ARTISTS TALKING

# 51 [1 October 2007]

LAST THINGS FIRST

Despite my lucky 3 leaf clover it teamed with rain. Rain I wished for over the summer to swell the vegetables arrived today. Plans turned back to front - we worked inside on the kitchen table, printed leaves, made invitations for 'allotmenta', the Open Day - our last event became our first.

We had a drawing lesson - drew nasturtiums picked from the allotment yesterday. Five things I noticed: 1. Ridges on the old runner bean reminded me of ridges left by the sea on sand. 2. Hollyhock leaf had 13 little round holes in it. 3. Nasturtium flowers have a pointed tail running down behind. 4. The veins on nasturtium leaves join up and form small five-sided figures. 5. Snails eat curly jack leaves between the veins, leaving a lacy pattern.

# 52 [2 October 2007]

GREEN WHITE CUBE

On a mild grey morning we struggled with metal tubes and flapping plastic and succeeded in creating a dry area to make and display - our own white cube.

The second thing I noticed as I stared was this mullein covered in raindrops, a rose opening to the day.

At the end of the afternoon I made a posy for the teacher.

# 53 [2 October 2007]

DAY 2 - MAPPING

Tasks:

47 canes used

47 blue flags to mark them

5 balls of string

Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:
Generally dry, bright or sunny spells by day but with patchy mist and fog at night. Rather warm.

# 54 [3 October 2007]

SITTING STILL AND RUNNING ABOUT

An onion head nodded and waved as I sat and stared today. At first I did not see but I stayed, looked longer and saw them: nestled inside among the seeds were small snails - lots of them. A ladybird came stepping quickly over the round seeds, seven black spots on her back. An abundance of circular shapes on the allotment.

The last lesson was PE. Certainly I was in need of exercise. How many hop, skip and jumps does the allotment measure?

# 55 [3 October 2007]

DAY 3 - SEEDS

16 varieties of seed heads and pods collected.

2 green Grasshoppers

1 brown Shield Bug

Petrie dishes positioned in zones A, F, J, K and I:

1. In bath

2. Under canes

3. In plant pot

4. Under Cow Parsley

5. Under Love-in-a-mist

6. In basket on trolley

7. Among Nasturtiums

8. Next to compost bin

9. Under runner beans

Thursday: After a rather cloudy morning the cloud is expected to thin and break and it will become much brighter than of late with sunny spells developing by the afternoon.

# 56 [4 October 2007]

DAY 4 – COLLECTION (cont’d)

Collected 30 varieties of seed

Antirrhinum Artichoke Beetroot Bindweed Comfrey Coriander Evening Primrose Gladiolus Golden Rod Green Alkanet Hollyhock Iris Lavender Lupin Marigold Mullein Nasturtium Onion Oregano Pine Poppy Rose Sunflower Sweet Pea Tansy and 5 varieties yet to be identified.

Worked with Roz to make stem prints.

FRIDAY: Studio-bound to catch up on admin and studio work.

# 57 [4 October 2007]

HALF TERM

One crow sat on top of the elder and called to another perched on a lamppost. Lots of birdsong on this damp dewy morning.

After our conflab, the sun came out and we printed stems together.

Simon turned up as we were eating a late lunch and we discussed shelters. We collected seeds and started the seed table.

Halfway through the residency and time to start 100 lines.

# 58 [6 October 2007]

AWAY DAY

Went to work yesterday, it seemed odd not to be on the allotment and to chalk up the date, weather and lesson. Spent the evening sorting, grouping, deleting photos.

The stem prints are dry enough to cut into strips this morning. Time to pause and consider. I think about the aims of the residency: to look, to learn and to see what it is like working in residence. I notice how my love of the allotment has grown. Another aim is to find out about collaboration; to see how Judith and I can work together; does the allotment collaborate?

I realise that despite measuring the allotment in runner beans, bodylengths, carrots and courgettes, I have no idea of the length and width of the allotment in standard measurements of feet, yards, metres. What I remember is lying on the damp grass, the smell of the freshly pulled carrot and how the runner bean turned as I measured.

# 59 [7 October 2007]

OPEN DAY

We have set a date for our Open Day and have been finalising our invitations, though it seems that our printed cards will not be of much use now because of the postal strike. We will have to send most of our invitations by e-mail.

Although time is rushing by, it is exciting to have an event to work towards.

# 60 [7 October 2007]

HOMEWORK

As well as sorting out our invitations, the weekend break has allowed a little time for trying out ideas.

I have