It might be chilly but that’s not stopping Gayle and a bunch of creative kids from getting crafty and heading outdoors…
As art worker Nicky Wilkie delves deep into her special craft box and brings out a reindeer finger puppet, the group of toddlers gasps with excitement.
“You’re all going to make one of these this morning,” she declares, and the little ones whoop with delight.
I’ve come to JoJo’s Nursery in Dundee for a craft workshop, storytelling and a woodland walk.
The focus today is on making finger puppets and then putting on a wee play inside a tiny outdoors mobile theatre.
The children, aged two and three, are beyond enthusiastic.
First up, Nicky dishes out the felt “bodies” of the reindeer, which she has pre-stitched to save time (and injuries!).
“My mum and I have stitched a few hundred animals for the children,” giggles Nicky. “Foxes, rabbits, badgers, cows, deer, sheep and mice – you name it!”
Each child is then given a set of reindeer ears and Nicky dabs on spots of glue. Some ears are bang on while others end up at a slightly jaunty angle.
“It doesn’t matter – it’s your reindeer,” enthuses Nicky, helping a wee boy whose fingers are stuck together.
Next up, she hands out the antlers, and again, the children use their imaginations to position them.
The final steps are sticking on googly eyes and red noses and, hey presto, there’s a herd of reindeer in the room.
Nicky – who teaches art workshops with an emphasis on nature, the environment and the outdoors – comes to JoJo’s once a month and everyone looks forward to her visits.
Once she’s sure everyone has their hats, gloves and scarves tightly wrapped around them (me included), Nicky takes us for a woodland walk.
We soon reach the banks of the Dighty Burn where Nicky brings out the piece de resistance – the puppet theatre – and plonks it on a concrete bollard.
The children are encouraged to tell stories with their finger puppets, and while some are a tad shy, others are true performers.
I even have a bash myself, using a variety of animals puppets Nicky has made.
Performances complete, we go for a wander in the woodlands, collecting materials such as twigs, seeds, leaves, stones, pine cones and wild teasel flowers.
These will be used to make everything from pine cone fairies to snowmen, angels, owls and even hedgehogs.
“It’s about getting people outdoors and encouraging them to see what’s on their doorstep,” explains Nicky.
“Because plants, flowers and trees change with the season, we always find new things.”
Nicky is employed to connect people with nature using art and does a lot of work with the conservation group Dighty Connect.
She works with people of all ages – from two-year-olds up to 101-year-olds – and visits schools, nurseries, care homes, ladies’ groups, mens’ groups and clubs galore.
She’s hot on using recycled goods, and brings old milk cartons, jars and other household items to sessions.
“We use whatever we can to create everything from finger puppets to nature canvases, nursery mobiles and mosaics,” says Nicky.
“People donate items of all sorts and we use them in creative ways. Just last week, Crieff Hydro donated mini glass jars and we turned them into snow globes.”
Much of Nicky’s drive stems from her love of art, yet she left school at 16 with only a couple of O Grades, one of them in art.
In 2016, she was awarded the Success Prize for Outstanding Commitment at Dundee and Angus College’s annual prize-giving.
She had combined holding down a job – working for Dighty Connect – and raising her teenage son to complete her HND in contemporary art practice.
Nicky is happy to run workshops for anybody and everybody but if it’s a Dighty Connect session, people need to be willing to get outdoors!
However, she is so in demand that she’s booked up until March, but she’s keen for anyone to get in touch.
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Sessions are free and all materials and supplied and prepared by Nicky.
For more details or to ask about booking a session with Nicky Wilkie, see www.facebook.com/dighty.connect.1/
