Retreating remotely
A few months ago I talked about forming a group with some of my talented family members called The Makers. It shaped itself around the idea of lending creative support to each other, bouncing ideas off one another, helping each other solve design problems, logistical problems etc.
At the time, we had a weekend workshop of sorts, where my sister Jo showed us how she collaged. We used mixed media and a lot of her supplies. We had a wonderful day gluing and sticking, stamping and embossing. We all had a fantastic time. Felt inspired, and creative, and produced work. It was great.
We all live in different places, so to do that often is difficult. Not impossible, but difficult to arrange. So, in the meantime, this weekend we had our first remote workshop. We each spent time on Saturday, between 10am and 4pm making stuff, in our own homes. We communicated via our Facebook page, and a few of us Skyped during the day (until my internet connect crapped out, actually).
It worked really well, I think. Everyone did their own thing. Everyone did as much as they could or felt like. But everyone did something. One thing. Any thing :)
Associated links:
The Makers: Workshop (previous blog entry)
One of the best ways we have found to keep in touch with each other is through Facebook. We created a closed group, defined the criteria for belonging, and trust each other to invite 'like minded' people to join. So far, it's just family members - it might be because we're all a bit lazy, or all a bit insulated with the awesomeness of being related to each other.
This suits us because we're all on Facebook every day so it's a great way to keep in touch. We upload images of our projects, through the process of their incarnation. We ask for advice and comment - though because we all think each other is fantastic, there isn't any "that's crap" going on but lots of "LOVE IT!"s which is maybe less helpful than ascerbic bar lifting - but we'll get there if we need to.
The remote workshop was floated via Facebook. Those who were interested commented their availability. We used txts to line up the Skype session. It was great to see my sister and aunt working hard out on their collages while I ate my lunch. It was also the momentum I needed to get through the push for my own afternoon session. Taking photos of my progress really helps me chunk up my day and get real progress. I think if I didn't have that it'd be easy to curl up with a book and not produce anything for the day.
Let me know if you have any ideas on how to connect with people on projects that you've found useful. Also, if you form a similar online group, I'd love to hear how it's working for you too.
Associated links:
- Creating groups on Facebook (step by step guide - with pictures!)
PS: I'll post the final stones painting when it's done.