Formulating, Planning and Hatching.

2012 has so far proved to be as busy and exciting as I thought it might.

New Ferry Butterfly Park empty shop project is well on its way, see my other blog. www.a-n.co.uk/p/1838820

My job at Deane Road Cemetery is going well, the restoration is looking amazing so far, not too many new volunteers yet but I am working on that.

I’ve also just been offered the opportunity to do some sessional lecturing at Wirral Metroploitan College for the BA Fine Art course. It’s the course that I attended a few years ago, might seem a bit strange going back to teach but I am very excited about it I have to say. The whole reason I went back to Uni as a mature student was because I wanted to teach, I knew by the end of my degree I wanted to teach at BA level or above so knew I needed my MA which is why I went off to UCLAN.

I then got so embroiled with my own community engaged practice that I’d kind of put the idea of teaching on hold. This opportunity is only one day a week and only til the end of March but will be a fantastic opportunity for me I think. Can’t wait to start now, see what these syudents have to offer.

Then finally I’ve almost completed my piece of work for the SCI Supermarket exhibition in Stockholm. Just have to make a box for it to travel safely in now.

The piece is about ‘Spero’, this means Hope in Latin. Over many years I have collected my losing lottery tickets, I never knew why I kept them really, just knew that one day I’d make some kind of artwork out of them. I’ve only ever won a tenner here and there, it seems fruitless to continue buying the tickets really but there was always the hope that one day we’d get that big win. The same as every other one of the millions of people who play each week, I wanted to help my family financially, pay off my mortgage or even better buy a bigger house. Go to Austalia, this was my main thing, my brother has liver there for nearly 15 years, he is married now and has two gorgeous children. I want to be able to afford to go and visit him, see Melbourne, the place that he settled in and see why that one city made him want to stay across the other side of the world from all his family.

Of course, he has his lovely new family now but we all still miss him, that doesn’t stop. Being a starving artist doesn’t pay well enough for trips to Australia, specifically as there are four of us to get over there now. So the lotto was my one hope.

I wanted to know what other peoples ‘one hope’ would be if they won. I asked around and the responses all differed but the primary thing was a house, a home – security seems to be the overlying thing most people want. I was suprised at the lack of travelling, though some people did want to travel, they want that house first. Lay down their roots and then go and see the world after…maybe.

A few people want a farm and self sustainability. A few people would give to charities.

I decided to base an artwork around all of these hopes.

I had precisly 562 hopes. Thats how much I have spent on losing lotto tickets over the years – £562. Not that it would have got me anywhere near Australia in this day and age but still £562.00 is a lot of money.

I have made a book of peoples hopes using the three wasted lotto tickets that I actually won £10 on (and then stupidly forgot to claim) and the binder of the book is a beautiful piece of old oak, sanded back to its former glory. Within the oak I’ve drilled holes and scrolled many of my collected tickets into the holes spelling out the word Spero.

‘Dum Spiro Spero’

Cicero

“While I breathe, I hope”

I just wrote a really long post on the Butterfly Park blog and just an image is up, nothing else, no idea why.

Thought I’d try this blog too to see if its me or a-n gone wrong!

Anyway…..

2012 will be very exciting.

The Butterfly Park empty shop project got the FULL grant I asked for. Yippee!!!

I’ll be project managing that all summer as well as my (part time) day job which is full on but really interesting and will include organising a photography exhibition for the Independedents Biennial I hope.

Arena has its 30th Anniversary in 2012 so we have a huge events calendar to plan, parties, exhibitions, auctions, artists in residences and potentially a book! Very exciting year ahead.

I also got work accepted into a group exhibition in Stockholm so must get started doing work for that.

I reckon 2012 will be a ProPlus kinda year.

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks at a loss.

Slipped a disc in my back and couldn’t get into the studio to do any work.

I was working from home for my day job just fine but couldn’t seem to concentrate on any artwork, maybe because all my bits and bobs were in the studio, my inspiring stuff, my books, art magazines etc. I was googling away but it just isn’t the same.

I had however been asked to submit a proposal for an exhibtion next year, the idea had to involve a box.

So I spent my time thinking about what I could do for this, by the time I got back into the studio I was back on a role. I was really grateful to be asked to submit as it was exactly what I needed to give me a kick up the jacksy and even if my submission is not accepted, I plan to make the piece as it’s got me hooked.

I’m making a ‘Butterfly Park in a box’ in a tiny Letterpress cabinet. Using Lepidoptera Drawers as inspiration but filling each segment with miniature artists books, drawings,maps and objects found on site at New Ferry Butterfly Park (see my other blog www.a-n.co.uk/p/614513/ )

I also managed to make three collage pictures to enter in the auction at Elevator Studios next Friday evening, I’m not sure if they will be accepted yet but really wanted to put something in then got carried away after I had made the first and made three. All use old life drawings of mine but intertwined with pages of old shakespearean verse and words. I’m quite pleased with the way they turned out in the end.

I then went over to ‘Drawing Sessions’ and event organised by Drawing Paper and The Royal Standard. I’m a big fan of the Drawing Paper, there have been some truly beautiful works in them.

The event was really fabulous, hats off to the organisers, interpreting sound, making your own sound (through amps) whilst drawing, telepathic drawings, films, music, very well executed with some really interesting works coming through.

Glad to be back in the zone.

I am not off to a good start – I just realised it 12.45am and I have been reading a-n online for 3 hours and have not planned the school lunches or prepped for my butterfly park meeting in my house tomorrow (today)….

…..must try harder

….must try harder

New blog for a new start.

I found out this week that I’ve been appointed to one of the Directors posts at my studio, Arena Studios and Gallery in Liverpool.

In 2012 we have our 30th anniversary as a succesful studio and are formulating plans for how to celebrate this.

I have a new job as Activity Plan Manager for an amazing Heritage Restoration site that plans to re-open in 2012.

I am still heavily involved with New Ferry Butterfly Park see my other blog www.a-n.co.uk/p/614513/

I have applied for funding for an empty shops project on behalf of the Butterfly Park and for a grant to enable us to do workshops during 2012.

Primarily I am an artist – first and foremost and after a much needed break once the MA finished I’m ready to get back to it and find some fabulous projects to be involved with or exhibitions to take part in, mainly I want to make art. In order for this to be possible I need to plan – need to be quite draconian in that planning.

I’m interested in words, text, books, maps, codes and when I looked up the meaning of the word formulate a lot of the synonyms stood out to me. A lot of them seem to expain my way of working at this particular time.

Formulate: Synonyms: codify, coin, compose, concoct, contrive, cook up, couch, define, detail, develop, devise, draft, draw up, dream up, evolve, express, forge, frame, give form to, hatch, indite, invent, make, make up*, map, originate, particularize, phrase, prepare, put, set down, systematise, vamp, work, work out.

In my home, I am list woman, I write and leave notes all over the place that remind me, help me organise my life around my kids and work. I am, by nature, disorganised. I kind of thrive on disorder but I realise that 2012 will be an extremely busy (though exciting) year and as such I am going to need to plan my life in order that my own art gets a chance too.

I wonder if this will mean my artwork, my practice, will alter somewhat , who knows, I hope not too much but maybe it will be for the better. This blog will help me decide I hope….but time will tell.