ARTISTS TALKING

# 151 [8 October 2008]

STUFF

Gloriously sunny today and started pulling up weeds in the garden to gather for next week.  Loaded up the car with stuff already gathered and took it down to the studio in an attempt to get ready for the project.  

Tested wireless connection in basement and was able to join a network which is marvellous as we may be able to work on one of our main ideas for Under Ground.

Do we need a meeting before next week?

Must have a go at drafting out the pattern for my bird tomorrow.

Took some invitations to local stores.  Itsy bitsy things to do.  Excited about next week and concerned at the short time we have to experiment before showing some of the work in progress. 

# 152 [9 October 2008]

MORE STUFF

More gathering of materials today: black paint, white paint, gauze.  Much of this pre-work is collection and organisation.  How much of the art is this, having ideas and collecting stuff and organising it into 'new' arrangements.  Moving stuff around.  It seems to echo what I do at home: use stuff, clean stuff, put it away - pause, get it out again, rearrange it, wash it, move it, put it away.  Maybe I am feeling 'removed' because I have moved house to Hastings four weeks ago.  And I have helped my daughter move from Devon and on to London.  Lifting boxes and taking them somewhere will fill my day and much of the weekend.  

# 153 [13 October 2008]

BEFORE WE START - MONDAY MORNING

The Pine Gallery is ours for the 11 days of the project.  Took a photo of the empty pale space.  More ghostly than dark, larger than I remember.  How to start?

Get everything down there. 

Test print with the emulsion.

Sketch the bird.  

# 154 [13 October 2008]

For a whole week most of my free time has been dedicated to researching and learning about how to set up a live webcam stream so that we could broadcast direct from our Under Ground residency at Claremont. Today, with great reluctance and frustration, I think I'm going to have to call it a day - because of the most fundamental problem of all - difficulty connecting to the internet!

I am disappointed...but pleased that there will be one more opportunity to try to achieve this at Crate in Margate. I will make it my first priority when we've finished at the Pine to try to get this set up, but for now...I need to get on and make some work!

# 155 [13 October 2008]

MONDAY AFTERNOON

The boards were delivered and we deliberated on how to install them.  Spent a couple of hours painting them black.  More blank spaces in the gallery.

More questions of how to make the dark wallpaper we want - use lining and paint it, or search out some plain paper, or paint it first and then attach it?  Have done some internet research and will telephone some suppliers in the morning.  Depending on the answers, will make a decision tomorrow.  

Washed a pile of roots and they are interleaved in newspaper with weights on for the night to press them dry and flat. 

# 156 [14 October 2008]

TUESDAY MORNING

This is my first attempt to draw the black bird.

We had another busy day and things started to move on.  We found the lights in the back gallery, and discovered a sink in the workroom.  We have got the black boards up and begun each of the smaller projects in mind.  Loads to do, a race against time. 

# 157 [14 October 2008]

While working in the partially-lit basement today, I set up my camera & tripod to document some of the things we were working on. Just for a little while I let myself be distracted by playing with those long exposures which mean that if you're quick enough you can almost click the button on your camera & run in front of it to leave a shadow of yourself in your photograph. I didn't manage to get any really successful results, but quite liked this image of Annabel from Claremont - there ... but not there.

Then... back to work - no more distractions - on with the job in hand.

# 158 [15 October 2008]

WEDNESDAY

How gloomy these images are - dark and monochrome - a bit like me today.  Collywobbles.  However we finished the blackboards, got the wallpaper painted and on the wall ready to touch up.  Went shopping for lights and torches - a huge array of types are now available including wind-up, glow in the dark, LED spots.

Time is precious - only 4 days until Open Day/Big Draw Drop In on Sunday afternoon.  Make every minute work - a headline for tomorrow. 

# 159 [15 October 2008]

When I left the world above ground this morning it was damp and drizzly. Under Ground the weather means nothing. Under Ground there is no sun, no mobile phone signal, no light except that which we choose. 

# 160 [16 October 2008]

Our fourth day Under Ground. There is something strange about it - like being in a hidden world - no sun, no passers by - just us carrying out our strange self-assigned tasks in these half-lit subterranean rooms.