My work, reasons behind it and what happens to it.

Why oh why do they make funding applications so complicated? I should know what to say by now as it isn’t the first one I’ve done, but there’s always that struggle to fill each box with the maximum required words.

You feel obliged to say more than the couple of sentences that it actually takes to describe the project, so this brings me to the 7^th day and I’m still not even a quarter of the way through. Last night, I spent two hours answering just two questions. I’m pretty sure it’s designed to make you want to give up.

As a slight relief from the tedium of filling in forms, I’ve also spent the last few evenings packing up the work I donated as a reward for our Kick-starter project. Firstly, WHY did I donate 10 works? What on earth was I thinking? They were only postcard sized works, but looking at them later on, I felt it wasn’t enough to send them as they were, and decided to get small mounts cut. I’m not used to have to ‘present’ works, preferring the rough and ready sketches and ideas I have in my books. So I felt that I needed to clean them up, get them mounted….and agonising over whether they were any good, let alone if the ‘buyers’ would even like them. Why are we so critical of our own work?

As if this choice of life isn’t stressful enough!

Moving on….. I’ve made the decision to not exhibit in the gallery mentioned in my last post. I felt hugely guilty about pulling out, which is silly because it wasn’t me who broke the contract, but I didn’t want to be under all that pressure to produce work and not be happy about it. Although this means that I have nothing planned after April, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. I can now step back and think for a bit. A rare luxury.

There has been a lot going on though…. I’ve booked my flight to the US, started cutting out shapes for my installation there and made notes for the ACE application, which I must put in soon for funding.

Yesterday, I met up with Elena Thomas, Julie Dodd and Carol Ramsay. Elena was in my area while her husband and son were attending a football match, so it seemed a good opportunity to meet. It was meant to be a meeting about the US exhibition, but that didn’t really happen. I think I was the only one who had met the others before, so there was too much to catch up on to have a proper meeting. Some things were discussed though, so it gave us food for thought, but it was just really nice to chat.

One thing we all agreed on was that we all had too much of our own work in our houses and were fast running out of storage space!

Contracts…. so now I find myself with another dilemma.

In May 2013 I saw a really juicy exhibiting opportunity in the a-n ops section, and went for it. ‘If your work is perfect for an arts festival, big thinking and dynamic then contact us for the chance to take part in the exhibition in 2014’. An exhibition AND part of a major arts festival… hmmmm

‘CHARGES: There will be no submission or hanging fees and only a commission of 25% on all works sold.’

That sounds perfect I thought, sent off my proposal and was really pleased to find out that I was just one of two people that had been selected.

Over the following months, the gallery communicated well and I went to visit the space. It was quite difficult to find and I’d asked some passers by if they could point me in the right direction. Very few had heard of the gallery.

OK, never mind I thought, that’s the good thing about being part of a large festival – they produce a map and trail for people to follow.

So a contract came, and I was a bit surprised that they now asked for a £25 hanging fee. I’d lost the original listing, so I couldn’t be 100% sure that they’d mentioned this fee or not. So…signed the contract anyway and sent it off…. DUH!!

Months went by and then this week I received an email saying that they had decided not to be part of the festival and were going to run independently.

Ooo no…. I wasn’t happy about that at all. I had difficulty finding the place so I had visions of my work not being seen at all. The gallery was 50 miles from where I live, it would take me months to build the installation requested and I didn’t know anyone in the area. Would it still be worth me doing it?

I’ve signed the contract, so can I get out of it?

Yet another email to a-n’s Susan Jones….. Who must be regretting giving me her contact details by now! She was brilliant though, firstly finding the original listing – Yes, no fee and definitely part of the festival.

Nothing on my contract binding me either.

So now…. what to do?? :-(

Already 2014 is a bit of a blur… I was off New Years day, but have worked since ( I’m on my break now) In the last few days though, I have contacted the 36 artists who will be now exhibiting with us in NY in April, scrounged around the offices in work for yellow paper and have begun making my installation.

In the next twelve weeks, I will need to book my flight, cut out and fill two boxes of yellow paper flowers ( to be posted off ahead of me) and coordinate the work of the 36 artists. …. And not take any leave.

Unbelievably, I have been distracted by a few exhibition opportunities that look mildly interesting. ARGH!!

My New Years resolution was not to apply for anything and I must stick to it!