Following the first test workshop Viv reported a number of things. She suggested that it maybe better to have a looser take on the weave idea. That weave could also been seen as stitch. That we could take photos of a product making process (not necessarily related to weaving), which we could weave together into a display. Some did weave the bookmark Viv had designed, enjoyed the process but said that would not want to do it again!
The group Viv worked with were comfortable doing card making and when Dot presented her ideas for the 8th July there was the possibility of merging these card making skills with Dot’s ideas. One thing we may develop is by way of identifying groups particular interests and finding ways of integrating our artistic visions to incorporate their ideas/ interests. So the idea that a group likes card making and that in any project they would want to use this – the challenge for us would be to see a way of extending their use of this basic skill and making this into something more.
The idea for the 1st August Fun Day at Pollards Hill and the 10th birthday celebration on 28th July at New Addington could be to make a frame and ask the kids to weave through this. This could also be a solution for the adults. The idea for adult workshops could be that we ‘warp up the loom’ so that participants would just need to weave. The option could be there for participants to learn warping if they wanted.
In terms of delivering this project we may find that with some groups we just produce a product and with others we focus on an artistic piece and do not try and integrate the two? Viv was suggesting that there was a weave element to the felt making we have done and that this could be introduced.
At the end of our conversation Viv said she has found a flower loom in her shed and that she would be testing out with this. I think we both recognised that the brief set is not easy in the time we have and the groups we are working with but I for one am confident that Viv and Dot and hopefully other artists we engage will come up with something good!!
