The fantastic weather today has made it impossible not to feel uplifted. I have been concentrating over the last few days on papermaking and although I really enjoy the physical processes of making work it felt like a real treat to just walk and look at things. Its hard to resist the simple beauty of light on the trees and I took lots of photos. Even if it doesn't seem at the time to be connected to a specific peice of work, days like today always feed back into the work somewhere.
My walk was actually for another purpose than just being there. I was on my way to catch a train to Woking where the Lightbox was running an artist advice day with Paul Stanley (their new arc advisor). I wanted to chat about some ideas for next year and also to make some connections with people there. The Lightbox is a lovely building and potentially a great resource for artists in this part of the South East. Paul was really helpful and got me to focus on my priorities for the next few years. All I have to do now is stay focussed and carry these things out!
I've just read Alex Pearl's comment about us bloggers all being in our own little worlds, which made me smile (in recognition not derision, I hasten to add). There is something about writing about your project as it develops which makes you examine things and mull over things which wouldn't necessarily be given that kind of attention normally. Its all in that uneasy area betwen diary and publication. however I feel quite a strong interest in and connection to the other projects unfolding. So perhaps it isnt all quite as unconnected as it might seem.
I have been too busy to update the blog until now. Its a strange irony that being 'an artist' involves so much stuff that you would think was the opposite of art. Yes, admin day (or rather admin week) rolls round again! I have been applying for things, evaluating things and publicising things for what seems an eternity (in fact only a few days). looking back at my last entry I was just off to work on a fellow artist's project for a few days. That was a very enjoyable experience, being creative, making things and not worrying about anything else. 'The Big Draw' at St George's Church was also a good experience although I did have to sort out publicity and contend with the effects of the postal strike on my mail-out. I involved a couple of other artists, Claire Rye (who will be following me as artist in residence at the church) and her friend Tom who were both brilliant and helped inspire all sorts of creativity from the people who joined us for the day. I had decided that I wasn't going to impose my view of 'drawing' on people, instead they could draw however they wanted as long as they responded to the building and the setting. We suggested some starting points and off they went! Interestingly enough a lot of people homed-in on the writing in the building and on the grave stones. In a churchyard of course, the same words appear frequently but it doesn't stop them being evocative.
Reading the other blogs reminds me that I haven’t written for a long while. There is so much to do at the moment that there seems little time to actually write about it. This week I am sending out the last press releases to the local papers about the ‘Big Draw’ event at St George’s Church on 13 October, ordering materials for a new landscape piece and actually assisting another artist on her community art project. Back when she asked me to help, October seemed very empty, there seemed plenty of time to just have a stint of being employed for three days!
Outside in the landscape the weather is changing and I am very much looking forward to working with the new light and new colours. Back to mud I suppose! www.papertrails.org.uk
