http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Diary of an Art Historian Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:29:26 +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/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 I'm three quarters through a part time PgDip in History of Art. We're just onto modern and contemporary art. Previously to that I did a BA at Chelsea in Fine Art: Painting. I work part time in quite a demanding job. In October I'm going to York University for a one year MA in History of Art. Got funding so don't have to work that year, can really focus. But find myself longing for art making again. As part of my course I'm reading a book edited by Gill Perry on women's practice. There's a brilliant interview in there with Cornelia Parker, talking about a pretty romantic view of being an artist, of wanting freedom and philosophical/intellectual stimulation. It ignited all that pent up desire to 'be' an artist. Is it easier to 'be' one than to actually get down and make things? After so much critical study of the history of art (and more to come, which i do love), it's strange to have those desirous feelings recur, pulling me towards that almost vocation of artisthood, of freedom, discovery, spirituality, politics, philosophy etc. Is that type of thing still possible now? I don't think I'm as good an artist as I am a writer and scholar. But art is probably harder to grade isn't it?  Like a lot of people on this a-n site, I want to record thoughts and experiences in the hope that I might have a deeper engagement with art and develop a meaningful practice of my own. I'm hoping to question things and leave myself written reminders, because it's so easy to keep worrying over the same thing.  Writing about this feely stuff looks strange as art is 'meant' in my mind to be hyper critical. I feel quite exposed already, open to other people's criticism, and also thinking, well it doesn't matter because no-one's going to read this blog anyway. I think it's mainly for myself anyway. Will try and write something more concrete soon.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 I'm at work... pretty tiring day... my job involves talking to victims of crime about what's happened and trying to provide them some help, advice, support... not sure why that's relevant to my artist-work. I spend quite a lot of time on my own, studying, writing, making stuff (sometimes) and I live on my own so talking to people on the phone is draining but in a good way, it feels enriching. On Saturday I drew quite a bit, abstract things on paper, cloth and a saucer. Also filmed a saucepan of water coming to the boil on my hob. And photographed my (balletic) blinds curving in the wind - I always keep my windows wide open, I like a breeze blowing through the flat. Have been reading about photography and feel it might be worth exploring in more depth. Something I always wanted to do at art school but didn't have the courage (or the patience or the knack?)... I find it enthralling reading about depth of field, grain, focal length, horizontal/vertical, and learning to see those qualities in the photographs made by ace women artists. Perhaps quite a formalist at heart (although I do love socially motivated work like Mierle Laderman Ukeles' garbage-barge ballet - how to reconcile this?) I took a set of photographs a few years ago all of the same tree, but each using a different apeture. The results were quite beautiful and subtly graded in colour density and focus. Might try something similar now. Will try and post some of those photographs if I can find them. Enough writing for today. I was thrilled to find that someone had commented on my first post yesterday. So much for being invisible :)... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Today I was thinking about artists who write. There's quite a lot of them (us?). Picasso has at least one thick volume of collected writings and stories published... Louise Bourgeois's creative writing has just started appealing to me. With quite a psychological or surrealist edge, she describes brief, intense scenes of loss, absurdity and overwhelming fear. They work well with her drawings and etchings of that period and offer a theoretical/emotional framework for them, though I've also seen a wall stacked salon-style with similar etchings: the screaming tense delicate quality of line and compositional awkwardness on those etchings are way more affecting, breathtaking even, without writing or titles beside them. Thought I'd link to a couple of stories that I've written: 'Robotics', 'Pottery Class', and 'Flowers'. I'm not sure if I'd be interested in using text in close conjunction with more physical art but I tend to write about specifically visual art related subjects. It might be a way of sorting things out in my own mind after an attempt at working with a particular medium that I couldn't get to work satisfactorily. Hmm... I have much lower expectations of writing than of visual/fine art though so satisfaction comes much sooner, and perseverance is only over a period of a few days or hours, not months... Thinking of satisfaction though, I had coffee with an artist friend on Wednesday morning. He's way more productive on the actual making things and getting them seen side of things than I am; has international residencies and shows often; but he surprised me by saying that he is never satisfied with his work or with his exhibitions, it's only the tiniest little bit of something going right that he relies on to keep going... Do most artists have such low satisfaction levels? Agnes Martin wrote about artists needing to be able to cope with failure and disappointment as a staple of their practice. What do people on artists talking think about this?... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Not too much to add today. Had a fun, if fultile, attempt to walk through floodwater into the town centre but had to turn back right at the end. Noticed some cool things like a red/orange moth and a bee virtually making love to a bright lilac flower. Thought I'd post a couple of photos of newer work, cardboard and thread piece. Maybe to make twenty of them before judging how successful they are. Also, would like like to link to Ruth Laskey's website, she's an artist that weaves her own canvas/linen and makes sparse almost paintings with twill thread. She was featured in Artforum last year but since then hasn't been in the news much. I'm going to be interviewing her and am excited to find out more about her. Another one of my favourite artists is Varda Caivano. Her work seems to have a historical and emotional depth that isn't often found at the moment. I would aspire to make work as moving and skillful as these two women, if I had the courage and time to make things more consistently. What does anyone else think of these works?... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Have been thinking about writing, more than making art, the past few days... Have been reading a lot of Anne Lamott's old Salon articles here and attempting to write some short stories based on childhood memories of sweaty prophesying figures and nervous head-covered women in the church I attended when I was aged 4-10ish. Am hoping that writing out that stuff will actually get it out so that I am able to move on and not feel so beaten up by those early experiences. Not sure how I would tackle that stuff in a work of art, but also don't want to be so category-conscious when it comes to art, writing, music, all those things come from similar places and cross over more than they're allowed to in the separated social spaces they're often assigned to. I'll keep posting whatever I do produce here. This week is a bit preoccupied with essay writing, a course deadline and then another deadline in August and one in September, and a couple of other pieces with deadlines in between... a lot to be managing, but it will be managed, I'm sure most people manage more! The main thing, I feel at the moment, is to keep engaging every day with something, keep enagaging... and sometimes snatch some rest.    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Still writing from memory at the moment... and trying to put together a course essay for next week. Am looking forward (with great terror - is that possible?) to my final PgDip project due in late September. I'm going to be looking at Agnes Martin's grid paintings and wondering whether they are inscribed with gender in any way. For the most part I would argue not, except for the fact that she was  female. I don't find straightforward arguments convincing, such as looking at Martin's 'feminine' delicacy or hand-crafted style - as Naomi Wolff points out in The Beauty Myth male delicacy (she gives the biological example of testicles) is even more extremely delicate than perceived female delicacy. (Ann Wagner makes similar and more complex points in this realm on the feminist interpretation of Eva Hesse's oevre). I'm a little confused by Griselda Pollock's reading of Martin's work in 'Agnes Dreaming: Dreaming Agnes' - sometimes the psychoanalytic references get so obscure... but I'm hoping a couple of days of close reading and chasing up footnotes in a quiet library might solve that problem. Pollock is convinced that Martin's paintings again have that 'feminine' essence (although she wouldn't call it that), writing that Martin's works in museums radiate a peaceful feeling in comparison to her And obviously Rosalind Krauss's incredible (in all senses of the word?), gender-free piece 'The /Cloud/' transforms Martin's paintings with beautiful theory, but I'm unsure what this contributes to the debate on gender-inscription itself. I totally agree with her that 'art made by women needs no special pleading', however that art made by women is different to that made by men is another question. Any other history of art, psychoanalysis or gender students on this site who'd be interested in helping me out?... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Always seem to post when I'm busy at work... good to have licquorice tea breaks to type I guess. Have been working on some line drawings that I'll post up here at the weekend. Got my essay in - that's what's prevented me from writing on here for the past week. I'm now onto my final project on gender-inscription in Agnes Martin: will let you know how the research for that progresses over the next couple of months. It's been a busy time... Went to one day of an Art History conference at York University on Friday - on 20th century Anglo-American exchange. Was pretty interesting, lots of debate and strong ideas, in-depth research. Spending so much time learning about artists, writers and collectors - like Gertrude Stein - and looking at photos of her collections, reminds me again of the desire to make things, to hang out more with likeminded artists, to write more, all those good things. Hope that over time that will become a reality.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Some things I've made which are very small nothingy beginnings. ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Trying to think of a focus for my visual art efforts this year. I think I'd like to fulfil my childhood/art student/current ambition to learn to draw - to be visually aware and literate... so I may use this blog over the next year to remind myself of this and to document my efforts... might be a bit embarrassing to begin with. Drawing might be a way to keep in touch with being visual without it having to take up my whole life, as at the moment I'm way too busy with exams, essays, writing/interview assignments and actual paying rent work. I'm wondering if I could fit in 30 minutes a day of drawing, and whether that would lead to a noticeable improvement over the course of the year... that immediately raises questions in my mind about the function and value of drawing in the current art climate, but maybe that can wait for another post, another day. I have at least two books on drawing at home: John Ruskin's step by step book from a long time ago and Betty Edwards' more recent Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I'll try and use those to educate myself/provide a structure and see where it leads. Will post efforts soon!    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Thinking of drawing, I thought I'd post some drawings that I made from photographs I found on the internet... I did these in January and February of 2009 and though they are a decent start I feel they're pretty wooden, with just a few interesting marks or passages. That's not to knock them though, as if you're a beginner in something you have to begin at the beginning right? The drawings were exhibited in a small show of women's art at the Reading International Solidarity Centre - a sort of activist centre and cafe. The subject, apart from my desire to improve my drawing skills, is a victorian-era American feminist journalist named Nellie Bly. I wasn't that happy with the final results but I was still quite proud of myself for actually having done something! I'm going to begin some drawing experiments today and will post up the results soon. I might also spend some time thinking/writing about the drawings by other artists that I love.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Will post some drawing soon. This time management this is getting difficult! I'd be interested to know how other people/artists sort out how much time to spend on different activities. I interviewed an articulate artist on Monday morning who is putting a lot of energy into having a successful and high-profile career at the moment - he has a sculpture on show at the Royal Festival Hall at the moment. We were talking about the romantic idea of a studio artist and how fun, energising, excellent it is to actually have time in the studio to make things, but that often there just isn't time. With researching and applying for funding, making professional contacts and doing the administration and educational work that often surrounds exhibition-making (or in my case working, studying/researching and interviewing/writing), we both found there's just not the time for much art-making. While this proportion of admin/working might lead to a more productive/successful career than mere studio work it does make me wonder whether we've got our priorities wrong. Shouldn't there be more time spent actually making things? On another note, while I'm thinking about how to organise my life and my way of writing about my artistic life, I really like the way Emily Speed's a-n blog is layed out. Writing about different elements of life/art under different headings really seems to work as a way of differentiating/integrating activites and thoughts in this blog format. Anyway, will post some drawing when I have time.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Thinking some more about time management. I read a nice bullet-pointed blog post on http://unclutterer.com making the most of your time. Intend now to put some of those points into practice, including... - purge clutter - order saves time and energy - streamlined routine for mundane tasks - determine what matters most to you and learn to say no - enjoy your work (!), take risks - sleep As I'm currently trying to figure out if I have time to take a day off this week, I think some new structures - and more selectivity - are in order.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Have been thinking and making things in the past ten days, even though I haven't posted anything on here... Actually have made a sort of cube form out of cardboard and am in the process of wrapping all the different bits in woolen thread, I'm pretty excited about it! By the weekend I will post some new images, I promise. Have been feeling really angry over the past few days about the way I've let my artistic activities slide over the past few years, and even in art school I didn't get to the level of achievement or passion that I hoped to. It would be great as time goes on and I make more things and develop more respect for myself and for my practice that I will write excitedly about art and theory and writing on these posts, rather than writing about not doing enough of these things and about being afraid. But we'll see... On another note, I also made a website for a musician friend. Even doing that felt somewhat creative so I think I'm beginning to get on the right track! It took about a day to do, so now I'm motivated to make my online portfolio look a bit more professional and beautiful! Will post the link when I get that done and updated. I think taking care of my portfolio (this is for writing as well as art), updating it regularly and making sure that people know about it is part of this process of gaining more respect for myself and for my artistic practice. OK... next post will be less whiney!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Forgot to say earlier in my despair... I have an article on the front page of excellent online art magazine White Hot Magazine. Click here for the permalink to the article - it's a review of Koon's current Serpentine show.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Some images from when I still made art regularly... Thought I'd upload some older images while I'm working on some new things... I still will definitely post some new stuff this weekend.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Some more images that I'm quite happy with... I did quite a lot of this type of thing back in college and hopefully it will resurface now in what I'm making... more on that soon... Also... my new portfolio is up and running and looks a bit more grown up than my previous one. Just have to remember to update it with each new article/piece now.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Yesterday I took my cardboard grid out for a walk through the nature reserve near my flat. I took digital photographs of the flimsy white geometric thing flapping in the wind; I also took a 30 second video. It was a fascinating experience, watching a grid, approaching it from various angles - with a diagonal approach from a fair distance the grid looked curved, foreshortened like a crescent moon. I hung it on a prickly bush with bright lilac and magenta flowers.    Click here to see the video of the grid.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Grids are informing my practice as both an artist- and an art historian-in-training. This week I've been getting to grips with Griselda Pollock's and Rosalind Krauss's analyses of Martin's grid paintings/drawings. I have one main question springing up out of this dense reading. If anyone has an interest or expertise in this area and would like to comment I'd be more than grateful to discuss: Both Krauss and Pollock find in Martin's work (viewed at mid-distance) an experience of the formless. Krauss has written elsewhere on the formless or informe, derived from Georges Bataille's use of the term to mean a breaking down of fixed categories. She uses this to challenge the feminist interpretation of surrealism as a masculine imaginary realm, in which women have no true voice (and are subjected to violence), pointing out that both female and male artists have used similar category-blurring strategies in a surrealist vein. However, I'm not sure yet whether the formless (as in openness or atmosphere) in Martin's grids is intended by Krauss to be identified with the informe, or whether it's a case of the same word having multiple art-theoretical meanings. By placing her essay on Martin in Bachelors, a book in which more than half of the essays deal directly with the surrealist informe in contemporary/modern art, Krauss seems to be suggesting that it is relevant to Martin... Pollock calls upon 'formless' to describe an experience of openness, connection, movement, potentiality in the viewing of Martin's grids - something that she relates to Irigaray's concept of pre-subjectivity: when as a baby we didn't have the ordering structure of language and we were more like one with our mother. The grid is then a sort of visual analogue for the arrival of thought itself, language-based structure in a sensory/sensual world. The problem is that although this open, pre-language, pre-subject 'formless' sounds rather like Bataille's category-destroying informe, Pollock explicitly states that it is not. My thought so far is that she doesn't want her feminist, interpretative work sullied with misogynistic, base materialism, but also that Pollock sees some kind of category of 'feminine' worth preserving. Any suggestions much appreciated! The grid in my current work with visual/material stuff is way more playful (images to come tomorrow!); taking time out to think about that structure in my non-theory time (which is pretty scarce at present) seems to be making it easier for me to find the necessary connections in my hard reading and writing hours. Could it be that physically handling a forever collapsing wonky cardboard grid could help my mind to turn the grid concept over and over, letting it fall apart and figuring out what makes sense about it, and in what other theorists have made of it? If the finished essay itself makes any sense, I'll upload it to my portfolio and post a link.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Are there any artists living in or near York? I'm going to be moving there in October to do a year-long History of Art MA and would like to meet other artists, with the potential to meet regularly to discuss work and maybe arrange some sort of exhibition together if things seem to gel together.  Please contact me or leave a comment if you live in the York area, or if you know of any existing groups in the area. Thanks!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 More images of the grid in nature... (See 29th August post for previous images and a film)... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Idea for suspended thread or rope grid in the nature reserve. Sketchbook page image. ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 A full time MA in History of Art is exhausting! I'm feeling frustrated that there's no time to make art, or to rest properly. I've been out walking this morning at St Nicholas Fields conservation site near where I live, partly to have space to think about what to do... I want to use this blog to keep engaging with some kind of art practice while I'm studying.  