ARTISTS TALKING

# 1 [4 August 2009]

First post as a non student...well, that said, I will be a student again in a matter of weeks.

I'll keep it short this time. I have been offered a place on an MA in Preston and wanted to start off this blog to keep my brain working over the summer.

I have been reading all the calls for submissions and competitions that I could enter work into as a newly qualified artist and thought the title of my blog quite apt. How many other new graduates are going through the same posts and thinking they too could do this?

The next step is to conquer the jungle but can I and where do I start?

Time will tell.

# 2 [19 August 2009]

I had a blog last year too, on Degrees Unedited, then I was approached last month to write a review of my experience blogging, that was an experience itself. I went back through not only my blog but the other degree ones, It made really interesting reading second time. It's great how we all progressed over that year. Look forward to seeing how the others get on over the coming months and years.
I suppose it's hit me now, that I'm not a degree student anymore. I know I'll be doing my MA soon but that still seems an unknown entity right now. I have been working long hours for the Biennial and feel exhausted. Have awoken today with a migraine, did some work from home then went back to bed, will go into work this afternoon see how I get on. 
Really need to get doing some artwork - y studio is almost cleared, many binbags of junk have been collected over the 3 years but I now almost have a space in which to work. Just no time to actually do any work.

Here's the link to the review:
http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/reviews/single/556523

# 3 [4 September 2009]

Its been a while.

I haven't been 'arty' in a while tho - so what was the point of blogging. In retrospect I probably should have blogged and perhaps I would have found inspiration.

I received this months a-n in the post yesterday and it was lovely to see a photo of my work in there (back page) it inspired me to get going.

So yesterday I went to see my bank manager, they've put my overdraft back to a student account so it's all still free at least but i still have no money.

I have taken on an extra day a week with the Biennial to fund my Masters but have also sent off for a career development loan pack - hate going in more hock but needs must at this stage in the game.

I have some commissions to do but they are the stuff I used to do, pre-degree, a triptych oil painting and a set of caricatures - neither very inspiring  - well paid though - but I can't seem to get started on them so I thought if I just  started drawing again  + could get excited about art then I can get stuck into the commissions, yet tho I am now back at it (drawing on some rescued tiles)I still cant focus on the commissions. I don't want to be an artist who compromises but I think I may well have to be for a while yet - maybe just to get me financially through the Masters.

Talking of that, I start my MA on Thursday 24th Sept - I am actually really nervous, excited but nervous all the same. I'm not sure what to expect yet but the Preston MA show PV is Tues 15th so I'm off to that to view this years work.

It's a busy month actually, a colleague is getting married tomorrow, 16th-20th is Urbanism,(look on biennial.com)  I'll be working but can't wait to see it all finished and the conference sounds fantastic. That same evening is another PV over in The Williamson Art Gallery, my friend Julie has work there so I have to try & go along. Then 24th is The Long Night in Liverpool - all the galleries opening late, looking forward to that. Looking forward to everything this month. :D

# 4 [22 September 2009]

So...The five days of Urbanism 09  was a big success, so many fantastic artworks. art boats, conference speakers...the canal parade on Saturday evening was fantastic.

The work that has gone on in the background by the whole team at the Biennial has been exhausting and yet exciting. I can honestly say I have never felt so tired but it all seemed so worthwhile in the end. Lambert Kamps taxiboat and Ben Parrys teahouse boat were probably the most well received by the public, Kerry Morrisons project was fantastic, Squash nutrition's community prduce work was inspiring - Raumlabors' amazing real fiction installation fantastic - there was nothing that I didn't like actually. (oh except the kids who stole the pedaloes...grrr)

http://www.artinliverpool.com/blog/2009/09/urbanis...

Today we had to 'evaluate' the week - that is sooo very draining. Alongside decommissioning and trying to pay volunteers and invoices....I keep thinking I'll have time to concentrate on my own art but no...not yet.

However, I start my MA at Preston on Thursday and will have to find time then. 

Have to admit to being a little anxious, I had researched Preston's course well, have really admired a lot of the work coming from there over the last few years but although the MA show last week was really interesting and very diverse, there wasn't any one piece that I thought 'Wow' about - some good work, one or two in particular don't get me wrong but nothing that inspired me massively this time.

I wonder whether it was just the exhaustion making me not enjoy things as much, I had to drive up after a really long day - the day before Urbanism began and then got lost trying to find the college - putting it down to tiredness for now.

I know I'll enjoy the course, think Thursday will be full on though, don't think the enormity of doing an MA as a working mum has quite hit me yet.

Time will tell.

# 5 [26 September 2009]

MA started last Thursday, I got the train instead of driving which was soooo much easier. Think the M62/M6 in rush hour would have been a nightmare. Instead I had an hour an a half of relaxing - bought a copy of The Time Traveler's Wife at the station - what joy to be able to read - child free - work free. 

it's a small crew starting the Fine Art MA - even smaller staring Site + Archive Intervention, 3 of us turned up, though apparently 5 were expected.

The lecturers all seem great, the course sounds really interesting, though I feel slightly out of my depth, a lot of very intellectual people......and me. Hope I can live up to the others.

Afterwards it was 'The Long Night' and the AND Festival in Liverpool, met up with friends and had fun wandering through galleries - though more wine than art was enjoyed...tsk.

One of my friends, Julie Dodd is a printmaker and wanted to see the Bluecoat facilities, so we popped there and watched a monoprint demonstration being given by Emma Gregory who, it just so happens, I had met that very morning in Preston! We both started the MA together and though I have heard her name in the Liverpool Arts scene, we have never met and then meet twice in one day, kinda spooky.

