ARTISTS TALKING

# 229 [1 June 2011]

No news is good news! Steady is welcome and 'normal' is king. Potting plants, sewing buttons, taking bad photos,  burning sausages and even the odd rejection letter ...  all gloriously mundane.

The case ticks on but atm we enjoy a lull, before the storm in July.

HMS is part of the NotLost festival in Nottingham when music, poetry, performance and the visual arts will shine in the city during the month of July. Although our Swedish friends from Go/c/Art Gallery will be over in June I'm hoping we can highlight their show, 'Halfway to Russia and other Eastbound Horizons' in the promo.

One of the outcomes from Chicago is an invitation to participate in the collaboration,  'Messages Lost In Time'. 55 invited artists will generate 55 prints each. An exchange of work will result in participating artists  receiving a limited edition of 55 pieces of art.  We hope to be showing the collection at HMS during 2012 whilst other venues are being sought for a show in the US.

 We are already looking ahead to Seoul next year. Not sure whether it will be May or October. We are waiting to hear. A few of us from HMS are saving up to go to the pv.

# 228 [17 May 2011]

The studios don't run themselves and it has taken time to catch up on admin and meetings etc. The website is looking pretty though, with colourful jpegs from Sheila and Sarah who have forthcoming shows at the Tarpey and Mostyn Open.

www.harringtonmillstudios.co.uk

We are also preparing for Chicago to come to us in October, the Go/c/Art Gallery show in June and our exhibition to Gotland, Sweden in August. A few of us will be going to Visby to install the show and attend the pv.

Apologies for late entries about Chicago...

Alison and I were given a guided tour of the paper and books department at Columbia College. It houses world class faciliities where traditional methods of book binding and letter press are used creatively with new tecnologies and offset printing. V impressive
http://www.colum.edu/Academics/Interarts/book-and-paper/index.php
Universities are big business in Chicago with over 20 institutions and  occupying some serious real estate.

It is worth mentioning Lincoln Park zoo which is free to the public. We went on a cold, grey day during school hours when visitors were easily outnumbered by animals. In the summer I expect it is a different story.
http://www.lpzoo.org/

# 227 [11 May 2011]

Chicago cont...

We purchased a  CTA pass giving unlimited travel by rail and bus for $20/week. Bargainous. Bus stops are on every corner of the block so navigating is easy. (2 airports are also served by the trains too). http://www.transitchicago.com/

We also walked. One day the pedometer said 18000 steps. After meandering around the city we walked along the lakeside path from Millennium Park to Navy Pier in the cold and rain. We were pleased to reach our destination which warmed our bodies but offered little comfort to the soul. Navy Pier was full of uninspiring souvenirs and a food court serving the usual.

The Art Institute Chicago is free from 5-8pm on Thursdays. We joined the queue 20 minutes early. Memorable pieces included a drawing by Cy Twombly, Bad Times by Philip Guston and one of Lee Bontecou's complex canvas constructions.  Completed the day soaking up the light from Chagall's stained glass window. Highly recommended.
http://www.artic.edu/aic/

Beer in Chicago was a big surprise. Local breweries are crafting  beers with personality and names like Krankshaft, Fat Tire and Green Line. I would have tried more but at 5%+ I'm a bit of a light weight.

The last day was spent at Art Chicago, the international fair of contemporary art.  The range was enormous as Art Chicago shared the same floor as NEXT which represented emerging artists. The scale and range of work left us pleasantly exhausted.
http://www.artchicago.com/

# 226 [8 May 2011]

Places we saw and things we did in Chicago:

The Garfield Park Conservatory - built 100yrs before the Eden Project and an unexpected oasis just 10 mins on the green line from Down Town Chicago. (Me and Alison got our sketchbooks out)
http://www.garfield-conservatory.org/

Arcade Fire In The Suburbs at the UIC Pavillion. Wow! Visually compelling and the music was quite good too.
http://www.uicpavilion.com/

The Cultural Centre with its magnificent Tiffany Glass dome and amazing mozaics. Awesome. We visited a couple of times including on Monday during a recital.

Millenium Park
2 works of public art stole the show in Millenium Park  - Anish Kapoor's 'bean' and Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa. Cloud Gate (the bean) is a huge masterpiece reflecting a moving salad of people and skyscape. It is pure genious reminding me of those crazy fairground mirrors bringing out the child in everyone from 1 - 100. 

It's also refreshing to see digital public art on a 50ft scale in 'Crown Fountain' See

 http://explorechicago.org/city/en/millennium/art.html

MCA on Tuesday is free and we spent a good part of the day there. Saw a major show by Jim Nutt, a Chicago based artist and someone I wasn't familiar with. His work is totally bonkers and v engaging. The colours are delicious.

