ARTISTS TALKING

# 25 [10 May 2009]

Monday 11 May

Michelle Rowley

This has been an incredible trip for us all. We have done so much in such a short space of time and have achieved unexpectedly high rewards whilst being constantly challenged, facing our fears, having a lot of fun and making a lot of friends. We have learned much, much more about our individual capabilities and stretched ourselves as artists.

This was the first time I had led on both an international and a collaborative project. In the early stages of the planning for this trip, as far back as September '08, BYU's Joe Ostraff was enormously helpful in forming a focus for the project and especially since January when we began to turn plans into reality. Our joint positivity allowed us an easy agreement of primary ideas that would drive the project and gave me confidence in my ability to deliver an appropriate learning experience for both his students and mine.

Teaching students who's abilities and knowledge were unknown to me was a daunting thought. Now I've done it, and had such supportive feedback from the BYU students, I know not to worry. In fact the diverse expertise of the group was something that on this collaborative project was a great extra resource. Specialist skills were shared across the groups and this exchange of approaches and experiences was both gratifying to witness and richly rewarding for all.

In retrospect I now know that it was because of the atmosphere of respect, trust and mutual curiosity which we generated that allowed this to happen. We did this through a varied range of activities from presentations on our home city, of our individial art practices, introductions into book arts production, through sharing ideas and fears for the project and through the fast track to bonding - the camping expedition.

The 'Mapping the West' project has introduced many of us for the first time to the idea of 'wilderness', to what it means to us as a culture and why we might want to protect and revere wild states in nature. This direct experience has posed us, individually and collectively, with many questions about ourselves and our place in the world. We have also considered the cartographer's art of map making, of what we include and exclude in our topographical guides to landscape and of the narative of experience that is mostly unrecorded in grid references.

In travelling through this region we have made our own maps, which have been formed through memories of this amazing place, the stories we tell each other on our return and of the generosity and friendship of the people we met. This is what you will find in our books.

Thank you so much to Joe and his family, and Amy and Tali for putting us up and putting up with us and to all the staff and students at BYU.

www.movingfeast.co.uk   

# 24 [10 May 2009]

Monday 11 May

Lydia Garritsen

The Utah trip was definitely a once in a lifetime experience with an environment and scenery that was inspiring. I enjoyed the book collaboration immensely and I was glad we had the chance to use the materials and printing methods that our college does not facilitate 

Julie Dodd

I will have many fond memories of my time in Utah. I have spent the last two weeks in the company of friends I regard dearly. Its been an unexpected experience of a lifetime. I have learnt much more about my art practice and about myself too. I've conquered fears and ventured into many unfamiliar territories. I've been edged out of my comfort zone almost constantly.

Being unable to screen print I turned to digital methods and was challenged by a programme I was unfamiliar with. I was pushed to the limit with time running out, but after tears, I thrived under pressure. With more time i would have made slight adjustments, probably evident only to myself. I have left feeling excited at being reunited with my family, but also saddened at the ending of this adventure and at leaving my new friends behind.

Paul Bearman

By collaborating and sharing ideas the students from WMC and BYU were able to develop their work to a really high standard over a short period of time. This process culminated in a rich and varied exhibition which demonstrated the admirable strength of commitment, by both staff and students, to the project. For myself, I found this interactive work ethic very beneficial and I have carried away with me many further ideas which I would like to pursue for future projects.

# 23 [10 May 2009]

Monday 11 May

Scot Hornby

Utah was a place I never thought I would visit in my life time. It's not the usual holiday destination, or one of the regular areas that tourists visit in America so to have had the opportunity to go there, I am forever grateful. The landscape is indescribable, since I've been back home poeple have asked me "what is it like?" and I haven't been able to even touch upon doing these places justice. The scale and colours of the landscape just cannot be fully justified in words. Even the photographs only give a small glimpse into the experience. I couldn't write about my experiences without mentioning how wonderful the poeple were who we met out there. We received the warmest welcome and were treated with such care. To go to places so far away from home, a place which is considered so culturally different, and to be welcomed with open arms and accepted into a family home was something I will never forget and I really do hope I have the chance to visit Utah again in the future. A dream come true!

