It was my turn for a crit at our artists’ group meeting yesterday afternoon, and I decided to pass around past issues of Kalender for comment. Some interesting feedback, and all in all quite encouraging. So, I’m feeling a bit more positive about the fifth issue of Kalender that’s in production right now. I was worried that it may be in danger of becoming pedestrian and predictable, but I’ve had a break from it as our lovely friends Hilde and Alex from Harrow came to stay over the weekend, and maybe the gap has been beneficial.
On Monday, we took Hilde up to St Andrew’s so that she could see the location – she’s been following this blog and reading Kalender on the Festial website – only to find a notice on the door stating that the church has had to be closed for internal repairs. Oh no! But I went across to the keyholders’ bungalow and although they were not at home, the enormous key was hanging in a special box beside the door. Swiftly borrowing it (and, of course, leaving a note to say that I’d done so!) we were able to gain access. Inside, it’s quite a sorry sight, as wood and masonry have been falling. Sadly, the faded charm of the place is verging on disintegration. I’ve since been in touch with the keyholder and he has kindly given me permission to get the key and visit anytime, on the understanding that ‘on my own head be it’.
Anyway, I’ve had a couple of new ideas this morning that I’m about to go and try out, and hopefully the injection of new images will liven things up a bit. One thing that came out of the crit was that people could see the structure underlying each issue, and also the regular ‘features’ that are beginning to emerge, but they don’t feel that it’s a problem, i.e. that boring predictability is setting in!
Although at the moment it often feels frustratingly like skimming over the surface, I need to keep reminding myself that Kalender is actually building into a sizeable sketchbook of potential starting points for exploration. In fact, I can imagine it leading to at least a couple of years’ work once the Festial year ends, and that’s a reassuring thought.
