ARTISTS TALKING

# 25 [9 September 2011]

The preview and book launch was well attended although to be honest the whole evening passed in a blur. Post exhibition blues set in soon after, sales have been poor although the book is selling well and will soon be distributed islandwide.

Took the show down last week, there is something very sad about removing an installation, i took several hundred photos before completely removing it. The majority of images will travel to a new venue next month but i will be unable to recreate the installation there.

Have been trying to research my next move but finding it difficult to focus on tasks or remember everything - will have to start the lists again! I am at the gallery until April so no huge rush but would be nice to have the reassurance of knowing what im going to do next.

On the plus side I have found a new apartment which is large enough for me to have a studio so looking forward to being able to create outside of the public eye.

Having spent 12 months on the project it is odd to have nothing driving me forward, i am supposed to be taking part in a group drawing show in January but have yet to produce anything for that, however, onwards and upwards I will keep plugging away, as long as i remember what it is im doing.....

# 24 [10 August 2011]

ITS DONE!!!!!

the installation is in and the exhbition is hung! phew!

Preview and book launch tomorrow night so fingers crossed its a success.

# 23 [20 July 2011]

Phew!

London was a great success (although no sales :( ) with several hundred people visiting the crypt during the duration of the show. The venue was fantasic and definately one which i want to show in again. The exhibition was also a a fantastic networking opportunity with big thanks going to www.louiseharrington.com www.reginavalkenborgh.com David Donald and Michelle Roberts as well as everyone else involved in the exhbition.

Also many thanks to the Isle of Man Arts Council who supported my involvement in both exhibitions.

The exhibition at Candid Arts runs until the 24th July so pop along if you get chance, unfortunately due to a date change I have been unable to see the work 'in situ' myself.

My return to the gallery was suitably hectic with only two days to prepare for the next preview (Petrina Kent and Georgina Wright) however we managed to pull it off and survived the evening.

So now my own exhibition is looming, I have infact peeked too soon so have two weeks to work leisurely through all the last minute details and ensure everything is absolutely perfect. I have introduced two friends who are keen sushi chefs so the food will be remembered but unfortunately never found time to secure sponsorship for champagne for the evening although im sure it will be a success regardless. (fingers crossed)

# 22 [17 June 2011]

The website is live!!!

www.mannabandoned.co.uk

I found an amazing desktop app called Jalbum which creates albums of your images including thumbnails and slideshows.

www.jalbum.net

I am really pleased with the layout and functionality of the page and glad to have something online for people to reference.

TT week went well although I didnt sell as many digital images as hoped. I have collected another run of prints, 5 ready for London and some for the final show here and i have re-jigged and decided on all final images for the exhibition.

40 copies of the book are on the way for me to sell in London and now I am just hoping that my frames arrive intact and are suitable. (due to travel costs i am taking the photos flat and framing them on arrival)

I have several lists of things to do which i am slowly working my way through and fingers crossed things are falling into place and everything will go smoothly.

# 21 [24 May 2011]

The arts council have approved funding for the joint exhbition in london and a loan to help produce my book hoorah!! I will be selling advance copies at 'surface' at the crypt gallery 1st to 10th July so get yourself along if you are based in london. Busy fortnight ahead with the TT races and Ace Cafe selling their merchandise through the gallery. We will be opening late throughout race week so i thought i should post today before the carnage commences. I will be selling some graphic images as posters so will be interesting to see how well received they are.

I am as up to date as I can be with the project, I have planned the final layout so know exactly what needs printing and framing and I have allowed for any last minute gems that may crop up. With a combination of google earth and a detailed map i am plotting the last of the ruins to visit so that i can effectively 'hit' several on each trip out.

The only cause for concern is the website which is dragging, turns out that photoblogging would not be most effective so i am back to trying to decifer flash templates although I should have some assistance before the weekend. All the images are re-sized and ready to go so its literally just a case of dropping them into whichever format i decide on. Really want to have something sorted before the end of the week so that i can relax (as much as possible) and enjoy the TT gallery experience.

