ARTISTS TALKING

# 17 [9 January 2012]

Back at work

So, todays my first day back in the studio after having taken 2 whole weeks off which involved a family holiday to Ghana (where my husband's family is from). It was hot but relaxing, and so nice to spend lots of time with my 3 'boys'.

It was great coming in and getting back into the work. I'd been good and tidied and cleaned the studio before I left. But after having spent the first 2 hours working on a small wax maquette (listening to Melvin Brag's in our time archive) I felt a bit cold so decided to mop the floor. This hasn't been done since I moved in, as I don't have a mop but I managed to borrow one from the Kings Place cleaning staff. I had to scrape off wax and wire brush dried up clay. Then I kept coming accross lots of paper cemented to the floor, couldn't understand why - then I realised it must be remnants of Abigail Falis' Papier Mache work! My suspicions were confirmed when I saw a Daily Mail with March 2009 on it!

An hour and a half later I was definitely warm, but hadn't quite envisioned spending that long...

On another note, I'm feeling guilty at leaving my now 8 month old. I remember when I decided to go for the opportunity that I'd be finishing when he was 8 months old, which is when they start getting more aware. He is definitely very clingy now - maybe to do with all the passing round and being held by relatives (and strangers) he got on holiday. But he stretches out his arms to me saying 'ma ma ma ma'. Today is his first day with my mother-in-law for a while, and I'm sure he'll be happy, but I do feel guilty. 

Its great that my residency has been extended to April, and I'm really planning on working hard over the next 4 months. I'm feelling back to my old fit self and had underestimated how hard it is to work hard when you are heavily pregnant or with a small baby at home. I have 4 projects I'm working on that are very exciting, and I have 2 assistants who'll be coming in helping on thursdays and fridays. Plus I'm planning on working sunday-tuesday on my own on new work. (Wednesday taken off to look after little ones).

But, as they say, the guilt of the working mum knows no bounds... (when you're working hard and when you're mothering hard)

# 16 [11 December 2011]

I have just done my first mail out on my mailing list since 6th June - oops, that means a whole 6 months have gone past without sending anything out. That's not great, but I'm not going to get stressed about it, given what else I'm up to at the moment.

Anyway, I thought I would past here my email, as I think it is an interesting summary of the last 6 months:

If you want to view it in technicolor you can click here:

http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=5990809b467043e0542c6d841&id=e6930ba3e5

Dear friend

You might be wondering why you haven't heard from me in quite a while... well since my last exhibitions in May and June, I have had my head down in the studio working on a new body of work. It was a bit difficult at first with the new baby, sleepless nights and an imaginative loving 4 year old also demanding my time, but I feel I am now getting into the rhythm of my new life and the work has been developing well.
 
I have been discovering how to combine scientific research and intuition, and some of my research into neuroscience has fed into how I purposefully manage the conscious and subconscious thinking I’m doing. Strangely, my interest in ideas around how form develops in nature, has led me to a series of works linked to embryogenesis – perhaps influenced by my pregnancy?
 
I am still not ready to show the current work, which is still developing, but I hope I will be able to show the fruits of my residency at Pangolin London in about a year’s time. In the meantime, there is an opportunity to see my ever popular ‘Dream of Society as Flawless as Diamond’ bronze, and some related smaller works at the Pangolin London Christmas Show.
 
You can follow my residency progress further on twitter (I'm ArtBriony) and through my blog www.a-n.co.uk/link/creative-year Hope to see you on Wednesday

Regards
Briony

Christmas Show 
Pangolin London

Kings Place, 90 York Way, London,N1 9AG 

Opening 
Wednesday 14th December
6-8pm
I have a limited number of invitation to the private view - if you would like to come please email me back asap

Exhibition open

15th - 23rd DecemberTuesday - Saturday 10am - 6pm, Mondays by appointment

Artists include: Robert Aberdein, Anthony Abrahams, Christie Brown, Jon Buck, Ann Christopher, Terence  Coventry, Abigail Fallis, Briony Marshall, Charlotte Mayer, Steve Russell, Almuth Tebbenhoff, Jason Wason and many more 

For moreinformation see the exhibition page on the Pangolin London website.

