Coming Soon...Voices at Trent U

Voices at hand 

Returns to Peterborough...

February 1 – 8 , 2012

February 1: Thomas J. Bata Library

February 2 - 8: Peter Gzowski College

Reception & Artist Talk: February 3, 7pm

The Atrium, Peter Gzowski College

Yes is More ! - Firm Ground at the AFP Congress

Mounting Voices at Hand at the AFP Congress certainly raised the attendance bar for the project, it also raised my expectations! 

By Day Two I was already hoarse and thankful traffic at Prime Data’s booth slowed long enough for me to update my blog. But once posted I was ready for more. When the ten deep line-ups from the day before didn’t appear, (I’m told the day 2 lull is a tradeshow norm), I found a new way to engage passersby.

Some of you may remember the popular “XO poll” I conducted during my residency in Picton last summer. Half way through the day, I took a similar approach and for a short time randomly selected people to flash with the words “Hi Beautiful!“ or “Yes!”

The words are excerpts from letters and notes found in “Firm Ground,” my feature category for the day in the window, on tweets and on Facebook. The best description of “Firm Ground” is found in another excerpt–one of my favorites: “ With our firm, constant belief, admiration and love.” It’s a powerful category!

Here is what the study revealed: 

Day 1 - AFP Congress, Toronto

After one day on the tradeshow floor at the AFP Congress I can safely say that if there is anyone who is going to keep letter writing alive it is fundraisers!

Remembering Those who Served...

Charles Victor Hewson
Served WWI

Killed 1916, Royal Flying Corps

Excerpt from a letter found in the breast pocket of his jacket and returned with his effects.

26^th, December, 1915

My dear old Victor,

You can’t imagine what a quiet little party we are tonight and how much we miss you. Is it not nice to be loved and to know that we shall always be with you and I trust when not on duty — for of course that must be your first and highest ideal­— that your thoughts will turn to those who are thinking of you.

It Is What It Is, Or Is It?

The harvest is pretty straightforward.

On Day One of my Minden residency, way back in September, I described how I scan each letter so that I can clip portions to populate the categories: To; From; Salutations; In Closing; Postscripts; XO; Home; Bearings; The Way She Wrote Her M's.  

  

Determining a category for the body of a letter is where the fun begins.

Embracing Process- Minden Summary

The closing of a show inevitably brings questions. "How did it go? What next?"

 They are questions I also ask myself.

I don’t always have clear answers, but I can say in the four chapters of Voices at Hand I’ve never not been pleased with the outcome. It’s hard to argue with the stats: 1609 letters in Peterborough in the spring 2010; 724 more in Toronto last October; an additional 507 in Picton this past summer and 413 new letters last month in Minden for a total of 3,253 in the whole collection. I’ve also added four new categories during the Minden residency to make 51 in all.      

The irony of the volume of materials I now have to store is not lost on me. I still blame CBC!

Mark Zuckerberg and Me - Day 7- Minden

Earlier this week I commented on a friend’s Facebook posting of a link to a CNN newsclip. You’ll freak when you see the new Facebook is a short piece featuring Mark Zuckerberg’s summary of the soon to be sprung upon us Timeline.

I watched the piece and quickly responded:“Ick.”

My friend who happened to be online at the time fired back: “Luddite”.

Back to me, I wrote: “Is that the best you can do?”

...deleted it and finished with: “Cyberbully.”