Keeping an art practice going while studying full time must be possible. It has to be, if I'm to begin a PhD in History of Art next September but don't want to lose my creative core. I'm going to make a commitment to blogging once a week (but trying to keep off the internet otherwise!) and to try to give one day per week to making art. I'm going to set a goal of exhibiting something in June 2010 so that there's an end point in sight, to focus on.  Right... going to find some inspirational images and get drawing.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 CRITICAL WRITING: My most recent review of 'Dance With Camera', an exhibition at the Philadelphia ICA concerned with the past forty years of dance and film/video collaborations is up on my portfolio and can also be read on the beautiful, soft paper of the brilliant contemporary art publication MAP Magazine. ART HISTORY: My MA and future PhD plans are pretty demanding on my time at present. Have written my first draft PhD research statement on classical and materialist interpretations of Agnes Martin's grids. Today I'm writing a coursework essay critiquing Briony Fer's recent lecture at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, on Eva Hesse's test-pieces or Studioworks.  ART PRACTICE: Have taken up drawing and making almost nothings again and am committed to working a little each day. My work is now included on the Centre For Recent Drawing's online community page, perhaps something interesting will come of this. Will try to update once a week with progress on art activities.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 ART: Have committed to drawing for 30 minutes per day in an attempt to refresh my skills in this area. I hope this time I can keep it up! I've been shading recently. Will try and post some examples and thoughts once a week though I may cringe with shame to begin with... ART HISTORY: Finished writing a critique of a lecture by Briony Fer, my supervisor at York University liked it a lot, I might post it on my website, or on here. The Fruitmarket's Eva Hesse conference, at which the lecture was presented, was excellent and its effects are still resonating in my brain and throughout my tactile senses. Have also almost finalised my PhD application statement and essay, a scary business, but one that I hope will pay off and lead to exciting intellectual challenges and friendships in the near future.  WRITING: Am very happy with the two most recent pieces I've had published (see them at my portfolio) and am going to set aside a little time this week to look for new outlets for my critical writing. Will update on any successes.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 ART: Operation hone drawing skills is still underway... have started something tiny (a drawing from a photograph of one of Rosetti's models) so that it doesn't seem like an unmanageable task and will post the results when it's done. Still trying to figure out how to continue an art practice while studying full time. I'm glad that the desire to persevere keeps on surfacing and that friends are encouraging me to carry on in spare moments! A friend has recently set up a textile business and has been coaxing me back into creative things.  PHD: Have submitted my Art History PhD proposals to the USA and may start my UK applications this month.   ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 DRAWING: Developments of a current drawing from a photograph of one of Rosetti's models. ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 I think the title of my blog here on [a-n] might change to 'making words to think about things'. As I'm studying full time and getting writing published elsewhere the 'writing' part of my practice is coming to the fore and I'm starting to think I'd like to make a living that way... I'll keep you updated on how that goes... (I reckon it's ok to be on [a-n] as someone negotiating an artistic-historical-writerly practice that seems to be slowly drifting away from making things of my own... that's kind of sad... but I'm working on the premise that everything has its season.) On that note, I'm getting interested in the written work of Lucy Lippard, both in terms of her gradual acceptance of feminism (of personal interest to me right now) and in her transformation into a kind of visual-word artist. Though she often moved in the 1960s and 70s art world as a kind of prototype, all-powerful contemporary curator, to me she seems much more of an artist in the way she created catalogues in the form of boxed index cards or made random selections from encyclopedias to accompany artist biographies. I'm also trying to get hold of her 'novel' I See, You Mean, from the late seventies as I've heard it's a wonderful example of While I'm here, I'd also like to signpost a a new piece of published writing on Axis Web that has generated loads of debate in the comments.. which makes me very happy... and has really brought out the nuances of the issue (namely, 'Is all art politically useless?') from philosophical, artistic and art historical viewpoints. One last thing! I've started blogging more regularly (and academically) on my portfolio website and next week (Monday to Friday) is going to be MONOCHROME WEEK as I'm currently researching an essay around that topic. So if you have any interest in that area, I warmly invite you to come along to my academic site and join in the debate :) Oh, ps - you can also follow me on Twitter, how exciting, entry into the digital information whizzy landscape.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 I have been mostly taken up with reading for, and planning, essays... I'm particularly excited about my current work on Cornelia Parker's 'Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View'. It's been interesting to think about it in terms of the modernist tropes of the grid and the monochrome. While Parker's installation is neither grid nor monochrome, its photographic documentation tends to present it as a dramatic black mass and it is hung from a wire ceiling support (in a gird shape). Its elements are actually carefuly ordered around the central lightbulb, starting with the tiniest fragment and expanding outwards to the largest sections of broken down shed - which form cross and grid shapes like barriers between the viewer and the work. In particular I've been looking at Briony Fer and Rosalind Krauss's writing on avant-garde originality and sequence. Both art historians are concerned with the fiction of origins, found in grids and monochrome works by artists such as Malevich. By origins, Fer and Krauss mean both the artist as a unique creative genius, whose super self manifests unique works of art, and also the idea of the monochrome or grid as a radical paring down or peeling back of the picture to it 'original' or basic rectangular shape. Of course, both historians are highly suspiscious of these modernist beliefs. (I might go into this more if people are interested?) To me, Parker's presentation of a huge, frozen explosion in Cold Dark Matter harks back to these ideas of artistic origins, albeit in a rather slapstick or parodic idiom. I will be exploring in my essay what it is that Cold Dark Matter might help us to think about earlier art historical reliance on the idea of the original.    It would be interesting to hear from artists that are blogging on a-n who consider their contemporary practice in terms of an ongoing dialogue with modernist thought, figures or forms - this might be critical or pleasure-driven, or a form of re-working for the contemporary moment. Please do get in touch as I'd like to do more work on this in the future. ps - I'm really enjoying being on twitter. Following AxisWeb is especially helpful as they signpost interesting events and opportunities... I also hooked up with the wonderful Miro Dance Theatre in Philadelphia. Love being international! pps - I have ordered Lucy Lippard's novel, mentioned in my previous post, so will write more about that when it arrives. Can't wait :)... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 A friend told me a while ago that one of the most worthwhile human characteristics is resilience. I've recently come to believe this is so. Having been rejected (albeit with the nicest possible letters on creamy, thick, embossed paper) from several US graduate schools and not having applied for UK PhDs this year, I'm attempting to bounce back with a bright new idea to get me through next year, before the round of doctoral research proposals begins again! So... I've started writing a business plan with the help of Young, Fabulous and Self-Employed's excellent template (http://www.yfsentrepreneur.com/2009/12/dream-by-da... - totally recommended for getting a new, inspiring perspective on your business, whether you're an artist or a maker of widgets). I will be a critical and informed freelance art writer and speaker for hire, specialising in relationships between contemporary and modernist art practice and theory and a passionate approach to my subject (sympathetic towards artists), combined with a cutting criticality that's not afraid to be true to my artistic values. I must admit that I've been inspired lately more by writers and designers with an online presence, work ethic and enthusiasm, rather than by art world figures. Gala Darling, Nubby Twiglet and Molly Crabapple are three current role models - intellient, articulate and talented, and making a fulltime living from their writing/visual practice. I wonder how other people here at [a-n] feel about this. Do you have mentors, models or support groups, or work more through intuition, or reading up on stuff? Doy you feel that artists should be concerned with business to a similar extent as more mainstream visual professions such as graphic design? I'm really interested as I sometimes feel as if I'm betraying myself in some way by focusing on how to earn a living rather than on creative flow. NEWS: Upcoming Lectures: - May - Lecture on Felix Gonzales Torres at MIMA, Middlesbrough - June - Lecture on Agnes Martin at Empty Shop Gallery, Durham City, and at the University of York (More info will be given when dates are confirmed)... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 I went to see my University careers adviser last week. Partly, I went as a distraction from my impending essay deadlines, however it an was eye-opening, practical and exciting meeting. The focus was on making more of my writing and critical abilities to actually make money, thereby having more freedom to travel and to support my studies - or even, dare I say it, art practice - in the future. I summarised the basic, but great, advice in a recent blog post. Even though it's obvious stuff, it is far more motivating to speak to an actual person about your life plans than to simply makes notes in your Moleskine. It might be of use to artists too. While writing my post I found myself feeling creeplngly guilty about a) working hard and b) seeking to find out about such slimy things as networking and taxes. However, this is practical life stuff, right? As a teenager, I spent a lot of my spare time making art and music and writing for free, for joy, hanging out with artists, reading about art and philosophy. I was so idealistic about these things. I have been feeling restless lately and have been thinking about the past. Shouldn't artists have some kind of freedom from these slippery concerns - or at least be more interested in the integrity of their work than pleasing people? How ought money and art to relate? I would love to hear from any other artists or writers out there and how you navigate this tricky area.        ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Gallery Dreaming... In order to be permanently closer to my partner (he's a US citizen) I've decided to move to Philadelphia, USA. But I'm still committed to doing a PhD in the UK if the AHRC will bless me with some more funding love. So, lots of international nomadry to come, which is damn exciting! M lives in West Philly, which is a regeneration area near to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. There's also the ICA, the Slought Institute (international art gallery) and plenty of hipster cafes, open mics, a farmer's market and a community-oriented yoga studio nearby within about a ten minute walk-radius. I've come up with a new, amazing plan. M and I are going to find a building near the yoga place, do it up, and open a contemporary art gallery and studios. M is a musician, currently doing teacher training. He'll eventually be setting up his own community music school/outreach centre. Compassionate and artistic and awesome plans ahoy! Will do my best to make little updates on this blog as often as possible to show you our research, planning and action processes towards this goal. We're also planning to be urban chicken raisers. Life is good. Think when my MA is over I'll take a Business course! Have found an introductory one on the Open University. How exciting! Have definitely got my mojo back after several months of dithering and ill health. Stay tuned for breathless updates and lots of sketches! Also, do check out my portfolio website/blog http://beckyhunter.co.uk    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Still reeling with excitement at the gallery project plan I announced yesterday. I've already had two offers of advice from fellow [a-n] bloggers Rosalind Davis and Jackie Berridge, recommended by Emily Speed on Twitter of all places. I'm so grateful for the spirit of sharing and community that [a-n] is fostering here, as I'm sure it will provide much support in the months and years to come. I hope I can encourage and support others too. On top of that, I've arranged a meeting with a Philadelphia yoga studio arts co-ordinator, to discuss stuff like the legal side of things, health and safety, clientele, marketing and collaboration. I'm also excited because I've finally hit on a project that will keep me enthused and prepared to put in the necessary hard work, as well as being something that will inspire me to write daily and to take baby steps each day until I reach my goal. I've been wondering for such a long while how to combine my life-long passion for critical and ravishing contemporary art with a project that allows opportunities for community outreach and social action. THIS is it. What has also been wonderful is that I've painted this week for the first time in years. Just some little play doodles, getting to used to what paint feels like again. Something of the enthusiasm of beginning a project I truly care about has rubbed off on my own art work. Perhaps at some point I will have an art practice again. Either way, I'm not giving up on being involved in the arts. Goodness, how gushy of me! Well, I'm sure once I start my Introduction to Business course and get bogged down in accounting, finance, management and accounting, things won't be so simple. Anyway, and finally, I wanted to signpost a couple of recent blog posts on my website: This first one is an appeal for signatures in an online petition to prevent a particularly nasty bill being passed in Philadelphia, which would make organisation and promotion of live music almost impossible. Do check it out and sign the petition! Secondly, I wrote an excitable post, complete with scribbly sketches, about my Philadelphia gallery dream... if anyone reading this has any expertise, skills or advice to offer, please message me and I will repay you with drinks/dinner/cake and an article about your work on my website. Thanks! Becky X x... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 I have decided to take a business studies course once my MA History of Art is over. Pretty excting stuff. Never imagined myself doing this! Accounting, marketing, finance, management, ethics, etc... Perfect for practical gallery stuff. If anyone has taken Open University: 'An Introduction to Business' I'd love to hear from you regarding whether it's worth doing. Best wishes, Becky... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Two great things today: 1. My interview with London-based sculptor Nick Hornby has been published at Dazed today. 2. The Philadelphia "Promoters Bill" has been cancelled thanks to a huge online petition and lots of concerned Philadelphians phoning up the council offices. People everywhere do care about the arts and it shows when things like live music are put under threat. Also... Other than fixing a typo in the interview, today has been completely restful. As I mentioned earlier, due to ill health I've taken some time out of my MA, which has been frustrating. But at the same time it's ben a great opportunity to develop new ideas and plans for the future.  I've been reading today about business plans at the Young, Fabulous and Self Employed blog. Am going to start making some initial notes towards a complete gallery business plan, as well as contacting some enterprise agencies about advice and training courses and stuff. Do get in touch if you have any expertise to share... In return I will ply you with drinks and write an article on your work on my website, which happily has received over 4,000 visitors and 40,000 hits this month. Also, I'm hoping to give a talk at the Philadelphia Pecha Kucha (for more on what this is, click here) on the abstract painter Agnes Martin. Will post a video if it works out. Philadelphia art community networking begins! Still so excited!!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Brief blog post today: I'm really happy that I have found a dream that sustains my interest, that combines intellectual, business and manual labour, that combines criticality and community-outreach. Still excited! Today, I'll be working on my business plan and writing a review of two pretty interesting, and very different, books for http://whitehotmagazine.com. It's the first time I've been sent a book to review that I get to keep. And it's a beauty. Top secret for now, but will update here when the article is published. Yesterday, while I didn't make art, I spent my time on two activities that I consider to be creative and close to my artistic nerve. I sewed, sewed, sewed a charity shop dress into a beautiful summer music festival offering, and I baked three vegan cakes. Alongside *the dream* gallery plans, I'm slowing working on building up my creative confidence again so that I might be an exhibiting, practicing artist eventually too. Ok, until tomorrow...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Doctor's appointment this morning so got up earlier than usual. This means a lovely walk along by the cow-field in the fresh air, crows perched on the railings. Overcast skies remind me of a dream I had last night about getting out of the subway at 40th St to get to M's house. In the dream, it's drizzling, so I huddle inside my coat. Suddenly it's a downpour and I'm running to M's place. Then it's a disaster movie and there are twin tornadoes heading straight at me. I'm on his street but wake up, heart pounding, before I get to the door....  This is probably related to the fact that I have started packing my tiny suitcase for the USA, which is exciting but also nervewracking. Rolling up all my summer clothes (no need for them in York, UK!) into tight bundles feels like coiling up my energies ready to spring into action in Philadelphia. Hmm. You know how the Americans have medical names for every slightly difficult emotional state? Near the end of a brilliant exchange programme in painting at the Cooper Union, NYC, I told my tutor that I was having trouble concentrating. He said, 'you're suffering from transition anxiety, I get it myself'. Wow. Funny thing was that his diagnosis made me feel much better. Think I'm having a spell of T.A. today. It seems pointless to do much in the UK since I have only 3 weeks left, but it really is too early to pack or to make too many Philadelphia plans with friends. ART: Yesterday I drew! My creative streak continues. ON MY WEBSITE: new blog post about pinhole photography, something I intend to try very soon. Will update here with photos if I do...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 GALLERY/STUDIOS: Yesterday I read through the whole of Jackie Berridge's a-n studio blog (2007-2010) and was amazed at the hard slog she has been through to get the studios to where they are today. What an inspirational woman. And still there are legal disputes going on! She's absolutely right that only a practicing artist would set up this type of business. I've also been emailing with her about getting some advice on my own project. I'm certainly not put off yet! In fact, I'm constantly thrilled by the warmth and eagerness to give advice, assistance and encouragement by other a-n bloggers, as well as their openness about their own circumstances. Thanks to a-n for providing this forum. PROCRASTINATION: I still have a book review to write and am struggling with energy and motivation. I'm a perfectionist, trying to learn to be an imperfectionist. At the moment that means I get things done well, but at what cost? My health has suffered in the past year. Trying to learn how to treat myself gently while still getting things done is my task of the year and is one of the hardest things I've attempted. INTERVIEWS: Up on my website today is an interview with Katherine Faulkner, a PhD candidate at the Courtauld Institute, studying 'The Sculpted Body: 18th C Dress'. It's really useful reading for anyone considering a PhD in the humanities. TWITTER: I officially am in love with Twitter. My interview with Katie, mentioned above, has been RT'd by two people with big followings in the time it took to write the above sentence. Looking forward to having some new readers. Must come up with a plan for organising my time better though! Blogging is one of my favourite things, but, as yet, it doesn't bring in cash. (Do I sound horrifically mercenary for an artist?) USA: Can. Not. Wait.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Yesterday I made a pact with my hyper-critical self to be quiet for a while. I'm sick of preventing myself from getting on with stuff because I'm feeling exhausted from too much pressure. On that note, I'll let light, creative Becky take over a little... Bleaching a whole bunch of sheeting today. I love swooshing bubbles and textiles around in a big bucket of water. Looking forward to seeing how they come out. I'm excited about how quickly my blog is growing but I want to make it work for me and not just be an online popularity contest. Reading 'Blogging for the Artist' woke me up a little this morning. Less time on Twitter, more time on paper. I've been singing and playing my guitar. Today I'm going to think about my priorities. Less than 3 weeks to Philadelphia summer!