Thursday 7 August 2014

A VERY Interesting Meeting about a VERY Exciting Opportunity...


On Wednesday, I took the train to Manchester again. This time I was headed for Manchester University. I was very excited to meet the Sociology team at the Morgen Centre...

It began with an email a few weeks back, asking if I would give one of the professors there a ring, to chat about an idea. Intrigued, I rang. She explained about a grant she would like to apply for, to fund a year-long project. Guess who would be at the centre of the project? Yep - little me!


They want me to spent the equivalent of 2 days a week over a whole academic year as a fly-on-the-wall, illustrating their world in sketchbooks. How brilliant is that? My first question, well one of the first was: So, what do you do all day for me to draw?

There will be the usual meetings, teaching students, working at the computer of course, but the really exciting thing is, they spend a lot of time out and about, working on research projects. There are 3 projects in particular which they are keen for me to shadow, all of which involve interviewing people in their homes or out in the urban environment. 

One is about the 'rhythms of the city': what we notice, how we feel about the outside environment we pass through every day, how we use public spaces and how we interact, or not, with others.

Another is about our relationship with the things we own: specifically, why we all have objects in our houses which we don't use, maybe don't even really want, but somehow can't bring ourselves to throw away.

The third is about the Brits' relationship with the weather: how it defines what we are and what we do, the way it impacts on how we interact with others and our environment and how different types of weather conditions create an atmosphere which is the backdrop to our lives, effecting how we feel.


As you can probably imagine, I was immediately very interested and have been helping Professor Heath put together a bid for the grant ever since. The meeting this week was to finalise some of that paperwork, to meet some of the team I'd be working with and to find out more detail about each of the projects. 

They all knew about me and are all very keen, but got even more animated when I showed them real life examples of the sketchbooks and talked them through the kit I use. If we get the money, we will be involving the whole department, students and staff, in the project: I will be running workshops to empower everybody to sketch and setting up group sketchbooks that they will work on over the year. Oh, and of course we will have a huge SketchCrawl as a climax at the end of the year!


I am SO desperate to get this job and am crossing everything I have got, hoping that our bid is accepted. I will, of course, keep you posted, though we won't know until around Christmas. How will I survive until then?

These sketches are nothing to do with the meeting but, since I was in Manchester and it WASN'T RAINING, I spent the afternoon sitting on various benches outside the Town Hall with a few Manchester-based sketch-buddies, filling my time the way I know best. 



23 comments:

Sylvia said...

Wow! That sounds amazing, I hope you get it XD

Unknown said...

This sounds like a fabulous project! Crossing fingers for you to get it! :)

Lindsey Spinks said...

What an amazing opportunity, good luck, fingers crossed!

Judith Alsop Miles said...

Absolutely brilliant, Lynne. What an exciting project. Fingers crossed for you!

JJ said...

Oh my what an opportunity. Good luck, this is very well deserved!!!

James Richards said...

Fantastic, Lynne! Good luck on the grant!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful idea....you are the perfect choice! Holding you and the idea in the Light. Lucinda

Cathy Gatland said...

How exciting Lynne - holding thumbs for you and the project!

Nikira said...

Sounds wonderful, dream job, art and science together! Hope it will go thru and we all would be rewarded with your beautiful drawings!

Anonymous said...

Well done Lynne, it just shows you that people do read blogs and sometimes work comes through that too ! Great to hear of this project, sounds interesting, will look out for some results on your blog. Craig

Kathleen Newman said...

What an unusual and fabulous opportunity it woul be. Good luck!
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PatriciaG said...

Mind blowingly exciting. I'm tingling for you as I cross all my things also. Wow!

hfm said...

Great work, Lynne.

Colleen said...

Oh Lynne! It's all been said, but I'm so excited for you! If you don't get the job there's no justice in this world!

Vicky said...

Best of luck! It sounds like a terrific project.

Julie Clay Illustration said...

This sounds fascinating Lynne, hope it all works out, a really interesting project. :)

Nina Khashchina aka Apple-Pine said...

Brilliant! Wishing you all the luck in the world to get the "go" on this!

Making A Mark said...

Gosh - how interesting and novel!

Sandra Horn said...

I've got everything crossed for you, Lynne! How clever of them to choose you.

Kokopelli said...

Fantastic Lynne, you created that opportunity just by being you...top marks...you'll get it, no worries.
just spreading your talents and influence even further!

Anonymous said...

What an lovely project! Hope you get it going. And beautiful sketches as always :)

Tiffany said...

Sounds like a wonderful project! Good luck!!! I absolutely LOVE your drawing style. I always struggle with buildings because they are so straight, but this is an amazing twist!

Nina Johansson said...

Keeping my thumbs crossed too, this sounds fantastic! Good luck!