Residency: lessons learnt

Lessons learnt from residency

Asking for residency

-be confident, succinct, explain that not knowing what you will produce is normal and not a reflection of not being serious about the process.

-show examples of previous work

-provide and artists statement

-set and be clear about specific dates of events, eg when you will be attending, handing over statements, available for talks, hand out contact details to improve trust and transparency. Provide references if needed- I said I was part of known art school which leant credibility and local interest to the project

-offer something, make it clear you intend the public/involved parties will get something out of it, I suggested a mosaic photobook

-ask to be mentioned in newsletters so that interested parties know what is going on

-if you ask for input from building users/public, be specific about what you’re interested in knowing, it helps them open up (I asked to know personal stories about what the church meant to them as a place of reflection, this was too broad)

-ask directly why people like a space, people like opening up about where they choose to spend their time. What’s special about it?

-Expect the unexpected: people will want to know what you’re doing, don’t really on people looking on blog

-Leaving business cards doesn’t work

-Ask if people would like to see your workings/experiments, what you see as rubbish/mistakes, interests others and helps them understand how you develop ideas

-taking photos not only helps record but helps you identify what your themes/interests are

- people like to see things BIG, not just photocopied in a note book

Developing ideas

-wikipedia!! This links from one page to another, this way I ended up learning about liturgical calendars, women bishop laws, coming across all kinds of terminology I’d never heard of and imagery linked to the church that stimulated ideas.

-don’t feel bad about spending lots of time researching, ideas came out of this Agnus Dei->I then came across a music script in a

-the process will come, daft scribbles or making a mess will leave things to settle and ideas and experiments will come. Making bad uncomfortable pieces helps clarify what feels right

-ask feedback from others about what they like/don’t like about a piece

-asking people/friends if they would like see what you’re doing helps you practice explaining in different ways what you’re doing, how you’re working and the ideas behind it, doing this lots of times, helps clarify and improve confidence in what you’re doing

-trial and error- eg using go pro too complicated, risk of theft, looked even though small too intrusive and ‘’blinking’, be sensitive to other users, this meant I had to find alternative ways of recording photos/footage

-get expert help but also wing it, I looked up a stop-motion app that my phone could use, it could do square format that I like, turns out there are forums for sharing work, that I then used the imotion to record in other places which has ended up giving me enough footage for a mini-film

Starting point:

Circles in tree of life photo, circle in hallway entranceway, baptismal font,

Arches: baldaccino,

Lines: organ,

Light/dark: columns, acoustic ceiling, wood panelling vs concrete,

Contrast: boiled sweet colours-primary, strong, simple

Colour and symbolism: blue (sea/sky)

Senses affected: smell (fragrance of dust- reminiscent and evocative of grandparents house-memory), incense- frankincense, sight: has to adjust from dark to light, touch: cool not cold on skin- constance of temperature,

What did I produce?:

a series of experimental drawings, with regular geometric patterns from circles