# 15 [1 December 2011]

Sometimes I worry I’m too happy a person to be a great artist… its usually fairly shortlived, and I’m quite happy (there I go again) being myself but I do love the work of often quite tortured souls.

What has triggered this is that I’m listening to Paula Rego pour forth as I sit and work in the studio. I find it useful listening to people talking whilst I’m working, somehow it gives my consciousness something to do to free up my subconscious to get busy with what I’m working on. She’s amazing but she does seem to remember the blackest memories from her childhood – suicide committing pet dogs, ‘playmate’ who wanted to cut her eyes out…(This is all on the Web of stories website - http://www.webofstories.com/play/17599?o=MS I select ‘play all’ and let it run on)

Last night there was something on the radio about ‘resilient’ brains, in reference to trying to understand depression and mental health issues. Most studies focus on people who get depressed, but the interesting thing is that although they think certain experiences in life can act as triggers to bring on depression, there are also people who can suffer the most awful things, but never get depressed – they now think there might be something about the set up and design (i.e. experience and genetics) of those people’s brains that make the particularly resilient and resistant to depression.

I tend to look on the bright side and tend to remember the happy things that have happened to me, I get on with things. I was just thinking about Rose Gibbs ‘Mountain’, and I get from it the sense that she is slightly disgusted and shocked by what she as a woman and her body have to go through, as it is a mountain of ‘stuff’ created by women menstruating, vomiting, leaking breast milk and being sick (actually not sure if there are any women vomiting but it would be in keeping). This mountain that seems to have been produced by the excretions of women’s suffering is growing a teaming multitude of little and medium and big penises, all flaccid and burgeoning. (I don’t think I’d ever do work like that myself, but in all its goriness and violence I love Rose’s piece, and I love Paula Rego dark and psychological worlds) I’m personally suffering myself at the moment as my body is now having its first cycle since giving birth 7 months ago and coupled to the fact that I’m being woken by 2 small children most nights I’ve developed terrible lower back pain (from sleeping in a toddler bed with a baby in my arms – very foolish!) and on Monday I thought I’d also contracted a stomach bug so looked like death. But somehow for me, I just get on, it doesn’t horrify or disgust me, I just kind of accept and move on. And it is never what I do my work about.

I also remember something I heard Polly (Bielecka – Pandolin London’s Gallery Director) say about my work in an interview or recording relating to the Women Make Sculpture show earlier this year: that I was at one end of the spectrum of the work where it might have been made by a man. Its strange I’d never thought of myself that way before. I wonder if it is because I can tend to work in quite an intellectual way? Strangely my recent work seems to have been influenced by my pregnancy earlier this year (a particularly female subject matter?), but I guess I have approached it in my own way, looking at the science of embryogenesis. What fascinates me is that moment of form and shape appearing from nothing, where the first set of cells form a disc and then develop symmetry, a direction then more and more complex structures align themselves along that proto body line. And I now have as my companions, the beautiful modernist abstract sculptures which to me are redolent with form and function.

At the end of the day, I’m quite happy being me and doing things the way I do them. Lets hope somehow out of all this work I can build a sustainable practice (hmm, currently trying to ignore money worries again).

# 14 [21 October 2011]

Why is it when the work starts going well the personal life starts going wrong. After struggling to find inspiration for a few months, I recently got on a roll with lots of ideas and idea development going well. The same day I was feeling all inspired by work I managed to annoy or argue with both my mother and my husband! I never liked the old cliche of artist being self-centred egotists and definitely don't aspire to it. But I think to do good work you have to have a level of self absorption that can make you less considerate to others.

Anyway, here are a few shots of what I've been up to lately.

