ARTISTS TALKING

# 137 [15 March 2008]

Have just had a short holiday and am back from the Red Sea having visited the "hidden city" of Petra in Jordan.

Now catching up on all my emails. Dr Carole Reeves has had a paper accepted for an international conference on Oral History this July. She will be speaking about the " Children of Craig-y-nos" project. 

# 136 [4 March 2008]

Will we have the book ready for the opening of the next exhibition in Swansea museum in July? 

I am well on with the first draft but now that I am going through all the research notes I find that there is over 200,000 words -and that is just the interviews alone.

And that is before  Dr Reeves medical and historical contribution.

So...July may be a bit on the optimistic side.

I hear the Heritage Lottery Fund have taken up references so that looks promising. 

# 135 [26 February 2008]

Put up a podcast of a childrens story- a memory of life in a remote TB sanatorium in Wales, how one child , Douglas, was forcefed cabbage until he vomited.

That child is now a successful Swansea accountant so I sent him a link to the blog and got an email back saying he was on holiday in Antartica.

'Tis a shrinking world we live in... 

Podcast available at:

www.Youtube.com/childrenofcraigynos

or from my blog:

www.craig-y-nos.blogspot.com

# 134 [17 February 2008]

Just returned from Wales having deposited the "Children of Craig-y-nos" exhibition with Swansea museum.

They will store it until the summer when it will be exhibited there for two months - July and August.

Saw the space today and was a bit taken aback at the size.  It is enormous!  

 Normally this is the Resource room for school projects but they have agreed to let us have it for the summer months as an exhibition venue.

The project is becoming more community based  in Wales- essential since I am based in Scotland- and a small group is emerging who are prepared to help.

When we saw the size of the exhibition space this morning  we agreed that some kind of installation is required to go with the photos. 

Have to discuss several proposals with the curator. 

# 133 [13 February 2008]

Fly to Cardiff on Thursday to dismantle exhibition in Brecon.  Hopefully this time the airline will not loose our luggage.

Some good news...Swansea museum have agreed to take the "Children of Craig-y-nos" exhibition for the months of July and August.

Moreover, they will store it there until needed. So we take it, with the help of volunteers involved in the project to Swansea museum on Sunday morning having put it in to  archival boxes supplied by The Wellcome Trust, courtesy of Dr Carole Reeves. 

Meanwhile, will take the opportunity while in Wales to do some last minute research. Have just heard of a vast collection of photos belonging to an auxiliary nurse, Auntie Maggie, who was a surrogate mother to all the children.

She died, blind, some years ago. 

# 132 [5 February 2008]

Just when I thought all my research for the book was complete an email pops into my mailbox from Canada...and yet another avenue opens up: more childhood memories whizzing across the world wide web.

Sandy from Ontario tells me she burnt the dinner the night before so engrossed was she in reading my blog and seeing photographs not only of herself but of childhood friends there. 

# 131 [5 February 2008]

I am going to have a rant..Apple is the computer of choice by artists and designers so I can't be alone in using one, and I must even be in a substantial minority, yet I have so far failed to load images from my Apple or to insert links and have to borrow my partner's PC.

Surely this can't be right? Am I the only one who finds the design of this software unfriendly to Apple ?

# 130 [30 January 2008]

Used this image of Caroline today along with her story. (htttp://www.craig-y-nos.blogspot.com) .

It was taken over 50 years ago and she had never seen it before.  Yet it turned up in another child's photographic album.

# 129 [30 January 2008]

A copy of the Lottery application form has just arrived. All I can say is that I am mighty grateful that I did not have to fill it in.  Dr Reeves  has completed  it through the Wellcome Trust educational charity arm.

They certainly do not make it easy to apply for funds. Hear on the grapevine though that it is likely to be "acceptable" and the book will be a print- on- demand published through The Wellcome Trust. 

So, research is almost complete and am about to start writing up.

Meanwhile have flights booked to go to Wales ( £3 Edinburgh/Cardiff) to dismantle the exhibition in Brecon. 

# 128 [6 January 2008]

Have just uploaded my first podcast to my main blog (www.craig-y-nos.blogspot.com). Tricky. No sound on the PC but it runs OK on the Apple. So what's up?

er..links appear not to be allowed with this new site.heck! that can't be right!