ARTISTS TALKING

# 1 [6 October 2009]

# 2 [9 October 2009]

'Belonging'

I think everyone probably wants to belong to a group of some kind. No one really wants to be an 'outsider'.

Some kind of group identity or community:

A book clubs, residents associations, cricket teams, mothers and todlers, gangs, Star Trek, even online artist forum such as this. All communities of some kind, with shared experiences. Everyone wants to belong and be part of some kind of group.

Is this what Identity means?

As an artist I have been constantly asked to foster identity, represent, give a voice to and strengthen communities.

Why?

A role I was reluctant to accept at first, having trained as an abstract painter I didnt think it should be artists who had to wallpaper over the cracks in society.

Now I see it as adding to the social fabric of our society. Something all art forms have always done anyway.  

I was the outsider, so I climbed down from the ivory tower I had started to build and met people.

# 3 [11 October 2009]

St. Helens Hospital. Ward Names Mosaic.

I did not know wether to put this post in community or history? So I put it in community because: This project seems to have ended up depicting the history of a community.

The NHS Trust at St. Helens Hospital have gone to great lengths to represent the community they serve in this project.

I did not have to run workshops or carry out consulations with users of the NHS Services in St.Helens as the Trust acted on their behalf. It saved me several research trips up there, but this was replaced by having to do eight drawings before the commitee was happy with the content and subject for the work.  Working with a commitee gives a different end result compared to working with the public. I think the commissioner may feel they have more control.  

I am pleased they are pleased if you see what I mean.

The content for this work has become alot more specific than I originally planned, due to design revisions. The result of this, is it has become probably the most intricate mosaic I have made. I asked for a 2 month  extension on the time schedule, which has been granted.

My last mosaic was a challenge due its large scale. This will be a challenge due to its small scale. (not that it is small, the increase of detail without an increase in size is the challange).

# 4 [13 October 2009]

Here is the cartoon. Not a drawing with large ears and big nose, no thats Cosmo.

In the case of mosaic the cartoon is sacrificial. This means it gets destroyed in the making process, (cartoons for frescos survive the ordeal). 

# 5 [17 October 2009]

I am working with a friend Jo on this. She runs this Community Arts outfit called Animate. I have worked with her on several occasions before, and her projects are very community focused.

I have to put this together. There are 400 tiles. Each one done by a primary school pupil and a few dinner ladies and teachers etc.

The whole thing will form a frieze and I will be installing it on Monday.

You know those old school photos of the whole school. The ones where there are five rows of students all pozing formally, the oldest year standing on benches at the back and the youngest ones kneeling down to form the front row. A record of the whole school community.

This kind of reminds me of that. It is actually a celebraion of the year 2008, as this was when their new school was built.

# 6 [20 October 2009]

110 v  Hammer Action

The installation of the panels went very well. The pupils were very excited and the commonest remark during the whole day was 'there's mine'. Even the head teacher said it 3 times.

Its a very nice school and they are proud of what they did. Teachers and their assistants, dinner ladies, caretakers not to mention pupils have been loitering,  looking, pointing and gigeling all day, (in a very polite way I have to say).

I would formally like to appolagise again to the class on the otherside of the wall who had to put up with over 60 holes made by:

110v

705w

Hammer action

for alot of their day.

and thanks to Jo as well for the whole thing. (My invoice will be in the post by Friday by the way). 

# 7 [2 December 2009]

Living in a world of my own. 

I would like to show you how my mosaic for St, Helens Hospital is moving along, its going very nicely indeed. There is something amazing about making little micro worlds. I like doing the doors and windows as they almost take you inside the picture into a land like the one in 'Night at the museum' where everything becomes alive.

It's an imaginary landscape which does become populated, a kind of make believe community (in my mind anyway) it helps pass the hours cracking rocks. I am actually looking forward to making the minning community which has the 'Dream' at the centre. Its not often I can remember looking forward to doing mosaics. Its those masive mothers they sap you, break you down mentally.

This one is a smallish medium sized one. It will also be broken up by other projects. I have three schools projects: a little one, a middle sized one and a big one.

# 8 [10 December 2009]

The school Trip.

My big school project, finds me on a school trip to visit one of my previous school garden projects, and then onto another location to see how  public space is layed out, how the landscape designers have incorperated planting, paving and other features like sculpture or street furniture into a public setting. Seating and provision for eating may be particularly relevent to us on our school project.

This is the 'transition group' which have particular educational needs. I dont know how much free reign they will take, or how much they are allowed?

.................................................. 

Aspbergers, ADHD, other behaviour and language issues abound, a little short of mayhem in parts, but actually a great day out. When a pupil comes up and says 'I want to ask my mum to bring me here at the weekend', and another says 'I would like to come on holiday here'. You feel like you made a good choice of venue for a school trip. Our long term task, to design and build a garden for a brand new school building not yet constructed. In fact our garden will be built and finished on the site before anything else. This is part of the building schools for the future programe. Our next school trip Kew Gardens. Our next task; Site survey.

# 9 [11 December 2009]

My Small School Project.

This is finished now. A school with special arts status asked me to work with them to contruct a mosaic.

To cut a long storey short, it was very intense, ofstead praised it, the students enjoyed it, the loutish 6th formers said it was amazing, the deputy head was very impressed.

Writen comments from the pupils;

'It was a brilliant two day workshop'

'we learned about materials and tools'

'Really fun couple of days, loved every second of it'.

'I loved it yesterday and today it was so fun. The best part was having my friends around and working as a team'.

'The best thing was seeing the end product'

'We thought it was going really badly, but it turned out really well in the end'.

'Rob has the best job ever'

# 10 [14 December 2009]

'The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side'.

The final piece of feed back on my last post is rather idealistic, the reality is a little more complex than that. I do have the best job ever, but like most jobs it has parts less glamourus that get passed over unseen.

That particular job had me forking out well over £300 for materials from my own money just before xmas. Invoice and reimbursement totals are posted, but payment next year probably. Now I am fortunate in that I have saved enough capital to cover these things, but that is not the point,  the client does not know that and should they expect the artist to cover such costs? If I were a builder carrying out a small job, or a plummer I would undoubtedly be treated in the same way.

Anyway, I do have a fantastic job, but moaning is something we all  do from time to time. Its lonley in the workshop day after day and often things occupy the mind in an unhealthy way. I envy people who have their workshops and studios in a complex with other artists in the same building, this must have an atmoshere like the one I remember at collage. My situation is lonely, but I dont have a lease or rental payments as I work from home. So; the grass is always greener on the other side.