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Gorgeous sunny day here in York. I have turned my pink gerbera so it's facing out of the open window while I type. Writing an article today and doing some drawing. Still struggling with concentration on academic stuff. Hoping that a semi-academic article will boost my confidence. I've been commissioned to write another short 'Rant' for Axis. I find these really fun to write as well as being a challenge, to fit a coherant and witty argument into a 300 word text. My next one is going to be on the class divide in the creative industries. Thanks Axis. My month off university is almost over. I feel I have made real progress when it comes to defining what I want in my future, remembering what is important to me, and making steps to get there. I'm also really glad that I've started to focus on my own well-being, rather than being an art history essay machine!    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 This weekend was pretty relaxing... I deliberately didn't do any school work or freelance work, but instead did some introductory research into the existing gallery scene in Philadelphia and the types of businesses in existence in the specific area of the city that I'm interested in. I also started looking up studio and commerical space rental prices, as well as writing out my clearly my vision for the studios and gallery. Today I worked on some book reviews and interviews with artists and designers for my blog and for White Hot Magazine. Ok, that's it for now... 2 weeks and 2 days til Philadelphia!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 I'm going to be doing something exciting on my website from 1st July! If you're an artist who is a little embarrassed about the standard of their drawing skills, or someone who just wants to learn or grow, you might want to be in on this. My "30 Days of Drawing" challenge begins on 1st July. I'm enouraging my readers to spend an allotted time drawing every day, perhaps with a specific goal in mind. For example, to improve fluency of line, to experiment wildly with ink, to get better at observational work, to let go of all preconceived notions of good/bad/acceptable drawing. Etc, etc. I'll be posting drawing-related content all month: images of my own drawing efforts, interviews with successful artists, illustrators and designers about their views on drawing; tasks and challenges to try out to get yourself back into the flow of drawing; art history and theory notes on drawing; and lots and lots of inspiration and encouragement to keep on drawing! Am just starting to write the content and am really thrilled with how it's going. i'm also looking for artists, curators and writers to be interviewed on my site, or to write/draw guest posts, during the month of July. Please get in touch via becky @ beckyhunter.co.uk if you're interested. Twitter hashtag: #30DaysDrawing... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 I guess now that I'm back at school full time I will be posting here a little less frequently. Still I have lots of gallery research bubbling away behind the scenes... I can't wait to read this blog in 2 years time after I've set up my space and trace how it all developed from this tiny seed. That's all.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 INTERVIEW: I recently interviewed award-winning a-n blogger, artist and gallery manager Rosalind Davis regarding her experience setting up Core Gallery, Deptford, London. You can view the interview now on my website. I'm really grateful to Rosalind for the time she put in to answer my questions in depth. The interview has really helped me to think more about setting up my own gallery here in Philadelphia (oh yes, I'm here now!) and is full of practical advice. CRITICISM: I'm heading to the Philadelphia ICA's Queer Voice exhibition soon. It looks fascinating. I'll be reviewing it for White Hot Magazine. DRAWING: I've been drawing still, which is great... My blog's "30 Days of Drawing Challenge" begins this Thursday, 1st July. a-n blogger Emma Cameron is writing a guest post on her use of drawing for the month, and I have some wonderful artist, musician and illustrator interviews lined up too. I do hope some a-n readers will pop along and join in our exploration of drawing. GUEST BLOGGING: For the drawing month, I also still have some guest blogger spots open for any a-n bloggers who are interested in writing a piece up to 500 words long on any aspect of drawing. I'm also open to drawn posts or artist statements that relate to drawing. Email me at becky @ beckyhunter.co.uk if you're interested. ART HISTORY: Ok, back to reading about the wonderful Agnes Martin for my MA dissertation. I'm going to be reading her work through the lens of Yayoi Kusama and Mona Hatoum, as well as looking into attitudes towards psychoanalysis in 1960s USA. Fun times.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 BLOGGING: 30 Days of Drawing has begun. I'm nervous and excited and I really hope lots of people are inspired to take part and to practice drawing. USA: I'm still pretty exhausted from my travels so far, but had a briliant time in the Philadelphia ICA (University of Pennsylvania) archives. The modern art archivist Donna Brandolisio is very keen to share her knowledge and interests, and is a specialist on the history of the ICA itself. The curator at the time of Agnes Martin's 1973 survey show there, Suzanne Delahanty, was apparently an enthusiastic, compassionate and formidable woman, holding a museum directorship at a time when the women's movement was just gaining new momentum. DRAWING: I'm really enjoying drawing grids each day at the moment, experimenting with texture, materials and colour. I hope to get the courage up to do some observational drawing tomorrow morning and will post my efforts up on my site. HEALTH: I had a blood test just before leaving for the USA. Turns out I have anaemia, which might explain the constant dizziness and problems in concentration I've been having. Getting a diagnosis is a good thing though, isn't it, as now I can stock up on iron supplements and broccoli and hopefully soon I'll be back to full strength. One of my tutors from the Prince's Drawing School said, 'If you want to work, you need to eat.' Will have to feed myself up!  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 ART HISTORY: Very excited, and also rather nervous, as tomorrow morning I will be attending Harvard University's Fogg Museum store in Somerville, MA, in order to view some paintings and drawings by Agnes Martin. I'll also be meeting with Christina Bryan Rosenberger, a conservator at the museum, and an IFA New York doctoral candidate looking at material processes in Martin's work. I'm not sure exactly what I will find helpful in either the viewing or the meeting but I'm looking forward to moving into unknown territory. I've noticed that whenever I get stuck on an Agnes Martin problem, or if I'm just tired and need some inspiration/motivation, viewing some of Martin's works "in the flesh" revives my interest and reminds me why I care so much about researching and interpreting her work. DRAWING: My 30 Days of Drawing project is going really well and I'm attracting more readers each day. Thrilled about this. I'm glad there is an interest or a curiosity out there about such a traditional, but rich, art form. Although I've been busy, running the blog challenge is focusing my mind and my actions towards drawing in a way that I don't often manage to sustain. I hope that my daily drawing practice will continue long after July is over. I feel that this might provide a way for me to really start practicing as an artist again and not merely as a critic or historian. INTERVIEW: I'm a huge fan of New York based artist, illustrator and entrepreneur Molly Crabapple and was absolutely thrilled when she agreed to do an interview for my Drawing Month project on her use of and attitudes towards drawing as a medium. I just put the article up today and I hope you'll enjoy it. I'll be publishing interviews with artists every few days during July - I'm really happy with the responses I've received so far.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 ART HISTORY: Really great trip to the Harvard archive/storage facility in Somerville, near Boston. My meeting with Christina Rosenberger was excellent. Our research interests on Martin are so different, but we had a lot of questions in common and some similar perspectives on the work. She's also a much more experienced scholar than me, and she was happy to give me lots of advice on things like taking good photographs and how to approach big commercial galleries with odd questions on pieces of art (like my current obsession with Martin's aluminium frames). I also got to view some really excellent Martins. The phrase "Kid in a candy store" springs to mind! Of particular interest to me was a pencil on watercolour grid from 1960, which seemed to be deliberately intended to soak, wrinkle (almost destroy) the thin paper on which it was made. I made approx 6 pages of sketchbook and written notes on this drawing as I think its unusual texture, set off by pencil lines which almost seem to score the paper (they don't, it's just a clever trick of perspective) will feature in my dissertation. It was an inspiring day - and also made me appreciate my boyfriend who not only found us a place to stay with an old friend, but also partied all night with said friend, and still drove me to the archives before 9am the next morning! True love if ever I saw it. I'm a little worried about the writing up phase of my dissertation, which should have started already. However, I plan to begin that on Wednesday now that a lot of my archival visits are complete... well, complete is totally the wrong word here. It's more like, my archival work for the next few years (if I choose to continue) has just begun. The archives and stored paintings of Martin's are so rich, and so understudied, that there is a real opportunity here to say something worthwhile and hopefully original. DRAWING: Drawing month is going well. I'm finding the interest and response quite overwhelming, especially from other artists and illustrators. I'm making some new friends and viewing lots of interesting art work too. I'm having to work hard to fit my own drawing practice into my schedule. It seems corny, but having to present my 'Saturday Sketchbook' online each weekend is really forcing me to keep pushing forward with it, for fear of looking like a fake blogger who can't keep her own project going. That said, I'm certainly learning a lot about drawing, looking more closely at other artist's drawings and have started finding myself getting all fidgety and frustrated if I miss a day or two of my drawing time. Which is exactly what I wanted... I'd love to form a drawing habit so that I can go on improving and looking and touching and critiquing and observing long after July's Drawing Month project is over.