space. Working alongside one another, finding connection and belonging.
