having persuaded the dog to let me type i turn my thoughts to creating this post in which i catch up with the last few weeks. i glance over to the dog who has taken up her spot in the window to survey the passing world. i can see patches of blue within light grey sky.
another long look out the window while i contemplate the post. i’m trying to find a way in which to link back to the holiday and then reflect on the weeks since then.
for our holiday we travelled to northumberland and our week away was spent walking and taking in the stunning beaches. i played and made and enjoyed trashy tv at dinner time.
since the holiday i’ve started voluntering again in my local park, the first day included clearing some low branches of an english oak tree and i kept a little of the wood to practice more whittling.
our forest school sessions are now being run in partial darkness and this proves to be an extra level of excitement for the children. this year we’re starting to see child led ghost storey telling and i’m enjoying this alot
i’ve been working more at the museum and art gallery in derby. recently i was invited to deliver a music instrument making workshop, part of the world cultures project sharing day. i explored if a thumb piano was suitable to be made in a drop in session and after consideration and conversation concluded it was best suited to a bookable session.
for the sharing day i proposed shakers based on the shaker within the collection. i made sure that each visitor was able to make choices about shape, decoration, filling and number of shakers they made. this is in keeping with my on going practice of steam based activities. steam is pivotal within the silk mill museum of making project and i’m looking forward to taking the conversations about steam and it’s implementation further.
to finish with i have some fantastic news. last week derby museums trust achieved runner up in the heart of the community category of the east midlands heritage awards. the award was for the silk mill museum in miniature project in which collection objects were taken into a derby hospital for patients to hold and be the the starting points of conversations. the project was investigating if well being of the patients could be improved for the visit of the museum in miniature. i was part of the team that created the project and delivered the sessions on site in partnership with the air arts practitioners based at the hospital.
i so wanted the project to be the overall winner.
after processing my disappointment i realise the project is an award winning project.
