The Year 10 students tried on a variety of hats while I talked to them about hat making and head decorations. It is very good to see how wearing a hat makes everything more fun. There is always someone in the group who wears a hat in a silly or funny way that makes everyone laugh and very quickly the ice is broken. It gives them confidence and the comments included: "I am ready to go out now, I could wear this outside" and "I love the fascinators they make me think about the summer, I want to get dressed up." After the talk they made a decorative piece that could be worn on a hair band, comb or as a brooch. we discussed the project that they are working on entitled: Tropical and they showed me their beautiful drawings.
I have also been running open workshops on Thursdays and for the last 2 weeks these have been really well attended. Some people were from the Reading Group that meets regularly at the library. Again members of the public came in to try their hand at making a fascinator. The students from some of the adult education classes joined in and parents and foster carers from the Toddler Time group.
Each time the atmosphere was really buzzing with lots of talking and trying on fascinators and head decorations again. Pleanty of skills sharing and helping each other was going on too. Again there were some great comments: " I have been sewing again this week, just one or two bits and pieces but I have felt inspired." and "I took my suffolk puff corsage home I like it so much, I didn't want to leave it here, I like to keep looking at it."
There is a great sense of achievement across the group, they really like the work that we are doing, it is very creative and every week they are complimenting each other and taking photographs of their work to take home and show to family and friends.
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| Work in progress |
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| It's gone to their heads! |
I have had some more training on the laser cutter and using 2D Design software which is just brilliant I have to thank the staff at the City Learning Centre for being so patient and taking time out of their day to help me. I have also been thinking about, discussing and planning the sharing event and exhibition at the end of the residency. it is going to be great. More on tihs soon!
I am finding it frustrating that the residency is only 3 months it is too short and difficult to fit everything in. I am irritated that I have not spent as much time as I wanted doing my own work. The planing and preparation for each of the sessions takes up time, writing this blog, emails, meetings (when i should be doing my own work) that happened this week! Also there is very little storage space for me to keep materials on site so that I have to keep packing everything away and taking it home then bringing it all in again. I have been using space in the staff room and on top of a set of lockers but this space does not take much and it encroaches on the staff space. A cupboard that was ordered for me to use as storage has not appeared.
A really good thing happened this week, the graduate placement was chosen and arrived to be part of the residency last Thursday. Her name is Prudence Collins, a warm welcome to you. Prudence is really friendly and fitted in straight away, she is a very talented weaver and brings a wide variety of skills to the residency. She was welcomed by the community group that I was working with on Thursday afternoon and was thrown in at the deep end straight away. I hope that she enjoys it, is inspired and that the experience helps her to develop her work. It is great to be working together and to share the residency experience with another artist/designer.
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