TENTH MONDAY
Today was the final Monday. I cleared the studio and started to put up work. This is a whole other process. Once you put something together, you can make decisions; how it works with another piece; how it would work better over there. So I move things round; and again and then again. That’s better.
Struggles with the water map are ongoing.
I have been researching leaves and famous artists. I picked an acanthus leaf for William Morris; dandelions for William Nicholson. I looked at waterlilies for Monet. I flicked through reproductions of Odilon Redon paintings and found ivy leaves. I like this quote from him: “…avec les yeux ouverts plus grandement…” Catches something of the importance of looking long and wide, grandly.
Whatever I am reading, I tend to find something that links to the things I am thinking about. In ‘The Orchid Thief’ by Susan Orlean I found:
The disadvantage of self-pollination is that it recylces the same genetic material over and over, so self-pollinating species endure but don’t evolve or improve themselves. Self-pollinated plants remain simple and common – weeds. Complex plants rely on cross-fertilisation.
This makes me think I need to talk to more artists, see more shows, discuss, argue. Held a long conversation with an artist with more traditional views on the allotment this Sunday. But I do love weeds.
