What an incredible enriching wonderful experience! This project would not have been possible if not for Grants for the Arts Funding. I wrote to all the individuals and partner organisations who supported and made possible the last nine months with five residencies, three exhibitions, two installations, with me finding that being artist in residence is great fun, and totally makes for thinking on your toes, when you think of being installed in a basement of an art academy, arranged between large print and travel section in the library, exhibited in a carpenters yard, one bishop's meeting room, a village hall, plus hidden away in a closed museum, and arranged to experience quietude in a pop-up camera obscura transformed into a hermitage by a pond, staying in a tudor room in an abbey, included.
"I never knew it was so big" wrote Rachael on the project,when replying to the letter which outlined the journey and asked for feedback. Meanwhile, Gemma writes from the RWA saying how thrilled they were that I was so ambitious with the awarded bursary, and how it has been a delight to see the project growing and developing, particularly with regard to storytelling and performance.
Now there is a right performance again, as I try to get the business side of the project management into a box. How to transform myself into being someone who is brilliant at Excel spreadsheets, paperwork, figures and ticking the right boxes; battle to get envelopes and tiny brown paper bags stuffed full with receipts in order, and worry did I ever settle up with Julie, the incredibly wonderful artist assistant, for that cup of soup from Friska in Bristol, the plastic grass and unicorn, let along the flickering electric bulb or say enough thank you's for the endless trays of teas made at RWA, the library and Lacock. Time now to complete the Arts Council application form budget and activity report, and there is a gasp when I see that the evaluation report is up to 2,000 words. That's about a dissertation worth, but a friend reminds me I work well under pressure. I keep muttering never again, whilst thinking, what next?
An invitation is received from Janice Botterill, new curator, for me to take the artist in residency at Lacock project to a new exhibition, A Time & A Place, at Brewery Arts, Cirencester, January-21 March 2015. She asks me to mind-map the series of residencies, to show people how I think. Impossible, I muse, as I don't know myself. So, much for an year of reflecting on practice! Then suddenly this giant scroll of thought unfolds.... great stuff, back to making, playing, being responsive, having creative fun!
An invitation is received from Janice Botterill, new curator, for me to take the artist in residency at Lacock project to a new exhibition, A Time & A Place, at Brewery Arts, Cirencester, January-21 March 2015. She asks me to mind-map the series of residencies, to show people how I think. Impossible, I muse, as I don't know myself. So, much for an year of reflecting on practice! Then suddenly this giant scroll of thought unfolds.... great stuff, back to making, playing, being responsive, having creative fun!
