Much of today has been spent struggling with Final Cut Pro even though the task is relatively simple: cut down a two-hour conference into 6 2-minute videos using stills and sound. I’ve completed 3; 3 more to go.
I haven’t blogged for a while so here goes. This blog will be about the work I do as an artist and about what constitutes an artist’s everyday, from my subjective viewpoint but which hopefully will resonate with a few readers out there.
To kick off, here are some notes about today:
Morning: knitting a few rows and completing a pennant of woolly bunting as part of DAD’s Bunting Forever project http://www.dadonline.eu/node/332
Afternoon: Went to the opening of Mike Marshall’s New Works at Stour Valley Arts, Ashford. Did lots of talking.
Really liked the work – the in focus, out of focus play, the use of sound, and the way the artist reminds the viewer of his presence; also the way the work seemed to be about holding an object up for attention and the way our attention is held.
Late afternoon: stuck behind the computer doing non-art work
Clare Smith's mixed English/Chinese heritage informs her perspective on issues of identity and categorisation. Her nomadic childhood and early adulthood have meant a somewhat ambivalent relationship to place, reinforced by the sense of ambiguity that comes from her mixed identity. Smith works with drawing, print media, collage and moving image to investigate this ambivalence, with references to craft, the importance of labour and the handmade. Through her choice of materials and approaches, she creates work which attempts to create a sense of unity, an interpretation of Homi Bhabha's "Third Space" - seen as a space in which different parts can come together to challenge dominant ideas of wholeness. Collaboration is part of Smith’s practice and she is also co-founder of Dover Arts Development (DAD) together with painter, Joanna Jones. This involves working with many different artists, curation, organisation, event management, creating networks across East Kent and influencing the public realm in Dover. Clare works from a studio in Dover. She has an MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins and has exhibited nationally and internationally.
