Urban Arboretum (Q Arts)

May – August 2005

As part of its participatory arts programme, Q Arts have invited artists to work alongside groups in the City to create their own Urban Tree. Developed using recycled materials, some of these trees will include elements of sound and respond visually and aurally to their environment. The Urban Arboretum will grow across the city, as the individual trees appear at various sites and at key events such as Ecofest, the official opening of the Arboretum Park and the Darley Abbey East of England Concert. To follow the Urban Tree trail go to www.q-arts.co.uk/urban or pick up a map of Urban Tree sites from Q Gallery. The project responds to Q Arts' season of two exhibitions exploring the urban and the natural environment.

Q Arts’ participatory projects are delivered in partnership with Services for Disabled Children and Resilience through Art and Leisure supported by the Carers Grant and the Childrens Fund, the Special Educational Needs Support Service, the Youth Offending Service and Derby City Council Social Services. Materials and resources generously provided by PARC.

Urban Arboretum is part of a citywide collection of events in collaboration with the worldwide organisation, SoundWood. SoundWood works with educators, scientists, the music and timber industries and local communities to develop practical solutions for tree and forest habitat conservation. The programme seeks to improve the management of a range of heavily exploited timber species and increase the availability of independently certified wood used to manufacture musical instruments and other wood products.

Rosehillia Floriplasticus

This tree was made during three sessions at Sure Start Rosehill. Workshops took place during the Easter holidays in the Ladybirds crèche group. Artists worked with children under four years old and their families, as part of the Q Arts and Sure Start Rosehill partnership. To construct the tree, cone structures made out of bamboo canes and willow withies were wrapped with fabrics from the Play and Recycling Centre. Flowers made out of layers of old plastic carrier bags and leaves made from tissue paper and withies were used to decorate the branches. Whilst thinking about what may live in the tree, some of the children also worked on woven nests, clay eggs and paper birds. The children developed many different skills while making the tree, including, wrapping, weaving, moulding, brushing, cutting and sticking. They also used their creativity in making choices about which colours and materials to use.

Tigris Umbrellatum

This tree was grown at a training session for artists, community practitioners and arts workers. The sculpture was created in order to learn how to build an urban tree using a range of materials. The base and upper body of the tree were constructed from off-cuts of wood and cardboard carpet rolls. The larger branch structures were prepared from smaller cardboard rolls and wicker pieces became the mass of foliage and root structure. Coloured string and pieces of cloth were used to suggest the way different parts of a tree might develop and produce fruit.

Many trees in city spaces have their own naturally occurring inhabitants. This tree contains tree houses, complete with creatures dwelling inside, making an urban link with the structure.

Habitasus Wormeatus

Q Arts worked in conjunction with five artists and the Services for Disabled Children Out Reach team to provide a day of visual arts activities. Working with a group of eight Young People aged 8-16yrs with physical disabilities, the theme of making a tree from reclaimed materials was explored.

Materials provided by Derby’s Play and Recycling Centre were used to create this tree. The trunk was made from old fabric tubes and the branches were made from old umbrellas. Printing blocks -inspired by pictures of trees and bark rubbings were created. These designs were printed on to scraps of fabric and wrapped around the branches. The tree bears fruit, represented here by plastic bottles, stuffed with waste materials from light industries.

Aspirus Clingfilimus Acerus

Aspirus Clingfilimus Acerus was made with young people on the leaving care programme at Aspire on Peartree Road. The artists delivered four workshops in which the young people, some with children, staff and visitors were invited to participate.

The group were invited to look at, and study images of the sycamore tree paying particular attention to detail, shape and textures. These studies were then interpreted and reformed using recycled materials and an Urban dwelling identified for its siting. The trunk and bark is clad in egg boxes and cling film. The branches are made from a combination of canes and tubing wrapped in willow and fabric. The leaves are made from heat bonded plastic carrier bags and the fruits are playful and musical cat bells

The workshops offered an opportunity for the young people to access arts activities and work collaboratively with the Aspire and Q Arts staff.

