Hello All! We have some very exciting news, the Maxwell Centre has teamed up with local Dundee enterprise How It Felt to bring you an installation filled with childlike wonder with inspiration from the Garden! This has been funded by the Dundee City Council – Festive Celebrations Grant Scheme.
Throughout November and December and with the help of “Jack the Woodman” we have been busy designing and creating wood panels of different creatures that can be found in the Garden. Our after school clubs, volunteers and family group are working with local artists, staff and facilitator (see more about the team below) to bring the creatures to life using paint, lights and lots of glow in the dark materials! The garden will be illuminated with glowy rocks, magnificent mushrooms and fairy lights, we also have a special sensory experience in the poly tunnel.
The nature trail will be held in various day/evening sessions during December providing free, socially distanced fun during our darkest months.
Keep an eye on our Facebook pages in the coming weeks for updates and how to book a slot for your household.
The Maxwell Centre Facebook Page
(Featured image is artwork by Big Debz)
Meet the team! –
Big Debz from How It Felt
(Photo taken by Y Photography)
Hello there I’m Deborah or Big Debz from How It Felt a local Dundee social enterprise. My work is mainly involved with puppetry, drama, film, sound, storytelling, arts and crafts, and mental health and well-being support. My with my friend Little Debz we deliver creative support services and workshops to the people of Dundee and beyond. Been working seasonally with the Maxwell centre providing sensory storytelling and crafting with their young people for two years. Been wanting collaborate with more artists on more community based social good projects and approached the Maxwell with this installation. I will be facilitating the workshops and supporting our local artists. See you in the Garden!
https://www.facebook.com/HowItFelt
@MarkandDebz
@howitfelt_littledebz
Lisa Lawrence, Dannielle Don and Zoe Thomson
Lisa and Dannielle, our MAXwell Centre Youth Workers, have been coordinating all the logistics to make this project happen, supporting Debz with fundraising, organising workshops, mapping out the trail, materials, helping out with the groups, visits, painting, etc.
Zoe is studying Community Education at the University of Dundee and is doing her internship at the Maxwell Centre. She has been supporting various group sessions and making some beautiful work herself!
Mairi Collins
“Hello everyone, I’m Mairi, a jeweller and maker helping out at The Wonderful Winter Garden Trail! I love outreach and doing workshops in different places, and this winter I’m excited to bring my making skills outdoors! I’ve worked with Dundee Makerspace, Dundee Science Center, EdSciFest and my own business Mairi Collins Jewellery to bring science communication and creative learning events to all ages and abilities. Now I get to work with local social enterprise How it Felt and The Maxwell centre to deliver workshops and contribute to their magical winter installation, The Wonderful Winter Garden Trail! See you there :)”
Mairiecollins@gmail.com
Insta/facebook: @mairijewellery
Cara Rooney
Hello, I’m Cara Rooney, an illustrator and plaything maker from Dundee. I like to make work that portrays a sense of child-like curiosity and communicates a fascination for nature. My work takes the form of interactive picture books, illustrations and toys. My hope is that by encouraging children to build empathy for little creatures outside, they will be more inclined to protect all life on our little planet in future.
I’m excited to meet you all at my bumblebee themed workshop at the Maxwell centre!
Instagram: @cararoooney
Website: https://www.cararooney.com
Robyn Scanlan
Hey there, I’m Robyn. I work at the Maxwell as a Youth worker where I help inspire the young people to be creative with their environment and the natural materials around them, creating play and learning opportunities through art. I am also training to be Forest School Leader and aspire to be a full time provider of outdoor education to children in the local area of Dundee. My Forest Schools work mainly involves arts and crafts, den building, rope work such as knots and swings, storytelling, arts and crafts, life skills such as fire building and cooking, learning about the environment and is based on a head, heart & hands approach to working with children and young people. I am currently in my second year studying Art and Philosophy at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design Dundee- my main interests are sculpture, environmental art, and collaboration with local community groups. One of my nature inspired sculptures will be completed for the light night and will reside in the Maxwell garden providing a den for the children to shelter in over the winter months!
I will be working on another sculpture with our local kids at the Maxwell for the upcoming installation trail. I look forward to welcoming you in the Garden this winter!
Robyn Scanlan
Email: robynescanlan@hotmail.co.uk
Find me on Instagram: @forest_schoolsleader
@robynelizabethscanlan_art
Ellen Forbes
Hello I’m Ellen,
I’m a maker and illustrator in my third year at djcad and a member of Dundee Ceramics Workshop committee. I like to create feelings of adventure, nostalgia, comfort and wonderment for the world around us in my work. I try to continually find new ways to make and explore these feelings with different mediums from watercolours to fabric and clay work. I’ve recently been tapping into the way that we explore and view the world as children with endless curiotity, adventure and shamelss awe for the world. This is something I try to embody not only in my work but my daily life. This reveleation has largely come from doing facepainting at camperdown Park the last few years and working on a mural for The Maxwell over the course of this year. It has been great getting direct feedback from the team and the kids on what they would like to see in their wee painted garden. It has opened my eyes to the joys of working with kids and their truly wonderful imaginations. I’m super excited to get involved with this project at The Maxwell to create something with this amazing group of kids, staff and creatives. Collaboration with others can bring about so many beautiful things and I cannot wait to see what we all learn from each other and create.
Instagram – @flokieart
Website – Ellen Forbes (myportfolio.com)
Rowan Heggie
Hi, I’m Rowan! I’m a writer, poet, visual artist and performer. With a background in film-making and science communication, I’m now studying Acting & Performance in Dundee, and specialise in improvisation, physical theatre, and experimental writing. In my visual art practice I work with collage, sculpture, and vast quantities of glitter. I also love drawing strange and spooky animals and plants in ink or watercolour.
I helped to facilitate some early materials tests and gather some ideas from the kids at the Maxwell Centre to find out what their garden could look like and how we might get there. We had fun on the day playing with bug stencils, ultraviolet paint and running around with glowsticks!
Rowan Heggie
email: clarecabin@gmail.com
Brogan and Bethan Carlin
I’m Bethan , an art student who is currently studying HNC art and design at Dundee and Angus college. I mainly just draw or paint in my free time. For the winter garden, we have taken on the polytunnel. Our main idea for the polytunne is to make a night scene with as man vibrant and glow in the dark object’s.
Im Brogan, a third year university student who alongside my sister, helped with the pollytunnel. Ive always enjoyed art as a hobby and had great fun creating all the neon sculptures and It was a great break from boring studying!
Manuela de los Rios
Hi, I’m the MAXwell’s Community Garden mentor, I plan and facilitate our volunteer, learning and garden outreach work (more about what we do here).
My background is in community-led environmental projects using creating and participatory communications and art as a way to connect people with nature.
I often use printmaking, poetry, photography and street art in my environmental projects and I love working and learning about plants and people!
Our 20+ volunteers, family and toddler groups will be creating the wooden peacock butterfly with a swarm of linoprinted, lasercut butterflies and caterpillars, and a collage of happy people-butterflies!
mdmaxinfo@gmail.com
Instagram: manuela_delosrios_dundee (I’ve just started so bear with me!)
Grow Dundee 
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