www.wea.org.uk/weanews/peacefulcampaigner.htm - l ink to animation!

What did it feel like being on the 4th plinth for hour as a part of Antony Gormley's project?

It was exhilarating! Including battling with the wind and rain. I felt wonderful I was so privileged to have been able to take part! The time went so quickly (except strangely for the last 5 minutes when I could see the next plinther coming!) I took the hour of opportunity to remind people that we are all unique beings and all creative individuals- we make these chooses by the clothes we wear etc - but also it has a knock -on effect for wider creative things - solving problems at work, for example.

My art project within Gorrmley’s art project was a short animation ( both on a laptop and as a flip book ( but sadly it was windy and rainy so the book idea didn’t work too well) . However the story that it told - in a nutshell- was..... Hen and hawk a hawk laid its egg in a hens nest. The 2 chicks hatched...One day when the hawk and hen were pecking for food, a shadow crossed their path. “What’s that?” Asked the hawk chick. Straining upwards, oh that’s a hawk, said the hen chick -she soars and swoops in the great wide expanse of sky. We’re not like her, we’re ground birds.

Then the 2 birds went on pecking….

Don’t believe it- we can all soar! Especially with the WEA -adult education.

The WEA is the largest provider of voluntary education in the UK.

We are doing great WEA work in the more deprived areas of the country. I work in Wakefield and W Leeds - in W Yorkshire, one in 3 adults here have not got a level 2 qualification - basically that means that many of them feel a bit of a failure when it come to education- but as soon as they "get it" their minds start to sparkle and their life takes off and changes for the better.

All individuals are art forms in their own right. We are all creative! People just forget this sometimes. I believe an individual is like a raindrop in a bottle which floats on an ocean ( a part of something bigger where everything is connected but also retaining our individuality). Every raindrop counts.

I have chosen to make symbolic statements by wearing an androgynous suit with images of the things that are important to me right here and right now. Some images are about the great work of the WEA, some about a sense of place and some about the importance of beauty, ethically and physically. I will also be wearing symbols of current technology as these items are amazing and let us connect more easily to one and another. I also use them to create quirky animations of positive human relationships (when I get the time!). I chair a small environment group (and belong to a number of local community groups) so some of my clothes will be symbolically green I will be carrying a red rose.

I am very proud to work in the WEA ( wea.org.uk) because adult education, when we “get it,” makes the inside of our brains sparkle. There is nothing quite like it. It changes people’s lives for the better which I am privileged to see every day. This may fast be becoming out of reach for the economically poorer part of our society, so as we are also a national campaigning organisation, I hope to draw attention to this so that it will be rectified.

I have lived in Wakefield for 33 years. It is a just-the right size city with an amazing art history and also current brilliant local artists. We have the Hepworth being built (completed 2010), Henry Moore was born 9 miles away and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park is here too, where my life has often been enriched by contemplation of Antony Gormley’s work

Every day I find time to meditate (it’s essential for my internal peace) In my hour on the plinth I will be meditating and campaigning ( peacefully!). I enjoy meditating in high places, occasionally in the Yorkshire moors – so this will be a first! -( also echoes of being a statue), Icon painters always meditate before commencing their painting so perhaps this will make the space for new ideas to enter my consciousness which I intend to disseminate in my blog and website. Most of us have flown and have been stunned to see the enormous expanse of skyscape. I think it will be a little like that.

Thank you