I didn't get to see the Turner prize 2010 so it was good to see Susan Phillipsz 'We Shall Be All' commissioned by the MCA. Haunting and thought provoking.

http://www.mcachicago.org/index.php

# 225 [5 May 2011]

It's always a bit tricky posting a blog retrospectively but I was without the internet for the last week and I was also being blown away by my experiences in Chicago. The real world was far more exciting than the virtual one.

The 15ft x 8ft drawing inspired by the  neighbourhood was finished on time. Alison and I didn't plan the work but we did make decisions about the process. For instance we didn't want a drawing of 2 halves so we decided to swap places every 30 minutes. We masked sections so they remained clean and sharp. Making the first marks was also less daunting. The process became more and more organic as the drawing developed.

We used steps to get to the top and lay on the floor to work at the bottom. As we only had 27 inches between paper and window our friendship could have been compromised. However, there was no tension and we just got on with it - laughing, discussing and getting very mucky! A failed project might be difficult but losing a friend would have been tragic.

The public responded positively with taps on the window and thumbs up. Three teenagers demanded to be drawn and Alison duly obliged. Pressure! Fortunately they were pleased with the result. I used plastic animals as reference to create anthropomorphic beings which also caused amusement.

Mary Ellen is keen to involved the neighbourhood so this interaction was very welcome.

The preview was great. We met artists, locals and Eduardo. Eduardo was so inspired by the drawing he decided to come to the PV - his first. He came on his own and stayed most of the evening.

The next day we had to take down the work and install David and Sooky's photos. A quite different exhibition but one which HMS could be proud of. Their exhibition was also listed in Chicago Reader :)

# 224 [22 April 2011]

Well the windy city is also wet and at times snowy in April. Whilst the UK is basking in sunshine, Chicago has been hovering just above freezing. Despite the cold  we are having a brilliant time. As I write this Alison and I are taking time out before the reception tonight. The drawing is complete and like most previews  don't know how many people will be coming.  Our photos for the Chicago Reader arrived too late which is a shame. However, we were in the listings which is quite an achievement as there is so much is going on in the city.

It has been challenging working in a space which is only 27 inches deep on a drawing of 15ft x 8ft. and with another artist  Our styles are quite different but we have used visual devices to bring the composition together. The bonus is we have learned from each other. 

Our hosts have been generous and kind and we are very much looking forward to reciprocating in October.

We have visited a few galleries already but more things are planned next week including a Blues evening, a PV to a Chicago Arts Fair, a guided tour round Columbia University and easter Sunday with the host's family. 

# 223 [10 April 2011]

Sometimes I'm just a bit rubbish. The Chicago Reader wants to cover our performance drawing in the window of Art on Armitage. The images we sent were too low res and I've been a bit slow off the mark realising the importance of the listing. Apparently it is THE major event paper in the city and they only print 3 images a week. I hope we've managed to send the images in time.

As I'm writing this I've been emailed to say the images have been received. Phew!

The Sketch prize pv was last night. I couldn't make it. The catalogue is on blurb. what a good idea. http://www.blurb.com/books/2078696

# 222 [6 April 2011]

The battery operated eraser pens arrived in the post today. Marvellous. They alllow you to draw into charcoal with clean lines and sharp edges.  Just one of the tools we'll be using on Art on Armitage.

My Moo cards arrived too. I've moved house since my last business cards were printed so getting some sorted was long overdue.

Mary Ellen has asked for specific times when we will be drawing so the press will know when to visit.  The PV is organised for Friday 22nd.  She's also arranging for school parties to come on the second week.

 Paul Hirst's show 'Traces' will go up in the Exhibition Space when I'm in Chicago but as an ex HMS studio holder he knows the ropes. He is having a closing party on May 8th so I will be able to make the event.

# 221 [1 April 2011]

I have contacted a dozen artists on the waiting list (going back to 2008) to see if they are still interested in a space. As you might expect lives have changed, people have moved on - one to London another to the south caost. One is just back from honeymoon and another has just had a baby. As I have been passing on recent enquiries to other studios the waiting list is definitely going through a 'thin' period. We have 3 who want to remain on it but for varoius reasons now isn't the right time.

We have one artist-in-waiting but for the first time since setting up the studios we are going to make a call-out.

# 220 [28 March 2011]

I ordered a roll of paper online today- to be delivered to Art On Armitage directly. I've also checked the 5-day forecast in Chicago and the warmest day is Friday. Max 8 degrees. I'll need more jumpers.

My sketchbook has been selected for the Sketch Drawing Prize 2011. I am sorting out info, statement and CV for a catalogue. My sketchbooks are often a bit random and reflect different strands of my practice so it's not like writing a statement about one body of work. Still some work to do.

No news on Mik's paintings :(