21-23 March 2003
Article Written by Alice Elliot
As a volunteer QYT facilitator and a project leader for a university scheme which organises visits to a residential home for the elderly, I was particularly interested and excited about this course. Any new ideas for working with both my older and younger groups are very welcome and methods of linking such groups an added bonus!
Early starts do not agree with three years of student life, but nevertheless I arrived at Northfield on Saturday morning feeling energised through meeting old friends, ready to make new ones and to focus on learning new lessons and techniques.
It was so interesting to explore and experiment with the ideas and insights Sue Mayo brought to us from her freelance work. One of our first exercises was to work on 'assumptions'; large sheets of flip-board paper were spread out across the floor with different age groups ranging from 0-5 to 80+, written as headings. We then had fifteen minutes or so to walk around the room writing our assumptions or perceptions of these various age groups on the pieces of paper. It was so interesting to compare our ideas and in some cases stereotypes, especially with regard to our own age group.
As our day progressed, we did some further work on identity and ways in which we perceive ourselves and how we may be perceived by others. Working in pairs we took it in turns to draw round each other's hands, then filled each finger with a positive activity carried out by our hands such as craft work, music making or massage. Then, in larger groups we discussed how we could sum ourselves up in three words such as creative', 'caring' or 'aesthetic', which we then wrote down in the centre of our palm. This led to a photographic representation of ourselves.
Sue Mayo provided us with some thought provoking and inspiring ideas during this two day course and I left with lots of new ideas and feeling privileged to have been involved with 'Arts Across The Generations' and warmed by working and bonding with a group of interesting, open and inspiring people.
