While on my recent (quick) visit to Liverpool to attend the John Moores Painting prize PV – I noticed on my early morning walk back through the city that some of the paving has similar qualities to the sandstone clay I’d used as pebbles in my stone writing. Cut to paving stones and laid as they are I find them fascinating.
Some of my intuitive painting from this month.
Responding to Sam White’s postcard which was an oblong with ‘onand’ machine stitched onto it in red thread (top) and black underneath. Her words on the back of the card are ‘ whether we like it or not – Life goes on and on and on…’
I pondered how to respond for a while (I’m meant to return the postcard within a week of receiving, but went way over this time limit)
With this I’ve tried to just ‘let go’ and work in a way that feels right, not try and come up with anything clever and contrived. I definately can overthink these things sometimes!
When I started threaded strips of handmade paper through Sam’s stitching I intended to then weave more paper strips through and so have the writing rising out of the card. Instead, as carried on threading, what was happening by building up strips like this was that it appears to be growing out of the base. Growth is a theme I touch upon every now and again. If I then wove strips through this growth would become something else, something overworked, perhaps.
I have several threads to what I do. My practice is currently concerned with:
~ a postcard exchange project in which I’m responding to others work in postcard form and they are responding to mine.
~Intuitive painting, often quickly done on paper, canvas, wood.
~The destruction of writing.. what happens to it when its broken down
~’stone writing’ now being further developed
I’m occupied with:
>> Summer holidays with my son while still fitting in some time for my own practice in each day.
>>Planning the Young Open exhibition (with steering group) being run by the Framework organisation (I’m a director of this group) for September
>>Co-ordinating the ‘Paper Fields’ exhibition in London for October, a group of us (8) exhibiting.
>>Developing my own income stream (slow progress)
Looking forward to:
*My residency at The Print Shed in Madley starting soon.
*Working with Meadow Arts this year.
There’s so much to do and think about, being overstretched is a real danger.
One of my main weaknesses is doing things more easily for others and outside obligations than for myself.
I have a very supportive and understanding husband and am 11 year old son, so holidays need careful managing to give son great holidays while continuing with my work. I did manage this in 2013, but most of the time I had to myself was taken up with art admin (on the steering group of Young Open a group show in Sept). With my further involvement in the arts this pressure on my time will only increase and I need to find a way to manage it better else I will not be able develop my own work.
Time Log
Post Degree Show Week 1
23rd Jun ‘14
Mon 8am-2.15pm Painting
2.15-3pm retrieved mobile from husband who went to work with it (& was then goign to be away for a few days – cannot quite live without it!
3-4.30pm painting and research
Tue 830 garage
845 -930 drive to Hereford
930-12.30 dismantle degree show with break for chat and coffee
12.30-3pm Framework meeting – funding forms
3-3.45 drive home
45 mins of internet faff
Wed
830-50 Garage lock arm change
To 10am drive to Hereford
To 1.45 Framework meeting form filling, deciding on events & at College seeing about peers work.
To 3pm drive home
Type meeting notes (20 min), random internet stuff (time wasting?)
Thurs
Having a massive clear out. And t’ll manage my projects , own work, organising exhibitions and everything else!
Fri
Making – a new piece with pulled off writing from ‘unneutral’ – will do windows on sheet over top. Plus took pics of unneutral in early morning sunlight – back lit – rather good like this – changed the piece making it translucent.
Catherine Wynne-Paton is a practicing visual artist whose work is informed by an interest in text resonant with particular places and people and is creator of The Lost Library which has appeared at The National Eisteddfod of Wales, Fringe Arts Bath, Deptford X Fringe, The Wrexham Open and MainSpring Arts. Wynne-Paton studied Fine Art at Hereford College of Arts, received the Meadow Arts graduate prize, was the first Print Shed artist in residence and received PEAK micro commission for new work. She is a founding director of Framework Herefordshire, set up in 2014 to support emerging artists through exhibitions, talks and opportunities for skills development. She has curated graduate exhibitions PaperFields in London and Hay-on-Wye. She sat on the Jury for the Hidden Gems grant scheme, delivered by Herefordshire’s a Great Place that brings together the arts, heritage, rural communities and the creative use of digital technology. She has an enduring interest in curating the work of, supporting and creating networks for artists working in rural and remote areas, which led into creating an archive of conversations she has with artists in written and videos formats.
