Finally managed to get along to the Little Folly childrens' centre, a new organisation, really well used and full of families all day, in 'The Heath', an estate with a somewhat notorious reputation in Salisbury.
Passing police posters encouraging you to come forward with information and the 'non smacking zone' sign in the centre window, it was, for me, a refreshing departure from the comatose calm of our Wiltshire village. Lucky though we are to live in our own little version of Stepford, at times it makes us want to scream out for a bit of the rawness of the Northern streets we were so used to.
So in I went, set up my recording equipment and tried to explain what on earth my work was about and why I was there at all. During our discussion on night and their experiences as young mothers I gave them a basic felting workshop so that they could work with their children together while also getting something out of it themselves.
Initially, I had thought this a bit of a pointless excercise as I had got so much out of individual interviews where people were able to speak in privacy, that I thought a group discussion wouldn't be so incitful. I was wrong actually, and the small group of mothers were very open and intimate in the things they shared. In a way I could see a real contrast in the act of mulling over memories yourself and the act of sharing and laughing over them with others.
Oooh – two posts in one week!. The Salisbury Arts Trail got back to me very excited, they would love to include my installation, all I needed was to pay the £75 to be included and a £20 membership fee – hey, let me think about that – I don't think so000!
A bit of a gap since my last post I know but trying to upload images and realising I needed to resize them was enough to make the enthusiasm drain out of me and I put it off till another day. Good news though, the children's centre got back to me and would love to be involved so we're just trying to set a date for that. With their input I feel much more confident that I'm fulfilling my ACE requirements. I can sleep easy at night at last.
For some reason (the feel of Spring in the air), I've had a real surge of resolve and focus and stormed ahead contacting people and catching up on opportunities. The recordings I've been working on are off with a friend who's collating them onto DVD. Alas the old camcorder finally packed in and I bit the financial bullet and bought a new one which I can download straight into the computer. The weekend was spent following up contacts with the Salisbury Arts Centre and Salisbury Arts Trail to see if I can piggy back onto their programme to exhibit an installation in a domestic dwelling later in the year- no answer yet – and I've even mowed the lawn and cleaned the bathrooms.
Last week I had the luxurious indulgence of leaving the children with a sitter and attending a talk by Alistair Gentry on documentary making – I also got to see Jordan Baseman's Dark Is The Night on at Artsway in the New Forest. It really helped to crystallise what I want to do with the sound recordings I've made. All in all I feel that finally my thoughts are solidifying, fed by all the extra info I've absorbed from seeing shows, chatting to people, getting advice etc. I need to do some sound recordings at night – both indoors and out and begin working to juxtapose them with the voices I've collected, but it's beginning to come together.
