I was sent an image today of my wings – from one of the students that came to see our work in Small Projects.
They were picking the wings off the floor to study and although I said they could take them away to photograph, I wasn’t sure if I would get a response.
It’s nice that people want to keep in touch and to be part of mywork. I think it was also the boost I needed to get myself in gear again.
It will probably be a few more days before I sit down and fully assess our experiences in Tromso. I’m still adjusting…
The journey back was yet again a full days travel – from leaving Small Projects at 09.30, to arriving at home just before midnight. Flying from Gatwick added 5 hours to the journey, which at the time prompted me to ask -. Would I go via there again?
It would depend on funding I suppose.
I had to go back to work yesterday… and now I have to prepare for a children’s workshop on Sunday. Ho Hum… yes – we lead different lives…
I’d prepared a PowerPoint presentation before I left the UK, but it was mainly about the Tate (as requested) and how the group started up etc.
I wasn’t really expecting to talk too much about the work I had brought with me, as I could do that in the gallery space.
A quick change of plan though, meant that I spent the afternoon trying to add a few images from my web page to the PowerPoint, while not only struggling with the Norwegian keyboard – but also with an apple Mac that I’d never used before either.
After explaining our association with Tate and how we work as a group, I started on how I had got to my present work, using images from a recent children’s workshop I’d run to explain the process.
This lead to a show of hands. Why did I do workshops? Why are they for children? Why do I work in an office? Why aren’t I just an artist?
The last day in Tromso was a lazy sort of wind down day…well, the morning and afternoon were anyway! Spent the morning visiting Blast : http://blaast.no/ a glass design company, at which three women were demonstrating the art of glass blowing and design.
Although I didn’t see any references to Sami ( or Reindeer!) in their work, I could see the constant use of the triangular shape, which is echoed in much of the architecture of the area. I want to use this in some of my own work in future.
It*s our last full day here today and it looks like yet again, we have a full programme of activities!
Before doing anything though, I must apologise to Jet’s wife for not spelling her name correctly in this blog. Although pronounced Lena, it is in fact – Line.
OK, that done…an account of yesterday*s events…
Line picked us up from the gallery to take us to Polaria, where we were to see the infamous ‘Reindeer dance’. I think I was expecting some sort of Pantomime, as there were so many families with very young kids in the audience.
Sat and waited in an auditorium with a triple screen in front of a stage, while dry ice started billowing form the sides.
The centre screen erupted first, with images of reindeer accompanied, by what I can only describe as Bjork type music.
Two contemporary dancers appeared on the screen, performing among the reindeer. While everyone was mesmerised by the screen, the two dancers appeared, in person, on the stage in front.
It was an absolutely spellbinding performance, with the children in the audience sitting silently watching, only occasionally moving to mimic the movements of the dancers. I cannot believe for one second that we would be able to stage anything similar in England, in front of a family audience.
From Polaria, we were dropped off at Tromso Museum, Universitetsmuseet . Firstly visiting a more in-depth Sami exhibition, following the route of Sami culture to present day.
From here, we tried to text our next host – Anne Marie, only to find the network down and we couldn’t contact anyone at all. Looking at the heavy snow falling outside, and being so far from the city centre, we tried to weigh up the alternatives.
Half an hour and several tries later, we eventually saw a van making numerous attempts to get up the hill, before sliding down again. Yep – Anne Marie.
She took us to her house, which, from the front, looked just like a hut in a forest. The inside was warm and welcoming though, with nic naks and artworks stuffed into every available space. She was obviously a collector.
The back of the house had huge windows, that looked out to sea, and her back porch ( decked out and covered) was laden with drift wood that she had collected from the beach.
She then presented us with a glass each of Harveys sherry, before bringing out a huge pot of meat soup, that she probably spent half the morning cooking. To which I had to apologise again for not being able to eat.
Silence …and cheese and crackers were plonked in front of me : (
We were there for quite a few hours, talking about our work….opening a bottle of red wine….sharing an apple strudel. All of the time, staring out at sea with the backdrop of fjords.
It was too late to go anywhere else, so armed with strap on spikes for our wellies that Anne Marie had lent us, she took us to the bus stop for our journey back.
Artist, among other things
