ARTISTS TALKING

# 171 [2 March 2010]

Ah haa, this explains a lot. My husband forwarded this link after reading my Fraud complex blog entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruge...

"The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which "people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it".^[1] The unskilled therefore suffer from illusory superiority, rating their own ability as above average, much higher than in actuality; by contrast the highly skilled underrate their abilities, suffering from illusory inferiority. This leads to a perverse result where less competent people will rate their own ability higher than more competent people. It also explains why actual competence may weaken self-confidence because competent individuals falsely assume that others have an equivalent understanding."

# 172 [4 March 2010]

Oh my I am tired and extremely headachey. School this week is hectic. One more day and I shall get home, hopefully in one piece, and sleep. I am armed with a bottle of baby bedtime bath and new pyjamas. Get set.. zzzzzzzzzzzz. Me, Dan making me tea periodically and the cat stomping around my head and a newspaper I can't be bothered to read. An amazing picture. Only three more days in schools after this week until the end of May, so this is a real chance to get some rest and reflect a bit on how it's all going.

A Curriculum starts on Monday and I cannot wait to be back in the studio. The boxes and materials are already packed waiting to go. Looking forward to some brain strain although nervous about all the people I will meet and have studio visits with, also about the presentation to other artists... The curator from YSP is coming to do a studio visit at A Foundation too, so I feel the need to be prolific in the first month of the residency. What was I saying about rest? How about I call it a child-free period instead? I like deadlines. Actually, that should probably read -I need deadlines. There was a nice comment by a book artist I saw, something like 'without a deadline, there is no book'. Quite.

Sent off the interim report to YSP, which seems to have gone down okay, I think?  Although I had an epic technology fail and lots of trouble making the pdf as it was a humoungous file and my laptop wasn't coping. Looking back over it I realised that the latest version hadn't saved and the one I had sent had a generous number of typos! I hate that. Really really hate that and I feel embarrassed that they will think I can't read/write/spell. Seems to be the way my life is at the moment.. best intentions but some avoidable and unnecessary cock-ups in retrospect. Pah. I think I'd better start saying no a bit more - better to do less things well than lots of shonky ones.

Lastly and less self-indulgently, this is a good read by Charlotte Higgins in the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/0...

The case for safeguarding arts funding in the future.

# 173 [6 March 2010]

I've been doing some research for the next Taxed event in Liverpool and have been visiting some people for a chat as well as emailing (and proabably irritating) everyone I know. I have also been using exhibition openings to prey on artists to answer my questions. So far there have been some really great answers and I'm glad I asked because a lot of things that came up hadn't occurred to me at all. Patterns are beginning to emerge. Sacha from the group is also doing some research on this so it will be good when we meet up next week and compile the results..

I started a thread on the a-n forums here:

http://www.a-n.co.uk/forums/read/33,781

and that's got some interesting  responses - but I want more please! Just three questions -

ARTISTS SKILL SWAP SURVEY - Please fill me in!    

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3BXTDRT

Ideally before 5pm Wed 10th March, thanks!

Also wanted to mention Waygood in Newcastle - who may be getting their funding withdrawn by ACE, ending 15 years of support for artists. They are collecting good wishes to present to funders on their website. They point out on their website the irony of ACE's aims to support young artists in light of their decision to withdraw funding to an organisation like this. Please have a look and add your own message.

http://wishesforwaygood.tumblr.com/#428170127

The original ACE 'think piece' by Nicola Slawson, a 25 year-old artist can be read here:

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/consultation/think-pieces/supporting-the-development-of-future-artists-and-arts-leaders/

# 174 [8 March 2010]

'Kin Hell. I have been shortlisted for the Liverpool Art Prize.. not expecting it and very very pleased.

http://www.liverpoolartprize.com/

I am in very good company indeed (pretty intimidating company actually) so I hold no illusions about winning any money. It will be good to be in the exhibition alongside the other artists though. Also shortlisted are Gina Czarneck, David Jacques, James Quin and Paul Rooney. Gulp.

Started A Curriculum today. It was great to get in there, although those studios are COLD. It's a bit strange actually as I am in a position I haven't been before; where I have no desire to explore so I am just ready to get my head down and work. I'm not making work about where I am for once, just work. I quite like it. Going to take my socks off tomorrow and cast my legs. BRRRRRRR.

