There seems to be a bit of a go-slow on the Creative Communities project at Caterham. There is due to be a rescheduled meeting with interested parties before Christmas but I haven't heard anything yet. Thank goodness I have some (unrelated) workshops in the pipeline. One in fact is tomorrow; which I am looking forward to.
Some of my work has been selected for a group paper exhibition and coming up is a meeting for artists from the south east selected for 'Visual', the Art and Business organization but apart from that things are rather flat.
Well I hope yesterday wasn't a sign of how things are going to be on the Caterham project. Late on Monday I was phoned to be told that the committee meeting was cancelled as there were too few people able to come along to make it worthwhile but could I come along anyway, at 3.30 rather than at 6.00, when it was originally scheduled; to discuss things with Becci and Katy from Tandridge and the Arc and Celine the project co-ordinator . During Tuesday morning there was a further call to ask could I make it 3.00 p.m. instead? And once we got there we had to wait till 4.00 anyway.
I feel a huge urge to try to find a nice, comfy ivory tower and just concentrate on making my own work.
It will all work out I am sure.
I have been feeling at little guilty for presenting a rather one-sided view of events yesterday (above) and would also like to say that everyone at the meeting was enthusiastic, focussed and supportive as well as slightly late!
Tomorrow I am finally to meet some of the interested parties in the Caterham project as I go to the Arc for a meeting of the Caterham Arts Festival committee together with Becci Kenning and Katy Potter from the Arts Team at Tandridge. I am really keen to get started as it does seem to have taken a long while to get to this point. http://www.tandridgeleisure.co.uk/thearc_home.php
Other news concerns the project to develop St George's Church in Esher as a venue for artist residencies and exhibitions. I went to Brighton on Friday to meet Frances Lord, a source of much good advice, to see if she could suggest any strategies and useful contacts regarding the research and development application that will be required to get a long term programme established. She was very helpful and I'll post as things happen.
Research for my Caterham Project:
What makes the place what it is?
In the beginning it was the sea, which stretched across all of what we know now as the south of England. During the Cretaceous period, over almost unimaginable lengths of time, the calcified remains of minute algae and other fossil debris drifted slowly to the sea bed eventually to form the ridges of chalk that make up the North and South Downs.
Rather comically, the image looks like a bunch of buttons.
I can't believe that it has been so long since I last posted on the blog. After the worrying time with my son (see my last post) we spent quite a few days just 'being' and not really doing anything purposeful. Luckily it was at a point with work that allowed this to happen. Since then I have been doing a lot of necessary, behind the scenes stuff that wouldn't make riveting reading. This week though, I am devoting my time to research. The two main projects that I am working on now and into the new year are; running the pilot programme for an artist residency locally and also the Surrey-based community art projects that I am involved in as an artist rather than administrator. It all seems rather teetering on the brink stuff right now and I very much want to plunge in and get started. On Friday I am having a meeting for some much needed advice on both aspects of my work and on Tuesday 11 November I will finally meet some of the people I'll be working with on the Caterham project. There is a proposal for an artists blog for that project so when thats up I'll post the links. In the meanwhile I have been looking at the history and geology of the area. Looking at what makes it what it is. Is it the people or is it the place, or is it both? The town has recently had a 'health check' and many of the comments point to a sense of a lack of connection. Art can only do so much, maybe sometimes what you need is a bus that runs on time!