Now I am full of cold, wrapped up in a blanket sipping lemsip and though I slightly excited by what comes next in Preston, I am still not producing any art. 

# 6 [5 October 2009]

I have lost my job share person in work - when I say lost, I know where she is, she is sat in her new flat sorting through boxes. She didn't get kept on when her temporary contract ran out, I shall miss her a) as she is lovely and b) as I will struggle doing a full time job in 3 days - she was fantastic at her/our job.

Hence I will be busy busy with work as well as my MA in future weeks.

I got to Preston last Thursday only to find that the morning session had been cancelled, a misunderstanding as everyone on the studio practice section knew and so stayed home but we Site + Archive people turned up wondering where everyone was.

Instead we made good use of our time and visited the Harris Museum & Art Gallery, there is an exhibition on at the moment called 'Quiet Revolution' a Hayward Touring Curatorial Open curated by Chris Fite-Wassilak. I wandered around these seemingly very simplistic artworks made from household objects wondering what to make of them. At first unsure as my own work is often so complex but after a while I started to appreciate their simplicity.

In one of the rooms there was an invitation to make a work of our own which I undertook at first with some frivolity but then my artistic head took over and I worked at choosing the right pieces of household paraphernalia to work for me. I'll add a photo of my final piece, which I actually liked at the end. I assembled it concentrating on tension and gravity not realising that that was in fact the theme of the rest of the show, when I was told this  afterwards I realised that sub consciously I must have noted the tension in the other works so maybe I am beginning to master an understanding of contemporary sculpture after all.

The works we produced were photographed and entered into a competition, the prize winner gets to meet with the curator!

if anyone is up in Preston, stop by the Harris, enjoy the exhibition and have a go yourself. Much Fun.

# 7 [9 October 2009]

Yesterday I walked...A LOT!

Not knowing Preston well but having to produce a site specific research idea this semester, I arrived early before lectures to survey the few places I had discovered via the wonders of the internet.

I found the River Ribble and a place called Aqueduct Street, just because I liked the name. I kept being drawn to a place called Winkley Square, a Georgian development with this small but beautiful 'park' area in the centre. It is the park I was drawn to, like a little secret oasis in the middle of town. Will research this more now and see what ideas spring out.

We had a mini mapping day, discussing the different ways of mapping a site/place/space via research, direct experience, social dialogue etc. So we all went out into Preston for an hour to find a place to 'map'.

I discovered an amazing olde worlde book shop that was full (and I mean full) to the gunnels, so many bizarre and wondorous books. Especially when you find hidden gems like an old Limited Edition copy of Peter Pan in the foreign travel section - trip to Neverland anyone?

Bought an old map of Ayrshire which was beautiful and an old book of famous Preston people. Eavesdropped on a few conversations and made a physical map of sorts. Really interesting half day, amazing what one can achieve in such a short space of time!

# 8 [19 October 2009]

Wandering around Manchester getting a feel for site and archive was far more interesting than I had thought. Not that I didn't think it would be interesting but it was altogether different from my imaganings.

We looked at site, place, space, architecture, some public art and visited 4 libraries - all beautiful.

Manchester Central Library, The Portico (private members) libraty, The Chetham School of Music Library (Harry Potter eat your heart out) and then the amazing John Rylands Library, well worth a visit for any book lover. I could live in there!!

Popped into see the New Comtemporaries exhibition at the Cornerhouse whilst there, some fantastic work this year. 

it has set me up to want to produce more art again, I have been busy in work and busy with portrait and caricature commissions(have to pay the bills somehow) but need to do some work I actually like too.

So I have started some artist books (of a kind) as I'm sharing a table with some students from Wirral Met at the Manchester Artist book fair in November. It'll be very interesting to see other books again, I always get inspired at these fairs. Also good to share a space as I know I wont have time to produce anywhere near the amount of books you would need to fill a whole table.

# 9 [3 November 2009]

We have to present an image from our research trips to talk briefly about this week.

I bought this very old, damp and battered book of Shakespearian poems at the Portico Library. 

Opening upon a random page, I chose a word (with a pin) that happened to be 'PERIL'

I decided to create an artwork from the book, using Peril as my starting point.

The beginning of the book now blanks out most of the words except a few relaying a sentence about Shakespeare's dark works.

Then I have cut rectangles through page after page, gradually decreasing in size until you can view the one word 'Peril'.

I also google imaged the words I have left on view and then quickly sketched the first image that came up onto the peril page to show how modern technologies and research methods can illustrate old works and words.

Is it desecration to write,draw in and cut up old books?

Maybe - but all the same it can make people look at these unloved, unused and neglected books in a whole new way - surely that's a good thing?

# 10 [7 November 2009]

Manchester Book Fair today - hmmm - an  odd day. I was asked to put some work onto a table shared with all the Wirral Met students, I spent a lot of time producing book work and had loads but there was only a really small table and for everyone to get work on display - it was 1 or 2 pieces each. So rather a waste of all the time and effort put in with all the other work. 

Well attended though and some amazing work there and I met Emily Speed at last (hello Emily), good to meet a fellow a-n blogger.

I would do an artists book fair again for sure but with a table of my own, I had enough with me to fill one, had to leave loads in the car.

My friend Julie felt the same so we may look into more fairs and go together, share a table and costs to start with - see how we get on.

Mini presented my chosen place/reasons for site art at Preston, went well I think. Also met up with Jeni who was year ahead of me in Wirral and now again on the MA, she had some Preston books/info for me which are really useful. Good to talk with her and her friends too, I got a better gist of what's to come on the course over the next 2 years and feel better about it all now.