change - a-n The Artists Information Company

    Today is Mother’s Day in Sweden. In the week I made a card to send to my mother. Specifically I drew a card for my mother. I cannot remember the last time that I ’simply’ drew what was […]

Stop, start, stop, start, hesitate, consider, wonder, decide, change, update, progress. That could describe this past year with pandemic lockdowns and it has been stressful. However, due to the a-n Artists Bursary and Arts Council of Wales National Lottery Good […]

“Silicon is the eighth most common element in the universe by mass, but very rarely occurs as the pure element in the Earth’s crust. It is most widely distributed in dusts, sands, planetoids, and planets as various forms of silicon […]

“It’s life Jim – but not as we know it!” may be a famous mis-quote from the TV series Star Trek in an episode[1] of the sci-fi drama which explored the existence of a previously unknown life form. The story […]

To start with it seemed to me that in this complex world, my rock was literally a solid base on which I could anchor my thoughts – as Richard Dawkins says: “In the beginning was simplicity”; before anything else existed […]

“Animism is the belief that objects, places and creatures all possess a spirit or soul. Believers in animism potentially perceive all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork and perhaps even words—as animated and alive.” It is said to […]

So I freely admit, I seemed to have become a bit fixated on my rock for all those years. I had clung to it through thick and thin, couldn’t seem to get it out of my mind. It had become […]

“Chemists have tried to imitate the chemical conditions of the young earth. They have put these simple substances in a flask (water, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen) and supplied a source of energy such as ultraviolet light or electric sparks. After a few weeks […]

Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene[1]  describes how he thinks life began on earth: “In the beginning was simplicity… Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is satisfying because it shows us a way in which simplicity could change into […]

Cont’d from last time: “Sadly my frog is definitely, permanently dead.” But maybe my rock is not dead – it just appears to have no life. Some years ago I visited artist Andy Holden’s exhibition, Laws of Motion in a […]

A hazy blue stillness. Nothing moves. Until a sudden ripple disturbs the soupy water, stirs the suspended particles. Powerful legs propel the creature through the water and paddle madly as the alarmed frog attempts to secrete itself in a dark […]

I’m back in the studio this week after two months of domestic distractions, travel and other work, so going back to my August blog is a great way to re-ground myself and pick up the threads from where I was […]

Every now and then the generous people at Martyr’s Gallery in Lewes offer an opportunity for an artist to take over their space for one of those very special, no-expectations, no-strings-attached developmental residencies. Their version of this amazing gift is […]

This week I’ve been leaving a bit of time to reflect on the experiments with materials I started last week and have re-focused on drawing while I let things develop. One of my aims for this year is to move […]

Even after all these years I still feel that every time I make a piece of work or undertake another project, I learn something new… about myself, about my practice, about the way I make my work. Now at the […]

Glancing back at my “Day 1” blog post, it was strange to see the beginnings of my plan for the Once In A Universe residency and compare it with this much more developed section of the plan which eventually acted as a […]

In February it was great to work with artist Claire Shoosmith to run our first workshops for the Once In A Universe project (aka OIAU in shorthand!) at Eastbourne Studio Pottery, part of the Devonshire Collective in Eastbourne. I wanted to plan […]

Well here we are. More than two months into the new year and nearly six weeks since my project launched. It’s been busy and varied – always a good thing, and now I’ve reached a natural pause where I can […]

For a couple of years I’ve had this thing hanging about in my studio. It’s a paper construction made out of hundreds of small tubes of rolled up brown paper gummed strip ( I like low-tech materials). They are glued […]

I had a few moments of doubt and distraction this week. I was thinking about what my next print should be. My mind began to wander to all the loose ends and unresolved works I’ve made over the years and […]

During my professional development process, one of the things I have identified as being an area of fear is my voice. Having worked in education and participation for ten years, I am used to facilitating dialogue, running workshops and standing […]