Arts based workshops reviewed

The other day I had one of my arts based workshops reviewed. According to this small sample, I am pretty much a total boss at arts based workshops. Writing a survey, and choosing targets wisely....less so. But why the review to start with?

I live in a perpetual state of maybe-write-a-grant. Retrospectively, I've had no overwhelmingly expensive artists' dream to enhance the lives of Australians through public arts and I've never really gone looking for one. My materials needs are inexpensive and I legitimately enjoy my non-industry job, which provides ample income for any artist-based cash-splashy ventures....for now.
Life is full of surprises, though, so I also don't discount that one day all of these things will happen. One day, maybe soon, I will be sitting down to dissect exactly why I should be chosen above all others to be funded to have my ideas realised.

It was suggested that I do some surveys of the workshops as examples of my current practice. That fits in so well with the educational background which demands reflection and the artistic background that demands critique. It just makes total sense!

 As lovely followers of these posts would know, I have been hosting arts based workshops. One set in particular was a series of three textile-based (!) workshops for the Wirraglen Support Group, an organisation of home-schooled students in the Granite Belt District. For the last one I put together (very quickly) a survey of the workshop for the students to fill out and gave them a bunch of connecter pens and pencils to help the picture get interesting, if they were more comfortable with pictures.

The results were great! Total confidence boost, but not much to work with....On reflection, I should have given the parents an adults' one. I honestly just thought of that as I was writing this, so....I guess that's what they call it a learning journey. Not "a learning centre where you have all the knowledge of the world directly downloaded into your brain", which is what it might be called in the science-tastic future. Currently though, it's the sucky right now and I still have to reflect and evaluate :(

Clearly I will need to spend further time on tracking down/writing a more targeted series of questions.

Now, please prepare yourselves for the heartwarming sincerity parade that is my workshop evaluation forms! I think a lot of germs were passed on to me today and if I get sick in the next fortnight, I will look at this, and still think 'it was worth it'.

The Words.



To conclude, everyone knows how to copy the word 'embroidery' from the blackboard and they all jabbed themselves in the finger. I am reading this as: 'Everyone in the workshops had the situational awareness to follow a visual prompt and the resilience to continue after receiving negative stimulus (pain) from a task'.
A few scribbled out the "I did not like" section of the comments. The sincerity and vehemence they did this with was uplifting.

The Diagrams. 

     

Happy faces! There are less of these, because not everyone was comfortable with drawing a picture. I promise! Nothing like this:

...which I found in 2010 when I was recycling some old visual art journals. Who drew this and where they are now will always be a mystery.

The reflection.

Next time;

• Parental surveys
• Photos of finished works
• More targeted questions/drawing prompts for specifics i.e. I found _______ difficult, my favourite part was _________.
• Regular surveys so answering them is not new, I noticed some found it scary/confronting
• Encourage parent participation/assistance in student surveys for a more varied response
• Help with sounding out words, not spoon-feeding the information from a blackboard

Events in September-October

Urg...hands hardening up, sore, turning into claws...

Events in September-October don't look to be slowing down. Here's what we have so far:

Time for holidays! What are you up to?

The school holiday program that is being run by theGRID hybrid arts collective. School holidays begin in QLD for state schools today! theGRID has classes on in the first week. Click on the image for a larger version to peruse what we do (it's pretty extensive) and work out which ages can do what.

I have another workshop coming up at Wirraglen. These are held on the third Wednesday of the month and I am currently busy online sourcing tools for the next one. Have it narrowed down to making a pincushion, intro to embroidery and beading.

The beading is not really my idea, but it's a popular one, and learning hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills is probably more important than a bit of ego and a mild dislike for fiddly beadwork on my part. I have also been given a lot of beads recently, and am happy to see them go. Don't let the door hit your arse on the way out, stupid beads!

Beads donated recently. So many beads.

 ....but I haven't decided. I really like embroidery. I like to drawing pictures on cloth with thread. I am currently trying to source inexpensive 10cm hoops online, approximately two dozen. If anyone has some experience bulk purchasing craft supplies and could point me to a few websites, that would be just fantastic.

Last but definitely not least in this round up is this amazing opportunity, extended by Artslink Queensland. You can go here to see their events line up throughout this year and into the next. Teasing the Domestic is the name of the travelling exhibition that will embark early next year for a twelve month (at least) stint in a number of destinations. According to the beautifully laid out page on their site, Teasing the Domestic "proposes a toast to both the hand-made and the home-made, with a strong cup of tea, a hot twist of irony and a cheeky grin."



I love cheeky grins!

And another feature of this tour is that "the exhibition is accompanied by, amongst other cosy kitchen and crafty resources, a children’s tea party area", which just sounds so welcoming. Available for booking 2013-2014. Bookings are filling up at a respectable rate so, be quick if you're interested!

Arts based workshops, a wrap up.



School holdidays at theGRID

 

 

Over the last couple of months I have been busy developing and delivering arts based workshops locally. These have been met with mixed success. Overall, I am pretty grateful for the opportunity to practice my craft and engage with other like-minded folks in the region.

 



 

September school holiday plan for arts based workshops

I have kept the region limited to South Eastern Queensland, which keeps the driving distances short, but I never travel light so sometimes I have to fit things like this (minus marquee);

HomeFest in Brisbane

....into a small car. I've picked up some tips and tricks in this short time, like understanding the importance of photo release forms and surveys (because if there's not evidence, it didn't happen), and I've also gotten better at getting myself ready for upcoming events (like remembering the camera, and float).

