Becoming Part of Something

I am injured! I have had a bicycle accident! I fell in a pot hole about 1 foot wide and 2 foot deep on Peckham high street. I fell on my chin and gashed it open, same goes with my hands. My shoes flew off down the street and were returned by two sweet girls. A man from chicken cottage attended my wounds whilst I wept copiously and somewhat hysterically. I refused his attempts to call an ambulance and wobbled off home, to be attended by my partner’s gentle hands and then fainted. A short stint at the A&E in the glamorous Lewisham hospital resulted in the doctor saying nothing was wrong with me and being sent home without even a plaster. Nothing serious then…. Except the major pain I am in and my black and blue legs!

Luckily I have been sent an analysis of my blog through by a writer friend of mine for a job he is going for and as I cannot properly type as it hurts my fingers it is quite handy to use for today!

An analysis of my blog by James Oakley: Writer

www.JamesOakley.info

The arts boffins at Central Station said I should write a blog entry…

I thought cripes – what shall I do?

What if all those self-harming arty types don’t like me?

And also – I’m bursting for a cuppa tea – will this kettle never boil?

In order to get a grip on exactly what it takes to make a top quality arts blog, I wrestled blogging supremo visual artist Rosalind Davis to the ground to ask for her top tips.

I also turned on the kettle. It does help.

Rosalind Davis is best known for her haunting and uplifting mixed media potraits. She layers bits of old curtain, wool, embriodery, good old fashioned paint and anything else she finds lying around creating beautiful urban landscapes. But I wasn’t here to ask about her art – I wanted to know the tricks of the trade. How do I make my blogging “Award Winning” like what hers is?

Unfortunately she was so busy suffering for her art, I got to suffer with her answering machine. So I nicked someone’s teabags from a cupboard in the office and looked back over her blog to what ideas could inspire me. While the tea brewed I made these notes about her Blog:

Gentle distinctive tone, like Sir Trevor McDonald reading you a bedtime story. Lovely.

Beautiful pictures of amazing artworks. Like really good.

A real human interest stuff – Ros doesn’t force her story. It’s subtle, it’s there, and it makes you love her. A lot.

She’s in London and I’m in Glasgow I don’t have a clue about some of her London references, but she explains enough to give me the gist. I feel I’m treated like a proper grown-up rather than the teabag stealing ruffian I am.

She has a distinctive opinion, but she’s not shouting. Whispering works.

When nicking tea bags check they’re not green tea. Urgh.

Last night my supper was crisps. A pretty good flavour- vintage cheddar and red onion. Washed down with a little red wine. Hmm…….the reasons why – well there is no time to eat…….

Bea De Souza from Agency Gallery in Deptford http://www.theagencygallery.co.uk/

Bea is a real mover and shaker and she is coming to see Core Gallery and talk about our plans and working together in the future. The show we currently have in our gallery space was from before xmas- Fraction. Which we left up and which has been evolving with studio members work changing and new members joining etc.

So what we had up needed to be pulled together and made more cohesive and edited. So as it was last minute, I and Helen hung the show last night, poor Helen was ill too and had to go, so I finished myself and am anxious that everyone will be happy yet also saying to myself that I am doing this for the benefit of everyone….it may be hard to please everyone in the studios at all times –you cant. And the gallery is going to be standing interdependently to studio members- we are not going to populate every show with members works basically but inviting artists and curators into the space. It is for all our benefits to have this energy in the space……

I was a guest lectuerer at the University of the Arts as well this week, part of a professional development lecture series about how to sell your work at degree shows. I remember how consumed we all were at college and uni. To think about the degree show and organising ourselves for the press and business side was not a priority but it is so important to start planning things now, for students to really launch themselves, to make themselves stand out and get the attention they want. To believe that your University will do this all for you is unrealistic. You need to be proactive too with all your exhibitions and build your presence.

