The Cooler King (part 2)

The Diary Room:

Does anyone else feel like writing on here is similar to going into the diary room on Big Brother.

Rob… is in the diary room, talking about his problems!

‘How are you today Rob’

‘Well I am having a lot trouble starting work today’

‘Why is that Rob’

I have to start re-designing something I designed about half a dozen times already.

‘Have you been given suggestions and references to help you with this task Rob’

yes I have, but its hard to just come up with more….you know ideas and its a difficult thing and

‘Is the material you were sent Rob relevant and of use to you’?

yes I suppose it is, it does not seem very inspiring though

‘And what things does Rob think are inspiring’

But that’s the problem innit…..the things I felt were inspiring and that I drew before, are outside of the ‘Design Language’ allowed for the project. I have to revisit with only things that are specifically relevant to that area. The design I did before was inspired by folk culture from another continent not even Europe.

‘And Rob did you think that was appropriate for a project in London?’

I am sorry I can see that may be it wasn’t now.

‘Good, You said the material you were sent Rob is relevant and of use to you’?

‘Can you start work now Rob’

Yes OK I will look on the internet for more local references

Is there anything else you would like tell us Rob?

Yes, I finished painting the map for the sculpture trail. The one that was drawn by visitors to the trail. It is a user generated map. It forms part of the interpretation for the project.

‘Is Rob Happy that is finished now?’

yes it reminded me of a Breugal picture called ‘Childrens Games’ that my dad used to have at home when I was small. The inks had faded and all the colours had turned greenish.

‘Is that all Rob’

yes.

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I recieved a call to say the Clerk of Works won’t be able to make the meeting in my workshop and we will need to re-schedule.

That’s fair enough. And it will give the opportunity to finish the painted map of the Wildart Trail I have still not done….I feel bad as I have been paid months ago, yet somehow just havn’t managed to do it. No-one is chasing me for it though, so I figured it was OK to leave it for a bit. It is is such a different head space doing the painted map I just have been zoned in on a different kind of task these past weeks.

Painting:I love painting. Yet really stuggling with this map! I think you have to just jump in and do it. My world of public art is very formal and things are agreed, designed and timetabled. Creativity is scheduled and typed into planning documents, ideas are time tabled and mistakes are not allowed or in the vocabulary.

This map is outside all of those criteria and ‘just tell us when you’ve done it Rob’ sort of agreement. I am not used to these flexible openended arrangements! I have waited for inspiration to come ……and it won’t…… I just have to set up and do it…..without a plan just let it take me to a new place. A ‘proper painting’ like I used to do at St. Martins ones where it feels all wrong to start and its a wrestling match untill gradually you feel its coming back and after a while your happy with it and finishing it is easy.

There… thats my plan if I needed one.

I have a mosaic flower left to do then I can crate that mosaic up and store it. I never found out how long it took to make a sparrow, because it turned out to be a ‘sedge warbler’. The sparrow is on the last one. The next one is called ‘The Old Quarry’ and has a Bull Finch.

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Thank you Franny.

Here are links to what happened on the Treasure Hunt.

Was it art…? Nearly!

my flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rob-turner/sets/72157…

and more on my website here

http://rob-turner.blogspot.co.uk/

The project was like nothing I had done before and was the most intense project I think I have ever delivered. Left me exhausted and behind schedule for the mosaics. So over the xmas I had to put a bit of a shift in the cooler. I have the clerk of works from the developer visiting my workshop next Wed to see the progress and whether things are shaping up as they should be, and talk about installation….I am not going to make the dates in my contract but it has taken over two years to get to here, so whats the rush. I am sure I can delay installation without stressing anyone out too much.

I am a work robot and can’t string much thought together for writting.

My mind is mush and in auto pilot. Systems in my head are beginning to close down and all there is to do is crack rocks day in day out in the cooler.

But…….tommorrow I am looking forward to managing the relationship between yellow and mauve. Small beer, but I am actually looking forward to yellow and mauve. Mosaic is very different from paint as you have to use the colours as they are manufatured and if you want to change the yellow then you have to optically blend it with other greys, browns, off whites. You cant just make the yellow you want, as you can with paint. Blending with distance mixing the coulours for you, kind of like Seurat and Pontillism.

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How much mosaic do you do in one day?

I am working on the fifth one of seven. I really pushed hard on the 4th over the xmas period as momentum had slowed down.

I took a photo this morning before I started work and then again another when I had finished. Just to see what one day of mosaic work looks like?

The 2nd photograph also shows 5 working days of mosaic. Really full on days as well.

I really struggled with the 4th one called ‘field names’ and had to really dig deep into reserves to get it finished. This 5th one is at a stage where I want to work on it now as a lot of straight forward work, the lettering and some of the shapes are in place.

I like looking at the photos of the finished ones it helps me when I think there is the best part of three more to go. The anticipation of the complete set is all I have to stimulate me.

I enjoyed the dandylion today and the sparrow will prove to be a challange. I will see how long it takes to make a sparrow?

It took 1 day to make x2 corner pictures…. that means three days to do three quaters of the lettering.

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