The thing I am looking forward to the most with the US residency is being able to do my own work for 16 consecutive days. I think I’d have to go back to my college days to remember what that was like.
I think the most time I’ve taken off work to actually do my own work, is 5 days. Even then, I have to sidetrack with ‘house things’ washing, hoovering, the garden even. Can’t imagine what it will be like to not have to do those things for a bit.
This was part of a conversation I had the other day with one of the ‘guest postcard artists’ in our exhibition. She introduced me to her partner as ‘the person who had set up the New York exhibition’, making it all sound rather grand. Was I excited about the exhibition? She asked. Hmmm…My feelings about the exhibition are totally different than how I feel about the rest of my time there. I’m concerned about everyone getting their work there in time, how the exhibition will look…about having the right materials for hanging, getting it hung in time etc etc. It’s not excitement I feel at all.
I had a Skype chat with Debra Eck today. We discussed money, workshops, the weather (they are expecting a blizzard of Wednesday) and getting around the town. Would I drive over there? Ooooo not sure :-(
I had to do a mock up of my installation early this morning so that I could send her an image for publicity. We’d already decided which image to use ( which wasn’t mine BTW) but now the two galleries want a totally different image each, which is going to look like they are aren’t connected.
There’s still so much to plan, but we need money to do. Still no news of the ACE funding, but Friday is D day. Fingers crossed ….as we’ve all been saying to each other today.
My work surface now resembles the fly tippers paradise I recently reported to the local council (which they did nothing about BTW) Switching from my Liberator/ Memorial installation that I’m making for the NY exhibition, to paper boots for the Barnaby festival then to updating website and facebook pages for SCI, as artists contact me about their work in the exhibition, has made a very chaotic weekend.
Prioritising, Barnaby needed shots of the boots for their website, so I had to get that out of the way. It wasn’t that I hadn’t already done the work for the festival, it was just that I was unhappy with it so had to start again. I suppose it sounds crazy really that I turned down a gallery space (long story … but mentioned in my blog a few months ago….) for a shop front, but having a really long think about what I want from my work, it was important to me that I was happy with the space and I knew that my work was going to be seen.
Having so much experience with empty shops now, I know there is a HUGE difference in how the public perceive and interact with the work, away from gallery spaces.
So although the Barnaby installation is far from finished, there is enough to satisfy the photo shot and I can move on.
I had so much on my ‘to do’ list this weekend, I really didn’t want to spend time out visiting an artists’ pop up shop in town. It wasn’t just an exhibition, it was showing support for our local gallery – The Williamson, which is facing severe funding cuts. Volunteers have set up a pop up shop, to try to generate interest in the gallery from the public. It’s a great idea, but I just wish the gallery were seen to be doing things too and not relying so heavily on these supporters. But anyway, I showed my support, had a chat with some people, and then went back to my work.
We’ve set a deadline of 7 March from ‘the postcard’ artists involved in our exhibition, so work ( and emails!) are coming in and have to be dealt with. Just a month to our PV now and even less time till the set up begins :/
Back to it then!
SCI: http://sciartistprojects.wordpress.com/
Walking down country lanes and across fields on a sunny day is my idea of great research for my installation.
With a treasure hunt map scribbled on paper, unable to print off the website, I followed best I could across a farmers field (sorry for climbing over your fence!) to find indentations in the ground, which were left by 1944 Liberator air crash.
Even 70 years later, I was hoping to find a scrap of metal, or some remnant of what had happened. Everything had been stripped years ago though.
I took lots of photographs and studied map symbols and thought a lot about what had happened.
With a weekend off and fairly good weather forecast, I’ve got a stack of things to get on with now.
….This includes going off on a tangent and making a pile of paper boots for the Barnaby Festival later in the year. I had a call in the week from the organisors, asking for images of the work so that they can add them to the website.
hmmm..I hadn’t actually started them yet :/
33 days till I travel to New York State and now Debra (our host) is posting us pictures of the heavy snow there. I’m going to have to rethink my choice of clothes.
That’s probably a stupid thing to be worrying about given that I still have a lot of work to do of my own, but what I can fit into my suitcase is a major factor.
I’ve had more of a second wind since my day off on Thursday, managing to plan ahead by taking paper into work to cut out on my breaks. That has saved a couple of hours in the evenings.
I’ve also been corresponding with an aviation historian about the aircraft crash that my installation is based on. He’s been sending me other links that he’s written. I think I might just make up a file, or a scrapbook of sorts with all of the documentation in, so that people can read though. It will also be an easier way to make sure that he is credited. That idea needs more thought on the presentation I think.
I really hope we get the funding though. We can do all of the basics with the money we have raised so far through Kickstarter, zine sales and of course Elena Thomas’ fantastic ‘sponsor a seed’ idea, but the extra cash will let other artists take part in all of the collaborations that Debra has worked so hard in setting up.
My day started with my laptop resting on the bed covers as I caught up with the overnight postings.
My heart sunk as I read an account on facebook by an artist having 3 different jobs (in the arts) and having the humiliation of not being able to pay for food in a supermarket and having many other debts. I was shocked because my aim was to be like this person – to be self employed, have more freedom and a more varied and interesting art career. She is always so busy, so why is there not enough money coming in?
I don’t want to see this. Artists earn £200 a day and things are getting better all the time. I’m told this constantly.
I closed my laptop and looked at the weather. It was forecast sun early on and rain later. So I was out early walking the dogs in the sun and feeling my cheeks actually tingling with the fresh air and exercise for the first time in ages. Then I hung some washing out and sat in the sun reading. I feel guilty sometimes, thinking I should be working harder, doing more, but with working 5 days a week under harsh artificial lights and breathing stale air conditioned air, 8 hours a day, I just need to stop and breathe occasionally.
I need to read articles on why we are doing this, but instead I came across Dan Thompson’s account of being paid: http://mrdanthompson.wordpress.com/2014/02/20/who-pays/
A good article…. but slightly depressing. Yep, nobody pays but us.
So now it’s almost One O’clock in the afternoon and I’m only just making a start on my own work. I only have today and yet I’m time wasting.
Focus! I need to use what hours of natural day light I have left to finish of my work, shut up moaning about having a job and just be grateful that I can pay my bills.
Images shown are work in progress.
