On with the research paper then. Lacan and the gaze.
In the meantime have been busy in between periods of grogginess. DAD has set up a temporary ‘story shop’ in an empty venue in Dover where we will be collecting stories from people connected with Buckland paper mill which used to make Conqueror paper in Dover.
Feeling very chuffed. Got very encouraging feedback on my draft research paper. Maybe I can pull it together by May and submit this year. Then I can just concentrate on my practice when I return to college next year.
Feeling fairly energetic again. I took the bull by the horns yesterday and decided to take up an offer by my critical studies tutor to read what I have done so far on my research paper which I don’t actually have to submit until next year. It’s just that I’ve already done so much work on it I thought I might as well get some feedback now if I can. So I sent it off with not a little trepidation. I am trying to investigate autobiography as a component of both the making of work and the response to it so the form is also a kind of memoir, which I feel is rather risky, in that the whole thing could just get way too subjective.
What a day. Decided to see if the dog could walk without pulling me over and tested him on a longish walk. He was not too bad! Months and months of training and help from a dog handler are paying off. Positive reward based system only, which requires endless amounts of patience. Anyhow we got to where we wanted to in time for a meeting, where he was quite well behaved. Then he was allowed a loopy run in the snow and then we walked home and he managed a few spells of “pure genius” when he actually seemed to understand what was required.
So now for a quiet time in the studio I hope. That is after making a load of phone calls, finishing a press release, updating the DAD website (www.dadonline.eu) and generally wrapping up the day. We’ve appointed a coordinator for the education programme on which I was leading so hopefully that will all run smoothly.
I’ve been taking a mini break in the sense that I’ve been making some Chinese New Year pieces. I usually make a card for my mother but this year have decided to make a few more as presents and also, inspired by DAD’s Remade in Dover (http://www.remadeindover.net/HOME%204.html) upcycling project, I’ve been using old postcards, some of which I’ve had since I was at school. There is no point keeping them unlooked at in a box; funny though, when I took them out to look at again, they brought back loads of memories.
Clare Smith's mixed English/Chinese heritage informs her perspective on issues of identity and categorisation. Her nomadic childhood and early adulthood have meant a somewhat ambivalent relationship to place, reinforced by the sense of ambiguity that comes from her mixed identity. Smith works with drawing, print media, collage and moving image to investigate this ambivalence, with references to craft, the importance of labour and the handmade. Through her choice of materials and approaches, she creates work which attempts to create a sense of unity, an interpretation of Homi Bhabha's "Third Space" - seen as a space in which different parts can come together to challenge dominant ideas of wholeness. Collaboration is part of Smith’s practice and she is also co-founder of Dover Arts Development (DAD) together with painter, Joanna Jones. This involves working with many different artists, curation, organisation, event management, creating networks across East Kent and influencing the public realm in Dover. Clare works from a studio in Dover. She has an MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins and has exhibited nationally and internationally.
