I am actually struggling with the amount of time I now have on my hands. Having spent the past 3 years working during the day and editing photos in the evenings and at weekends it is disorientating to have all day to work on my images and no outside commitments. However, I can use the mornings to visit the museum and process black and white images. My working day in the Gallery will then start later but I can stay on after closing to complete work if necessary.
I am also concerned that editing the images in large numbers will limit my creativity and result in similar effects being applied to all. I am therefore trying to break the work into smaller groups and vary the type of images I am working on.
The gallery is quieter than expected so I am considering advertising the project and inviting the public to come in and participate. I am feeling more comfortable with working in public although I initially felt very exposed. It is one thing to wander anonymously through a crowd at an exhibition of your images but to be sat working alongside them in a Gallery can be uncomfortable.
I have planned which sites to visit on my day off on Monday so will have to try and fix at least one black and white film camera in preparation. College starts again next week so I will have darkroom access and can process the films shot so far.
I travelled to the north of the island yesterday and visited a number of sites – taking over 600 photos! I must remember to take back up black and white cameras as they are prone to faults and I lost a lot of film yesterday. Whilst I am in favour of the occasional light leak, ruined film is costly in more ways than one.
Today I have been learning hanging techniques and assisting with the set up of the new show:
www.eileenschaer.com
I have backed up yesterdays images and am ready to begin the long process of editing.
I begin teaching again in a couple of weeks and will therefore have to begin lesson plans in my spare time and ensure I am well prepared for the year.
Spent the last two days installing myself in the residency area and now im ready to go. Waiting for delivery of my mapping pins and then I can start covering the map and locating sites to visit. In the meantime I have images to edit and I need to start collecting collage materials to add to the frames I have. Im really pleased with the layout ive achieved and the use of old picture frames to display my research in.
10 days to go. I have a two metre size map of the island ready and I am currently debating whether I can settle for mixed primary coloured indicator pins or hold out for white only. The ideas are starting to gel in my mind but im trying not to think too much about the end product. I want to enjoy the process and the freedom of being able to produce art daily and I hope this will inspire further research and ideas. I visited the museum library but will need to generate specific requests in order to get the information I need. I have decided to continue my current work and structure the older material into the project as I cover each area. This means everything will be happening concurrently so im less likely to get stuck in editing or research ruts.
My residency begins on the 1st September 2010. I have yet to receive official confirmation but already the nerves are setting in. I am unsure where to begin. Although I have a rough timeline and outline for the project Im not sure whether to hit the ground running and continue my current photographic work or to begin formally and follow the research and planning route. Probably a combination of both, I suspect a few hours in the museum library will help to get the ideas flowing as well as revealing exactly what information is already out there that I can use. However, im continuing in my current job right up until the end of August (the rent doesn’t pay itself!) so free time is rare at the moment.
I think my main concern is the integration of workshops and interaction with the public, once I know exactly how much time I have on a day-to-day basis I can begin planning in earnest.
