Breaking Ground

WEDNESDAY

How gloomy these images are – dark and monochrome – a bit like me today. Collywobbles. However we finished the blackboards, got the wallpaper painted and on the wall ready to touch up. Went shopping for lights and torches – a huge array of types are now available including wind-up, glow in the dark, LED spots.

Time is precious – only 4 days until Open Day/Big Draw Drop In on Sunday afternoon. Make every minute work – a headline for tomorrow.

While working in the partially-lit basement today, I set up my camera & tripod to document some of the things we were working on. Just for a little while I let myself be distracted by playing with those long exposures which mean that if you're quick enough you can almost click the button on your camera & run in front of it to leave a shadow of yourself in your photograph. I didn't manage to get any really successful results, but quite liked this image of Annabel from Claremont – there … but not there.

Then… back to work – no more distractions – on with the job in hand.

TUESDAY MORNING

This is my first attempt to draw the black bird.

We had another busy day and things started to move on. We found the lights in the back gallery, and discovered a sink in the workroom. We have got the black boards up and begun each of the smaller projects in mind. Loads to do, a race against time.

MONDAY AFTERNOON

The boards were delivered and we deliberated on how to install them. Spent a couple of hours painting them black. More blank spaces in the gallery.

More questions of how to make the dark wallpaper we want – use lining and paint it, or search out some plain paper, or paint it first and then attach it? Have done some internet research and will telephone some suppliers in the morning. Depending on the answers, will make a decision tomorrow.

Washed a pile of roots and they are interleaved in newspaper with weights on for the night to press them dry and flat.

For a whole week most of my free time has been dedicated to researching and learning about how to set up a live webcam stream so that we could broadcast direct from our Under Ground residency at Claremont. Today, with great reluctance and frustration, I think I'm going to have to call it a day – because of the most fundamental problem of all – difficulty connecting to the internet!

I am disappointed…but pleased that there will be one more opportunity to try to achieve this at Crate in Margate. I will make it my first priority when we've finished at the Pine to try to get this set up, but for now…I need to get on and make some work!