I had no idea that SWAN was an international thing. http://www.womenarts.org/swan/ Jean (McEwan) and I have been asked to attend on 29 March but I never thought of it being anything other than a small Jamestown event. How come I hadn’t heard of it in the UK? Of course I knew about International Women’s day, but not this. Even though it means arriving 3 days earlier than the others, we said ‘Yes’ because we thought it would be a good way of meeting other artists. Reading about the event, has made me realise how much organisation has gone on ‘on the other side’. I’ve been so absorbed with coordinating everything here, I never stopped to think how much has been done elsewhere. Our trip over to Jamestown is becoming more and more significant.
As the departure date gets closer, I find myself winding down and switching off in all areas. I’m just going through the motions in work, looking at my watch more and getting more impatient and rattled with the public.
I am supposed to make a couple of small works for the exhibition, but the more I think about having to do specific works, the more I panic and get distracted. I’ve found myself cleaning out the fridge or other equally mindless things, rather than working. I have so much to do…and for fear of sounding clichéd, have so little time ..
At least the PV invites are sorted! ( see images)
For different views of this exhibition and everything it involves, read the ‘artists talking’ blogs of Michael Bowkowsky, Jean McEwan, Louise Atkinson and Elena Thomas. ..and get background info on the website: http://sciartistprojects.wordpress.com/
Is there such a thing as font snobbery? Heated debates abounded today.
It’s such a difficult thing when it just doesn’t feel right. I mean, you don’t want to offend and say’ don’t like it’, but if we’d just gone with it, well, it will just fester wouldn’t it?
The images chosen are great, don’t get me wrong. The design is fabulous… but the font used…. meh :-(
Although it would have worked well anywhere else, it just didn’t sum up the group. Does that make sense?
The main problem is that we will be occupying two very different galleries, so we need two different PV cards. The simplest solution (in my opinion) was that we used an image for one, and then just reverse it for the other.
Nah… too simple.
So two very different images were chosed to represent two very different galleries. To try to tie them together, fonts were used which sum up the word ‘Colonize’ . Yes, maybe it did, but for want of a better desciption, it made us look a bit cheesy.
Being a basic Ariel font for almost everything type of person, I feel like one of those …’well, I don’t know anything about art, but I know what I like’ People.
Not so for some of the more expert in the group.
Another day, another …well, I won’t say problem, but maybe a …hiccup
Swings and roundabouts….
I’m now getting very adept at finding money saving offers. From saving a £1 here and there by getting a certain bus to work for example, to cutting out coupons – something I thought I’d never do!
I was thrilled then to find out recently that one of the perks of the job is being able to borrow an ICOM card for while I am in the US. Oh the joy!!
So we can’t afford food – but hey, I can see any exhibition I want for free :-)
As if on cue, my washing machine began spewing water from its base at the weekend. I caught it all with towels and newspapers (thankful of my hoard) before any damage was caused. I’m trying to stay positive – it happened while I was there after all, but using every ‘spare’ penny I have to fund my trip, means that any repair will have to wait.
I woke at 5.30 this morning. I was thinking of how much dog food I would need to drop off at the various friends and family who will be minding the dogs while I’m away. What a stupid thing to think about so early.
I tried to go back to sleep, but couldn’t so I got up. I read my emails. I looked at the stats at my website – which had shot up since Debra had started promoting the exhibition over in Jamestown. I realised that a couple of the posts that had received the most hits, had out of date information on them, so I re-wrote them.
Then I looked at the weather forecast. It was going to be dry. I dug out laundry from the basket from the last couple of days and began hand washing it – to drip dry on the line. I thought of my mother, who thought nothing of doing this. It wasn’t so bad I suppose, but how long can I keep this up? Can I rely on the weather for at least another week?
The journey to work on the bus, was filled with email correspondences with artists about the exhibition. Missed deadlines etc. and when I got near the gates, I caught up with one of my work colleagues. I stopped myself from moaning about being tired when I realised she had just come from her early morning cleaning job, straight to working with me. Working part time ( or full time for that matter) in a public sector job and trying to make a living wage, don’t mix. I had taken the last of the full time jobs after the last cull.
So now I’m tired. I need to make small works that will sell in the exhibition. Well, obviously not now, but when I get home later. I’ve been thinking about this for ages, but it just isn’t coming. The more I think about it, the harder it becomes and I just end up worrying about things like dog food :-(
Feeling a bit low today as I adjust to the reject from Arts Council over the AIDF application. I think it was more of a shock that we were rejected because they ‘On balance preferred other applications’ and not because of anything we wrote or omitted. It made us sound that we were just not interesting enough.
‘If you wish to reapply ‘ is not really an option is it? Firstly, its obviously too late for this trip and secondly, there’s no way the second application would be any different. We will still be a diverse group of artists, enhancing our skills by collaboration and networking . Not any other way of putting it is there?
What do they want – a bit of tap dancing and performance on the way?
Anyway…. bitterness aside, we’ve had to start thinking about how we can support ourselves over there. We are thinking of doing drop in art classes now rather than just full scale workshops. Some of which, we will accept donations for. It reminds me of that series on Sky arts, where artists either busked or drew/painted to pay their way. Not something I’d relish doing, but it might be a case of having to :-(
Ironically, the Swedish members of our group have had no trouble at all in getting funding. Only in Britain eh?
The blog continues over on the group page : http://sciartistprojects.wordpress.com/2014/03/14/getting-ready/
