Cordobananza

Work

We’ve been in Cordoba for three weeks now and it still doesn’t seem quite real. I find myself drifting from one magical occurrence to another, a shower of pine needles in an ancient square while sipping on mojitos, then being drawn into an exquisite courtyard and watching an informal flamenco performance by candlelight.

The daytimes are pretty amazing too. At the art college, our daily routine is to arrive at 9.30am to start work. At 11.30 we have a half hour break in a local bar and drink freshly-squeezed-orange-juice and sometimes eat a second breakfast. We then work again from 12 until 2 when our working day is over! Then off to lunch which is cooked for us just a few doors away. This may sound like a rather utopian working life (and in many ways it is because the people can spend time with their children, have siestas and such) but when you’re trying to get something done, it can be a little frustrating.

The art school is very traditional and we’re all learning new skills. This, combined with communication difficulties makes for rather slow progress at times. I wish I could spend more time there but the college closes completely at 3pm each day so we wouldn’t make it back after lunch. We also have random distractions like being sent off to watch a film and not really knowing why. I think it was a treat in connection with book week. At least it probably improved my Spanish a little…

For my project, I decided to make a geodesic dome that you could climb inside, made from ceramics, using bush-craft techniques i.e. entirely held together with string! This is inspired by our sustainability theme, my love of dens, being in the ceramics department, and all the incredible geometry which dominates the aesthetic of the city, ancient and modern. I want this sculpture to look anachronistic, appearing to strangely fit into any time frame.

I initially planned to make the structure from branches but these are apparently impossible to get here at this time of year as all the pruning is done in very early Spring.

I was therefore encouraged to make the wooden structure from ceramics also. I decide after a bit of thought to embrace this idea since it enhances the terrifyingly delicate appearance of the piece. After I had started work on my final ceramic maquette I was told that I couldn’t make the piece from ceramics after all due to the scale I was planning on and budget constraints. I felt terrible about this as I was expecting to pay for my materials anyway having studied art in the British system. I felt embarrassed that I’d inadvertently asked for too much.

When an interpreter from Academia Cordoba came to the art school I managed to negotiate that I would pay for the clay needed for this rather ambitious project and was relieved that this would be fine.

I’m really enjoying making the maquette having manufactured hundreds of little bone looking pieces and hundreds of tiles to be delicately tied into the framework. Whilst my plan was to make a large one to leave here in the grounds of the school, as a gift, I’m now having second thoughts. I know I can make the structure from wood anywhere, and it would be much easier to allocate at home. The ceramic tiles would be much more difficult to make at home without all the wonderful facilities though.

However, having been walking around Cordoba and soaking it in, another idea has come to me which would really make better use of the facilities and the knowledge of my wonderful mentor Valle (pronounced Badgay). I’m going to continue giving it some thought…

The overwhelming things I notice about Cordoba are the beautiful aromas of orange blossom, the labyrinthine streets, geometric patterns everywhere both ancient and modern, and the sense of contentment of the people.

We’re now well into week 2 of our residency and time is already playing strange games. Before we left, 10 weeks away felt like an incredibly long time to organise stepping away from our ‘normal’ lives for. Before we left, our host organisation in Spain, Academia Cordoba, sent us a full timetable of activities for the first week, and we now have another jam packed schedule this week too. We’ve been treated to more tours of the city, visits to museums and Spanish lessons, on top of our structured meal times. We do still manage to fit the odd tapas in here and there though!

Our experience here is pretty incredible and I do wonder what I’ve done to deserve this. It’s struck me though, that everyone here is very motivated and driven and I suppose that’s how we got here, but perhaps it’s also why we could all do with it. The pace of life here is completely different from being back in the UK. I first felt like a Londoner when I found myself running up an escalator whilst eating my dinner, whereas here, working until 3pm is staying late at the office. This gives people more time for friends and family, eating together, and the weather brings people to socialise in the squares and cafes, unrestricted by having dogs or children to look after. Everyone joins in.

Despite this, with our work placements in the morning, and personal projects to do in our spare time, and so much to see and do here, we’re all wondering how we can get it all done in time. This sense of urgency seems odd in such a relaxed place, but it will probably mean that we get the most we possibly can out of the experience. We might need to start having siestas to fully experience the culture though! It is great that we’re all really grateful for the experience and are really enjoying our time together.

Communicating in Spanish is my biggest challenge. Before coming away, I did a term of Spanish lessons, listened to podcasts, played learn Spanish apps on my phone and did interactive online lessons. I still wish I could’ve learned more and feel a little embarrassed that I can’t communicate better. Being in a situation where we have to use Spanish is helping me to improve though and our lessons are teaching me some of the grammar I desperately need. The lessons can be pretty hilarious what with things like Laura answering a question about food with a response about firemen in chocolate, and a rather distracting bird call outside the window that sounds like bedsprings! I feel rather terrible that our teacher in the art school is currently improving her English where we’re supposed to be improving our Spanish!

The other salient factor here is the weather. With our dreadful British winter and wintery spring, I couldn’t wait to get away to what I thought would be a much more bearable climate. It was still jacket weather when we arrived but it’s suddenly now up in the mid to high thirties each day! Apparently this is normal and the locals are still wearing cardigans and scarves! I’m now told that Cordoba is Europe’s hottest city and last year they had a week when it was 52 degrees centigrade every day! Whilst I’m worried I might never want to leave this place, it’s probably just as well our return flight is booked for mid-June.

I arrived in Spain on Sunday among a group of 14 artists and architects about to embark on a 10 week adventure. We flew into Seville airport and seven of the participants were whisked into the city to their apartments and the other seven (including me) were taken by minibus to Cordoba, an hour or so drive away.

We’re here as part of the Orange and Green II project – Skills for Sustainable Futures managed by Beam in Wakefield, and partner organisations here in Spain. It’s all funded by the Leonardo Da Vinci Mobility Programme.

For us, it all started with an application back in October last year, followed by interviews in Wakefield in November and a two day induction in January. Spain seemed so far away!

Since then I’ve been trying my best to learn Spanish and researching Cordoba and sustainabily in order to work on my personal project.

In the mornings we do work placements, and work on our personal projects in the afternoons and weekends. We are also expected to experience the culture. It’s a hardship!

During our first week we’ve been shown around the city, introduced to our host work placement organisations, had a couple of Spanish lessons, and been taken on cultural trips. We even have all our meals provided and we use this as a chance to meet up with the whole group and more exchange participants from other countries.

Apart from getting to know Cordoba, we’ve been getting to know each other. The seven of us are staying in a couple of apartments close to Academia Cordoba who are organising our meals, trips, and activities. I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of a really lovely group of people. We’ve had an awful lot of laughter already and have a surprising bond after only 6 days!

We all seem to be Instagram addicts and are enjoying our #cordobananza hashtag. It’s a fun way to capture our experience of the place.

Whilst not expected to collaborate, we’ve already generated a couple of pages of collaboration ideas and below is a video of our first playful little intervention whist visiting the Alcazar. I’m sure there are many more to come!

My work placement is at the Cordoba School of Art “Dionisio Ortiz” in the Ceramics department. I have a lovely mentor who is helping me to realise my project and teaching me loads about ceramics.

I have been asked to create and album of photographs for the School, of the workshops, final pieces, and documentation of trips we take around the region, visiting ceramics workshops.

The sun is shining, the cervesas are flowing and it’s time to get out and do some more exploring!

#cordobonanza numero uno