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 ART HISTORY: Using the Wi-fi on the Megabus to New York City! On my way to look at some Agnes Martins, Barnett Newmans, Mona Hatoums and Yayoi Kusamas for my dissertation. Also meeting a friend that I haven't seen for a couple of years. V nice day ahead, full of coffee, chats, and furious notemaking. Also have the challenge of trying to figure out how to photograph these works. The Martins in particular are notoriously difficult to reproduce, and I will have to make copious annotated sketches to remind myself which bit of close-up grid is which in my images. INTERVIEW: Just wanted to signpost my recent interview with musician and illustrator Jeffrey Lewis. Do let me kmow what you think. I've been a fan of his for years and was thrilled that he agreed to do a interview with me for 30 Days of Drawing.He's written/drawn for the UK Guardian and the New York Times amongst many other great publications. GALLERY: I must remember to contact some arty/gallery/studio people in Philadelphia asap to start building a network out here, and learnign how I can best contribute to the existing situation. Things have been so busy here in Philly/Boston/now NY, that the gallery stuff has fallen on the back burner. Though yesterday evening I did take a lovely walk around the 50th St and Baltimore Ave area in Philly to start thinking about how the gallery would work with other young creative businesses in the area.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Just a quick post today... I'll write a longer one soon and catch you up with the crazy month that July has been! BLOG: My blog's 30 Days of Drawing project has gone really well. My blog traffic has increased by a decent margin, and I've come to meet and find out about several interesting artists' and writers' work. So that's been good. I'm beginning to wish I could find a way to monetize my blog, though I'm certainly grateful for the outlet and networking/frienship opportunities it has so far provided. To the end of making dollars, I've started reading Darren Rowse's Problogger book, which details how he grew a blogging business of his own. Sounds like a hell of a lot of hard work, but it might just be worth it. After a year of funded graduate study, and a build up of freelance writing tasks that convince me I have what it takes to make this professionally, I hate the idea of working for someone else ever again! Down with office work! DRAWING: I didn't manage to draw every day, but I certainly drew much more in the month of July than I have for the past few months combined. I suppose a bit of accountability and time-management, and willingness to get a little tired and stressed in the process is helpful - at least in the short term. I will be doing another rethink of where I want to get to in life, and how an art practice might fit into that sometime soon. But I'm definitely grateful for the experience of incorporating drawing into my daily life. It hasn't yet become a habit but maybe it will eventually. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't work on my representational skills as much as I had wanted to, however, I learned a lot about the pleasure of working with line, pencil, paper and ink, in a way that I'm sure will continue to motivate me in the future. ART HISTORY: is going really well... will update with more info later... Suffice to say that August will be much more of a stay-at-home, or in a cafe/bookshop, typing up dissertation and doing freelance writing assignments. Much, much less travel. Phew!! If you're interested, see http://beckyhunter.co.uk for the entire 30 Days of Drawing project!    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 This week has been sort of productive and sort of tiring. I never manage to get through the Artist's Way from beginning to end. Always get burnt out at some point, too much pain and short-lived enthusiasm - and the kind of spirituality that only jars with me, or that's a bit too challenging on my traumatised Christian-childhood, trying to make it on my own, soul. But one remark made by Julia Cameron, that book's author, and an artist herself, keeps coming back to me this week. She writes about the word 'Kriya', meaning a cry of the soul that gets expressed in the body. I've been pretty unwell this week, nothing serious, but frustrating and stopping me from really working in the way that I need to. On Monday I cried and cried, felt so devastated and miserable, worried that I'd never get my priorities straight, that I'd always be working on projects that I think I ought to (academia, writing?) rather than doing the work that I constantly plan and don't push into (drawing, painting, sewing, singing). So I wonder if the awful insomnia, headaches and nausea - due to some medication I'm on  - might be interpreted as a sort of 'Kriya.' Telling me that it's the last straw, that I need to refocus, to narrow down my goals and pick the ones that really mean something to me. I understand that's only the first step in all of this. Making the decision I mean. But making the decision to work as an artist is the first step, right? And it's a good step, I think. I also took step two - developing a drawing habit - and step three - splashing my hot teary face with water and walking into the city to buy art supplies. What's step four? I have so much else to get done right now - MA dissertation, freelance projects on the go, job hunting in the UK and the USA, moving house (neighbourhood, then city and continent) again at least 3 times in the next two months, sorting out the problems with my medication, figuring out how to get on the right continent to be with my partner... I might finally have given up any hope of rescue. I give in. I'm not usually this dramatic when I write. I'll let you know how this artist-thing goes. I feel like I'll be somehow living a little more on my own terms. I'm probably romanticising it all but there you go. A lot of this stuff stems from romance, right?... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 I wrote this story in response to some of Hermann Hesse’s short stories, including The Blue Flower, in which his writing seemed to me to take on an incredible slowness in processing visual information, giving much time to really look at things and think aloud about what they might mean.Thought I'd share it with you here as I'm really grateful for the community here, for the feedback and the encouragement to keep going. (Also, when I'm overwhelmed and anxious I tend to return to drawing as a slow, tactile, meditative kind of thing.) Irises In the centre of a single iris are blue veins, never straight, never repeated, never the same thickness all the way down. She knew this because she had been drawing them day after day. She traced their lines into her notebook, carefully measuring tiny angles, tiny distances, minute creases with her fingers and eyes. The iris, a living natural thing, suspended by the leaves wrapped around its flower, in a narrow clear vase. Each morning and each evening she drew the petals with thin, faint pencil marks leading down to the innards where the blue veins disappeared further down into the stem. Black stamens dangled upwards and she tried to match their flexibility in her marks. She made the drawings to learn to pay attention. Each single line a minute or two where life passed her by, where she had attended to something very particular in a stiller kind of life. A flower could of course be guessed at or imagined, but could only ever be known through looking – at its tissue thin skin, miniscule swerves, spider-leg columns, never making assumptions or predictions, protecting against distractions, to eventually learn a specific and very different rhythm to the natural stroke of her thumb and forefingers holding the pencil. She had lain the faint drawings on every surface in her room. She lived with them like you live with a frost, thin white and grey patterns traced. She moved slowly, opening and closing doors gently, for one gust can waft a sheet on to the floor, risking footprints. She knew each piece of paper was already marked with thousands of her undetectable fingerprints. The trail of silver-grey irises had become a path through a hundred slightly different kinds of space. Drawings that captured the crisp form of the iris appeared to fix depth into the page, making a pin-pointed space that reared up or fell away from view with perfect perspective. Others felt their way, making space tactile or emotional, or awkwardly compressing the flower on the paper’s surface, disfiguring, crushing space and form alike as in a black hole. She was tilting her finger and thumb to follow the curve of a petal when an electronic chime announced the first guest. It was her birthday. She had planned to sweep the drawings up into piles to make room for laying the table. The irises in their vase would have made a nice centrepiece and set off the blue serviettes. But the drawn irises still floated on their curling paper lake on every available surface; a delicate ecosystem of observations, some painstaking, some clumsy, some ripped and a few just finished. She dimmed the ceiling lights and pulled the curtains to, a little dazed, ushering in, smiling. (click through to the next post for the rest of the story, a-n wisely only allows 700 words per post)  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541   (This is part two of a story I wrote that I'm sharing with you here... The post below this one contains part one) ------------------------------------------------- The birthday group assembled on the floor, balancing pink fizz in glasses on their knees. Mark had brought a cake with white layers of icing. She switched off the standard lamp as the white candles were lit one by one, a slow count to thirty. Her room and her friends and her own hands, sleeves and skirt turned black and white and grey. The spaces behind them grew full, then flat, and then full again with shadows that ballooned and burst. Layers of paper lay heavy as law and dainty as icing sugar by turns. ‘I won’t blow them out yet.’ They waited, humouring her. ‘Here. I shall serve each of you.’ She pulled herself off the floor and her shadow slid up the wall. She pushed the small stack of plates behind her and shifted over, kneeling above the iced cake. Facing them, she made two swift cuts and wiped a smear of wax off the knife with her cuff, ‘James, this is for you, don’t burn yourself,’ handing him the first slice. She cut another seven large pieces until each guest cupped a share of the sugary lamp in their fingers. Melting candlewax and butter icing smelled old fashioned, rich and serious. Thirty inch-high sources of light illuminated eight faces, making their foreheads dark and their lips light. The drawings behind them were made dark grey as each held three or four flames protectively near their own body. She kissed each of her friends on the cheek as the flames burned low. Katy’s voice began softly, ‘Happy Birthday to You…’ They sang until the room was entirely dark and their hands decorated with cold rivulets of wax, white lines tracing the contours of their knuckles. Then the crumbly business of eating without plates, scattering the floor with blossomy chunks of cake, clinking of glasses, shifting of limbs and slowly rising voices as the lamp was switched back on.   