My work, reasons behind it and what happens to it.

Well the Threshold Festival is over and I’ve arranged my next day off (tomorrow)  to de-install and pack away the installation … until next time.

There was a quote in one of the reviews about my work which said ‘ Because the time that has gone into this installation is so hard fought that it may well end up deserving more time than lifetimes tend to give’.    However that is meant to be read, I personally saw it as ‘why put all that effort into something if you are not being paid for it?  I guess that’s just the way I felt at the time as it was so exhausting making and installing it, it probably wasn’t what the reviewer was really saying at all.

What I actually got out of it was the satisfaction of creating a piece I wanted to do, of having the space to do it in, of making something that drew an audience, of having the work as a banner on a-n’s social media sites (how amazing was that? Thank you again a-n!!) ..and hearing people still talking about it a week later.

It was good not to be invisible for a couple of weeks.

So yes…. 6 weeks til we go to Athens for the artists Platform exhibition and our fundraising efforts have filled  the making paper houses void .

We’d already raised enough to pay for the exhibition space and inclusion in the catalogue by auctioning works, so the next stage is to pay for flights.  Its going well, sort of. We’ve already reached a third of our target and still have two weeks to go, but I feel that we have exhausted all of the sources that may donate.

Facebook is being a pain too. Every time the campaign is shared, less and less people are able to see it. When I posted the link recently, it was seen by 2 people. I guess they want us to pay to boost the post.

People think they are helping when they share the post, and I know they mean well, but that’s not what its about,  helping is actually donating money. Support artists and all that :-)

Back to it then…

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sci-platforms-project-at-art-athena-2016#/

I feel like I need a few days of nothingness …..  time in the studio, listening to music, scribbling out some ideas…. thinking time.

Barely a day after Paris,  I was back in work.  A day later installing the houses at The Gallery Stanhope St in Liverpool.

I had to adapt the design, as I was told, after I’d mapped it out. that there had been a leak in the roof. Right where the installation would extend to.

I condensed it so that none of the houses would be near the leak if it happened again, which was fine, but it meant that the whole installation was smaller than intended. I was worried that it wouldn’t have as much impact.

The PV was busy and I would have loved to have been around for the weekend to take in the Festival atmosphere and see how people reacted to my work… but I had to work all weekend. I can’t afford to take extra leave this early in the year in case anything else crops up – especially as I will need to take at least a week off next month for the Athens trip (if ithappens).

I’d picked up my ceramic planes from Rathbone studios too while I was off.  I’d handed them in there months ago ( with  transfers attached) but I had to wait for other artists to also give their work in  so that they could all be fired together, to keep the costs down.

They’re still upstairs in the bag I brought them home in. Still all packed up…without giving them the airing they deserve.

They’ll come out one day….

Every night this week, I’ve been working on an ACE funding application for the Athens exhibition and it felt like it took  forever. I don’t know if its right or not, but its done now.

Despite Paris, I feel like I haven’t had a life for weeks :-(

Meanwhile , here’s some images of my installation…

I’ve just had a really welcome break from work (paid and my own) in Paris.

It was totally unexpected Birthday present from my family (well, unexpected 3 weeks ago when I was told) but a really fabulous, though brief, trip.

I spent as much of Friday as I possibly could, preparing and packing up houses for the installation and put a lid on the boxes – physically and literally. That’s it, I can do no more, I was getting over stressed and fraught with it all.

Saturday, I was up before 4am and on the road by 5. In Paris by 9am and at the Louvre by 12noon.   Its been years since I was last in Paris and I’d forgotten how people actually queue for hours to visit a gallery – especially as it was Easter and people had time to spare.  To stand in line to get into the Louvre AND the Pompidou would have used up at least 5 precious hours of the 2 day trip, without even including seeing the artwork. It wasn’t worth it.

We did tourist stuff and walked miles.

I’d had several emails about the Threshold exhibition while I was away, and although I’d sworn to myself i wouldn’t read or respond to anything, a few needed an immediate response.  What can you do- wait and worry about it for a day, or just do it?

One was the draft of a press release so in order for it to go out, it needed just one simple question answering.  Sigh.

http://www.artinliverpool.com/threshold-festival-2016-featured-artist-wendy-williams/?

I’ve had an awful lot of publicity lately and although I should be feeling really pleased with myself, its made me more and more anxious. I feel like something wonderful is being expected of me but I’m afraid I will let everyone down.

Its just houses……LOADS of them :-(

Thank you a-n for focusing on my work over on the your Instagram account this week .  Its really given me a high :-)

I feel like I should be writing a really interesting post just now as I’m getting so much exposure and people are being directed to my blog.  But sadly I’m still living a bit of a dull life. I’ve got up in the mornings, replied to emails, made several paper houses for my installation and left them to dry while I go to work and when I’ve got home, I’ve started again.

This is how it is until next week when I can install it at the Threshold festival 

As an update on the funding for the Athens exhibition, I registered to start a ‘Grants For The Arts’ Arts Council funding application on Monday 14th March and despite them stating that it will take 5 days to validate my name, I’d heard nothing.   However… it now looks like I can access it.

Finally.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a brief blog about meeting another artist by chance and how we connected through our Instagram accounts.

This week, I’ve made another connection….

It was while searching the Art Athena  website  (http://www.art-athina.gr/parallel-programme-2015/platforms-project-art-athina-2015/  ) for ideas on what work we could take, I started looking into what other UK groups had taken part in the past. There were hardly any to be honest, but I instantly made a connection with one group – Harrington Mill Studios, based in Nottingham  http://www.harringtonmillstudios.co.uk/  Although our group consists of members from several studio groups and theirs is just them, we do have a lot of similarities.   I wrote to them.

I found out that they too had taken part in SUPERMARKET Stockholm, but not the same time as we had. They too had made many connections through the experience.

Like us, they had to take work in suitcases and, well, I don’t know about them, but we certainly felt ‘poor’ compared to the artists who were able to ship massive paintings and sculptures.

They were well ahead of us with getting the work together and booking flights and accommodation etc. We’re still stuck on ‘Where are we going to get the money from?’

We paid for the booth by the skin of our teeth – having initially thought we’d raised enough through the auction of art works, we had unexpected costs – one being a £20 fee for transferring the money internationally.

I looked into arts council funding again. I hadn’t applied for anything since successfully securing funding for Stockholm 4 years ago, so I surprised to find that it now takes 5 days just to validate my name. Seriously??? 

While wasting 5 days. I’m looking onto crowdfunding again. ..

Apart from that, I’ve had a week of online interviews (look out for Instagram on Monday for one of them !!)  as well as preparations for Threshold.

That is getting scarily close and I’m still nowhere near ready .  I need time off again :-(