our working lives

had a bit of a break from the group and left them to get on with things, see how far they would get.

As I joined a team of seven artists on the Glastonbury site this year to work on a arts council big screen commission. It was a great opportunity to get away from work for a few days and chit-chat with the fellow artists and the BBC big screen crew.

For me this was a great opportunity to experiment with large media screen technology. With the screens situated very centrally in a very public space at the meeting point and over 137,000 festival-goers as a potential audience was absolutely fantastic.

My work was shown both in the day and at night. But it was during the night, where for me, it really worked when it looked equally stunning from a distance as from close up. I felt the work really pulsed, throbbing with energy, surrounded by the noise of the music, and general hum of the crowds.

From a distance it loomed out against the night sky as smoke drifted around the screen. I could see it from all over the place, looming large amongst the haze and smoke of Glastonbury. It was large, bright, pulsing with energy and was great to watch.

in talking to the BBC Big Screen crew it made me realise that these screens are going up around the country and being used for more then just big TV’s. It has got me interested in possible uses community groups could make of the big screens.

group dynamics raise their **** head as people relax in each others company their personalities start to show (& clash!).

the fun & games start!

Project is progressing slowly, had not seen them for a month. I got a few interviews off them & have put one online (http://www.ourworkinglives.org/) so far. The group do not like that with the digital recorders (Zoom) you can not directly hear the recordings (you have to connect headphones or plug it into an external speaker).

the sound levels were REALLY low & I had to boost the sound with peak. Still you can hear the interviews quite clearly. Even though the interviewer does talk over the interviewee a bit.

The other interviews are better in they allow the interviewee to just answer. It's interesting to hear how different volunteers tackle the interview situation.

I will go over rec with them all again & show them how to adjust the rec levels. Still best way to learn by our mistakes. The volunteer that did the interview was so nervous & it was great hearing the group get behind him & tell him what a great job he had done. A joy to work with this group.

I am working with a group of volunteers from Poole and Parkstone and with Poole museum local history centre. Together we'll investigate the difference in working practices from when people started work in the 1940/50s and compare this with the present day.

I aim it to be a “big picture,” multigenerational education initiative that will provide avenues for lifelong learning for all ages. It will also promote greater communication not just between the generations but also between the established community and new immigrants to this part of the country.