She was still smiling, on a carpet island inhabited for one night by good friends. All these tense emotions contained in the finest pencil lines, the boundaries of flowers, an ox-bow lake almost hemming them in. She sat quietly, let Mark and the rest talk and make jokes as they went back and forth from the kitchen, fetching things left to cool in the fridge, opening a window to smoke under. They took care with her drawings, sometimes stopping to look at one, studying it the way you can study a human face, the face of someone you care about. Slowly her friends left with bear hugs at the door. On her own again, certain of the drawings seemed different. Perhaps those that had been looked at the longest; definitely some of the most awkward attempts appeared stronger, more resilient. She laughed out loud, delighted that the marks she had called ‘disfigured’ were gracefully strange and restless. She laughed again, glad that her drawings were like little babies, somehow growing in response to being paid attention.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 These were my end of day tweets: * Perfect NYC day! V productive research meeting, interviewed lovely artist, Cohan Gallery show, high line, cheesecake @ Veselka, ahh. * ps - I used to eat at Veselka every week (way back before it was on Gossip Girl). Thought I'd paste here as they sum it up pretty well! Also... you can find me on twitter if you want more (though my life isn't usually so glamorous). http://twitter.com/musehunter  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Setting up an artist-led space: the 'Why' factor... Rosalind recently asked me a pertinent, and challenging, question. It’s had me shaking in my boots – well, sandals, actually, we’re having a heatwave here in Philly – and thinking hard. So, after a few days of wondering, I decided to set a timer and blog my tentative, flighty, totally unedited, stream-of-consciousness, passionate answer… Why do you want to set up an artist led space? - I want to be in West Philadelphia to be with my amazing partner & I want to have a real, hardcore purpose and set of goals to work on while I’m here - I care passionately about the arts, always have, probably always will, and have always dreamed of running a small space, with a garden, plenty of light, and a friendly atmosphere - I’d love to facilitate artists residencies and having a physical space set up would be an ideal way to do that - I’m a bit of a control freak and so, rather than work my up in a big commercial gallery or museum as a curatorial assistant and so on, I would rather carve out a modest space on which I can make my mark, and help other independent artists and curators to do the same - Also, I have an entrepreneurial type of spirit – hence the blogging, the freelancing etc – and, as above, prefer the challenge of running a business of sorts rather than working for a salary - Running a gallery in West Philadelphia in particular brings together my two desired outcomes in life – developing contemporary art and doing something socially active, socially worthwhile (which I feel I’ve neglected over the past few years) – I hope that community outreach and education in the city’s poorer/high-crime areas can be part of the gallery’s remit - I’ve found over the past few years that working as a writer has brought me into contact with so many more interesting and helpful and friendly people that I would otherwise have met. I’m kind of antisocial and shy (would you believe!?), so interviewing people and calling people regarding research and giving presentations pushes me out of that comfort zone and into brilliant new relationships, friendships, opportunities and networks. I reckon running a gallery would make for a similar push out of my comfort zone into new wonderful experiences and friendships - Making friends in Philly is very important to me, as a newbie here, and I hope that having a real project on the go will (as above) push me to meet new people and enjoy life - I’ve worked in galleries and always wanted to be the one in charge, haha! On a less control-freakish note, when I’ve worked in galleries, I’ve always paid attention to systems, mailing-lists, PR, ways of handling work and people, even little things like cleaning the gallery floor and making notes on the condition of paintings each day – I want, one day, to be able to teach someone else the ropes, help others embark on their art careers - I’m an artist Ok, timer buzzed… I feel a little exposed, but there you go… trying not to judge myself or my motivations… I’ll keep thinking about ‘the Why’. Thanks to Rosalind Davis for the great question!  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 I'm finding at the moment that dealing with disappointment is a big part of each day. From things like cancelled interviews and publications, to struggling with insomnia and adjusting some medication I'm on in order to not feel fuzzy headed all the time, I'm having to adjust my expectations about how much I can achieve each day and what other people are supposed to do for me. I think this is at least the second time I've written something like this in 2010. It's such a hard lesson to learn, isn't it? As artists, academics and creative people, we want always to be challenging ourselves and doing new things, expanding our horizons and abilities. Then something comes up and we're suddenly just trying to keep head above water for a while. Is balance and routine the answer here? Or is burnout and overwork just part of the creative life? I want to say no to that, and live in a way that keeps me healthy.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Back in the UK, slowly recovering from jetlag/brain-freeze, have set up a makeshift 'office' in my parents back bedroom, where I'm staying until I finish my dissertation and figure out what to do next. I miss my US-based partner like crazy, and am trying to distract myself with work and with long walks around the sheep farm near my parents' house. I missed lambing season, and missed the harvest, which is disappointing. But the Autumnal breeze, and the flapping leaves, are gorgeous nonetheless. I recently subscribed to a-n for the first time in a few years. I *just* qualified for the artist rate, which I'm really thrilled about - having a Fine Art degree, several exhibitions to my name and several (albeit small) paid painting and drawing commissions. This feels like a real step forward for me in terms of reasserting my creative identity, calling myself an artist, or at least a person who makes things and writes stories (Louise Bourgeois did both of those things!) I'm looking forward to making the most of those resources, and drawing more support and friendship from the a-n community - as well as giving something back! I also just registered for a creative writing course with the OU. This shouldn't be too much a time/energy drain as it doesn't begin until after my dissertation deadline, and it's the most beginnerish one they offer. It will be interesting for me to try and make sense of art and my experiences away from art in the past few years through fiction and observational word play. Looking forward to it all. I've just finished putting together a newsletter - which will be coming out monthly from now on. It will cover my travels, reading, research and activities to be an artist... If you'd like to read it click here. I'll try and get back to daily writing on here as I really appreciate the community and I like the opportunity to consider what I'm doing, how satisfied I am, and what changes I might make. Anyway, much love to you all, and on with the damn dissertation!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Oh dear! Dissertation mad focus is getting in the way of sharing my potentially briliant (or more likely, jumbled) thoughts with the a-n crew. So i thought I'd post my freelance journal from my website, and also a couple of new links to articles I've recently had published... Lately, I have missed having a regular blogging schedule. In particular, I’ve missed the weekly gift that the Freelance Journal set of posts gave of half an hour to think and write about what I’m doing with my life, to realign with, and to question, my goals and values, and to prepare my mind for next seven days. I absolutely credit online journalling, since the beginning of 2010, with the excavation of some of my lifelong dreams - and, in part, for the courage and energy to work towards them. So, thoughts on life, academia and freelancing...It’s only two weeks to go until my MA dissertation is done, bound and handed over. I loved the research phase of the project, but writing has been tough and the central arguments, vague and coagulating in my brain, are only just starting to come together now. Thankfully, I have a bunch of wonderful girlfriends - some who I’ve known for years and some, bless them, who are an amazing online support troop - who have been there, and I’m finally becoming convinced that the damn work will get done and will get done well!Freelance-wise, September/October has so far been a pleasantly fruitful period, with one of my favourite interviews ever taking place (dare I hope it is the start of a super friendship?); my appointment as UK Managing Editor of Whitehot Magazine; a book review; and two excellent writing commissions for an independent sculptor and an Arts Council funded, artist-led exhibition - more to come on those at a later date. On a practical note, I did plenty of down-to-earth-freelance-businesswoman type stuff, such as file my tax return; create brand spanking new sexy headed paper for quotes, invoices and suchlike; reorganised my paper financial records and folders on the Mac; and set up new Excel spreadsheets to help with calculations. I thought this worth mentioning, partly as I’m so proud to have completed these usually-annoying tasks, but also because these activities taught me about the sheer pleasure of doing useful-but-boring things as procrastinatory tool. I mean, if you’re going to practice dissertation avoidance, a few hours put towards claiming a tax refund (and then buying gorgeous new boots with the cash) must be better than watching back to back Curb Your Enthusiasm!On a more fun, lifestylie note, I’ve been loving taking long walks, going gluten free (SO much more energy, you would not believe it, it can’t be a placebo effect, surely?), munching my organic veg delivery and watching 1999 episodes of the 1900 House with my mum in the evenings. I’ve also been ordering books like a fiend on Amazon in preparation for my first-time-in-three-years novel reading bliss out. So far, Virginia Woolf’s The Waves, Anne Lamott’s Hard Laughter, and (ahem, I’m just curious and idealistic) Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert have made the list. Recommendations much appreciated...  