Caroline Race

What have I brought away / learned from the project? I have learned to work under extreme exhaustion and pressure and still be able to produce a piece of work that I am satisfied with. This project has enabled me to adopt my methods and practice to incorporate different materials and unfamiliar tools and studio space. Most importantly it has been the people I have worked with, both my peer group and the American tutors and students, who have made the trip special. Team work has been exceptional. The hospitality and the large, well organised meals provided on the camping trip for 40+ people was a site to behold and something to be treasured and used for future projects.

Patricia Graves

What a two weeks!! We packed in so much, tried to learn some new skills, but only scatched the surface. With time constraints being so fine, there were decisions made that would have taken me weeks at home. Not much time to put Plan B in action when Plan A was not working as well as was hoped. Learning to use a Mac took some time to pick up the basics too. Poor Julie had Illutrator to adjust too as well. It was really hard to leave my piece behind, it felt so strange.

All in all, it was a lot of hard work to produce a piece for the show, but so worth it interms of a learning curve of imense proportions and a of a great all round life experience. Thanks, Michelle, for all your hard work in setting up this opportunity for us.

# 22 [10 May 2009]

Monday 11 May

Judith Hill

It was an experience of a lifetime, something that will stay with us forever. The artists' book collaboration brought together two different cultures and proved that with a shared common interest we can work, and live, together and achieve goals that are both rewarding and of a high standard. We take from it memories of friends made and personal goals met, these things that will sustain us as artists and add a new dimension to our personal lives. Well done everybody!   

Christine Taylor

The Utah mountains are set in stone, but they yield, eventually, to their environment. I realise that I was set in my practice - using screen print as a safe option. Screen print was not available at BYU, so I stretched myself to create a response to my experiences using materials that were not comfortable or familiar to me. Out of my comfort zone I paid more attention to the materials and expanded the choice to include papers beyond those available in the print studio.

Working with students from another country, I saw things through fresh eyes and received inspiration as a reward for opening up my mind to new ideas and processes. The pioneering spirit of the people we met has renewed my own positive outlook and I look forward to improving my practice to stretch beyond my own frontier.

# 21 [10 May 2009]

Monday 11 May

Recording and taking stock

Michelle Rowley

The following posts have been published on our return to Liverpool. We had such a busy time with long hours on the last two days of the trip that getting time to post our experieces was difficult, but I hope to make it up now.

On the flight home I asked each student to think through their responses to the challenges of this extraordinary trip and I am publishing each one, as they come in, alongside their book works.

Cath McGrail

Having just returned home and still suffering from jet lag, I am remembering the things that stand out:

The fantastic people we met and their friendliness, the extraordinary hospitality we received and the experiences we shared. The camping trip: Bryce Canyon and Calf Creek, the fabulous sights we saw and the exhaustion we felt. The enjoyment of eating food coooked in a fire pit outdoors when you are famished. The dubious pleasure of sleeping in a tent and being strangled by a sleeping bag in the night. My birthday; a great burger and a margarita at Chilli's and a surprise party at the girls house and a cake with my name on it. Thank you all, it was very special.

The experience of working in unfamiliar surroundings was a bit daunting and the tight schedule left little room for error or manoeuver. With more time I would have done things differently. Overall it was an experience I would not have missed. I feel very priviledged to have been given this valuable opportunity and it is something that I will never forget.

Louise Tett

To imerse myself in BYU's culture has been a unique experience. I was surprised how open and welcoming the students were and how quickly we bonded as a group. After working on my own for some time it was inspiring to be part of a new group and to spend two weeks discussing and making work of shared experiences. I was pleased with the work I produced and excited to have tried new processes. I think the standard of the whole group has been high and we have all benefited from this exchange.

 Andrew Coady

I was initially anxious about working with the BYU students. Not having any idea of how they worked or what their work would be like was extremely intimidating. However as soon as I had settled in and met them my reservations dissappeared. They were emormously inviting and helpful.

# 20 [10 May 2009]

Thursday 8 May 7 - 9 pm Utah time

'Mapping the West' Exhibition Opening

Michelle Rowley

The private view was a really enjoyable occasion for us. While we had gone home in the late afternoon to clean up Josh and his gallery staff had applied the final touches and brought the show together. It looked stunning and as we moved around the space all our hard work was made clear to us.

