This first week has been expectedly bursting with chaos, questions, discovery, awe, and more surprisingly with comfort, camaraderie, and utter silliness.
Day 1 began as residents shared slides of histories, work, and goals. While some have defined expectations for themselves this summer it seems oscillations, iterations, and pivots are openly embraced. As the team becomes oriented at NextFab and sets up individual spaces for the summer, I feel myself pivoting to a slower than imagined documentation pace, realizing I too need time adjusting to this environment, finding my unexpected place within the cohort.
With a background in cultural anthropology (and none in wood working!) I’m especially cognizant of the lines between observer and participant in documentary practice. The three day Echo Lake Collaborative Conference that helps kick off this residency pushed me into a participant role as some WARPers talked me through the most basic chisel, bandsaw, sanding, painting, and epoxy processes. Processes that require the slow intentional rhythm I’m finding my role called for this week. I imagine much of my documentation this summer will come from a lens of wonder but am overwhelmingly pleased with the nuggets of knowledge the team has so generously shared. I sense the more knowledge and understanding I may acquire, the more my wonder will grow.
For this blog, I plan to upload weekly video journal reflections, each driven by a single question. In between, updates may come too. We’ll see! This week’s prompt for the residents: describe your week in six words. Check it out below.
Your 2024 WARP Documentary Artist,
Molly