After an incredibly stressful weekend spent at work in the cafe I got back in the studio and managed an incredibly productive thirteen hour stint in University. The students that were selected for Gallery North were given access at 9am and we had a short meeting outlining how the space was to be used. I wheeled over the smaller canvas piece over to the gallery soon after.
We had a meeting later to allow the students to give a little bit of information regarding their practices, before that I sorted out my rather large woodshop bill and started the process of strengthening the structure so I would be able to walk on top and sow the grass seed.
I’ve been so busy with the set up that I’ve been letting this blog slide, now I am in a pretty good place regarding the show and can concentrate on the written side of the course.
My construction has now had all the compost and topsoil laid and I have just begun the process of sowing. The actual structure is giant and I feel incredibly proud of the work that my first years and I have done!
Now I have to manage the space, keep the soil watered and paint the walkways. The weight that has gone from my shoulders is fantastic, now I just have to hope that nature takes its course and my mound of earth turns into a lush green hill!.
I’m now halfway through the first week of setup. Stress and panic are slowly turning into accomplishment and success. After a disastrous first day in which the wood I ordered didn’t turn up and a bit of a mess today with a window leak, I have now got the basic shape of all my frames. I want to get them complete and strengthened by the end of tomorrow so I can have a little play on Friday before laying the tarpaulin and the compost.
I have been using the time model of two weeks cultivation time which means I need to have the grass seed planted by Monday at the latest. This will hopefully mean a good level of coverage for my assessment!
While I am incredibly excited about the rest of the setup I have been finding the process incredibly stressing. I tend to work in a slower, planned fashion. Leaving a lot of the show up to chance – the cultivation of grass on the slope for example – is refreshing in ways but I probably shouldn’t be trying out risky techniques for my degree show!
My two first year helpers have been brilliant so far however I do seem to constantly think that I don’t have enough for them to do. As I can’t sweep or paint the floor until the seed is sown I don’t have any constant tasks for them. I have also decided against painting the brick walls due to the sheer height of the room and the rough and ready nature of the space. A blessing for my first years when I see the others sanding walls for the third day in a row…
Well we are now onto our last week before the degree show preparation starts. I’ve noticed that quite a few of the bloggers on here have already started their preparation and it’s interesting to see how they have progressed.
Unfortunately at my end I keep getting banished rather sporadically from my studios while the tutors assess the lower years. Admittedly my studio practice is in a sort of limbo while I wait to be able to construct the bases for my installation. This has enabled me to have a period of time to look back at my research and assess which areas of my practice have been successful in this last hectic month.
Since my last post I have rescued the rotted canvasses, well the compost at least. The new canvas piece is growing well and I have started trying out some new techniques to stop any bowing or distortion under the weight of the compost. I’m currently looking into the idea of mounting a board onto the underside and then re-canvassing over as to keep the appearance of an adapted canvas.
By getting underneath the work I have suddenly become very aware that I don’t have a definite method of display. In the studio and past exhibitions I have been able to wheel the work around on plastic supermarket wheels and lay the work on brick or polystyrene. I feel that this will be either be brash or look ill-considered in the degree show. I now have a bit of a conundrum to decipher. Whether I wish to eminate mounting techniques that have painterly relevance, thus emphasising the use of canvas, or look at constructing a hidden plinth underneath the work. As writing this I’ve finally managed to get back into the studio so some practical experimentation will ensue!