We had a busy night meeting friends and family of our BYU collaborators and we recieved very positive feedback from everyone. There is something about artists' books which invites curiousity and engagement from an audience and we were rewarded with an attentive appreciation for the ideas we had hoped to convey in our books.

I could see that my students were both relieved to have complete their work and to see that the quality and content of their pieces matched their peers at BYU.

Joe gave a short and emotional speech thanking us all for meeting the challenges of the two week project with good humour and courage. He presented each of us from WMC with a T-shirt commemorating all the places we had visited in Utah, starting with Walmart!

We were all a bit bleary eyed by the time he had finished as we realised that we would be going home the next day and this amazing experience would be over.

# 19 [7 May 2009]

Thursday 8 May

Setting up the exhibition

Michelle Rowley

Organising the exhibition was relatively straight forward, even though we did not have all the books ready for the 12 pm deadline. The gallery technicians had everything under control with plinths available from their excellent gallery resource area, printed names, titles and statements at the ready and expert help in suggesting various ways to hang the variety of works.

With 35 pieces to display it was busy, decisions had to be made quickly again, but the group generally knew the best methods for their individual presentations. Agreement was easily reached on location and I especially was really honoured that my book was the first piece on view as you entered the space.

We left the final touches to the gallery staff who adjusted the lighting and made minimal tweaks to give each piece the most favourable position. It was one of the easiest group shows I have been involved with and I have to thank Josh and Joe for making that happen.

Leaving our books in the gallery so soon after completing them was a strange separation experience. It suddenly dawned on us that after our intense production time and all the care and thought we had lavished on them they wouldn't be ours for at least a couple of weeks, until the exhibition was over and Joe posted them back to us.

# 18 [7 May 2009]

Thursday 7 May

Final day and Exhibition set up

Our house made it in for 7 am this morning while the lads went fishing with Joe at 6am.

The BYU students were working till 2am last night to get done and most of us made the 12 pm deadline this lunch time.

The pressure to complete our books has made an interesting difference to the usual way we might prevaricate and delay decisions, but we have had to be decisive and productive with our time from monday morning till now.

Even under the strain of our deadline the students have continued to help those who needed support and the good humour has persisted to the end across both groups. 

# 17 [6 May 2009]

Michelle Rowley

Today has been another busy day. As tomorrow’s deadline looms, some of us still have much to do, whilst others have completely finished. There is a concentrated atmosphere in the studios and I have been busy helping to resolve production problems for some and settling nervous anxiety in others.

The major problem is that the short making period leaves no time for prints to dry before handling, but we have overcome this niggle. Necessity definitely is the mother of invention and this has been born out thought the creative interpretation of the project brief and the adoption of new print methods to speed up image making where possible.

Between the two groups there is a shared interest in, and respect for, each other’s work with much discussion about possibilities, methods, sharing of skills and research resources. It has been really enjoyable to watch this happening and I think that the camping trip has definitely fostered this trust in each other.

The facilities at BYU are amazing and they have been made easily accessible to us, we will miss the airy print studios, the huge etching press, the enormous and affordable digital print suite and the well stocked college shop which is more like a department store!

But more than any of these things, we are already sorrowfully thinking of our goodbyes to come and wondering how we can stay in touch, with all the friends we have made, into the future.   

# 16 [5 May 2009]

Tuesday 5 May

2nd Day of making and printing

Today we printed an edition of the group litho plate with Joe's help. Everyone got a 5 minute slot to have a go at printing it. It was something that we have never done before and some of the BYU students hadn't experienced either.

Both Cath and Louise have managed to complete a litho each and they have turned out really well, though it is a time consuming and troublesome process.

Michelle and Louise helped meredith to print the edition of the collaborative text piece using a phtographic letterpress plate on an automated press. It was a really interesting session and very satisfying to see it done, its so much better than a digital / inkjet print.

WMC Group comments:

 Julie: "I was really nervous about using Illustrator, even with the help of Amy and Meredith, so I used photoshop instead but will have to face it again tomorrow. But I am confident enough to have a go again."

Patricia: "I have found it challenging getting used to how different materials behave here, but I have thouroughly enjoyed today and have produced some interesting work.'

Christine: "The day went very quickly and I have learnt some new and useful skills. I've nearly finished my book now, only the cover to do now. The BYU students have all been very encouraging and there has been a good exchange of skills and knowledge between us."