Reading over some of the artists talking blogs, I’m struck by the complex reasons behind the work. This sometimes makes me feel ‘guilty’ for want of a better word, as my work is mostly structured on practicalities. Obviously I work with paper because I enjoy the making, but the reasons behind….? I’m subconsciously picking up on things around me for the subject matter, but I base the design on what is practical to carry, what can be packed etc. Material wise, I use what is there – not necessarily actively sourcing materials, but trying to recycle what I have.
With this in mind, I had to quickly re think my proposal for the Land, Sea and Sky exhibition at the Chapel gallery in September. What was I thinking when I said that I will put in the paper shoes for it? There was no way in the world that I could make my shoes fit the brief.
So I spent days writing lists. I was a mental thesaurus – X is the exhibition title, what are the first words that spring to mind when you see it? So it went on from there, list after list, play on words after play…. until I found it. I will make a ‘sky’ of paper hot air balloons. I will ask members of the public to write a little note about their travels, or thoughts on something ( still need to work on that idea more!)….and these will be placed in the baskets.
In theory, I was happy with the idea, but it was another day or two before I’d worked out a design that will pack flat. I spent this morning making a few maquettes, so I could send images and other info to the Chapel Gallery, with an apology for the delay. I’d much rather be behind slightly with the paperwork, than spend the next few months worrying about my work.
Obviously, I still need to put more thought into the finished piece, but I feel happy that I have something to build on at least. Now I can box that off and go back to it nearer the date and be able to concentrate on what is happening now. ( unless they hate it of course and then I’m stumped!)
So now its gone 3pm here and that’s my one day off nearly done. I could have achieved more if I hadn’t felt the sudden need to cut the grass in my front garden. I kept glancing out of the window and wondering why my tiny patch of garden was covered in dandelions, and yet the neighbours weren’t. I could have easily left it, but as my concentration is so bad because of my tiredness, the stupid things kept interrupting my other thoughts and no matter how hard I tried to concentrate on my own work, the weeds just kept popping up inside.
I need more time off………pretty sure I’ve mentioned that ( several times) but the need to say it again gives me comfort that it might actually happen. I suppose I should be careful what I wish for…………..while pacing up and down in the tedium of my job the other day, I watched the nervous job applicants waiting to be interviewed for the casual summer positions. They were lucky to get interviews – 275 applied and they will interview about 20 of them. How can there be so many applicants for a casual job? It’s very sad.