Maximus Creepy Crawlius

This tree was created by pupils on the PAYP program assisted by artists from Q Arts. We used recycled materials, cane and willow to create an urban tree with a difference! We wanted to concentrate on making various unusual animals and creatures, many of which resemble insects or other small animals. We also wanted the tree to have a musical theme so many of the creatures and flowers are designed to make a noise.

The Maximus Creepy Crawlius tree can be found in any Urban setting. It is a distant cousin of the sycamore tree as seen in its similar bark and foliage. It has a unique relationship with the local wildlife who offer the tree protection, whilst feeding on its juicy leaves. If you are lucky you may spot the rare urban pig, who likes to sniff out urban truffles which often grow beneath this tree.

Caeruleus Bubblegumeous
Blue bubblegum tree

Year 6 students at Markeaton Primary School in Derby created the Caeruleus Bubblegumeous tree on 22 June 2005. Artists Caroline Phillips, Helen Jackson, Sophie Powell and Jeni Smith from Q Arts worked with the students to construct the tree from recycled telephone cable tubing, rubber gloves and plastic balls. The tree can be illuminated with the glow sticks incorporated in the flower heads.
The tree will be exhibited at Markeaton Primary School until the end of July and will be used as part of their end of term show. It will then be exhibited as part of Q Arts Urban Arboretum project and will be at the Darley Park concert in September.

Detritus Recyclium

A good, rubbish, tree made from recycled fabric, packaging and tubes during three sessions with a group of young offenders. The tree was initially constructed from bamboo canes and willow, and then beginning with the branches and ending with the trunk it was clad with a host of discarded materials – sponges, plastic bags, cardboard, food wrappers. This tree is an expression of the environmental impact of our human waste and perhaps shows that something positive can be made of it if through recycling.

The young people involved were all keen to demonstrate how good it was to reuse household materials and waste rather than throw it away. In this way, if the environment can be made better, perhaps more real trees can grow.

Lamenta Coccinella Zebrano

This tree was made with a group of pre-nursery children and mums from the Ladybird Play and Stay sessions at the Sure Start Building, Rosehill. The tree is part of the enchanted forest and has a black and white appearance and is created from recycled materials.

The trunk of the tree is made up of black flowerpots, which the children were able to push onto garden canes building up the shape of the trunk. The branches are also made up of garden canes wrapped around with ribbons of black or white plastic and wool. Although the children were too young to do this part of the activity they were encouraged to feel the different textures of the materials being used.

Finally the tree was decorated with leaves and flowers. The leaves were made from recycled plastic and were pre-cut for the activity. The children were able to punch holes in the leaves using a hole punch and decorate them with stickers before threading them onto elastic cord and attaching them to the branches.

The beautiful pink fuchsia-like flowers, which make a ringing noise when shaken were made by threading pink plastic petals around a tin can that had clips suspended inside that rattle when shaken.

Seasonicus Circulus

Trees are living creatures that move, grow and age! This bamboo and fabric tree was made by Q Club – a creative after school group for young people within the autistic spectrum and others of the same age group, 9 to 13 years.

In the creative workshops, Q Club made sound effects for each season that flowed from hidden speakers inside the trunk. They also created a short film showing the way a tree changes through the seasons using computer collaged animation of drawn, printed and ink-blown pictures. These images projected onto the tree in a darkened room give the impression of a real tree moving through the seasons at hyper-speed. Q Club also made sound effects for each season that flow from hidden speakers inside the trunk.

Poppum Reflectum Peartrius

Poppum Reflectum Peartrius was made with Key Stage 3 pupils at the Peartree Pupil Referral Unit. The tree grew over two days and used a wide and varied selection of materials. Recycled plastic bottles, canes, reflective tape, reused bicycle pedals, reflectors, tyres and tubing were all worked with.

We divided the tree into three sections, the trunk, branches and leaves and decided which materials would represent these. Similarly, the group used the tubing, canes and bubble wrap for the trunk and added reflective tape for the branches. We decided to use the bottles with added reflectors for the leaves, these were then grouped together and attached.

The tree could be seen as an urban intervention that would protect you from danger, stop you from entering places that you shouldn’t be entering, or guide you in the dark by illuminating your surroundings.

