Our lovely, happy sign-writing squad with results of their creativity!
Our community was given yet another wonderful opportunity to sample
the skills and talents of our local creatives! Hosted in the Good Things
Studio situated in the Arndale centre here in Morecambe.
Bob Pickersgill was our host for the sessions and gave to a strong
attendance, the chance to sample the very palatable world of
sign-writing. Armed with paint, humour and luckily for me, endless
patience and a two – part workshop that brought people ageing from 7
up. I decided to go along and see what was on offer.
Bob, and experienced sign-writer covering an incredible period of 60
years has been using his skills to work on projects that amongst others
the lettering and lining of a locomotive named Raveningham Hall .
Bob, who lives in Morecambe has a dream to return Yorkshire street,
the former shopping hub of our community in the West End
back to its former glorious self and transform using his skills and
expertise gathered from his decades in the sign-writing industry.
The first session of the workshops saw us practising with paint on using
Lettering cut-outs sourced from discarded shop signs were our canvas
for practising.
Using paintbrushes, words of wisdom and much optimism I did my best
not to go over the lines! Bob made it look a lot easier than it actually
was and his demonstrations were testament to the skills involved in
sign-writing.
The second instalment of the workshop saw us really challenged.
Working with a blank slate many faces, scrunched with concentration
painted their own lettering! It was a great opportunity to put into
practise all that Bob had taught us about font and style technique .
There were some incredible results and a lot of talented people!
The second session of the workshops also brought an amazing historical
discovery!
Bob arrived with an incredible book that contained some awesome
historical information that connects sign-writing to our amazing
creative West end!
What we know and love as More Music, the musical hub of
Morecambe, used to be the Devonshire School of Lettering here in the
West end. More interestingly is this book was published on West
Street where our wonderful Creative Exchange resides. It’s very
exciting to know that our creative community has been alive and
kicking for decades!
Below are a couple of excerpts from the incredible book that Bob found
on the internet.
The workshop was a lovely glimpse into the sign-writing scene and
despite it being much harder than Bob made it look it was enjoyed by
all who came. Thank you to Bob for sharing his time and skills and for
making it a really fun experience!
I personally would love to try this workshop again!.
Blog By Carmen scott
Carmen Scott is a multi-talented creative working with collage, photography, writing and anything else she gets her hands on. She moved to Morecambe around 2 years ago where she has enjoyed being part of the creative community which has spurred on her creativity and interests.
She has a showcase exhibition and workshop of her collage work opening on Sat 14th March at www.theexchangecic.co.uk You can follow her on instagram: photo_joy1