# 175 [11 March 2010]

As I mentioned, A Curriculum started on Monday and it's been a good week so far. The space we have is ridiculously big (and chilly). I am feeling a bit out of it in some ways.. being local and also the OLDEST!! But there's no escaping the fact that my experience will be different to the others'. I hope it is too - I want this residency to be a very productive period and also to feed into my studio practice afterwards. I have to find a better balance of making work and taking on other projects!

We all gave presentations about our work yesterday and it was great to see what everyone is up to. Normally I'm not too bothered about speaking in small groups like that, but something was up yesterday! I suppose it always makes you feel a bit vulnerable speaking about your work - I always forget half the stuff I want to say too. When there are no questions either - that seems worse than too many somehow! Anyway, enough reflecting on that - we all find the speaking stuff hard I'm sure..

During A Curriculum I am also making a (cardboard) set for a new comedy/performance production at the Bluecoat in April.It will be a slightly surreal affair and I am planning a lot of pipes that become other objects, a cat/telephone  mix was also mentioned last night at out meeting...

I will also be working on a collaboration with Nathan Jones, poet in residence over the last year at the Bluecoat. We will be creating an artists books with one or more of his poems. He has written an especially beautiful one entitled 'Slow Magic' about the experience oif gallery spaces and we will concentrate on that.

Right, to my little red van and A Foundation. Ta ra.

# 176 [15 March 2010]

Monday - and started by waiting in for the postman to deliver materials that didn't come, rubbish. Was planning to work with those this afternoon in A Foundation, but maybe tomorrow.

Just wanted to flag up this:

http://www.longhouse.uk.com/artist-projects/in-con...

This is an online conversation I am having with Anna Francis as part of her month guest editoring the Longhouse website. There are a few conversations on the go, we are manily talking about activism in the arts and improving working conditions for artists (sound familiar?).

The weekend was fantastic - hardback bookbinding with Lucy May Schofield at Hot Bed Press in Salford. Amazing results and it sorted out a lot of my bad habits.

Last night I went to the pub with me ma and over a few glasses of plonk she manged to help me sort out all sorts of irrational thoughts I have been having about making work at A Curriculum. I have no idea where all the insecurity comes from, but I shall have to ignore it if I want to make anything...

This morning was invoices, phone calls about unpaid invoices and updating accounts. They are behind still. I have made a list, which may help me to prioritise, it may not. Now I am off to Metal at Edge Hill for a meeting about the Liverpool Art Prize exhibition, then A Foundation, then cooking tea for my granny, then home for Glee with sister, bath and bed. What an exciting life!

# 177 [21 March 2010]

Have been doing a lot of thinking about skill swapping and passing knowledge on this weekend. Hoping to have a bookbinding day with a couple of friends sometime soon to pass on what I have learned about hardback binding. I shall ask for tea and cake in return.

I have also been drawing really cheesy pictures to go on the poster for the local drama group's next play. Hope no one ever sees them connected to my name.... but I am glad I can do this kind of thing to help them out!

I feel very lucky at the moment as we artists in A Curriculum are about to start receiving visitors at A Foundation. This week we have Paul Domela from Liverpool Biennial, Bernd Behr (an artist whose work I am very interested in) and Kate MacGarry, owner of Kate MacGarry Gallery in London. The visitors will give a talk in the morning and then do studio visits in the afternoon. I've never had a studio visit before and don't have much idea of what to expect....but I know this is not the time to start talking about my work like it's a load of crap.

I have noticed a few of us on the residency have a tendency to rubbish what we are doing and sentances are frequently cut short by a 'or whatever' or 'you know, it's just stuff' and other throwaway comments. As an experiment I am going to try and approach it like I am cataloguing myself for Intute. My remit there is to be factual and non-emotional about resources. It has taken me a long time to be able to write like that and to emit myself from text (I have obviously not grown out of my egocentric stage of development), and perhaps it's one way of presenting myself with some vague whiff of confidence or self belief, or whatever, you know, that sorta stuff! *blushes and avoids eye contact*

# 178 [23 March 2010]

Ugh, waited in all day for a man to come and fix things up. Rather than between 8 - 1, it was actually 4.30 when they rocked up. As it was - the day was mainly a write off and I'm frustrated. Having trouble sleeping at the moment as I have so much on my plate, probably too much. I did a quick write down of tasks and instead of calming me down, it actually made things seem impossible. Not enough days in the week. 

