session 1 tasks

collecting and storing are already an established habit so the focus for me will be working out my "manifesto" - wrong term as far as i'm concerned but the right one is elusive

for me it's the what, how, why and where - and i need to establish some rules and limits to encourage focus - one thing i have really accepted lately is that small achievable targets are much better for me so i need to bear that in mind

where this is the point of the course as it is about recording "my place" - at the moment i feel it is about my recent and new experience of exploring the area around my home - i have a rough idea of the geography, it's the area within which i take my daily walks, mostly without using the car - 

that's roughly it - i need to firm up the boundaries on the map, but i know where they are in my mind - the pink area is moot - it's the golf course which has only been available for part of the time and i relied on the car to get to the starting point of the walk 

i tend to stick to footpaths as rough ground is a bit risky due to dodgy balance - it's also rather wet and claggy at this time of year

basically an urban area with patches of nature in varying states

what is the stuff i find, collect and already have - i might collect physically, but also photographically and mentally as thoughts, ideas and images - also included is the parts of my stash which i feel appropriate by way of textile supplies

it is also what i aim to produce - while being process led i know i want to end up witha a useful product, something which has a purpose other than just decorative - so i think my aim will be small vessels or containers, like cloth pots and/or wraps for small items, books etc

to be continued

 

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?)