Thursday 3/2/17 and Friday 3/3/17 Spectrum Artworks, open studio hours and collective studio hours 1-4pm - 6 hours
This week I actually went to Spectrum twice, on Thursday from 1 to 4 pm, and on Friday at the same time. (I felt really awkward going in on Thursday, since I lost my volunteer-tag, but Jes kindly made new ones.)
The Thursday went by in a lot similar manner as before, except that this time, both Iris and I felt more comfortable with what we were doing. Also an older volunteer, Taylor (an illustrator), was there, so most of the time we just shadowed him. He definitely seemed to know what he was doing, and I admired the natural way that he interacted with people. Just by seeing him do this, thought me a lot. There also were many new artists working in the studio who I hadn't met before, so admiring their work and talking to them was a lot of fun.
Jes was busy with people from other departments of Lighthouse coming in, so we didn't have much time with her, but she kept an eye on us the whole time, making sure that everything was going alright. This actually reminds me of a worry I had: the discussion with the artists turned a bit political at some point, and I wasn't sure if it was alright to talk about politics in a space like this. When I asked Jes about it, she told she had heard the conversation and that it wasn't too bad, but generally the topic should be avoided, just in case someone is sensitive to that and/or has opposing views. I'm glad I learned about this now.
The Friday was a lot different, neither Iris nor Taylor were there and I was the only volunteer, also it was a working day for the collective members and not an open studio day. So basically only the artists who had their own studio-spaces there, were present. I liked how peaceful it was, but I was worried if I was able to actually be of any use as a volunteer. Anytime there was an opportunity I made sure to ask if I could help, and actually that way I had something to do the whole time. I helped Jes clean and hang some paintings, I did some running tasks for the artists, and then I helped by checking which markers had dried up, which turned out to be way more time-consuming than I had thought, and I actually ended up making a surprisingly cool-looking piece of art with the check-marks. I left the weird drawing at the found-object shelf of the studio.
Jes cleaning at the studio.
Checking which markers worked turned into this cool abstract piece! I shall name it: "Hanna's mind".
Other than these tasks, I just talked to the artists again, and gave them feedback. There were some people who I hadn't met before, so getting to know them was really interesting, and I ended up having some really long and insightful conversations about mythology, pet animals and everything in-between.
On Fridays, the studio closes at five, so Jes and I stayed to clean and just talk after. She showed me some interesting scrap-books that made me more familiar with the history of the place, and I was able to ask some more questions from her. I also just had to mention what an interesting and eye-opening experience being at Spectrum had been so far. I had to admit that I had thought that peoples' illnesses and struggles would play a more central role at studio, but I couldn't have been more wrong. The overall atmosphere is very happy and accepting. More than anything, this is a place where people socialize, make art and have fun, and of course sometimes their illnesses might affect them more.
I'm excited to tell you all more again next week. Until then!