I dont feel so guilty now I read Claire Eastgate’s new blog:
What she says about working as an artist for money and the satifaction that brings or does’t bring is something I have wrestled with on and off for a long time and I,m looking forward to her talking about a new phase in the development of her work.
I have begun my new commission another big mosaic, not a new development for me, an opportunity to develop technique may be!
But that is not what I wanted to tell you. I wanted to say that doing a commission and developing your work by doing what floats your boat or stimulates creative juices is possible. last June 2013 I tilled the interior of some public toilets on Dover Promenade. This really took mosaic to a place I wanted to take it and had been waiting for many years to do this, after countless rejections proposing this approach on all kinds of public projects. I call it ‘organic tilling’ and of course is inspired by one of my hero artists Hundertwasser.
see the photos here
http://rob-turner.blogspot.co.uk/
There were political sensativities about the project and the toilets remained closed for about 10 months even though they were fully re-furbished. Closed right up untill last week when they were finally opened to the public and my tilling seen for the first time……! It was great to see the results in a finished building (not a building site, which was how things were when I last saw it). And those commissioning the project were very pleased as well. It costs 20p to use the toilets, and see the artwork…bargain!
I took a day off public art during the Easter period and made my own paints from the clays and rocks from the cliffs near where I live. I wrapped some in foil and backed some in a bonfire to make darker colours, and one yellow made a red, surprised when that came out the other was a slightly darker grey. I painted a wooden head and some sticks and put them in my garden……..all part of what I really would like to be doing…… instead I’m in the cooler through the summer now developing my mosaic technique.