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Becky blogs for Arts Professional… Nov 29th, 2010 by Becky. [Edit] I am delighted to have been invited by Arts Professional’s editorial team to be one of their brand new creative bloggers. I’ll be writing regularly on how to manage and grow an emerging, freelance arts career – like mine! – as well as publishing plenty of revealing interviews with bright, successful women in the field. Here’s my first Arts Professional post… Five Tips for Portfolio Career Success   ‘Portfolio career’ is such a deceptive phrase. For me, those two words bring to mind a finely tuned array of innovative projects, managed with airtight and formidable efficiency. I must admit, however, that my ‘portfolio’ is a little too much like the one I heaved around, aged 19, on the tube and in cabs between various art school interviews: overstuffed, unwieldy and containing work on an assortment of somewhat arbitrary themes. Despite this, I remain passionately committed to intertwining art, criticism, public speaking, academic research and blogging, in pursuit of creative integrity and a satisfying alternative to the 9-5. To extend the art school carry-case metaphor, every scuff, bump and torn page, while disappointing, marks an opportunity to polish up and redraft. In other words, even career mistakes highlight opportunities for growth. The tips below have emerged from my personal freelance setbacks. 1. Ditch the perfectionism. I find this helps with finishing projects on time; working only my planned number of hours in order to preserve a decent hourly wage within my flat fee; and having the self-belief to take on new, more complex projects as I allow myself to take creative risks. 2. Value relationships. Rather than viewing each new contact as a business opportunity, I try to enjoy and to cultivate the friendships that crop up in my various lines of work. This way, I appreciate people for their personality as well as their skills; work collaboratively instead of competitively; and have some fascinating friends. 3. Be realistic about pricing. When I started getting unsolicited enquiries about my art writing, a chat with a more successful writer showed me that I was drastically underselling myself. New clients were happy to pay more because they recognised my strengths -perhaps more than I did. 4. Sleep. After years of late night deadline scrambles, I now know that I do my best work when I’m well rested, so I make bedtime a priority (arts careers are often less than glamorous!). This is especially important when dealing with the hectic travel schedule that often comes with multi-project work. 5. Set new, exciting goals. One major advantage of a freelance career is that I can dream big about my future and make step-by-step plans to get there. Right now, I am working on a business plan for a contemporary art gallery and studio complex. By identifying concrete goals, I am also able to propose and select projects that will best equip me to get there: my portfolio therefore becomes more coherent and my motivation soars! Do you have any top tips for arts career success? Do share them in the comments… Read more: http://www.beckyhunter.co.uk/2010/11/becky-blogs-for-arts-professional/#ixzz16hhFeT8Q Under Creative Commons License: Attribution... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 While I catch up with my new, fully freelance life, here's a snippet from my 'professional' blog. More personal blog notes coming soon here... Interview with Lucy Adlington, The Parlor Boutique Dec 2nd, 2010 Having just taken the leap into full time self-employment myself, it was wonderful to chat with Lucy Adlington about the trials and pleasures of her work as a designer-maker. I profiled Lucy’s gorgeous gems a while back for a local magazine and have always been impressed with her DIY attitude, high aesthetic standards and super multi-tasking ability – as well as being a mite envious of the woman’s ability to look flawless whatever the situation! Here, we talk about her motivations, challenges and inspirations… How long has the Parlor been running and what made you set the business up? The Parlor opened in June 2007 officially, online, but I’ve been making and selling jewellery since 2002. The store took over a year to put together as I did everything entirely myself! It was a huge learning process along the way and I made sure I took my time as, ultimately, it felt more satisfying that way. The jump from hobby to business came from a desire to create something more tangible that I could work at part time whilst the rest of my life was in hiatus when I was diagnosed with M.E. Talk us through the inspiration behind your latest pieces. The site is updated constantly with new pieces, as I tend to come up with designs sporadically and sometimes work a collection through that theme. My main inspiration for pieces like c’est la vie rose was to create a huge statement piece that was both heavy and full of grandeur harking back to the silent film era. It’s my favourite piece as it always gets noticed. I have a couple of collections coming up next year around one of my ultimate inspirations but that will remain top secret until its finished! Why vintage? I’m a huge collector of 20th Century pieces of costume clothing and jewellery: the fact that these pieces are incredibly intricately made and have lasted the test of time is why I look to the past to bring back the ‘built to last’ ethos. I have a few costume jewellery pieces from the likes of stores like Woolworths that were made using brass and beautiful faceted glass stones, and they’re still in mint condition today. I aim for the same quality with my own pieces. A lot of the charms and cameos I use have an incredibly story, the origins of which started in West Germany – before the Second World War the jewellery store owner re-located to the U.S.A and brought his stock with him. For whatever reason it was left sitting in a barn and, after a fire, his wife decided to auction off the remaining pieces and, as such, a fantastic array of pieces became available (all in near mint condition) to the market. I then re-create them into simplistic, quality jewellery that’s either created in very small numbers or a true one off. I love to be able to sell my customers unique pieces with a story to tell. What is the biggest challenge you have had to face in being a self-employed creative? To keep going. We’re living in a recession and also an independent creative age thanks to the internet, so there’s a lot of competition out there and the high street can be ruthless in latching onto designs and reproducing them for considerably less. Also, working solo means there’s no one backstage to take the reigns when it comes to time off or holidays. And you have to be incredibly self disciplined as well as driven, particularly if you’re having those moments of self doubt! Read more: http://www.beckyhunter.co.uk/#ixzz17Lbch8se Under Creative Commons License: Attribution... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 While I was neck-deep in dissertation stress, my Dad told me a tale about a man, an axe and a river. For the last, mad weeks of my Masters, the story was a lifebuoy, calmly bobbing in my mind while I summoned the courage, each morning, to face writing and editing, and to quell the rising panic that (despite my weeks of research and passionate drafting) I had nothing to say. The story goes something like this, In ancient times, there was a man engaged in building a temple. Breaking up stones, he swung his axe with such gusto that the heavy axehead flew from its wooden hilt, soared down the grassy hill and plopped into the fast-flowing river. He wrung his hands, tore at his hair and burst into tears. Rather a fuss for a burly stonemason to be making. At this moment, the prophet happened to be walking by. Taken aback by the tradesman’s howling, the prophet asked him what the matter was. The man told him, between giant sobs, that the axe was the prized possession of a friend, loaned to him for the sacred purpose of temple-building, and now the axehead was gone forever, churned up in the wild water. The prophet had a think, then told the man to pick up the wooden axe-handle, walk down the hill and wait by the water’s edge, holding the hilt out over the surface of the river. As the stonemason did so, the axehead floated into view, as if magnetically attracted to its other half. He was, naturally, very happy and continued with his work. What I took from this is that creativity, particularly under pressure, is a flimsy, flyaway thing. If we lose it for a time, it’s best not to panic. Instead, wait at the place we last saw it. It was there all along. It we wait quietly for a little while in front of the laptop, notebook or sketchbook, inspiration, ideas, the ability to see, words, whatever it is that we’ve been missing, will gently rise to the surface of our minds. And we can get on with our work. By the way, this vignette is adapted from the Bible, my Dad’s go-to book (2 Kings 6:1-7), but I think it’s useful for those of us with different, little, or no faith of the conventional kind. Read more: http://www.beckyhunter.co.uk/#ixzz17ccaYCFz Under Creative Commons License: Attribution... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 Launching.... My Writing Service for Artists It’s a commonly held idea that art needs no words. But, as contemporary artists, we know that isn’t quite true. Historically speaking, from Marcel Duchamp and Rene Magritte’s surreal, verbal experiments, to Mark Titchner and Lawrence Weiner’s concrete poetry (above), the nuances of art and language are closely connected. Then, of course, there are the practicalities. Publicity, funding, opportunity and public interpretation. No artist I’ve met looks forward to writing artist statements, press releases or application forms. You want to focus on your work, stay in the studio (or get out of doors!), not get distracted and held up fretting over text. Writing Service for Artists That’s where I can help. In my Writing Service for Artists I work with artists, designers and curators to produce creative, descriptive, theoretical and explanatory text. Wall texts Interviews Catalogue essays Artists statements Press releases Critical responses Application forms Blogs Web sites I listen carefully to your vision and insight in order to produce words that work with your art, positioning your practice within contemporary, theoretical and historical contexts. As an artist and published art critic qualified in Fine Art and History of Art, I can translate art into words for exhibitions, proposals, web sites and publicity. I know how important the words are: too important to entrust to generalist copywriters who have not shared your experience. To find out more about how the Writing Service for Artists can free you up to focus on your work and transform its public presentation, email me today (becky @ beckyhunter.co.uk). Take advantage of my 20% discount for new customers: offer expires 31 January 2011. *Also… if you have texts already written in German, I can translate them into beautiful English for you! This page’s web copy was produced with the marvellous assistance of Gabriel Smy / Smyword. Read more: http://www.beckyhunter.co.uk/workshops/writing-service-for-artists/#ixzz17iL7MBfq Under Creative Commons License: Attribution... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541 This blog has lost its purpose a little - partly as my own writing and studies have gained more purpose and focus. Something to be celebrated. I've decided to set up a new blog at Artists Talking, and to engage more with the artists and writers contributing here. The blog is going to be called Art, Philosophy & Faith: Tracking my Doctoral Research on Agnes Martin I'll get it started soon!   Becky xo    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/421541