Box Seven
Welcome to the seventh instalment of Culture Box!
Delivery 1
Copper Beech Tree by Martin Jordan
Oil on Canvas
A print of this painting with its corresponding activities is included in this month’s physical box.
This month, Martin has painted the different parts of the Copper Beech Tree alongside a cow and her calf grazing.
Copper Beeches can grow up to 40 metres tall and can be found all over Britain. You can see them in parks and gardens as well as growing wild in the countryside. They look particularly splendid throughout the spring and summer months, then, during winter, they lose their leaves as do many other trees.
Martin is a visual artist who specialises in botanical and zoological painting. To find out more about him click here.
The Woodpecker Song was a hit in the 1940’s, and was recorded by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra with vocals by Marion Hutton. It was also recorded by the Andrews Sisters, and by Kate Smith. However, the song is originally Italian and was written by Eldo Lazzaro and recorded by Carlo Buti.
Which version do you prefer? Click the links below to listen to the different recordings:
Greater Spotted Woodpecker Birdsong Video
Beech trees, like the copper beech in this Culture Box, make good homes for birds that like to make their nests in holes.
There are three kinds of woodpecker that live in the UK - the Green Woodpecker, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, and this bird, the Greater Spotted Woodpecker. Greater and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers are so called because of their size - not because they can be spotted more or less often!
Woodpeckers can be found all over the UK, in the countryside, and also in our parks and gardens. They are usually seen clinging to the trunk of a tree, but more often we know that they are about because we hear the distinctive sound of them drumming on the tree with their beak.
This film is by Cai Tomos, who is a dancer. In the film, Cai is dancing just using his fingers.
We hope you will enjoy watching the film and listening to the music - and perhaps even feel inspired to move your own fingers a bit yourself!
FEET by Entelechy Arts
Entelechy Arts is a charity based in Lewisham in South East London. They work with many different groups of people, including residents and staff of care homes. Since March of last year, and like many other organisations, they have been unable to make their visits in person.
They have been making some resources that can be delivered remotely and digitally, and have kindly agreed to share some of their resources with us.
Delivery 2
Copper Beech Tree by Martin Jordan
Colouring-in Activity
This activity is included in this month’s physical box.
In the line drawing for you to colour in, artist Martin Jordan has drawn a branch of leaves and flower bud of the Copper Beech tree.
Copper Beeches have male and female flowers on the same tree. This illustration shows the female flower bud while the painting of the Copper Beech in Delivery 1 depicts the male catkin which is pollinated by the wind.
This is a recording that was made in St James’s Park in Central London. The recording lasts about 6 ½ minutes. We chose this soundscape because copper beech trees don’t grow naturally in the UK, so any that you see will have been planted in parks and gardens.
This recording is taken from the BBC’s sound effects archive. If you enjoyed listening together, then you could explore listening to many more recordings by clicking the link below.
St James’s Park Soundscape
Ways to listen:
You could play this recording while you work on the copper beech tree colouring activity. As has been said, it’s likely that the tree would be found in a park or garden, so this recording might help to give a sense of the sounds you might hear if you were sitting under the tree.
Simply sit and listen to the sounds together. Maybe the sounds will give rise to questions and comments.
Can you imagine the scene? What sounds do you hear? What might you see, smell, feel - or even taste? Who else might you imagine is in the park, and what are they doing?
You could discuss the sounds that you can hear. What tells you that it is a recording made in a city park, rather than out in the countryside?
Do you have a favourite park that you have spent time in?
Delivery 3
Take My Hand by Arti Prashar
Multi-sensory activity
This activity is included in this month’s physical box.
There are also activity sheets on their website that you can download if you would like to further explore the idea of music and visual art together.
Music & Art Digital Concert Series by SoundUp Arts
SoundUp Arts is an participatory music organisation based in Manchester that specialises in developing programmes that engage people living with dementia. They run choirs, participatory music workshops, long-term arts projects, interactive concerts and singing sessions with people living with dementia. They also develop online resources and tools, and have kindly shared these with Culture Box.
SoundArt is a music and visual arts digital concert series, exploring links between the music we hear and artwork that has been made in response to it. You can watch and listen to the videos here:
