studio

automatic writing: 30 minutes/ day (includes reflection on the written text)
dialogue time: 1 hour/ day
reading: > 1 hour/ day
"making hours": 1 hour 30 minutes/ day
walk: 1 hour/ day (also on Friday)
daily reflection: 15 minutes/ day

= 16 hours 45 minutes/ week

*october: "blind date" with codarts, also part of studio time

I will start my days with 30 minutes of automatic writing/ reflection, inspired by one of the classes in P3. The idea is to set a timer for about 25 minutes and to write anything. At the end, I will read and contemplate on what I have written down. This exercise is meant as a warm-up exercise for the day, since it doesn't require a lot of active creative thinking. The goals are (1) to get rid of any thoughts that aren't helping the process, (2) to get more comfortable writing and getting thoughts/ feelings on paper, (3) to help with creative blocks, as I might find lines of thought that I would like to keep working with. I don't know if I will share the results.

For the dialogue time, I decided to enter conversation with my grandmother. The 10 year anniversary of her death is nearing, which I am only now even beginning to process. Even after a decade, I wouldn't be too shocked if she were to walk into the room now. After she passed, most of her things where thrown out or donated. Among the things saved were her knitting needles and crochet hooks, and this makes me wonder if this had to do with me picking up these skills years later. As I grow older, I find that I am growing up to be more like her, in personality and role in the family. This dialogue is meant to recover what was lost and discover more about her and, in turn, myself.

There is not really a requirement for what kind of book to read, fiction or non-fiction, I will just look at the pile of unread books next to my bed and choose from those. The point is to discover multiple styles of writing and plots. A year and a half ago, I rediscovered my interest in writing, and to write I must read. Like the automatic writing exercise at the start of the day, this is also where I can find out new ideas to maybe work with someday.

This time is reserved for working on physical projects, which can be textiles, photography, texts, etc. I will start with continuing something I started during P2 last year, namely filet crochet. This is a specific, "vintage" style of crochet in which one works with a grid pattern. During P2 I made a small cloth with this technique, and I loved the mix of creativity and logical, mathematical thinking, so now my plan is to make a larger tapestry. The first few days/weeks I will probably be researching topics and designing the grid. The outcomes of filet crochet tapestries always feel quite religious to me, so I think it is interesting to consider this theme. This time may also be used for other projects, if they come up.

Each day I will go on a walk of at least an hour. This is something that has been part of my "practice" for a long time, so it is realistic to include in the studio time. During the walks, I listen to audiobooks and music, and let my thoughts wander. Sometimes I take pictures. Of course there is a big mental difference between letting one's thoughts stray while sitting behind a desk and while being on the go, but I haven't formulated in words exactly what this difference is. I hope to find out more during this term.

At the end of each day, I will reflect on how things went, whether some things need changing, what I got done during the day. This will be of help to me, because I tend to work, struggle, and then go about things the exact same way the next day. This way I will be more active in figuring out and improving my learning process and studio time.

class 25/9 (time wallet: 2 hours 45 minutes)

During this class everyone presented their initial plans for the term. Two ideas I was given during my presentation: (1) find items knitted by my grandmother and fix the ones that are torn. I really like this idea. If I can find such things in my aunt's and uncle's house, I will definitely ask, but I think I will leave my grandfather alone about this. (2) as part of the conversations with my grandmother, I can enter conversation with myself, considering that I have somewhat grown into her personality and role in the family. This is something I will definitely incorporate.

a source I like for these kinds of patterns is the Antique Pattern Library. I will probably be consulting this website a lot while designing the filet crochet grid, as they have a lot of nice examples.

The daily schedule isn't working for me. I cannot switch between activities like this and be creative at the same time. My solution to this issue is that the schedule at the beginning of this page should not to be taken literally anymore, but as a sort of symbol of the amount of time I will be spending on those activities overall.
Also, I will be continuing the automatic exercises, but my idea from now on is that this time can also be spent on any other type of writing activity. This is a choice I will make each day.