Saturday 25 June 2016

sorry, but it seems i'm beyond help.

correspondence sometimes comes in drifts, like snow

there's the seasonal influx of requests for assistance with school studies.
i try to respond kindly, even when the questions seem silly.

"why do you do art?" is a frequent flyer.
sometimes it is temping to write "because i am otherwise unemployable"
though it's pretty close to the truth.

i don't mind answering a well thought-out selection of questions, but only if you can't find the answers by googling.

towards the end of the northern college year there's generally a bunch of emails from people who would like to come and stay to "assist me in the studio" in return for one-on-one teaching.
a working holiday in the sunny south.

from my point of view this means i would be fully responsible for a person i have never met before, providing meals, a bed, entertainment and transport so that i can explain to them exactly how i want a bundle put together, or a dress stitched, or?

it's far less stressful just to do the work myself. besides, i enjoy what i do. i love the spontaneity that is possible when i am alone (well, with only canine and feline company) wielding scissors and needles and dancing in the leaflitter that carpets the floor of my studio.

and perhaps it is a psychological disability but i feel utter and overwhelming claustrophobia at the mere thought of having to share a month or more of days (and evenings) with another adult whom i may not have actually met prior to their arrival.

in recent years i have been finding increasingly beautiful areas in which to hold workshops and as a consequence the volume of inquiries from people wanting to take a gratis class in return for stoking the fires and gathering plant matter has escalated. i could have filled the upcoming class at Scott's Head entirely with such volunteers :: which could have been hilarious...
a dozen people all stoking the fire and gathering leaves, which would probably look like a splendid pagan ritual but won't pay the electricity bill.

there have been suggestions that i should increase workshop fees so that i can offer scholarship places. i don't see how that would be at all fair to paying participants. it's not going to happen.

and then there are the truly cheeky requests from people who live close to a workshop location and "just want to drop in for a day to see what it's all about". hmm.

some tell me they left well-paid positions in order to pursue their dream career. i applaud their bravery but that is their choice, and not my responsibility. i was an unemployed sole parent (of three) at the time that i returned to plant dyeing. it took me over fifteen years to achieve financial independence and be solely supported by this work. i suppose it's just as well i didn't have a comfy job because i'm not that brave and i might have clung to it and my life would have turned out awfully dull as a result.

but the long and the short of it is, please don't ask me if you can come and stay with me so that i can feed you and house you and teach you everything i know.

because the answer will be

thank you so much for your kind offer, 
but i regret i cannot accept.

on the other hand, if you sign up for a workshop, i will do my best to share my knowledge and skills. because that's my job. and my life. and i love doing it.



20 comments:

  1. Please come to the San Francisco Bay Area or Sonoma County so that I may pay you to teach me your skills!!! Please, please, please!!

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    Replies
    1. I was there in May...but we are planning a regular event at Inverness
      Dates TBA

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  2. If you ever come to New Zealand I'll be the first one to sign up!

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    1. There's a class next March, you'll find the details on the workshops page at
      www.indiaflint.com
      :-)

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  3. Addendum
    If you would like to learn how more, I do have several book(s) available. :)

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    Replies
    1. Curiously there have been offers to help me improve my writing, too!

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  4. Thanks for your fresh take India. I like you receive similar requests and for want of a suitable response I often do not respond as I lack the eloquence to succinctly summarise as well as you just have. i am a full believer in sharing but handing it all over along with a roof and a plate of food is on another level! You have such a unique aesthetic. I admire your strength to say it as it is. Jo ��

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  5. Well said India, and I love the way when you do one of these very succinct replies to enquiries, I always seem to have a chuckle!! Looking forward to my paid up week at Scotts Head! Hope I didn't offer to peel the veg though!! (And if I did, it would have been from the goodness of my heart, not to opt out of paying for a wonderful retreat/class).

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  6. and what to do with the folks who want to BE india flint?
    because you know they do...

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    Replies
    1. Heavens knows why. It's not all it's cracked up to be. And I still have to put on my underpants one leg at a time...when I can be bothered wearing them.

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  7. I hope to meet you in France in 2018 but It is still sooooooo long . ...

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  8. inverness sounds good (:
    when i get those request to spend time with me i always tell them i am a lousy teacher !
    i guess you can't say that .

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  9. Beautifully said India! The bloody cheek of some folk! Mind you...... I guess we can't blame them for being hopeful. It's unbelievable to actually ask. So glad you've got a backbone! And so polite too! 😊😊😊

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  10. Hilarious! You could write a very entertaining book about these truly unreal people. It's all about THEM isn't it! I love the way you handle their crazy requests.
    Claudia Fisk

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  11. I can imagine many would like to walk along the path beside you finding stones and stitching cloth and immersing bundles. You're a lovely, hard working, creative business woman. You are incredibly generous. You share so much more of yourself at those workshops. Just the materials, time and teaching you give. And online you share photos and words and journeys and musings via blog and instagram for FREE. Especially for one who is prone to a quiet life and privacy, this is a big deal. This whirled is a funny thing. Some people feel entitled and want to claim ownership over things they admire and want. Everything is a koha, a gift. We don't own anything or anyone. Nor do we owe them. But when we give, it is wholeheartedly and our very best on the day. Keep walking your path skin sister. Arohanui xo

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    1. Kia ora and bless you pet, (it's been ages since we had a good hug!) i'll keep walking my path and hope it crosses yours again some day xo

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