This week I finally concluded my workshop by burning the worry dolls at a bonfire on the beach which I organised and paid for with both creative arts groups invited. Truthfully I was reluctant to go through with this event, believing it’d be easier to just throw out the dolls and leave it at that. However, I’m incredibly happy with how it turned out, the process running smoothly and finding a lot of relief and comfort.
One element that really stuck with me is how I barely remembered what I wrote on the cards, in fact, few people did. What held so much weight on our lives at the time now doesn’t matter. I considered how ridiculous it all is, how something could cause so much stress that a few months down the line means little to nothing to me and how in the grand scheme of things very few things do so why on earth consume yourself with so much negativity over anything. Nothing matters.
In this week’s workshop, we focused on “now”, exploring our senses at the moment through meditation, smelling leaves, touching dirt and eating ginger to form a collective self-awareness of ourselves and the environment which in turn encouraged us to focus on our projects as they currently are at their base instead of their meaning, what they represent and what they could be, which in turn cleared our minds and prevented us from getting carried away with ideas of what could be. Reflecting on this I showed how I depicted this exercise through drawings on a till receipt highlighting the main point of progress when creating the clay sculptures.
While I understand the meaning and intentions of this section of the workshop, much like my other attempts at meditation in the past I found it to be relatively ineffective as while I focus on the meaning of my work heavily I also equally pay attention to the pieces current states and appreciate the physical elements that go into it.
In addition to this, we also began planning the structure of our PowerPoint to be presented on Pecha Kucha at 20 x 20 for our workshop proposal based on the theme of life, while relating to our solo project. For this, I decided to ask the question: How do you perceive life? To which the members will then create clay sculptures on how they perceive life which would presumably alter as more questions are asked throughout the workshop, such as: Are you taking into consideration others in your definition or solely focused on yourself?
Since I was chosen for last term’s workshop I don’t want to be chosen again as I’d like someone else to have the opportunity.
Furthermore, I’m really struggling with the requirements of this workshop in regards to creating 20 slides as my concept simply doesn’t take up that much explanation
Finally, this week we began group organisation for the Takeover by deciding who will work on which elements, such as social media, advertising, front desk e.t.c
I held no preference for where I wanted to work specifically finding I had ideas for each group and with a much larger group overall this year it was acknowledged how quickly roles were filled, so I’ve put forward that I’ll be happy to help out whether needed with any group and task taking into consideration that I may struggle with the responsibilities of a set role as I’m working on multiple projects currently and starting a new job.
Overall, I’ve found this week relatively easygoing, believing I’ve settled into the routine of my project and solidified myself in what I’ve been claiming the meaning of my work to be throughout this project, leading to a positive and content state of mind.