ARTISTS TALKING

# 195 [8 January 2009]

NEW BEAN FOR A NEW YEAR

A magic bean arrived in the post for me.  It came from Germany.  Wiebke and Benno had planted the bean I sent in a Breaking Ground seed packet and I posted the photos they sent of planting it.  It grew its own beans and they have kept a bean seed for me.  So this is an English/German runner bean.  I shall plant it this season and see what happens.

# 194 [12 December 2008]

EVALUATION

Time to sit and remember the three Project Space Installations: Outside In at Phoenix in Brighton, Under Ground at Pine Gallery, Hastings, and Gone to Earth at Crate in Margate.  Many experiences and experiments: asking people to bring inside objects from the outside, an activity-based discussion in Brighton; Drawing in the Dark Big Draw event, using torches and magnifying glasses to see the work and a discussion jointly organised with TATW Talk About The Work at Claremont Studios, Hastings; trying out a webcam and posting videos on YouTube at Margate; and making work in response to the space and building on earlier ideas.  Finding a stronger sense of trusting the work that comes.  Learning more about publicity and marketing and building a wider network.  These are some of the themes I can pick out to fill in the Activity Report Form for the Arts Council.

# 193 [7 December 2008]

A week has gone since we returned from Margate & normal Eastbourne life has overtaken me. I have, however, managed to update my website with the Gone To Earth images, before getting completely sucked in to Eastbourne Festival organisation and my next project at The Redoubt Fortress.

It was good to go through all my images and video clips & choose what was to go on the website. Another kind of taking stock.

# 192 [2 December 2008]

FULL CIRCLE

Ten days on and I am surrounded by boxes again.  Unpacking.  Where to put it?

Big Bird is lying down in the attic room,  her root feet alongside; hay into the shed or on the compost.  Stones back to the beach.  Blackboards to the studio.  Round and round the stuff goes.  I am a little dizzy.

# 191 [1 December 2008]

TAKING STOCK

At Crate I used over a kilo of sugar, more than 700 artichoke seeds and 40 cardboard boxes. I started a series of drawings of 392 dandelion seeds from a single dandelion clock.

There have been 5 residencies, 1 allotment, 3 project spaces, 192 blog posts.

We have put 21 video clips on YouTube and I have  4.27GB of Breaking Ground photos on my computer.

# 190 [1 December 2008]

OPEN DAY

On a grey, drizzly November day people came from Hastings, Eastbourne, Margate, London and Dover. A dog stayed for the talk too.  Red wine and brownies warmed us up.

# 189 [30 November 2008]

"At the back of The Store, fairies cling to the wall among the cobwebs"

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hElBuZ5RV8A

# 188 [29 November 2008]

SATURDAY/OPEN DAY

More rushing to finish things off.

Bird still sitting and watching.

Her egg hangs next door.

A kind of bird land. 

# 187 [28 November 2008]

THURSDAY/FRIDAY

Big rush back home to go to my course and big rush back to complete the installation and prepare for Saturday. 

# 186 [27 November 2008]

THURSDAY

It's been difficult to remember all the things to be done - blogging, uploading video clips, photographing, documenting, and making the work! We didn't film any clips yesterday - there just wasn't the space in our heads to think about it.

My sugar papers are drip, drip, dripping!  I'll make some more tomorrow to make sure there will be enough for the Open Day on Saturday.