International Women’s Day Performance in University canteen. This was a rather hastily thought out event. I set up a bowl of soapy water and proceeded to wash a white cloth which had a red stain on it. My intention was to link the women at this institution with women from less privileged circumstances in developing countries. I used clothing to suggest a more primitive way of life.
There was quite a large audience and I did hope to engage people in discourse about the work. Unfortunately, people watched and talked to each other but not to me. Maybe it was too didactic or perhaps people are getting too acustomed to my interventions.
I will edit some video of it and upload it later.
Following that I took a walk in Backhouse Park to commune with Corvids. I was not disappointed as there were a group of them bathing in the stream. It was also great to hear the sound of them calling to each other from the trees.
One of them seemed quite willing to engage in tag (at a distance). Ted Hughes wrote about Crow as if it were the human soul, so I asked the Crow who it was. It told me that I knew the answer to that particular question, but I don’t remember that I do.
Travail
Spotted a tree full of Corvids on my way to my allotment today, so I took some photos using my phone. Interesting that they were hanging out right next to the cemetery. I am going to check out the Rooks in Backhouse Park tomorrow and find out who they are.
Don’t ask about the holiday. I am going to have to wait until April for that.
It is International Women’s Day tomorrow, so I am wondering what kind of event that should inspire.
Plate preparation all day yesterday. Also experimented with soft ground. The marks are very soft and indistinct. Need to work out a plan for moving forward, but going to have a few days off to rest as the past few weeks have been phrenetic.
I know I will not be able to switch off my brain, but watching some good movies might feed it without too much angst.
Much soul searching today. I have been considering whether to ‘ditch’ the rook and my tutorials helped me to think, ‘why?’. It may be because I feel embarrassed by it and worry that it might not be acceptable, maybe it is all just too traditional and illustrative????? I have been cross with myself and exasperated that I seem so reluctant to ‘move on’, but why do I think that I need to move on?
I had a couple of brilliant tutorials today that really helped me to realise that the confusion I am feeling is because I am human; wiith all of the layers and complexities, which, inevitably, come through in making my work.It is not always possible to come up with a definitive answer to a dilemma I set myself.
I understand that my tutors do not have all the answers but I think I was expecting to be able to find all the answers immediately within myself.
I now think that I will never have a final answer but along the way I will find insights. This will only happen if I keep on working and interrogating the work and my experiences as I go.
