scope to play

post dinner and we’re all sat solitary in the living room, our faces lit by our devices, the dog sleeps.  i glance through the curtains at the last of the daylight backlighting a chimney and digital arial.  this day has an emotional one.

when i write a post my usual preference is to select and process the images i want to include.  tonight i’ve mixed it up a bit and have taken to writing without the image accompaniment – so there’s no telling what might be in store.

starting with the last thing of the day – an unexpected opportunity to talk to the man next door who insists on burning plastic in a bin at the bottom of their garden.

i suspect that the man has an underlying condition – of which i have no idea.  when i spoke with him he told me that he needs to burn the plastic because they have abig family and generate a lot of it.  i told him that we don;t want to live next door to fires with plastic in them and if we need to get help with their recycling i’m sure we can sort something out.

i have been waiting to have that conversation as the amount of plastic being burn has slowly been escalating.

stepping back from the difficult relationship at home i’d like to reflect upon the end of a relationship in derby today.

we packed up the cornish stone ellipse by richard long –  the artist rooms exhibition that has been in derby since december.

i don’t mind sharing with you that after leaving the museum at lunchtime i had to have some tears to help me get through the feeling of loss.

the drawn from the land exhibition has been one that made me feel good.  the works on show i got to know better through the activities connected to the exhibition.

the tears at lunchtime was part of the mourning of the passing of the time i was lifelong learning assistant at the museum.  in that role i was part of the conversation about what activities to provide.

i didn’t anticipate how i would feel closer and more understanding of long’s work and how the activities i ran made me feel so good.

last week i had the opportunity to show a group around the exhibition.  it was another first for me and …… …… ..

i pause.

as i came home this afternoon i had feelings about how i might keep the feeling alive and how to set up things i can do that revisits the times that i felt so good about.  i recognise that this is likely to need to be offsite from the museum because the museum is on a continuous forward momentum.

sandwiched in between dismantling the long and i’ve remembered how the technician from tate gave me a quick pep talk about how to handle an art work even though he didn’t actually say howto –

sandwiched between this morning and this evening, my afternoon was with the skin and bone trio – a cancelled session elsewhere freeing me up to attended the trios rehearsal.

they work as a trio and are looking to make it a quartet – with my inclusion.  words or reality ?  time will tell what it is.

i tried out some visual ideas made prior to today as well as coding some in real time.  the proposition made by the trio is anything but conventional so many things lay up for grabs and discussion.

i left without discussing much as there was talk of cd’s and album cover artwork.  the biorhythms  being somewhat out of sync today.  there’s time for this – another time – that is me and what i’m doing and what my needs are. oh the dynamics of a performing group.

having experienced the feelings i did made possible by the drawn from the land exhibition, i pose myself the question of how might i revisit them – recreate them ?

confidence and context seem to be the areas of concern.  confidence coming from context.  the exhibition of some of long’s work forming the context in the last three months.  so – how do i generate the context to frame the things i’d like to do – going forward ?

i want the context to include the participants in whatever the work is – the work existing because of those participating in it.

and what of life at the museum ?  the legacy of the exhibition – the young coproducers network is running until may and there are other upcoming exhibitions and activities – so life and love continue – slightly different context and materials.

i reflect at the confidence from context realisation.

i glance around the living room.  the dog is dreaming and whimpers and muffled growls break the silence.

my voice can be stronger if i know why i’m saying it.

this is something i need to work at.

out of the window i see natures marks place upon a foggy canvas.  the recent extreme weather affording time to eat, relax, tidy piles of paper and spend time with the family.  my fingers tingling with excitement as i compose my thoughts ahead of this post.

i pause and listen to a bit of depeche mode, i watch the cursor flashing – slightly slower than the beat of the music.

on my mind is the close of drawn from the land, the beginning of the derby museums young co-producers network and my evolving view of my own youth.

my own youth currentlu in my thinking due to re-watching the bbc programme synth britannia.  i’ve watched it before many times and finding it late last night spent time revisiting it.  i’m glad i did as it was much more of a pleasure to watch than before.

i’ve been reflecting why this might be.  one thing i’m sure of is that i feel happier so its easier to watch the documentary that covers the time of my teens.

in 2007/08 during the second year of my degree i was surprisingly haunted by my teens.  it got so difficult to manage i sort help through student services.  my problems were further exacerbated by the diagnoses of my dyslexia at the end of that academic year.

