


Work made visible: Reading

There’s already a lot of material on attentive reading on this blog. Rather than repeating that, this post focuses on my attempts to make the work of reading visible.

Step 1: Generate some data
Daily tracking of reading in a spreadsheet, including a notation of whether the essay/book was completed, set aside, or the reading is ongoing.

Step 2: Data analysis
This data could be used to create some metrics and charts. From late May to mid October I started reading 52 works, and completed 30 (58%), the others being ongoing or set aside. Eighteen (35%) I spent only a day or two with. The longest reading effort was 33 days spent with Agnes Martin (edited by Lynne Cooke – see link) – a wonderful way to start the day.

But why get lost in numbers when the original tracking sheet is so striking?

Step 3: Material transformation

Reading Light Chart

Step 4: Push it further
Layers of transformation, combining with the glyph for light/shadow/reflection.

Reading light and shadow

Postscript: After my post on Note-taking (15-Oct-2019) Claire of TactualTextiles reminded me that we were encouraged to use skim reading during our degree-level courses with the Open College of the Arts. Pretty much the extreme opposite of attentive reading. Why?

I think there’s a fundamental difference in approach. OCA wanted demonstrated learning in the form of an essay, or a clear input to a planned and executed output. Jump in, get what you need, jump out and on to the next requirement. In Ruth Hadlow’s model of practice, you need to be clear about where you’re starting – the terrain of investigation, points of reference, what is attracting your attention. Then you explore, discover where it takes you. How can you discover new possibilities if you’re not being attentive? That’s the journey I want to take in my reading – finding new ideas, making new connections, asking “what if…”.

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