Hello!
In February 2019, Laura (right) started making origami hearts and snuck out in the wee hours of Valentine’s Day morning to hang them on a tree in the centre of Stirchley high street. The crafting escalated, and by December that year, Laura had made some clay stars to hang on the tree over the bleak winter. Coincidentally, Heidi (left) had been rewatching Gilmore Girls and pining for the soft whimsy of her native Scotland, and between them they dreamt up the Stirchley Snowflake Festival.
It wouldn’t be until winter 2020 that an event took place, where communities across Stirchley designed snowscapes for their window; and painted their own clay snowflakes for the same tree.
Over the years, their shenanigans has intensified, but with the same guiding ethos of creating accessible participatory interventions for everyone. They’ve been commissioned by clients including Birmingham Open Spaces Forum and The National Trust.
Frosty Canvas is built from the Snowflake Festival and is a host for all sorts of future community antics.