Janet's Blog Entry

I remember the first time I saw an Iceberg, it was amazing and all I could think of to say was "Why hadn’t anyone told me ". That's how I feel about Groningen. It's a great town full of tall, well-dressed people riding bikes through the mist. Yes, the bikes, I like the bikes at night, they move swift and fast, in packs, I love the bikes.

The documentation mission is going great. Like me, I know that both Colleen and Keenan (Screen Arts and Photography students), have been totally inspired by this town and it's way of life. I've really enjoyed the process of all of us ( myself, Ingram Barss, Colleen and Keenan) , working together to come up the with visuals, with ways to combine still and moving images, always looking for sequences that will help tell the story of this international collaboration. Colleen and Keenan interviewed all the participates over a couple of days and I think after they listened to their stories, stories about the work they are collaborating on and the connections they are all making, they really started to see how amazing this project is and the potential of the documentation they are creating.

I'm looking forward to the next step, the edit. We will have a lot of material to work with and it will be challenging but that's why we do it.

But before that I have Amsterdam to look forward to this weekend!

Thanks to Doug Barnes, Ian MacLeod and NSCC International for making all of this happen and to Kellie who has been a great guide…. well now that I’m thinking about it…. no, not really, not good with maps, translator ....no no not that either, not so good with the Dutch words......personal assistant.....yes, no, kind of........what can I say.....there is only one thing to say…Kellie has been wonderful in her job, she takes care of us all and always has a smile on her face, and what do I know about Dutch words, much much less than Kellie…thanks.

Janet Hawkwood
NSCC Faculty, Screen Arts