http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 To the margins and taking risks Sun, 26 May 2013 05:46:43 +0000 a-n rss generator a-n The Artists Information Company and contributors edit@a-n.co.uk technical@a-n.co.uk http://www.a-n.co.uk/img/logo.gif http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 I've been dipping my toe in mainstream stuff for so many years and it generally gets stung. So now it's time to take a new direction. Time to strike out elswhere. Time for integrity first. Watch this space...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 From looking sideways to looking back, I found concepts I devised and never fulfilled. Some I have actively modified into new projects; some leak out in other ways. These images probably informed my recent work with everyday objects. Voices from the Past had keys, a drawing, a spanner and other tools. Are they coming to the margins with me? It reminds me of the task to put survival items in a matchbox. Am I in survival mode?... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 Been to the margins, ambling around unclassified roads and seeing how other people manage their lives. Minimally in some cases. What do I really need to undertake my practice? I found an exquisite Baroque church at Great Witley, a jewel nestling quietly up a track managed by the community, still used for services. I wrote, 'A church full of people come to look at glory. Feed the eyes. Rich curls & reliefs. Relief from everyday flatness. Beautiful goldness.' It survives quietly, well I've never heard of it and the signpost in the vilage was fairly low key. I've found this: http://www.greatwitleychurch.co.uk   A 360 fimshow is just a taster; have to be in it to appreciate it. A bit like my events; you can look at the pictures but you won't feel the atmosphere, emotion or sociality of it. So if I'm at the margins taking risks, how do I transmit those elements to those not there? ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 To a southerly margin A week away from the computer and my blog fingers feel sleepy. The only risk I took was cycling on top of a cliff into a gusty headwind on the Isle of Wight. Do I behave any differently as a tourist than an artist? Do I see things differently? I guess not many tourists launch into physiotherapy exercises in a tourist attraction, (I pulled my back on the road trip south).  Back home, I'm puzzling on what do I really do, for a commissioned piece of writing. Well...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 I went to a new inner margin yesterday. Is that a misnomer? Can you have an inner margin? Well, it was somewhere new to me and in that, it contained inherent challenges such as how to get into a seemingly seemless building. Step one in the challenge, find a way in. I only walked round 3 sides to find the entrance. Could have been 4 sides and back to the beginning though that would have spelled incompetence. Didn't want to project that. I don't have difficulty talking, but being succinct is another matter. It's more what I didn't say than what I did. This crept over me on the long journey back to my own inner margin. But hey ho, today is sunny and I'm going to rescue my brassicas from an infestation of caterpillars. Working with my hands this morning is a good antedote and so long as I wear my glasses, will be sure of success.    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 Other margins Watching the paralympics, I have been struck by other margins. The emphasis in the Olympics seemed to be on the fastest, the most powerful and the men's races. Why is a short race deemed to be the best? The paralympics seems to be about something different. It's still competitive but there is something else going on too. There's a wide range of abilities and ages and huge appreciation. I'd like to think then, that disabiltity issues are no longer on the margins but I know that's not always the case. And then there are gender issues......... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 I've spent several days calculating circumferences and diameters for my work at Melbourne Festival next week. No room for any margins of error as the base board has been made smaller than I anticipated. In this case, the margins divide areas; they aren't peripheral. So in the grand scheme of things, what is the other side of the margins that I'm moving towards? Is there anything beyond? The Free Dictionary suggests it's a blank space. Not looking for blank spaces at the moment; all my spaces are full up to the brim. Is a brim a margin too?  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 More on empty spaces Saw this pair of shoes devoid of feet at Sheffield train station yesterday, owner nearby, though I have cropped her out to protect her anonymity. Don't expect she is an a-n reader but you never know. If a margin is a blank space, these could be construed as margins. Makes me think I don't have to go to the ends of the world to experience the margins. They could just as well be on the end of my legs. And that's where I started this blog, dipping my toe into mainstream. ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 the reality of MY margins I've become aware this week that although my practice is socially engaged and negotiatiation is at the core, sometimes when something matters to me then there is no negotiation. At that point, I want to get out what exists in my head and in a way that satisfies my standard of quality. It's all part of my 'considered not contrived' mantra. That's when someone elses' quality might bother me. Yet when I am in negotiation mode, the quality is in the conversation, the interactions, the shared experience. Perhaps that's it; if I am making something concrete to be a catalyst, then that's when I want it to be the best I can make it. Once that is achieved, the structure I have created is strong enough to underpin the event where the boundaries are quite fluid.  Phew, glad I got my head round that one...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 disembodied, re-embodied So here is the rest, or at least some of the owner of the shoes. I disconnected her from them digitally. Staying connected at the margins is quite difficult. Choosing which connectons to maintain, which to ditch requires ongoing soul searching to make sure I don't burn my boats by letting go. Hanging on is much easier initially, until I begin to think 'this is draining me'. Not all connections are effective or meaningful connections.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 Shoe lady continued I was gathering Acts of Kindness on Saturday in Melbourne, when I met a dark haired woman from Sheffield. 'Aha' I said, 'Were you sitting on the station wall with your shoes abandoned beside you last week?' Sadly she wasn't my shoe lady but I told her the story anyway and she may take it back to circulate Sheffield.    And now I look at the photo again, she has short hair and the Melbourne lady had long hair. Oh well, it was a good story.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 new face to conjure No sign of anyone recognising the shoe lady. Instead, here is another face. I was part of a festival community event and am shocked at how unreal I look. I was intrigued to hear the theory that we only exist as holograms and the real data is on the edge of black holes. Now there is an amazing margin. Not much chance of surviving that one though.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 I've just spent 10 minutes composing a blog and it vanished into thin air. Gone to the margins I guess. Here goes again. Wonder if I'll say the same things. I was talking about physical margins. I stacked 4 cubic meteres of wood to keep me warm in the winter and my son ran 8 miles to trian for a 16k race. Why do we do it? Maybe it's mental margins too? Some scientists think we make our decisions subconsciously before we are aware of them.  And I have been getting intriguing calls about edgy stuff- studio gatherings and engaged crits. Maybe the margins aren't so empty after all.    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 4 months at a distant egde and now I am back. Family illness and trauma has taken its toll but I'm here again...they were murky margins to be in. Pondering on the next step; not backwards. My expectations are different now. Sophie and I have at last found a starting point for our collaborative piece. It has changed its name yet again but that's the thing with works in progresss...marginally different. Trying to cut out excess...margins for error? Having the confidence to be open rather than drive all the time. Pausing has given me the chance to spot new openings...road margins team with life that is invisible at 70mph. New conversations with unexpected outcomes...the marginalised are speaking.      ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359 Great news, I have been awarded a Review bursary!  Each month between July 2013 and January 2014, I will travel to meet one of  the 7 creative professionals for a half day critiique/advice about my work as an artist, in particular how to increase my visibility nationally. My travels will take me to Glasgow, Newcastle, Lincolnshire, Birmingham, London and Bristol. It's another step in my investigation of the margins and taking risks. Thank you a-n. Watch this space...  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/2343359