I’d like to ask a question. What’s wrong with obviousness?
The way I work is, I think, akin to play. I have an idea, or find some materials or one thing suggests another. I work with textiles mainly, so I get out the scissors, pins, needle and thread or sewing machine. I then construct things, I might write or embroider some text on a piece of clothing. Recently I embroidered some text I’d written about how I’m feeling a bit ragged lately, and perhaps in need of repair. I stitched it onto a worn out petticoat. I alluded to the underneath-ness of it, covered with a respectable-ness. I quite like it… but it is obvious. I find myself thinking I could be more obtuse. I could make my audience work a little harder perhaps.
But in making one part of an audience work harder, you lose some of the others who are drawn in by the accessibility of the work. I want to keep these people. I like them.
I seem to remember at the beginning of all this I wrote that I would mention the music that I was listening to…
I love to listen to music while I work and think. Music has always inspired me (and musicians themselves more recently). It has the power to reflect my mood, and often change it.
Making the shed last year for Dan Whitehouse to perform in was a turning point. Music became a part of my work, the collaboration an impetus for change.
This year’s Life and Other Art exhibition sees not just Dan perform, but a variety of other musicians, singers and songwriters over the whole weekend. I’m proud that my shed can provide a small travelling venue for these talented people who deserve a much larger audience.
Come along if you can!
Please visit…
www.elenathomas.co.uk/events
for more information about the event held by The Coach House Life Drawing Group and Rebellious Quilters
www.dan-whitehouse.com
www.robertlanemusic.blogspot.com
Dan and Rob are performing at Life and Other Art in July, others I’m listening to at the moment are:
www.stylusboy.co.uk
www.wearevillagers.com
www.themiserablerich.co.uk
www.iamkloot.com
www.fleetfoxes.com
I work part time teaching art to key stage 2 in a primary school. This week is Arts Week. With an ever decreasing budget it’s tricky getting artists into school, and i’m always grateful for the swapping I can do, or the “mates rates” that i can persuade people to charge. I am only one person, and providing a week of quality art experiences for 200 children is not possible on my own. Without inviting other artists in, it will soon descend into “cutting and sticking week” if we’re not careful. I’d love to hear any suggestions or comments or experiences of other artists.
There are many threads of conversation going on in my work at the moment. So much so it feels I’m juggling. My research is following a vaguely Deleuzian hit and miss / pick ‘n’ mix approach: I’m writing poetry and prose; embroidering it onto old clothes; making clothing out of paper; cutting lino; disassembling my shed and trailing it around the county for people to perform in; life drawing, and trying to draw babies with varying degrees of failure. I’m hoping one or two of these “rhizomes” will sprout something useful.
For those readers unfamiliar with Deleuze and rhizomic thinking… how lucky you are! Try your very hardest to keep it that way.
www.elenathomas.co.uk/events
Caroline Broadhead using clothing…
www.a-n.co.uk/p/61026/
and
Tilleke Schwarz using embroidered text…