I had a friend who had an exhibition I was trying to get to. He said to me ‘don’t worry , I don’t really care if my family and friends come, I am not that bothered about it ’ I found it really offensive to say that. So I did not go. Even if at the beginning of your career if you bring people, any people to a show, then it shows you are involved to the organisers and curators. It feels good when people come to shows. That’s why we invite them……..

Anyway I have to go and sand some walls and go to 3 meetings today, one for me two for core gallery. Tonight I may branch out into balsamic and red onion crisps……

‘ Painting is a way of showing oneself as an artist and every painting is a kind of face, a self portrait.‘

Michael Borremans

On the right is a picture I have very nearly finished. It is of Bede House, part of social housing estate in Bermondsey. It is completely abandoned.

You can see into the rooms people left behind, the shadows of the pictures that once hung on the wall, the curtains they left behind. It seems people left there in a hurry, as if an apocalypse occurred and they left with just their most important possessions.

I wonder what happened to them all. where did they all go?

Our launch show for Core Gallery, opening on the 30^th April has been decided:

“Exquisite Corpse” An Exhibition and Curatorial experiment by 11 International artists and curators. Co-ordinated by Nick Kaplony

‘Also known as “exquisite cadaver” or “rotating corpse” Exquisite Corpse is a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled

In this context Exquisite Corpse is an experimental approach to constructing an exhibition selected in response to the corridor like structure of the Core gallery itself. A number of curators and artists have gathered to play and to construct the Corpse. The game works like this. A chain of curators/selectors is established, the first curator in the chain selects an artist for inclusion in the show. The next curator in the chain selects an artist in response to the work selected by the previous work selected. Each curator can only see the selection of the previous link in the chain so it continues and so it continues until the Corpse is completed.’ Nick Kaplony

Nick is a genius.

Matt Roberts is going to be one of the curators which is fantastic news, it is going to be rather sensational!

My my my !What a couple of weeks! My head aches…..!

The race for ideas workshop was indeed a race- a half term festival of learning and it went very well. I organised 10 primary school children to visit between them, 9 museums in 2.5 days in Central London, organised workshops or tours where possible in the venues and pointed them towards objects that would reference the Olympic values ( friendship, courage, equality, inspiration, excellence, determination and respect) with the help of these many venues’ cooperation. Facilitated and co-managed by the marvellous Sophie from Camden Council and Sian from London Transport Museum who not only created this amazing project but helped and advised on my coordination but took the kids around these venues, bought wickedly lovely cakes when much needed and so much more!

The students learnt what a Sarcophagus was ( and indeed how to spell it) from Sir John Soane’s Museums, were inspired by Dr Johnson- who spent 9 years pennilessly compiling the English Dictionary, were awed by the tree of life in the British Museum and painted to music in the October gallery amongst other activities! With me onsite at school the kids came back inspired, where I had created a system of symbols for the values and we created flags, maps, sculptures, drawings and treasure boxes.

A member of the Olympic committee who visited on the Friday seemed super impressed by the activities. Maybe I can sell them my symbols system…….some of that arts council funding that has been cut could be put towards it methinks. ….?

On the Core Gallery side of things Helen, Elizabeth and Gillian have been whipping up a fabulous gallery mission statement. Plus I attended my first Deptford Art map meeting- very exciting! Talking to all the other galleries who seem really excited by cor blimey studio’s development into a gallery and I am looking forward to more dialogue with them. It really is a community and such a thriving and ambitious art area! I can’t wait until we launch in April, (although so much to do! )…oh and we have some free studio space if you are interested in joining us in Deptford……contact us at www.corblimeyarts.com for a lookie….

On the art side of things, my solo shows: A Difference in Vision and Belong ( one in Regents Place, London and one in Bedford College are both up. Please check www.rosalinddavis.co.uk for more details of dates, times etc. The private view for A Difference in Vision has unfortunately been moved 3 times to mid march due to unforeseen circumstances, which has been a bit messy for my invitations but sure it will be great!

This week I am going to get back to some serious painting (ah bliss!) and more meetings! One of which is for a group show at Core Gallery that I shall be in with artists Enver Gursev and Neil Kelly called Wilderness to open in May…….