I went up to Goldsmiths this week to discuss an installation proposal with Katy Bevan from the Crafts Council. It has all happened very quickly, a late request to put something forward galvanised me into pulling together some of the threads of thought around the next stage of the Loom project that have been gathering…I want to begin creating structures now out of text ribbons containing answers to questions within various public contexts. I realise this sounds vague and once I know about the outcome of this commission I am going to post my proposal on this blog…and deconstruct how it evolves into a final piece. Prof Janis Jefferies, my mentor on the project and Julie and Margaret from the Constance Howard Centre team were all there to support me in the meeting and I felt very strongly supported at what is an early stage of a potentially large project (the scale of audience is about 10 times anything else I have worked with). This is a new experience and it is such a strengthening element this year to be workng within a specific context such as this, it seems I am somehow more visible.
It's very easy, when going through a period of severe sleep deprivation (teething baby) to feel that everything else has frozen and nothing is going on on other levels. However, there has been some movement ..I have created a studio in the house (and it is almost usuable), I have explored some childcare options (all unsatisfactory so far but there is light on the horizon) and I have received a few invitations by email – out of the blue- to consider developing ideas for commissions / events /show during the year. The nature of these invitations relates to the origin of the crafted object, my cultural hybridity and the development of a green space linked to my Mother to Mother project, and as such encourages me that things are slowly moving in the right direction and I am attracting opportunities which are relevant to the research I have taken on this year. I quoted the Sufi saying 'Patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet' at my brother this week and I really need to take it on board myself. Re my last post on rituals for cultural transition, my brain was not in a fit state to pursue this thread and as such i waiting until I have had a few decent nights sleep this week before i resume it. Also, a long walk this weekend to clear my head and receive next steps ahead should help. One positive thing about sleep deprivation – that altered state i only ever associated with torture camps – one's resistance to anything is weakened and ideas can creep in sideways, like burglars carrying golden nuggets. I have written a few things down in my notebook in the early hours, must read and see if they have any credibility…
