WEEK 10
artists in attendance 11
Introducing our first guest Artist….
RIA ROBERTS
First of all I would like to again thank everyone at Didsbury Good Neighbours art group for welcoming me and for taking part in the interactive group work ‘Musical Chairs’. I was invited by Trae to run a workshop and after discussing the different creative possibilities the group would like to explore we settled on an idea based on group work. The tables were covered in paper and the seats arranged around them so that everyone had their own space to work. Each space was numbered 1-8 and after 30 minutes of art making at their place, they were moved to someone else’s space to work. At no time did any of the group sit back where they started with their own work. Over the hour and a half the group work really evolved and took on a new life of its own as each group member worked on one another’s work.
By working in this way interactive group art can take on a new meaning – people can at times feel a little uncomfortable when they feel that maybe they will ‘spoil’ the art already done or that they may get upset if they feel their work will be changed in a way they were not expecting.
I feel that the group really embraced the group piece and rather than letting the concerns of encroaching on each other’s work or space take over, they accommodated one another sharing the moment together and engaging with the process – from what I saw and heard I think they really had fun with it. At the end we cleared any materials off of the table so we could all look at the work that was made and how it had changed. I asked everyone how it felt to change places and let their work go and work on each other’s and most people enjoyed it. One or two found it quite challenging, which is not unusual when working in groups. I think that there is a real cohesion in the group overall and there was a real feeling of positivity and sharing. I wondered if people had sat next to people they maybe wouldn’t usually interact with? I also wonder if it brought the group closer in some ways.
In the afternoon there was a smaller group as a few people could not make it. I felt a little apprehensive as I wondered how it would feel for people to come to their group and find a huge piece on the table for them to work on, rather than having fresh paper. There were 2 people that came in the afternoon and 1 volunteer. One of the ladies was new and was very nervous about making any art at all. Luckily they were relieved that they were not faced with a ‘scary blank page’ to fill and instead could work around what had been done in the morning. As the group was so small Trae, Nina the volunteer and I contributed to the group work, moving around it as everyone had done in the morning. The lady that had come for the first time began to enjoy the art making and I think by the end of the afternoon she was feeling less nervous and enjoying being involved as well as being part of a community group.
I have really enjoyed meeting everyone and sharing this collaborative work with the group. I hope that it has been inspiring and given them some ideas about how they could do it again in the future – maybe next time they could work to a theme. I am excited to hear what they think of the finished work when they see it again on Wednesday now that it has changed again.
Ria