In other news - I can't remember the last time I had an un-interupted nights sleep. The 'nearly 4 year old' small Marshall has been waking up a lot as he's been ill, which coincided with the week the baby at last decided to start sleeping through the night, but then when he got better, the baby decided to start waking again. Then last night I had both of them up alternating every 2 hours - oh joy!

Hence I'm probably a bit manic and ranting...

I didn't manage to go to Frieze (or decided I'd rather do studio time) but I did go to a great show (now over) at the Saatchi gallery, called something like "Sculpture - the shape of things to come" which contrary to my expectations had some really amazing work in it. I will try to post about it when (if) I get a chance.

# 13 [26 September 2011]

Mother First Mould part 2

Yay, it worked, here are some shots of the rest of the moulding process

NB the 'original' is a sculpture in wax of an 8 week old embryo actual size which i did from ultrasound images

The pewter cast will form the starting point and centre of a new work I'm developing.

# 12 [13 September 2011]

Experimenting with new mould making technique

So, I am attempting to make a 'mother first' or 'pour technique' mould for pewter casting. 

I have made a wax sculpture of an 8 week old embryo - life size i.e. 1 1/2 inch long. This is going to be the centre of a sculpture about embryo development.

I want to cast it in Pewter, to then be able to cast a number and try out some different ideas for the sculpture.

I am using RTV101 silicon rubber from Tirantis that will take the heat of the molten pewter. And I'm using a new technique that I learnt at the foundry on my last visit. However, the embryo is a tricky shape with lots of undercuts, so I'm trying to do a mould with a rubber cap - I hope it will work.

# 11 [6 September 2011]

Knolling the studio

So, James (my assistant) found this hillarious video by American sculptor Tom Sachs, which is an instruction for any studio assistants he has. Ten Bullets:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49p1JVLHUos

I definitely have studio set up envie... 

If you don't want to watch the whole video check this clip (bullet 8) about Knolling - "the process of arranging like objects in parallel or 90 degree angles as a method of organization"

http://youtu.be/s-CTkbHnpNQ

or the definition of knoll:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knoll_(verb)

I just love it. So we have been knolling the studio.

(Thanks for this James)

# 10 [13 July 2011]

Funilly enough I'm finding it hard finding time to blog - can't imagine why!...

I had a great day at the foundry, being a bit of a pyromaniac I enjoyed setting light to the pan of wax more than putting out the fire :) but learnt how to hold a damp towel so my hands were protected to cover it and put it out.

I also enjoyed watching all the techniques and Ian, who I think it head of the wax department was great. He gave me another guided tour and really went into technical details, which I enjoy.

I also learnt you don't need to use a key to put a disk on or off an angle grinder, and it is only if it really gets jammed. 

Tonight I went to the degree show at the Art Academy where I sometime teach and where I did my degree. I'd spent the day in the studio with Tiny Marshall so I took him with me and wandered around with him in a baby bjorn carrier. He was very good and cooed and smilled at everyone. I thought the breadth and quality of the work was very good. And it was nice seeing lots of old friends and students. 

In particular I bumped into my friend who I was sharing a studio with until the residency started in January. We were both pregnant together, and her 3rd was born about 3 week after Tiny. She is also subletting her half of the studio, also to a painter, and we both agreed how funny its been when we've been back to see the space we used filled with 2 painters with easles and a lot less mess than we managed. 

As we were chatting Tiny M started getting fractious and hungry, so Felipe let us in to the art school office where we sat on a comfy sofa whilst I nursed him and we had a good catch up. She is busy with lots of sales and trying to do her waxes in her kitchen. 

It made me realise I really need to sort out some more help so that I can start getting back into the studio full time.

I have been feeling frustrated recently that I haven't achieved as much as I had wanted to in the first 6 months of the residency, and I need to start putting the foot down on the gas if I'm going to make the most of my time left.

I've been doing between 2 and 4 days a week in the studio, but not sure how productive I've been in that time. My aim is to be in the studio full time by september and doing good 6-7hr days of work. But the house is chaos and I get exhausted and irratable at times.

