I was at the Bovey Guild of Craftsmen last week to meet up with the Director of Streets Alive (http://www.streetsalive.org.uk/) to talk about my new role with them as one of their Associates, facilitating street events in Devon. I arrived slightly early so was enjoying a look round the Summer Exhibition - works by members of the Guild.
One of the featured artists is tapestry weaver Kirsten Glasbrook (see http://www.kirsten.glasbrook.com/) who has a couple of pieces called 'Tempus fugit' (time flies) and Tempus Ludendi (a time for playing).
Beside these two tapestries was a comment by the artist about her work - I was taken by this description....
"Time: the continuous passage of existence in which events pass from a state of potentiality in the future, through the present, to a state of finality in the past".
There is so much here - the continuous movement ('time stops for no-one' - the unceasing nature of existence) coupled with the idea of time being a precise moment. It throws me off beam, mixing the sequence of starting from the future (where the momentum is forwards - we face the future), then a jump back to the present ( described as a moment in time - or more precisely, a very short period), and moving forwards to ending with a reference point located in the past. This gives me a giddy sense of the forward and backward motions that make up the process of a weaver's art.
Then there is this 'finality of the past'. A finished art work starts as a 'potential in waiting' (I think of a stone mason or sculptor who chisels out an object that already lies within that block of stone, bringing a 'piece of work' into existence which wasn't there/seen before. When I visited the Carrera marble mines in Northern Italy a few years ago, I picked up a small piece of marble from the ground, struck by the thought that Michelangelo's statue of David was once a block of marble from this very mine - what, I wondered, could potentially lie within that piece of marble in my hand?
Likewise, working in the art of developing people - do we know what huge potential and capacity there is within a person or team which, at the present time, may not be seen and is not yet realised? Managers, supervisors, teachers, coaches, trainers, instructors have to start at least with a belief in the potential development of the people they hold a responsibility to. If that belief is missing, the progress of that team or individual is limited, is held back. The statue of David may rest inside, never to be seen.
Which is where the art of delegation comes when working with managers. People need an opportunity to grow and develop skills - and delegation provides a framework and opportunity to people to acquire and develop skills. A skilful manger (or teacher) will combine attitudes, beliefs and behaviours - the belief in potential, having an attitude of trust, a committment to another's learning and development, abilities in assessment, listening, encouraging, and giving of sensitive feedback.
So, the description by the weaver of time as a linear process when talking about a crafted piece of work becomes a developing cycle when working with people - where there is the rhythm of development, reaching and extending towards new plateaux.
One of the featured artists is tapestry weaver Kirsten Glasbrook (see http://www.kirsten.glasbrook.com/) who has a couple of pieces called 'Tempus fugit' (time flies) and Tempus Ludendi (a time for playing).
Beside these two tapestries was a comment by the artist about her work - I was taken by this description....
"Time: the continuous passage of existence in which events pass from a state of potentiality in the future, through the present, to a state of finality in the past".
There is so much here - the continuous movement ('time stops for no-one' - the unceasing nature of existence) coupled with the idea of time being a precise moment. It throws me off beam, mixing the sequence of starting from the future (where the momentum is forwards - we face the future), then a jump back to the present ( described as a moment in time - or more precisely, a very short period), and moving forwards to ending with a reference point located in the past. This gives me a giddy sense of the forward and backward motions that make up the process of a weaver's art.
Then there is this 'finality of the past'. A finished art work starts as a 'potential in waiting' (I think of a stone mason or sculptor who chisels out an object that already lies within that block of stone, bringing a 'piece of work' into existence which wasn't there/seen before. When I visited the Carrera marble mines in Northern Italy a few years ago, I picked up a small piece of marble from the ground, struck by the thought that Michelangelo's statue of David was once a block of marble from this very mine - what, I wondered, could potentially lie within that piece of marble in my hand?
Likewise, working in the art of developing people - do we know what huge potential and capacity there is within a person or team which, at the present time, may not be seen and is not yet realised? Managers, supervisors, teachers, coaches, trainers, instructors have to start at least with a belief in the potential development of the people they hold a responsibility to. If that belief is missing, the progress of that team or individual is limited, is held back. The statue of David may rest inside, never to be seen.
Which is where the art of delegation comes when working with managers. People need an opportunity to grow and develop skills - and delegation provides a framework and opportunity to people to acquire and develop skills. A skilful manger (or teacher) will combine attitudes, beliefs and behaviours - the belief in potential, having an attitude of trust, a committment to another's learning and development, abilities in assessment, listening, encouraging, and giving of sensitive feedback.
So, the description by the weaver of time as a linear process when talking about a crafted piece of work becomes a developing cycle when working with people - where there is the rhythm of development, reaching and extending towards new plateaux.
(above image is of 'Land Definition One' by Kirsten Glasbrook)
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