This is all compounded by the fact that I am having various technical difficulties with the work I want to make, i.e. everything I've tried to make so far has FAILED. Add in the theatre set that is turning out to be a fire-proofing nightmare. I have already done various trips to pick up and collect cardboard and I feel like burning it all, maybe adding the resin and catalyst to the pile too for extra flames.

Tomorrow morning is for set making. I can only give thanks for the fact that Elizabeth Willow is coming to help me. It can only get better right.....

# 179 [29 March 2010]

Feeling fairly rotten today. Have been keeping a cold thing at bay for a while, but I think I am about to sucumb. I might just stay home today and keep warm!

Last week was great - really busy and exciting and interesting. Paul Domela came from the Biennial to talk to us at A Curriculum. Interesting for me to hear from the horse's mouth about the Biennial's approach and intentions. Also good to hear a bit more about his background and unconventional route into his current position.

There was some family stuff going on this week too, but I managed to get to Bernd Behr's talk on Thursday. It was a fascinating insight into his residency at the Centre for Land Use Interpretation and the resulting work. Then we had studio visits back at A Foundation where I faced some tough questions from Bernd that confirmed what I was thinking about the weaknesses in current ideas/plans. All good.

Friday was a talk from Kate MacGarry. This proved to be a very down-to-earth chat about how the gallery came into being and what her relationship with the gallery artists involves and how she keeps a happy ship. We also heard about certain expenisve and challenging works and how they came into being. Nice to have some things confirmed (like how not to approach a gallery) and learn lots more about how it works and what having a gallery represent you might involve. I came away thinking that I am not near that yet. Not saying never, but definitely not now.

She also came down to A Foundation and did studio visits in the afternoon and it was lovely to talk about ideas and have a non-academic/theory laden approach in contrast to Bernd's visit. She also gave me plenty of ideas about how to solve current technical difficulties and a bit of reassurance that what I plan to make is interesting.. after worrying about repeating myself I now feel that it is more about developing work further.

On Saturday I did a workshop at Hot Bed Press and then dropped off some work for an exhibition I am in (opens Thursday) at Rogue Project Space. This show 'Built' includes five women artists who respond to the built environment and is curated by Liz Murphy of Contents May Vary. Although I haven't made anything new, which feels strange, I am looking forward to showing alongside these particular artists.

Yesterday I threw a baby shower for my twin sister. She only has four weeks to go and I'm very excited about being an Aunt (Aunty Em). It was great fun, but knackering and now I am finished off.

Today I shall remain wrapped up and do some writing/admining/account maintenance ahead of the end of the tax year and budgeting. I couldn't sleep thinking about my workload last night so it will be great to cross some things off my list.

http://www.katemacgarry.com/
http://www.chisenhale.org.uk/archive/exhibitions/i...
http://www.rogueartistsstudios.co.uk/projectspace....
BUILT - search for Built on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com

# 180 [30 March 2010]

I feel like I should own up a bit today. I had a lovely comment from Rosalind Davis on my blog yesterday, which I really appreciated. BUT! I wanted to say that although I have very strong opinions on some things and trying to improve conditions for artists, I am far from advanced in this (as Rosalind suggests).

The problem starts when I have to negotiate my own working conditions - then I fall far short of my own ideal standards and quickly into the trap of undercharging. Sometimes I know I am doing it, but don't feel I can ask for more. Other times I only realise afterwards when the work kicks in and I calculate my hourly rate with horror. Thankfully, while sorting out some support from a-n for an upcoming event I'm working on, Susan Jones stopped me in my tracks and re-did the budget. In a nice way, the message was something like, for goodness sake Emily, read your own blog and apply it to real life will you?!?

So easy as it is to see the value in other people's work, correct their underpricing and feed with reassurance and confidence, it's just not that simple for yourself. That might be a good reason for keeping in touch with other artists and build up good networks. Then you'll have someone around to set you straight when you forget you need to eat.