watching the programme last night i saw again how music had been a large part of my life in my teens.  the advent of the synthesiser creating a sound that i got and felt at one with.  music was an easy art form to access.  in ipswich there were many other creative / artistic endeavours happening – i assume there were – and i wanted to be connected with more than i was, there was a niggling something i couldn’t put my finger on.  align that to a family life that was contradictory and viola i found solace in the theatre.

before watching the synth documentary i watched
Tones, Drones and Arpeggios: The Magic of Minimalism

the combination of watching this programme and the experiences of being involved with drawn from the land  places me in a new space – it might be a threshold to something new.

the cross over from emotion led response to intellectual enquiry.

sonic composition vs fine art – maybe ?

as drawn from the land closes, its legacy is beginning –

derby young co-producers network :

the network has met twice and the project begins next weekend.  i’m involved as a link to the museum and if needs arise as a mentor too.  the opportunity presented by the museum is extraordinary and over the coming weeks i look forward to seeing what the network explores and where they take it.

its interesting to note how writing this post has calmed the excitement and leaves me in a place where i need some lunch and to wonder how i take forward the feeling i’ve had this morning.  again it feels like a moment of connecting to why is it that i make things, express things, show things, share things.

agh – its because these are things that make me feel good about myself – even though they rail against deep routed conditioning.  interesting isn’t it how the past presents itself in the future.  i can control this.

part of being human is the sharing of experience and today is one of those once in a while days.  our dog florence jumps up onto the window sill and once again sets to watch the swirling snow fall with great dedication.  i need to share with you that earlier i got freaked out by youth from our neighbours crossing into our garden. it’s a small act but part of an accumulating array of small acts.  i dispose of the words so i might be able to sit and reflect as i want to.

i think a plan might be to write this and then venture out with florence to try and clear the blocked energy paths.

i like days like today.  nature calling a time out if we want it or not – thats a time out we the human beings need to take while the natural world stretches, vents and clears itself of pent up tension.

in amongst my current tension there has been some really good stuff happening this week.  beginnings and a preparing for an end.  the end is the richard long exhibition at derby musuems and art gallery – it closes this coming sunday.

part of the preparations have been two firsts made possible by the exhibiton.

this week has seen my first exhibition tour at the museum.  a group visiting from nottingham had booked a guided visit and i was given the opportunity to lead it.  the group were interested in long and wright.  i really enjoyed guiding them through the museum and was so appreciative of the questions and engagement of the group.  many conversations and exchange of ideas, views and experiences.

on the same day in the afternoon was the first gathering of the young co-producers network – made possible by funding from artist rooms.  i was invited along by the audience and communities manager to talk about he long exhibition and to start a period of mentoring for the project.

the museum, working with a recent graduate is opening the doors to the museum for young people to walk in an get involved in a creative hack of the museum that they devise and deliver.

the co-production network is part of the museum’s investment into increasing their engagement with young people.  on monday i attended some training for a pilot scheme working with a particular targeted group of young people.  the day was long and intense and we have some more conversations yet to happen to unpack and apply what was learnt.

my involvement with the richard long exhibition has impacted upon me so positively and given me many opportunities to do things i’m interested in a enjoy.  to be honest with you i can;t fully put it into words yet – i’m not quite sure how i’ll get on once we’ve taken the ellipse apart.

i do however have a working wacom tablet and i have been playing this morning.  all that i’ve read about them suggest they take time to get used to, so time i’ll give myself.

this week has also seen my success in the search for a projector.  its unlikely to arrive for a while as the weather has impacted upon the delivery process.  interestingly within the young co-producers network meeting i learnt about events where the particiapants take along their projectors and set up with images on the walls of the venue.  i was really excited to learn of these events.

while watching the snow i’ve been playing again with sketch ideas for the skin and bone project.  there might be  a gig in may where we debut the visual component.

might this be the beginning of the revival of vj plagiarist ?

my phone has been lighting up with yellow warnings of snow – i look out the window and the bight sunlight makes my eyes squint, the bluesky clear of cloud.  warnings of things to come.

its been half term so routine patterns have been slightly disrupted and this is a good thing.  i’ve spent more time this week considering secondhand projectors and i’ve metaphorically kicked myself at missing out on two.  i reassure myself its simply a question of time. a mental image of morpheus appears and i smile to myself.