Vita cyclus

This tree made by Year 5 children at St. Peters’ Primary school is a “lifecycle tree” which shows the various stages of plant development; leaves, flowers and seed pods.

The tree was made up in modular sections for ease of assembly. Working in small groups the children constructed the branches of the tree out of canes, and made many different sized pyramid shapes, which they then wrapped with lengths of gum strip. The group produced many different types of foliage to decorate the tree. Leaf shapes were cut out of paper or acetate and covered with sticky back plastic, which enabled a variety of things such as sequins, glitter and buttons to be enclosed between the layers.

By threading polystyrene shapes and brightly coloured fabric strips onto cable ties a variety of flowers were developed. Seedpods were also constructed from squares of fabric stuffed with polystyrene shapes. The art session enabled the children to experience a number of different
creative activities and they enjoyed the chance to work on a large scale structure.

Sporticus competicus

This is a tree with a hidden message. The branches of the tree are actually the arms of two triumphant athletes. Standing back to back, the two figures make up the basic cane structure of the tree.

This unusual tree was created during one day at the Derbyshire Youth Games at Moorways sports centre in Derby. Artists from Q-arts invited spectators and children taking part in the games to help create a sporty tree using sports related materials such as tennis balls and shuttlecocks. The participants, who created beautifully exotic flowers and seedpods from the unlikely resources, showed great imagination.

The trunk and branches were wrapped with recycled pink and white bubblewrap to define the shape of the tree and add to the inorganic, urban feel. The unusual colours are reminiscent of Olympic race tacks, sports equipment and the sporting team colours of competitions.

Loco Parentis Rootenarium

Why does a tree need roots? How do they help the tree to grow? Do people have roots? These were some of the questions that the Connector group, a group of children looked after, asked themselves. The young people expressed their thoughts and feelings about roots through words and drawings.

Artists from Q-arts worked in partnership with Derby social services to help the group grow their own tree from the roots upwards. Starting with a base of twisting and tangled newspaper and tissue paper roots, then a trunk covered with recycled wrapping paper was added and finally some huge tropical leaves were slotted into place.

More tree-related drawings were made, including images of different plants, creatures and objects that might live around the tree. The group added their pictures to the part of the tree they thought most appropriate to show the tree as a complete habitat. A drawing of a heart is hidden deep inside the base to symbolise the importance of the roots as a life support to the rest of the tree. The children helped to create the Latin name to describe their finished tree.

Musicalitae extremis noisicus

The pupils at Newton’s walk school worked extremely hard at sessions held over several weeks to create an amazing musical tree. Working with Artists from Q-arts, the children developed an interactive tree that is not only exciting and interesting to look at, but also to listen to.

Each participant built large branches out of canes and withes, which were then wrapped in fabric and electrical tapes. Old tin cans were decorated and bells added to make musical fruits. Copper piping was cut to create wind chimes that come to life with any movement of the tree. Decorated metallic leaves add to the visual effect of the tree.

Hosepipes create an interesting tangle of creepers growing up the trunk of the tree but they too have a musical purpose. The top end of each pipe has a squeaky party blower inside it that sounds when the other end at the bottom of the trunk is blown into. The participants had a good guessing game when they blew into one end of the hosepipes and tried to join up where the sound at the other end was coming from.

Bloomenaria inormmus

The exotic, oversized flowers of this beautiful tree are and reminiscent of the strange and wonderful plants of a jungle or rainforest. They are also bigger than many of the children who made them! Children under four years old and their families worked with artists from Q-arts at the Mandela centre in Peartree road.

The flowers were created from old pairs of tights stretched over willow withes. The children chose bells and feathers to put inside the tights, then taped the sections together to make musical and decorative flowers. The trunk of the tree was wrapped with different fabrics which the children had printed with bark like patterns using printing blocks made from draught excluder tape and old computer mouse mats. Cardboard tubes painted with earthy greens, browns and golds were used to make the branches. The children also made bugs that might live in the tree from washing line and pegs.

The children involved developed their creativity and many practical skills whilst making the tree.

For more information contact Q Arts