Thanks for joining me here.
It feels important to create opportunities for communication and connection on my own terms and this feels just right. A striking thing I notice about leaving the institution is how solitary my working life is now. It feels as though I am still in the process of deinstituionalising myself.
University gives you a social context–I spoke to people over my working day. I talked with artists about their work, I helped with career planning, and guided academic writing.
And now, I can have a day in my studio in silence. I like silence, but the contrast with university life is stark. There are times when the silence is jarring and I listen to podcasts. Other times, for short bursts, I embrace the silence for meditative introspection. I don’t want to live by solitude alone. There is a sense in which art is activated by the audience, and community therefore, feels important as part of the process of generating art. I draw on mentors and key friends in constructing containers for my ambitions, ideas, and goals. I also draw on my own practices and routines to activate my thinking. It feels important, to have a steady flow of thoughts while I make work.
In turn, this is also what I’m cultivating as another strand in my working life, offering mentoring to artists too. It feels like an important continuation and evolution of my university teaching. In my mentoring I create and hold space for thinking, dreaming, and reflecting. To understand the obstacles we fixate on and work out strategies together for moving around them. I bring my listening ears and my grounded calmness.