Cradle of Fire: Website launch for exciting collaborative project on Vulcan and Steelmaking
Team Pic L to R: Carolyn Waudby, Diana Scarborough, Heather Lee and Kim Cunio – Image copyright Cradle of Fire
Journalism lecturer and poet Carolyn Waudby is part of a collaborative team that has launched a website documenting their research project Cradle of Fire https://cradleoffire.com
The venture is a multimedia exploration of the story of Vulcan, which has received a Lottery- funded Arts Council grant.
Carolyn is writing a sequence of poems using the mythology of the Roman god of fire, forges and volcanoes and museum archives and artefacts.
Her poetry will form the basis for the narrative of a short film at the heart of the project.
Sheffield Museums and The Land of Iron, North Yorkshire, are project partners.
Vulcan on Sheffield Town Hall – Image copyright Cradle of Fire
In the late 19th century Vulcan was adopted as an icon for Sheffield’s steel industry. His image appears on buildings throughout the city. This inspired Carolyn to come up with the Cradle of Fire concept and title.
The project team is led by multi-media artist Diana Scarborough and includes Kim Cunio, composer and incoming head of The New Zealand School of Music, and Mike Stubbs, international artist and curator.
SHU volcanologist Dr Natasha Dowey is acting as a consultant on volcanic activity and geology-related topics which form part of Vulcan’s story.
Mythology relates that the newborn baby Vulcan was thrown from Mount Olympus by his mother for being lame and ugly. He grew up in an underwater cavern where he created his first forge. As his skills as a blacksmith developed, he moved to a larger workshop in Mount Etna. Volcanoes were attributed to his outbursts of anger.
Vulcan on the Hutton’s building, Sheffield – Image copyright Cradle of Fire
Filming has already taken place at Kelham Island Museum and Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, Sheffield, and at The Land of Iron Museum, Skinningrove – the site of the first ironstone mine in Cleveland.
“Every aspect of the project so far has been exciting. But a stand-out couple of days were when Kim Cunio and soprano Heather Lee from Australia joined Diana Scarborough and I in Sheffield for filming and sound recording,” says Carolyn.
“Heather sang two of my poems in Kelham Island Museum, which has incredible acoustics. Kim recorded one of the poems to the background sound of the Crossley gas engine. Her voice stopped visitors in their tracks.”
Diana Scarborough and Mike Stubbs were given access to The Land of Iron Museum for further sound recording when it was closed to the public.
Diana adds, “The ambient sounds in the North Drift, a disused mine shaft, and the whoosh when the ‘bag’ fan was switched on were extraordinary.”
The Cradle of Fire journey can be followed on social media platforms. The team are blogging regularly!
Cradle of Fire logo – Image copyright Cradle of Fire
Carolyn Waudby received an MA in Writing from Sheffield Hallam and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She was key to the creation of a magazine pathway on the journalism degree at SHU. As a journalist she specialises in the arts, culture and travel. Her poetry is published by leading journals and literary magazines. In 2020 Apus, a chapbook of poems on Frida Kahlo, was published by The Red Ceilings Press.
All images copyright Cradle of Fire. Image 1. Team Pic L to R: Carolyn Waudby, Diana Scarborough, Heather Lee and Kim Cunio Image 2. Vulcan on Sheffield Town Hall Image 3. Vulcan on the Hutton’s building, Sheffield. Image 4 / Banner. Cradle of Fire logo
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