Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Moved in and working



The ACAD summer residence began yesterday. I am recording my progress here warts and all, I think that some of the negative feelings I have this morning might improve as I settle in... so don't be too upset if you are reading this-Contextural.  Move in day was on Sunday and that was very pleasant with lunch and safety and security briefing given by the very able members of Contextural.  The participants were all there barring one who is away from Calgary right now I guess.
The group is a mixture but the over-riding theme is 'previous or current attendance at ACAD'.  So I was particularly pleased that there is at least one participant other than me who didn't attend here.  Otherwise I would be a very lonely outsider.

We have access to much of the fibre facilities.  Studio space is ample and almost embarrassing compared to what I have worked in before and as they said, one of the problems is that there is so much space the participants rattle around and can feel a bit lonely.  So I was very pleased that there were 4 of us in here yesterday (out of a possible more than a dozen this might seem scant, but many will be in in the evenings when I go home).  I did a 6 hour stint and it felt very good. Although I can see that there will be some irritations.  I think it healthy to record the good the bad and the ugly here and review them later - hopefully to encourage me to take part next year.
Good feeling about:-
Great studios - light and spacious
Lovely staff, very helpful and knowledgeable and accommodating
Great facilities - (If you want to be a screen printer), I did know ahead of time that I wouldn't have access to paper-making machines.  There is plenty of room for wet work and safe preparation of my dyed paper pulp, as well as light space for sewing.
Free wireless internet access, great for info searches... eg., Just what is an induction cooker?
Good to get going on making larger paper pieces.
Library - tear jerkingly excellent.
Shop - selling many things including the expensive but extremely safe industrial green gloves.
I have a lovely view from my section of the home studio (see image above)

This is what I am working on as I wait for the pulp to absorb the KMnO4
Bad feeling about:-
Being an outsider of an in-group, although they are a lovely bunch of folks and have best endeavours to make one feel part of it all.
Being new to the environment, like starting a new job - don't know where the photocopier is or even if I have access to it... which I don's simply because I don't have a means to pay.
Door security is ridiculous... I can't walk across from the home (dry) studio to the paper-making place or even go to the loo, or fill a kettle for a cuppa without locking and unlocking the home studio door... which involves an awkward padlock type code, and key, and two hands.
Am I not allowed to do anything wet in home studio.... eg., artwork... and I like to wet work sketches with resist and water -colour and so on... It would be so nice to do this in the home room, but I will have to do it in the paper-making room (this has been sorted out already via a quick word with Tara... I can paint in home studio... great.
Need stuff from home... (this will become less of a hurdle in time, as I get bits and pieces in that I forgot on move in day)
Tables are too high for the chairs -  this is a really bad thing when you are only 4' 11"
There are no sockets near my desk - working on an adjacent table to do this, need extension cable for sewing machine I guess.
No communal bench/shelf to plug kettle in, except on someone's work table.... this is drawback for a British person addicted to the stuff, and for the person whose table I commandeer.

That's all for today...  Except to repeat that this post might read a bit negative.... I don't feel too negative and things will get better as I find my way around and solve a few of the minor irritations.

2 comments:

arlee said...

will we see anything Wed? :)

all those points and more, good and bad, were my experience there last summer...

Karin Millson said...

See What??? See here....