Made in Easterhouse maps a thriving ecology of making, a constantly shifting and growing constellation of imaginative and transformative acts undertaken not within the art or other commercial market, but in domestic spaces, and for their own sake or for the sake of others. Making in this sense creates both things and time - its repetitive and attentive process requires embodied relationship with materials and resources, as well as the development of skill through repetition and familiarity.
Ruth Little
Grow your own
Throughout the project connections were being built with Wellhouse Allotment Society. I was amazed by the variety
of produce 'Made in Easterhouse' and care and generosity shown to the participants through Connect Trust. As a visitor to the allotments I was made most welcome and on each visit, left with gifts of plants, fruit and veg. In exchange I returned to show the guys how to make chutneys and jams. Jams and chutneys were tasted at housing association meetings and the activity not only provided a social learning experience but a new produce celebrating the allotments which could be sold at community fairs. A Connect Trust volunteer began to design a new label and the Made in Easterhouse lable incorporated. In addition golden raspberries contributed to cake filling in preparation for a local charity sale and allotment potatoes and onions were transformed into Potato Pakora by Jason. Small acts of generosity and exchange have formed an essential part of the project. Colin Tennant and Jason Singh (collaborators on the project) both have visited and been inspired by the allotments through photography and sound. 
photograph by Colin Tennant
Mapping the Micro
Throughout Jasons time involved with Made in Easterhouse, we have walked and talked through ideas of micro/micro in Easterhouse exploring ways we could draw attention to the detail of a large and vibrant area and community.
In initial focus on Making in Easterhouse hand made objects were documented but the idea is explored further though focus on nature made and formed in Easterhouse. Focus shifted to the often overlooked aspects of the area such as plants or lichen. Field recordings through a hydrophones and Binaural recorder picked up the minutiae of Auchinlea Pond or the sounds of Canaries in Wellhouse allotment. You can find out more on Jasons blog here and watch a slow film of his macro photographs and recorded sounds. This combines beautiful images and field recordings from our early morning visit to the dawn chorus back in March at Cardowan Moss.
Mapping the move
Through exploring the social history of Easterhouse I have been interested in the movement of people from the East End of Glasgow to Easterhouse and in mapping the distance. On Sunday 16th October, Myself and Jason walked from Duke Street to Easterhouse and mapped the 4.5 mile journey through data and micro photography. Wearing a Garmin Forerunner, Jason tracked our data. This has produced visual data which has sparked ideas for animation, visuals and possibly further exploration through stitch and textiles.
Do a turn
Through initial conversations with older people in Easterhouse, many spoke of family parties where family members 'do a turn' or a party piece through song or word. This sparked ideas of creating a cross generational event where celebrating local talent of many sorts. Exploring Made in Easterhouse further we visited the Musical Group at Kelvin College who are a group of young people who meet each Tuesday and Wednesday. We were made feel very welcome by those attending and came across Jack Bestow, a young musican in the group. As a result Jason spent some time recording with Jack and the results can be found here.
