Observations: Session 6

Today we talked about putting on a brave face. I shared a cloth book I made when travelling in India.  Inside the book was stuffed tiny objects I collected along the way.  I shared too a prayer doll I made for a friend who was not well, and a doll of myself.  We talked about wrapping and unwrapping.  Wishing ourselves and others well.

Paula Tew, Textile Artist, assisted on the session, and set up a digital tablet, as a way of documenting the  activity around the table.  She also placed on the materials table a small paper mache doll she had made of her history, photographs and images of self, family and friends.  The tiny papery blue figure sat in the centre of the table, arranged with the women's journals and a rather scary looking old rag doll.  We discussed the possibility of taking portrait photographs of all us participating and I used my Olympus Digital Pen camera which offered the option of taking images with a selected inbuilt art filter.  Everyone was very brave and chose their own setting, from Pop Art, Sepia, Grainy Black & White to Soft Focus.  I look rather orange said one, like I have to been to the local tanning shop.  Each of us decided on what the image would depict.  The portrait prints can be used to fit inside story pages of each book, or make a small story doll figure.

"I really noticed how negative I was when I first came to the sessions and my book reflected that, now I am focusing on the positive aspects of my life.  I've really changed."

"I can see how I'm feeling, what makes me happy, the places I go which make me feel relaxed" she said gently.

There is talk about ourselves as children, of mothers who told us there are no such things as fairytales, and now as mothers experiencing how children change our lives and how we respond to the disruption, disappointments, joys and challenges.  We stand the books up and look around and inside the pages...and discuss how individual they are...

There's only one of me!

"Looking through your journal you can tell each week what emotion you've gone through"...

Identity : Session 5

My Time My Space sessions ingredients are always the same, a warm, quiet, supportive environment, a table laid beautifully, with different materials to inspire thoughts and possible conversations.  To begin this session there is arranged on the table some vintage magazines - 'Women's Realm' which a friend gave to me to share with the group.  I share too a memory book I made for a hospital project, colourful crammed full pages, wrapped in the softest black leather from an old chair.  I originally made the book thinking if lost my memory and couldn't recall my life, that I would hope someone would find the book, show me the pages and I would know myself once more.  Inside the book is lots of pictures from my travels to Japan.  We agree next week to have fun and bring out the camera to take portraits of ourselves to create art dolls.

We begin by exploring ideas of places we were inspired by..and times enjoyed.  Cutting from old magazines, newspapers, birthday cards and photocopied images, collaged pages become memory stories.

A memory tree is made, the beginnings of a wishing game, a imaginary journey and a golden faraway shore. 

Reflection : Session 4

Last week the nation celebrated the Queen's Diamond Jubilee which meant no My Time, My Space session. It is grey and overcast on the bank holiday Monday, and I felt the need for some quiet time in nature.  A walk in the rain drenched landscape involves finding a path through the abundant crop field and we head towards one of his favourite wooded enclaves off the beaten track.  Looking up we see a deer standing still, on the edge of the woodland, watchful, alert, ready to flee.  We cross the boundary fence and quietly trace our steps through nettles, shade, trees and overgrown pathways.  I decide to dedicate the time to the MTMS women and imagine we are connecting on the journey. Along the way I discover flint, wood, fern cones, a delicate branch rich with lichen and a handful of moss.  I place my findings in my whicker basket and feel the weight of the fragrant damp collection and decide to take to the next MTMS session and create the woodland feel.
   

Woodland offerings, colourful pearlescent inks for reflection, fragrant essential oils to clear, uplift & calm.

 I bring the collection of woodland findings to the session and re-create a woodland feel, there is relaxation music playing as women enter - a Japanese garden wood flute CD, with nature arrangement on an offerings table, and on the creativity table, inks, paper & fragrant essential oils. I tell the story of my woodland walk in the rain and invite the writing of an imaginary story One Day I went for a Walk.... We all begin writing in different coloured pens, pathways to somewhere special, in a landscape or an environment that comes to mind, maybe with someone we care about, a special journey, a time and place, somewhere that is unique to each of us, perhaps finding along the way small offerings or treasures.  For some it is possible to scribble thoughts on throw away paper, then fold them small and place within their journals; for another it is a place to just sit and sip tea. 

I'm not sure how long I can stay...

We discuss experimenting, seeing what happens when large amounts of water are drizzled and dripped, when brushes soaked with water is applied to create inky painterly patterns with thoughts of past and present.

"It just looks a mess to me!" she said brightly.

Conversation traces themes of home, work, money, learning, relationships, childhood & motherhood...patterns of daily life, the need for routine, personal space, individuality

A memory of a special place & time...

....experienced from different perspectives!

A time to transform negative to positive!

Looking down at my own piece of paper I am horrified to see that the inks don't do anything as I had expected. I look around and see beauty unfolding and amazing paintings, and observe that we could get rich selling the artworks as French impressionist masters. There is laughter and we discuss expectations and fears, how history affects and colours our present.  Swishes of turquoise, magenta and greens mix with murmerings of dark memories and ideas for change as colours swirl.  

We acknowledge what we think are the most important things to hand on to our children...LOVE, RESPECT & TIME.

"I am going to make memory boxes for my children,
 so when I am gone they will know who I am really am " she said...

With thanks to health visitor Judith for baking and sharing the wonderful jubilee cup cakes.  We clear the table and decide women sharing with others is a really positive thing and a small seed of a plan unfolds of how to continue to meet after the ten MTMS sessions completes. There is the exciting news that textile artist, Paula Tew will be joining MTMS too, bringing her love of textiles, contemporary printmaking and Japanese culture to four sessions.