It’s only been a few weeks since I last posted a blog although in this short time I feel I have forgotten how to write. This is because I have been trying to get a press release written, planned, re-planned and now considering ditching my Kickstarter campaign. As part of my ACE application I need to raise £500 and the amount of work to create a campaign, rewards, design and delivery of the rewards is very time consuming which I did not account for in my time. Will this crowd funding campaign turn me into a busy fool? Is there not an easier way of getting one or two supporters for the overall project? Being a working mum and slowly getting through my project to-do list can occasionally get in the way of reviewing that list and not being scared of changing it. I spend a lot of my time at home and with all these written elements I prefer to work from my desktop computer although this week I’ve changed that routine which has injected a new flow to my project day. New ideas or solutions to problems surface when I am in motion or doing repetitive tasks such as walking, taking a train journey or washing up and these actions have got the ideas moving again rather than getting bogged down in word.
I had my monthly project meeting with Maurice Carlin at Islington Mill and its really good to get his feedback and advise on my plans. As we were talking I could see how I was forcing parts of the residency programme to fit with the crowd funding campaign and this set the alarm bells ringing. What I love about Maurice is how he always brings the focus back to what is essentially most important about this residency and questions other parts that could be time consuming distractions. I wanted to get a second opinion on using the sheds as creative spaces for the visiting Finnish children and had another site visit with Michiko Fujii. Michiko could see the potential of using these temporary spaces and we had a good look around the courtyard space which has lots of interesting materials such as plants, bricks and pots. There are two sheds and I thought that each child could have their own although Michiko suggested thinking in opposites for the inside of the spaces such as hard and soft. I have been thinking that it would be good to have more of a chill out space and the other as a collection/making space.
Not to fall into the trap again of planning to far into the future I need to talk with the artists’ and their families. Later this month I will be meeting Helen Sargeant and her son Naoise at their home to have our first ‘check in’ about there upcoming 2-week residency in Tampere, Finland.
