On the Retreat

Today is day two of the retreat, so far we have walked a lot and recorded a lot.
Day One: on arrival we immediately began to orientate ourselves with a series of workshops in the morning:

The first was a talk walk, where each person took a turn to lead the group for one minute: describing what was happening.

Then we met Zoe Steven's from the National Trust, who told us some of Ilam's tales and histories.

Next was a group drawing/animation exercise, where in a circle drawings were made of the 360 degree view, to be made into an animation later.

Then a listening exercise, to focus on the difference between listening and hearing, trying to listen for different distances, and noticing the change in sound.

Finally for the morning, a talk on artist's books, and how to gather content for the show, and possibilities for what to collect and make.

All that in one morning.

For the afternoon, we returned to the classroom, where Tim Knowles gave a talk about his practice, and in particular where walking sits, before heading out on a group walk: where each of us aimed to record or approach the walk in a different way.

We started off all together, but soon everyone was spread out recording their own journey.

We ended with a conversation about where ideas were heading, what was standing out, and what we were noticing.

Day Two started bright and early with discussion on what we would each spend the morning doing: some group walks were established, some individual exploring activity, and some wandering.

In the afternoon, groups of 3 students and 1 staff member discussed ideas, how to move them on, and what needed to be done today, and tomorrow to maximise time here.

This evening we will be going on a night walk together.