Eggbuckland Community College grow The Mossy Carpet

Guest blog from Mrs Mills, Head of Art and Design, Eggbuckland Community College, Plymouth.

As a local Head of Art and Design and champion of Textiles I could not let this opportunity go by. A friend is involved in a company called Art and Energy and I had seen some social media posts about it. They are currently working on The Mossy Carpet which was in The Box over October half term as a project. It is about to move to the Theatre Royal and they are hoping that it will get communities talking/thinking about the importance of moss and tardigrades.

When I first walked in to The Box and their Dutch Flowers exhibition Dutch Flowers | The Box Plymouth, I must admit that they didn’t look very interesting, but they are so much more and anything but. The paintings are glorious examples of Still Life but also have exquisite examples of insects that are exciting to find. It has commentary about sustainability, cut–flower production and distribution across the centuries and is very much cross-curricular. The Mossy Carpet was at the back of the gallery and we went to investigate further. The project is asking for support in creating a 100m carpet which will get people talking about the importance of moss in the environment and will eventually be on display at Hampton Court next Summer. The Mossy Carpet - YouTube

On a more personal note I am aware that tardigrades are one of my friend’s favourite creatures 😊. We had a conversation once and I never forgot, so I feel I’m not only doing this for her but also biologists, geographers, historians etc. I was a little bit inspired/ overwhelmed.

We’re going to make pompoms with KS3 on a Wednesday after college and get my Textiles groups involved too. I’ve also asked the local school community to knit/ crochet or pop along and pompom. Staff have already started to donate wool and threads and we are already discussing sustainability and the importance of repurposing old textiles. We will be sending the woollen creations to Art and Energy to add to The Mossy Carpet which will then go on to Hampton Court.

We’ll keep in touch. Mrs Mills, Eggbuckland Community College, Plymouth.