And farmer’s dream of barley sheaves.” Old English folk song, Anon
As a child we had singing at our small country school and this was one of the songs we learnt. There are swallows nesting in the woodshed here at Cold Keld. They bombard one if disturbed in their feeding tasks.
This is our last day on this our first residential stay at Cold Keld. Belongings packed and house tidied.
My morning is spent thinking of the domestic space and our idea of what constitutes a home. These thoughts link way back to the beginning of the MA when I was making videos of the performance of domestic tasks. I was interested in how I perform myself and if and how it relates to my gender. How much of it I learnt from my same gendered parent or other ancestors.
I thought to make shelters from things that could be found nearby. Initially using found pieces of wood nestled amongst the grass. Then I tried some stones to make tiny spaces only big enough for insects or faerie folk, and started to decorate them to make a semblance of comfort. As an aside I wondered whether the three of us could be like ‘The three little pigs’ with houses of straw, wood and stone.
I’m not sure how all of these thoughts link together to create a path. I guess I have to explore each of them, and a way forward may emerge. The whole experience of being here makes me think about the possibities of a life with fewer creature comforts and the pleasures of a communal way of life. A small time period like this gives insufficient experience upon which to base a judgment.
It is interesting that the physical environment of the house: with peeling paint and poor heating, a bit dirty and unhygienic: can become somewhere to feel comfortable and unconcerned. I think there is something about ‘not having responsibility for the physical upkeep of the place’ beyond the day-to-day tasks, which makes it easier to immerse oneself in the tasks of thinking about and making art. It is like the difference between working at home and having a studio to work in. We can always be distracted by things that need our attention at home, whereas, in a studio we are there for the specific purpose of work.
I hope to upload more visual content when I have more reliable access to wifi.
