October 2016
My anxiety levels were slightly higher than normal embarking on a new artist in residence with a school and a group of children I had never actually met and would not likely meet for a while yet. When I say meet I mean in person in the actual physical space as opposed to a virtual space. I knew also that I perhaps would have to curtail the scale and approach of what we would create together, the younger children of primary age.
As I began planning what and how we would work together I became more aware of what it is I actually do and how I do it. I now have realised that my first instinctive is to focus on ‘Up’. I enter the classroom and check out the size of the space we are going to be working in. How high is the ceiling, is there piping or plumbing at ceiling height that we can use to build ‘upwards’. How much space between the desks, how many windows, what journey does sun take in classroom throughout the day or does it ever reach this room? These are the questions that preoccupy me as I make my initial visit to the new class prior to actually starting with them.
My biggest challenge apart from the IT end of things was the possibility that we would need to sit still at our desks. I hate sitting still, I like us to move about I believe that this helps us think better. When we do use the desks it’s generally to turn them upside down or build a den underneath. I was also very conscious that I would not be there to clean up afterwards either. I usually create a bit of a mess!
I had met Joanna Ms Harriot in early June and we bonded over shoes, architecture, family and our love of trips to London. We had chatted a lot of what and where our ideas would take us with the children. We need to figure out how best we could work together to ensure that the sessions would run smoothly and Joanna would not be under too much pressure. This year Joanna who has prior experience of Virtually There would not have a classroom assistant and would be on her own throughout the session assisting, translating, repeating, demonstrating perhaps, distributing the materials, documenting the process, managing toilet breaks, squabbles and hopefully not pulling her hair out…….
Thankfully I have been able to observe another artist teacher partnership participating on Virtually There so I have been able to see first hand the pace and logistics within the classroom during an online session. This insight will be so beneficial to my own planning allowing me to feel a little bit more confident with being there without actually being there!
Image taken by me during an artist in residence with senior infants in Rathfarnham Educate Together National School, Co. Dublin.