Once upon a time….

There was a story. The first story; exciting, mischievous, daring. It danced about the world, flitting from mind to mind, whispering its secrets into the ears of those who would listen, always expanding, growing, teaching. Where it alighted, it left a part of itself behind and all these parts also went skipping out across the world. Women told the stories to their children to give them knowledge, guidance and hope. Men told them around their campfires to give each other courage and strength. Lovers whispered them to each other to deepen their bond. They were told in the lowliest hovels and the grandest palaces. And always the stories were free; free to change and grow. Throughout the world new stories sprang up and danced.

But one day men came with nets and spears and hunted down the stories. They caught them and pinned them into books, crushing their spirit and bleeding their lifeblood. They moulded them to suit their own thoughts and beliefs, sanitising and crippling their power. The stories could no longer change and their strength and meaning soon passed into history.

But the stories remained there, waiting, biding their time.

And now there is a rustling, a soft susurrus as the stories awaken and return to life. They are peeling themselves from the pages where they have slept for so long and are preparing to dance…….

Well, we're 6 weeks into the residency and I finally have a direction to go in. I'm planning on making a series of mixed media sculptural creations (yes, the terminology could do with refining!) based on fairy stories and the messages behind them. I'm exploring lots of different materials and processes which is great fun. The problem is going to be deciding on which ones to use. Although I have spent the last 5 years focusing on blacksmithing and steel sculpture, my degree was in 3D Craft, so it's great going back to playing with lots of other techniques and materials. I spent today finding out how much I'd forgotten about slip casting in ceramics and managed to produce a couple of reasonable pumpkins (no prizes for guessing which story they are for!) I'll ignore the 2 that found their way into the bin.

It's the first year Staffs Uni has hosted AA2A artists and there have been a few teething problems. Our access to workshops has been restricted due to communication problems, which has been frustrating. It's getting resolved slowly, so hopefully we will be able to use all the workshop facilities we need by the end of the month.

I am still trying to work out how to upload images, but will post some pictures once I've sussed it.