Talking about my creative experiences is not such an easy thing to do. On previous occasions where I have had to give talks about my art work I’ve had some kind of brief from a client and so I’ve been able to tailor the talk to their needs and expectations.
Most of the time I’ m so involved in the project, it’s taking all my energy and concentration to get it going, do it bring it to conclusion or whatever. The only people I can talk to about it are the other people I’m working with, or my immediate family. Part of my practice as a visual artist is spent in planning, then there’s the actual doing. Then there’s reflecting at the end of the activity in order to absorb what you’ve learned from the activity. In all this, there’s rarely much time to describe the experience, put it into lots of words…
I hear nothing more from the researcher, once I’ve emailed, agreeing to take part. And this is how it can be with arts projects, especially in the current climate. Everything is taking place in a climate of uncertainty. The reports on the news is that the economy is collapsing. This week world leaders will meet to discuss what they can do about the crisis… I reason that maybe the project has had its funding pulled or that maybe the researcher has had to organise and co-ordinate other parts of the research. On the other hand, three weeks is not a long time in the arts world.
