ways of thinking and making

responding to some of the ideas and questions posed by Les Bicknell last night.

what i actually do in the process of making: yesterday – open. connect. close. move. listen. take. tape. draw. rub. draw. cut. rub. cut. lift. cut. fold. stack. open. squeeze. roll. align. press. rub. lift. lay. (roll. align. press. rub. lift. lay x 20 times). count. inspect. wash. wipe. sweep. disconnect. open. close…. probably do a lot more. move about unconsciously. lots of thinking. lots of decisions. critical of what i produced. sometimes i need to get that doing out of my system.

what i actually think in the process of making: not sure. make decisions without words. yes and no to different parts of the process. usually thinking of next thing or next step. internal monologue re decisions and thoughts on successful and unsuccessful aspects of my making. how do i begin, i first make room -space and time. how do i know if i should continue. curious to see it through even when it’s not what i want to be doing or i think of something else. when do i know when to stop. exhaustion. or it says something without me having to. seems every now and then i like a process that has a finite end. every other now and then i like an infinite process where it leads on to another idea and way of working. unknown.

my relationship to my practice and my practice relationship to me. making connections with things that interest me: movement. walking. music. place. outdoors. domesticity. feminism. the body. history. personal story. sequence. swimming. freedom. independence. stillness. geography. line. repetition. printing. space. pause. landscape. thread. time. memory … more to be added.

observing and collecting as a methodology. what i’ve collected over the years. some obvious connections that i might revisit or be relevant. others that may come to pass in time. other collections include discarded items of clothing. skips. lost notes and shopping lists.

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why i make work: to see, to understand. to engage. to think. to move (to battle entropy and apathy!)

what i want from my work: as above…for myself and others.

what my work is about: movement, the body. feminism. freedom, boundaries. limits. space. place. indoors and outdoors. landscape.

my audience: anyone willing to look, listen, question – indoors or outdoors

where my work goes: towards more questions.

what i get: more questions. ideas, some understanding, engagement – physically and mentally.

other thoughts on the presentation: understanding coded messages of a time. coded in clothing, movement, gesture.book: performance as book. body as book. video as book. research: collecting a method of working. maybe revisit some areas ive collected.

thanks les