This summer, Fabrica’s GBTQ+ Men Who Create programme headed outdoors for six weeks of bushcraft and creative making in the green spaces of Stanmer Park and Emmaus Brighton & Hove.
For this six-week summer course, the focus shifted to bushcraft and creative making. Sessions took place outdoors at The Gathering Glade in Stanmer Park and in the gardens at Emmaus Brighton & Hove. Courses were facilitated by Mark Lloyd and Anthony Stevens.
Across the six weeks, participants tried processes including wood whittling, drawing, making charcoal, cyanotype printing, spoon carving, outdoor cooking and pewter casting.
The course moved between traditional bushcraft, visual art and experimental making. A piece of birch became a pencil; fire produced charcoal for drawing or cook flatbread; sunlight developed a cyanotype print; wood gradually become a spoon; and molten pewter became a small object to take home.
Participant feedback speaks particularly strongly about the value of the setting and the experience of making: time away from the sensory intensity of the city, opportunities to focus on something creative, discovering new processes and having dedicated time in nature.
“I can feel my stress levels drop immediately.”
Week 1 - An introduction to bushcraft and making outdoors
The first session introduced the group to the outdoor bushcraft setting at The Gathering Glade in Stanmer Park and to the six-week course.
It provided an opportunity to begin exploring practical making in a natural environment and introduced the approach that would run throughout the programme: learning through doing, experimenting with materials and spending dedicated creative time outdoors.
For one participant, getting away from it all and being in nature was an important part of the experience:
“It feels really good to be away from all the sensory overload of the city.”
Week 2 - Outdoor sketching and cyanotypes
For Week 2, the course moved to the beautiful gardens at Emmaus Brighton & Hove, combining outdoor sketching with cyanotype printing.
Cyanotype is a photographic printing process that uses light to produce distinctive blue images. The session offered opportunities to experiment with designs, drawing onto acetate, exposure times and layering techniques.
Feedback from the session also connected creativity with managing stress, with creative activity described as a useful way of lowering stress levels.
Week 3 - Birch pencils, homemade charcoal and flatbreads
Week 3 returned to The Gathering Glade in Stanmer Park and brought several different bushcraft processes together.
Participants carved pencils from birch, made their own charcoal on the fire, and then used these handmade drawing materials to create artwork. The session also introduced an element of outdoor cooking, with flatbreads made and cooked over the fire.
The combination of making and spending an afternoon outdoors prompted warm feedback:
“I just wanted to say thank you to you both for facilitating and making this happen. I have really enjoyed being out here today.” MWC participant
“I have really enjoyed this time in nature. It has felt needed.” - MWC participant
Week 4 - Wood whittling and spoon carving
The fourth workshop focused on wood whittling and spoon carving. The session began with a meditation and concluded with a gratitude exercise, combining the concentration involved in carving with quieter moments of reflection.
For one participant, the sessions offered some respite from difficulties outside the course. He described being able to: “forget things for a while and enjoy some peace”
The practical activity itself also proved particularly satisfying. Another participant summed up his discovery: “I love making spoons, and I am really good at it.”
Week 5 - Experimenting with cyanotype
Week 5 took the group back to Emmaus Gardens for a session dedicated to cyanotype printing.
The process provided scope for participants to develop their own ideas and approaches. One participant said that he would like to continue exploring cyanotype using textiles, showing how a technique encountered during the course could become the starting point for further creative experimentation.
One participants feedback reflected his experience not just of the afternoon but of the programme more broadly:
“I have loved everything I have done with Fabrica so far. It’s really quality.”
Week 6 - Spoon carving and pewter casting
The final session returned to Stanmer Park and combined spoon carving with pewter casting, giving participants an opportunity both to revisit a technique from earlier in the course and to try a different material and process.
Pewter casting opened up possibilities for creating small individual objects and jewellery-inspired pieces. The final feedback showed a high level of appreciation for the activities: all participants gave the course full marks.
Written feedback on the course was similarly enthusiastic:
“I loved all of it!”
And another participant described the experience as:
“It has been so stimulating, in a good way!”
About GBTQ+ Men Who Create
GBTQ+ Men Who Create is a programme of free creative courses for people who identify as GBTQ+ men, transmasculine or non-binary and are experiencing low mental health. The programme is part of Fabrica’s wider creative wellbeing work, using art and making to provide opportunities to develop skills, explore creativity and connect with others.
The project builds on Fabrica’s experience of delivering creative mental health programmes for men, while recognising that GBTQ+ people may not always feel comfortable accessing more traditional male spaces. GBTQ+ Men Who Create was developed as a dedicated, inclusive creative programme, with support from a facilitator from the LGBTQ+ community.
GBTQ+ Men Who Create is a three-year project supported by The Baring Foundation. The funding has enabled Fabrica to develop dedicated creative courses for this community, with previous courses exploring photography, printmaking, drawing and sculpture.