ARTISTS TALKING

# 221 [22 June 2012]

Work delivered for de-junk re-junk thanks to my husband. I would have liked to have done more but I'm sure it'll be fine, it's a work in progress so I'm not to worried.

I finally found a photo proving that my work was on show at the art in times square event even if I can only find it in the party afterwards at least I know it was shown now.

# 222 [27 June 2012]

I've had a tiring few days. Preparing for three separate lots of workshops at the moment, just finished writing a proposal for a residency and I've got lots and lots of paperwork to do, which I keep putting off... no time for my own work at the moment.

Really enjoyed work today, the girls are making masks which they have to construct through a series of cardboard layers. Very tricky for them but the finished result is fantastic. I'm off work tomorrow so I'm going to get stuck into everything I need to do.

# 223 [1 July 2012]

I've been busy preparing for workshops this weekend but it isn't stopping me from playing ideas out in my head. We went for a pub tea on Friday night and the discussion around the table was the coral reef I want to make. My husband suggested I went back to working with paper for it. I haven't given up using paper in my work, it's always going to be the main material I use, it just isn't the right material at the moment.

I want to reflect on the rise of acidic levels in the oceans which are having a detrimental effect on so many coral beds. Plastic of some sort is defiantly the way I want to go, I just can't find a way of using it yet.

The problem is using the material without adding adhesive because it will show. I've tried making the same type of attachments as my plastic garlands but it just doesn't work on these structures the same. I want it to look really organic and sort of like some work I've done with fabric. In fact I need the plastic to act in the same way as fabric... that's the problem! I tried to overcome this by making the plastic more like fabric by ironing plastic bags together and sewing them but it doesn't stretch when being stuffed or take on the shapes I want it to when forming the coral, it need it be able to manipulate it more! Arhhh, I'm not giving up on this...

Whilst I'm waiting for a lightbulb moment to happen with the coral idea I've been cutting up product packaging for another project I'm hoping to start soon on palm oil.

I think that once the workshops are over I should have cut enough up to start the project.

# 224 [4 July 2012]

I've been thinking about the coral reef idea and have taken a further step backwards. I have decided that the plastic bag idea isn't going to work, the finished result isn't going to be what I want no matter what I do with it first. I just don't like it as a medium... at least I can dismiss it now and not give it another thought.

I was thinking about creating another hanging installation and decided to do a little research on different methods of hanging rather than my usual way of using fishing wire as a grid to hang things from. I don't want the grid to be visable. I typed into the search engine, 'ceiling installation viewed lying down' and look what I found: http://www.flickr.com/photos/patibee/474906187/

An under the sea view above your head. What a good idea of the objects sitting on a glass ceiling.

Dale Chihuly http://www.chihuly.com/ceilings-persian-pergola-ceiling-2002_detail.aspx

# 225 [5 July 2012]

I am now officially an associate member of Arena (where I did a residency last year which ended with solo show 'Inner Beauty') I am so pleased.

They will give me space on their website, will help promote any events I'm involved in through their Arena Facebook and Twitter pages. I'll be invited to exhibit in Arena group shows and I can put proposals in for exhibition in their gallery.

Today hasn't been very productive in the making of anything but ideas have been developing. I'm quite excited about the idea of a project that came to me last night. I have a feeling I've thought of it before... I don't know though and I'm a bit apprehensive in case there was a reason why I didn't develop it.

I'm going to mull it over a little before sharing though in case it comes to me why I didn't do it. I'll give it a few days to settle before I decide if I'm going to start it or not. It might be because the project would take such a long to to produce, I reckon years rather than months and there would be very little to show for the work I put in for months and months. Plus storage would be difficult as a built the work up.

I've also been working on proposals, workshop ideas and project ideas today so it's been a good day off. From next week I'm working full time hours, only for two weeks though but then we break up and I'm busy with workshops so I really have to think about what's the best use of my time right now because it's quite precious. I doubt I'll have anytime to really get stuck into my own work until late summer. I'm not complaining though, I need the money! And the work could just as soon dry up and I'll be praying for times like these!

# 226 [7 July 2012]

I couldn't wait a few days, I have started the project. It's very tedious and time consuming... right up my street!! But it's certainly not a good project to be working on right now whilst I'm so busy. It is the kind of thing I can just put down and pick up again in a months time though. Except I can't... I'm going to have to force myself.

I've got my work back from Wigan Library and from Huyton Gallery so now I'm only in Re-Junk De-Junk. I'm invigilating there tomorrow, when i told my daughter she said "aren't you nervous?" I said "No, why would I be" thinking she knew something I didn't. But it turns out she thought I was going to be invigilating exams, ha ha.

I've been eagly waiting to see if I got a residency place I'd applied for, they said that applicants will be contacted with the outcome of applications by 6^th July 2012 but I haven't heard anything so I guess I can take that as a no! Oh well I suppose I should look on the bright side, that frees up some time I'd set aside.

# 227 [7 July 2012]

Just received an email to say my application wasn't successful, I'd kind of figured that one out for myself. I won't be applying again, I've given it a go twice now so I won't waste my time again. oh well, I won't let it deter me, onto the next application.

# 228 [8 July 2012]

I've had a busy day. I've done a little invigilating for the de-junk re-junk show and then this evening I've been working on two projects. One which is just in the early stages and is failing miserably and now needs rethinking and the other which is in the early stages but will take forever to produce.

The one that is failing terribly is the palm oil project. I was either going to make a book from product packaging or palm leaves, but when I started experimenting this evening nothing felt right. So I sat down and tried to figure out what wasn't working. After all the planning I'd put in I realised it was the palm leaves I was basing the artwork on. I had thought early on that it wasn't right but dismissed it but I've decided if I don't get it right now it's never going to be right. So now I have a lot of pulp and nothing to do with it. I wish I'd kept it as cut up bit of cardboard packaging for now! I hope I can think of something quick.

I feel that it should be the palm oil seeds I base it on which the palm oil is produced from but I can't think how to represent them.

# 229 [12 July 2012]

I'm working full time right now and I'm shattered, can't concentrate on my own work, it isn't a distraction or relaxation to work on my own stuff but rather feels like a burden so I'm leaving it alone for a while. I think I've been putting myself under to much pressure so I've decided not to put forward any more proposals etc for a while, the statements just take me too long to write. But I have an interview coming up for a residency which is quite exciting. I put forward my invasive ivy work as workshops with a community exhibition at the end. I've got my fingers and toes crossed.

# 230 [13 July 2012]

It feels really good being full time in work, in some ways I wish it could be permanent even though I'm shattered. I don't want a full time job because it will limit the production of my own work but gettingthat extra bit of money will help so much and I also feel more comfortable in work, more part of the team sort of thing.