we’re starting back with forest school after half term and i’m looking forward to getting back into the wood.  this week has seen me checking and preparing our resources and making another mallet.

the highlight of the week has been facilitating a family friday session at derby museums.  it was the penultimate richard long inspired activity and it didn’t disappoint.  the invitation was to use the natural materials – sticks and stones to create an image with an option to have that image photographed and added in real time to a slide show on the projection screen.

the 90 minute session flew by and by the end we’d added 66 images to the show.  along the way the process we were using facilitated conversations about the practice of sir richard long and how there was work by him upstairs.

i loved the diverse responses and ideas.

i loved how parents got involved and demonstrated positive role modelling for their children – their pictures being copied by their young children.

i’ve made a selection of my favourite composite images created by the image display to share with you :

i glance over to the window – the afternoon sun lighting up  **** phone rings *****

sometime later its getting dark now, my earlier happy mood further helped by a really positive phone call that potentially will led into something really really positive.

my week has been good and enjoyable and productive – the sun has been out – a good week to be on holiday.

i’ve bee tip of the week !

“Generate value in your practice by developing the relationships with people and organisations connected to it.” Tip of the Week from Andrew Martyn Sugars, AA2A Artists 2011 – 12 Nottingham Trent University @TrentUni @andrewsugars

https://twitter.com/AA2Aproject/status/963030591338876928

yes ! aa2a have published my top tip and i’ve managed to take my own advice this week.

(i note that the embed function is improving yet i still can;t press the final button to make it stick – note for a-n web development team)

i feel quite bingly. my week has had lots of things starting or restarting.

i’m happy this is the case as my january developed into such an enjoyable month that i honestly wondered how i might follow it up.  the answer came – with new stuff !

my confidence is still on the up and it feels good.

one of the starting things is the skin and bone trio.  i’m researching what generative visuals i might want to present to the trio as a starting point for them to ponder.  here are three images from a section of work done earlier in the week.  i’m pleased how they look.

a different day – different starting point – different images to share.

the skin and bone opportunity presents many problems to find solutions for.  one of them is how to control the nature of the generation.  this week a wacom tablet arrived and i’ve fallen foul of operating system incompatibility – i work at finding a workaround and i do have an idea.

i’ve left the restart till last – picking up the whittling of skulks of foxes.  a friend’s son is 21 soon and there’s a party to go to.  what to give ?  i decide it’s time to share my skulks with him.  for the first time i work with cherry, sourced from a volunteer session doing woodland management tasks near to where i live.

i’ve found the cherry really lovely to work with.  it was felled two weeks ago and sat outside so moisture content is high.  whittling as been relatively easy – once i remembered what steps i needed to make to create the fox !  the third attempt is the one i’m going to give.  i spent a lot more time with this set and i’ve realised a lot.   the hardest part is making the nose and of the 8 i only had one that looked vaguely how i wanted it to.  i went back in gently whittled away more wood.

i use homemade charcoal to blacken their noses.

as the cherry dries – it changes colour !

i’m so looking forward to giving the present to him.

returning to the skin and bone work – i think i have a plan.  as the project is for all intense and purpose voluntary, i’m keeping in focus the “it needs to be fun”.  so with this in mind i’m making time to play when it feels good to do so.

i have a sense of the layering i need to be able to feel responsive to the trio’s improvisation.  for now i’m concentrating on establishing what the three layers are.  at some point i hope to improvise (play) along with the trio.

i have some options to consider for human interface.  all in good time.

something that has been giving me a headache this week is how to show my work.  i think the project needs what i create to be projected in some way.  i’m keen for the output to be part visual and part light show.  my time on ebay has been on the increase of late.  (i currently don;t own or have access to a projector.) .

one thing i’m aware of is that my wish to upgrade my phone – ongoing since last summer – might well have to wait again as i work out if i have any budget to purchase something second hand.

the trio have mentioned the intention to consider making an application for funding.  we’ll met sometime soon to explore why we need the money.  i feel the conversation could become tense as we collectively explore our attitude to how might we work towards the wanted outcomes of potential funders ?

its half term next week so not sure how it’ll pan out at home.  i know i have commitments at the beginning and end of the week – i wait happily to discover what scope for play and fun present themselves.

happy weekend everyone.