But I'm still not sure exactly what kind of help I want, and what we can afford. We talked about getting an au pair, but the house feels very small and it is very useful having the spare bedroom/spare bed to manage the sleepless nights. I'm now thinking more a home help type person as it is more keeping on top of all the laundry and cleaning and mess a family of 4 (its amazing how much mess a 3 1/2 year old can create in the time it takes to feed a 10 week old). But I'm in that catch 22 that I'm too busy to have time to sort it out - but I must...

Tiny Marshall is now 10 weeks and smilling lots, it is lovely just sitting looking into his face and making pretend conversation with him. When I'm frustrated by it all, its a guaranteed mood lifter.

Better get to bed now as its gone 12.30 and James and I are doing our first wax cast in the studio, for a mould we finished today.

# 9 [1 July 2011]

On the train to foundry / leaving babies...

Visiting the pangolin foundry in stroud/chalford today to check my wax for Olympic commission and do some fire and angle grinder training. Hope not too tired for it.

I had a quiet day yesterday but have reached new depths of exhaustion and I put showergel on hair instead of shampoo. I'm being woken by both son's at the moment as my 3 1/2 yr old (Small Marshall) has decided he doesn't want to wear nappies at night any more, and although I 'lift' him (ie sit him on potty) when I go to bed, he doesn't always make it thro night without wetting himself again. So last night I went to bed at 12.30, was woken by Small Marshal at 4, then by Tiny Marshall at 5.50 for a feed, then alarm went at 7 to finish the feed and get ready to leave the house by 7.45.

My husband has taken the day off work to look after the 2 boys, which will be nice for him to spend more time w Tiny M as I tend to monopolise his care. It was also great as I didn't have to drop them at my mum's before catching train.

But I did find it hard leaving Tiny M, it will be the longest i've been away from him yet. I left him w my mum from 10am-8pm when I was finishing a bronze at the bermondsay foundry about a month ago, but this will be aprox 8am -10pm. He is so sweet and beautiful and tiny, I just had to give him another kiss before I left.

But its nice to be out in green hilly countryside on a sunny day, and looking forward to more time at the foundry.

# 8 [2 June 2011]

Back in studio with a 5 week old baby

And I feel great, really energised. I'm probaly just living on adrenalin and not sure brain fully functional but enjoying myself. I think it might be getting out the house and doing things, as have spent a lot of days recently in my pyjamas just nursing and sleeping and the many baby and mum jobs round the home.

The drive in was fairly easy, only 50 mins from my 3 year old's nursery with the sun shining, traffic mostly clear as its half term. Although still takes a while at 9am so dread to think how long it will take next week.

So, yesterday was my first day in the studio, and James my assistant came in too. We finished the jaket on the mould of my Embriect sculpture, and I'm going to start the cast today (cold cast bronze using jesmonite). We also finished the rubber on the boys portrait commission, and I did some chasing of the bronze cast 1/16 of Nature's Portent.

I've been galvanised back here as I have another exhibition opening next week: Totem Body at the Crypt st Pancras.

However, this isn't the first time I've worked, I also came up to Pangolin London 3 weeks ago when Tiny Marshall was 2 weeks old, but I did find that a bit exhausting.

Yes, so on Monday 8th May, I installed 'Emergence of Chemistry' in the Galllery for the Women Make Sculpture Group show. It was quite a marathon. I had to wake at 7am to breast feed Tiny Marshall, then get Small Marshall ready for nursery, drop him off at 9am, then pick up my mother (who was to look after Tiny whilst I worked) and drive up to the sudio. Got here about 11 and did another breast feed. Then from 12 - 3 (w small break for a sandwich) I worked on installing the 4 hanging platonic solids before another feed, and drove home at 4. Then I did it again the next day w my dad looking after Tiny whilst I drew and wrote on the wall to complete the installation.

Anyway, its now 11am, I've finished feeding (typing one handed whilst BF-ing), so now need to put Tiny down to sleep and get casting.