I had a wonderful studio day yesterday. I really like being surprised by my own work and I was. I also received a mention on twitter yesterday from Donnalee Downs, which sent me to her blog, Gone Postal. I had browsed Donnalee’s blog just the other day and saw some interesting ideas in motion. It’s lovely to know you’ve inspired someone, especially to think about things in a new way. Thanks Donnalee!
Lots of things are floating around in my head at the moment, not least of which is the debate on Andrew Bryant’s blog, Self and Others. Can art be not art? It’s a curious question and one which I think influenced my output today. In an equally curious way, the interview I’m doing with David Minton for This ‘Me’ of Mine is bound up in this too with a discussion of intention, intuition, repetition and self. This interview will be posted soon on the TMoM blogsite. David was/is the primary protagonist in the debate with Andrew. I think Sarah Rowles, who took part in the debate, was inspired by it too because I noticed she launched a new blog called, Rethinking how we communicate will save lives. I look forward to more thoughts from Sarah.
I’m also working hard to find/make more exhibition opportunities to show my work this year and that is swirling around in this Sargasso Sea which is my head. Angelika Studios is launching their inaugural open competition and the work I made today is going to be my entry. It’s such a relief knowing what to send. I’m delighted too because it brought me back to a work I was experimenting with, which I had just about decided to abandon. I’ve retrieved it seeing the quality which appealed to me in the first place, made rational by new ideas. That is something I’ve come to accept; sometimes I just have to put a thing aside until I catch up with myself. I can easily make work that is just way out in left field and relates to nothing. Given time though, it usually finds its place – it’s the Sargasso Sea thing.
Speaking of debates, David Riley and Jon Bowen had a great one here on my post #4 about ‘belief’, well worth a look. Thanks again to you both. You guys can debate on my blog anytime you want! David has two works in This ‘Me’ of Mine and he very kindly talked about the show and his participation in his last post on his blog A D V E R T I S I N G ?
So many other things too; complex 7-10 page written tutorials on how to start a career in art for a Rebecca client, exhibition proposals for This ‘Me’ of Mine, applications, promotion, marketing, blog posts, planning, budgets, grant eligibility – so many things…
