I responded to a request for a video of the first 30 minutes of a drawing the other day and as I had no camera did it with my phone. I also had no suitable tripod … This is an abbreviated version of the result.
Brush and ink drawing in the studio
I’m back, so to speak.
Spent a very enjoyable day yesterday with a young and interesting artist scouting for suitable venues to show together in Leytonstone during the Leytonstone Art Trail in the summer.
With the sun looking like it has returned for a bit and my knees so much better thanks to the steroids, I’ve also been able to spend some time in the studio again.
Listened to Yinka Shonibare being interviewed on Front Row the other day: i like the fact that he is so upfront about disability and trauma (not quite in the same sentence). He sees disability as strengthening and as no more or no less than part of one’s identity: “You are what you are.” Together with the ideas about the culturally lived in body that i am reading in “Imaginary Bodies” by Moira Gatens, that has got me thinking about the specificity of my own body within history and culture and how that cannot but affect how I act and what I make – and how the concept of “body” must be seen not as singular but multiple.
Among the disadvantages of an external studio is the difficulty of getting there! I think I’ve only made it twice since the beginning of the year, not least because I’ve been almost housebound for weeks and only going out when I have to for meetings. Anyhow, I am on the mend thanks to the lovely rheumatology nurse who came to the rescue even though I could not bring my appointment forward by writing a knee-saving prescription for steroids. Not the body-building kind!
I am also without a camera: my little one has broken down and the big one actually doesn’t belong to me so it is out doing service for a DAD project. Phone camera to the rescue.
I did finally get to the studio again yesterday and got some work done!
Most of my recent art looking has been online unsurprisingly. Among the stuff I’ve been looking at is work by El Anatsui, which I think is fantastic and I love his “meditative sewing” process as well as the careful choice of materials. A bottle top is not just a bottle top but a liquor bottle top is a reminder of the fact that liquor was exchanged by Europeans for slaves along the West African coast. Amazing, sumptuous works.
Hapy Chinese New Year everyone. It is Chinese New Year’s Eve and we are going to my parents’ for dinner. Looking forward to some yummy noodles.
According to one source “The Snake symbolizes such character traits as intelligence, gracefulness and materialism. When it comes to decision-making, Snakes are extremely analytical and as a result, they don’t jump into situations. They are effective at getting the things they want, even if it means they have to scheme and plot along the way.” (http://www.chinesezodiac.com/snake.php)
Being born in the year of the Pig, I am apparently incompatible with Snakes.
Really interesting event held at Stour Valley Arts yesterday
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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.