Rugmaking in Highfields

 

 

I also found a satisfactory wholesale supply website for a number of products that I use in bulk. This is an incredibly nerdy sentence, but it means more take-home-and-keep stuff for people that maybe want to finish projects but not drop any serious amount of money on tools or materials.

 







theGRID as part of the residency

I try to have stuff for most age groups, or at least be flexible. Sometimes, people show up and they know more about stuff then me! Glad it's only happened for the free ones so hopefully no one feels ripped off. That would be awkward. It's also good to talk shop and learn things about threads...anyone for some Z-twist wool?! What about some 4ply polyester/bamboo turqiose shibari-dyed blend for a modest cable stitch on double ended size 5 needles? Is that even possible? It's good to be able to ask someone in the know.

 

 

Macrame in Highfields

I've learnt a lot at these arts based workshops from people under ten years old as well. Patience, better listening, stronger multitasking skills, more clarity and adaptability are just the first ones off the top of my head. It's a good balance of challenge and reward and most of the kids dig it too, and will generally be successful at these workshops with a little application and focus. Like life, really. 

 

The four and under crowd still holds huge challenges, because of the disparity between their developmental level and what I was trained for (secondary/technical college).

 

But that's all part of the fun! How do I do a better job of being clear, and making sure everyone succeeds at an individual skill level? Maybe I could get some feedback? How do I frame this for all age groups and literacy levels?

 

...these are the questions of the artist/teacher. And I can't wait to find out some answers!

The manager, the artist, the all of it

The last few weeks have been busy. So busy, in fact, that I've really got to keep on making works. This will hopefully be a quick post, where I will recap on some recent interesting events and discuss what's on the horizon.

Past:
So, I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate in not one, but two documentary series that came to fruitition in August - early September in 2012.
Firstly, Ali Lawson and Ashleigh Bunter, in conjunction with ABC Open created an episod for the A day in the life series, featuring me in my "dual roles" as manager and artist. There's probably more roles I would play in life, like responsible pet owner, daughter, sister, niece, student, confidant, nemesis, common-law wife...but we just covered those first two on this day. Follow this link to fritter away 4:07 minutes of your [work]life and gain a little insight into mine.

As part of my residency at theGRID, Ben Tupas of Oh Darling Downs followed me around intermittantly, interviewed me and then put together this gleaming gem of a short film:

WARNING: This is a dual documentary, as Ben was also keeping an eye on Danish Quapoor's progress throughout our residency. So, 50% of this is about him.

Recently, the number of pop-up workshops I've been holding has increased. The last one was yesterday, at theGRID space in the MARS gallery (it's just so flexible). Here's an insight into the general student process;

WTF crochet?

Last month, I was also invited by the Home Festival crew to take my show on the road- down the hill to Brisbane. I put on a mending workshop, and as a bonus, it was such a beautiful day. I sat in the sun, drank a bunch of chai teas and became the St Johns tent for clothing.

Broken shoe emergency repair.

Present:
Inside Outside is still open until Tuesday the 18th September. In case you weren't aware, it is displayed in the MARS gallery at theGRID hybrid arts collective. humananimal is also open until Tuesday until Quapoor tears it down...

Today was also the official opening of the Imagine you know exhibition at the Toowoomba Regional Arts Gallery. Here is a little bit of press surrounding the opening, which will fill you in on the background. What it won't fill you in on, though, is this piece of amazement;

!

I've cut out bits and pieces, but I think you get the gist.

I'll also be travelling up to Highfields this week to host a workshop for the Wirraglen Support Group. This group is active at the scout hall in Highfields, and the brains behind the organisation are doing some amazing things for kids (and for free). Please follow this link for a PDF on what they're about, and what they do if you live locally.

Future:
Currently, I'm getting together some works for the upcoming Creative Tanks exhibition. Last year was the inaugural event, and it was a really interesting experience. Put on by made. creative space in conjunction with the Carnival of Flowers celebrations, I'll be on show at a local business over the next weekend.

And that brings us to what I really need to be working on. Right now.

Leading up to the woolbombing

On Wednesday last week I began the afternoon sessions leading up to International Yarn Bombing Day. Things have started off slowly, for everyone else. Currently making a lot of everything, as fast as I can! Lots of little flags, cuffs, wraps and 1/3rd of a beanbag chair.

Picnic on the gallery floor

Crochet party of one

 

Thursday and Friday generated a bit of interest and I also got to hog the table on those two days, which isn't a given - the space at theGRID is really well used, at any time in the MARS gallery there's homework doing, grant writing, networking, relaxing etc. all going on in different areas of the room.

Beanbag chair - ambitious project of the week (beanbag bombing)

Kirsty, knitting

Tools, table, Kirsty working on pompom

First rugging workshop

....went well. Nine people learned a new skill, and I have some more information about running a workshop that will ensure things go more smoothly next time (float!). Bought a receipt book and worked out how to use that too.

Especially not looking at the camera here...

The last time I was in a classroom situation it was with...two dozen year tens. It felt wierd to shift gears up a couple of decades, and initially I felt wary of having my back turned on anyone in case they were throwing glue sticks at the ceiling, feeling each other up or texting.

It just wasn't the right crowd for that!

Everybody got into it, hooray!



And as an added bonus, I learned how to french knit from Leanne. Haven't quite worked out the point of creating any length of such a small, uniform tube (anatomy textiles?) but when I think of a good one, you'll know about it.





Leanne running me through the casting on process.