my view out of the window this morning is one of wind blown tress, overcast sky and eldest daughter cleaning her rat’s cage. its the last week of the holidays and i’ve had to abandon plans of editing this morning.
throughout june, july and august i’ve been job sharing the lifelong learning assistant (lla) role at derby museums. i’ve enjoyed the role and just about ok with being unsuccessful at interview for the post until march next year.
the role at the museum has seen me working with the other learning facilitators of the museum, people i would rarely see or talk with. this experience has helped me to gain a bit more of a perspective on my own approach to the role of learning facilitator, one that continues on beyond the cessation of covering the lla.
in august i took part in figment derby. i went very low tech with my work fun with shapes : analog drawing machine. this work potentially can be recreated at other figment festivals collaborating with local artists and volunteers. if nothing else it’ll be a new experience for me. the worst that can happen is they’ll say no.
while in the role of lla i’ve also been filming and recording audio for the non linear film commission i have. in my last post about it i talked a bit about the process and made positive sounds about it. now i’m a little further forward i can see that at times making a non linear film is much more difficult than a linear one.
with the non linear film i think i’ve been through the hardest part of the process and now have a vision of how the film could be. i think most of the filming and sound recording has been completed. i suspect i have some specific things i want to capture and i’ll confirm this as i put the film together.
a recent development in my practice is the addition of another webspace. this is something i’ve been considering since january and a recent volunteering opportunity cohered my need for an online space. within it i can house my non linear films and coded works. it’s only a couple of weeks old so i’m still working out the details of the space and look forward to share it with you in the future.
part of my contingency thinking when applying for the on going lla role was to connect with volunteering opportunities currently available at derby museums. i’d noticed how being involved with getting out of the house and talking with people had lifted my mental health and wellbeing and as difficult this is to talk about feel it important to talk about it.
there’s something to look forward to in november. a project i was involved with last year has been shortlisted for an award. we have to go to the awards evening to find out if we have been honoured with an award.
so casting an eye of july and august i’ve been busy, seen, learnt and took part. the hope of three days a week work didn’t work out and once again i have to work hard at finding work. i felt belief in myself and my ability and begun developing a new digital space to play within and exhibit works and ideas. i’ve started to once again explore if what i’m practicing is understood by me and acknowledge that often a fragile mental state impacts greatly on what i belief i can do. being the job share lla this summer has shown me that when in a position of being able to do something i can do it and do it well.
so … i continue to practice getting into a position of being able to do something,
