beginnings

 a new course, a new blog - just for me to record what i am doing and thinking 

trying to achieve some focus and purpose

lockdown has been something of a release for me - for once everyon is limited in what they can do and where they can go - i've been like that for 20 years so suddenly opportunities are opening up to enable those who would normally be out & about to carry on and access he stuff they are used to - for me that has opened doors which i could not even get to let alone through!

this Place Making course with Alice Fox is an example of that - and it is bringing together participants from all round the country as well as overseas - fabulous - i really hope we make the most of the opportunity and build on opportunities to exchange ideas from a distance 

this morning was the first session and i will say more about that later - this is simply an opening ramble to get down some of my thinking around doing this course 

i've finally started to explore my own surrounding area a bit more recently - taking walks to increase my physical activity, very gradually, for various health-related reasons 

a by-product of that is that i am getting to know the area and my own "environment" has expanded - it just struck me that untitll i started the walks my main environment was indoors, home, kitchen focused - but i now feel increasingly familiar with the neighbourhood - it would be good to be able to record that transition in some way and this course gives me a good starting point for that

some of the things which have gone before and could help me on the way: 

• collection found objects and materials
• eco and natural dying classes and experience 
• attempts at nature-art
• learning to look and notice
• improvising and making from what is available
• a life-time of dabbling
• having time on my hands
• curiosity
• learned to focus more on process than end product (i'd like to reflect the process more in the product somehow, or is it inherent?)