# 20 [4 May 2011]

Fantastic news, I have been invited to exhibit in a group show 'Surface' at the Crypt Gallery in London from the 1st to the 10th July. I will be showing 5 of my photos from my current project 'Mann, Ababndoned' at 16x24 size but am currently struggling to find frames at that size, I am loath to crop the images to 16x20 as this will cut a lot of the detail and I do not like to mount the images when framing.

I have put in applications to the Arts Council to request funding for the exhibition and also for the book I am hoping to produce alongside my final Mann, Abandoned exhibition so fingers crossed for that. I have received a copy that I created using Blurb and I am delighted with the result although I will be using Amazon's Createspace for the final book as it works out better value for money.

# 19 [13 April 2011]

Apologies! Finally got round to posting and realised its been 2 months! I have a valid excuse however, as i have been busy producing work and hanging a new show in the gallery www.annaclucas.com. Katie Martin has left for bigger and better things so we are back to sharing responsibities amongst the management team (promotion!). I have been extended for an extra 6 months to allow the gallery to tie the residency year with the financial year so alongside working and planning for my august exhibition i am mulling over ideas for the following 6 months: possibly working on a PHD proposal. However, this has also resulted in a reduction in hours and income so the printing of work has slowed again. Got approx 30 prints done last week and they are all now labelled and framed as finished exhibition pieces which is very exciting. I am going to apply for a framing grant but gear it towards printing if possible as I am recycling second hand frames. (Not because im cheap but because the aesthetic works really well with the images)

Unfortunately the heritage foundation felt unable to support my funding application for the book (no reasons or feedback given) so i have been looking into self publishing and found that amazon looks to be a viable option. I have created a rough copy in blurb for entry to the Dummy awards and am currently awaiting arrival before I send it of and cross my fingers!

The website has not progressed although i am now researching photo blogs and considering that for the images as it may be easier to support the hundreds of images.

# 18 [22 February 2011]

The book is on course and discussions are ongoing with Lily Publications,the Manx National Heritage Foundation and the Isle of Man Arts Council. Now I need to start selecting which images I want to use and also which images I will use on the website. I am still struggling to find a flash template that I like but I just dont have the time to build it myself with my slow dreamweaver skills.

I have started looking into practice led studio based phds as a possible move forward as this would allow me to expand my current research into death and decay whilst continuing to produce work and I may even be able to combine study with residency opportunities. I need to look into funding however as this may prove to be a stumbling block but hopefully by September I will have achieved Associate Qualified Teacher Status so will have the opportunity to support my study by teaching.

# 17 [26 January 2011]

Following the arrival of more tables in the workshop area I am now able to have work in progress lying around and move from piece to piece. I have finished 5 large scale pieces in the last couple of weeks and I am well on the way to narrowing down the images for final exhibition/book/website. Somewhat worryingly I have been unable to contact the publishers but I will persist as I need to know whether I am going to end up producing the book myself which will require me working even faster on the exhibition work!! Finding a website template I actually like is also proving frustrating but I just dont have the time to build my own with my limited web skills and dont have the money to work with a designer.

The big question of what I am going to do next is still looming but fortunately it is idling away in the back of my mind and gradually generating ideas so I will no doubt have some concrete project ideas in the next month or so and can begin searching for suitable residencies to apply them to. I dont intend to put an idea together in a rush to meet a deadline as this does not allow the full potential of the idea to show through in the application so i intend to have an idea in place and then begin looking and applying for appropriate residencies/exhibitions.

# 16 [15 January 2011]

No sooner than I posted the last blog and help arrived! The gallery has employed help in the form of Katie Martin who will be here on a months contract, which gives me the hands free time needed to crack on with some work. I have completed one section of my large canvas piece and I have had some lovely effects using wood varnish, I am currently waiting for paint remover to take hold so that I can assess the effect it has on varnished photographs and canvas.

This week we have hung a fantastic new show by Manos Kalamenios (http://www.madebymanos.com/), Shelby Sandyford-Sykes and Colette Gambell which has proved both inspirational and damaging to my finances!! I curated the shop area by myself and have had a lot of positive feedback.