The drawings from the Saffron Walden show are now safely packed away in my studio and I have some reasonable photos of the work in my archive. There seems to be a brief interlude in my usually hectic life so I have been using this to organise my project archive and generally keep up with some overdue admin. I have also been doing some reading – currently I am looking at a book by Peig Sayers ('An old woman's reflections') who lived on the Blasket islands of the west coast of Ireland. The islanders were evacuated after the second world war – until then they had lived an unchanged life for centuries. There was a rich oral tradition of story telling and poetry, keeping the legends of the islands alive. Peig Sayers' stories capture the simple life of a community who came vibrantly alive when an evening of storytelling, music and words took place. I am sure this information will influence my editing of the films made on Inishlacken.
In the last couple of days three possible projects have emerged. Its a bit like buses they all come at once! They are all in the early stages of discussion and may or may not progress further but it is comforting to be in a position where I am working with this number of potential projects. By the law of averages at least one might come to fruition.
It often surprises me how things link up and communications cause things to happen. One contact I have recently made was through my son who is studying architecture at Kingston University in London. He was attending a lecture given by his Head of Department only to hear her talking about Japan and the tea ceremony – something I have made several pieces of work about. Thoughtfully he managed to speak to the lecturer and has put us in touch. We are planning to meet in December.
