Breaking Ground

Our fourth day Under Ground. There is something strange about it – like being in a hidden world – no sun, no passers by – just us carrying out our strange self-assigned tasks in these half-lit subterranean rooms.

When I left the world above ground this morning it was damp and drizzly. Under Ground the weather means nothing. Under Ground there is no sun, no mobile phone signal, no light except that which we choose.

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.