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

I had to ask for help last night in updating my diary. The intention of bringing a diary over here, was to jot down notes, things to look up when i get home or just list things we had done, so that I can keep a record of sorts.

The idea failed pretty early on though when our social networking (real life networking that is) hit an all time high.

So the conversation last night sort of went…. ‘what did we do on Monday ? Oh OK, so what happened Tuesday morning? …erm so what did we do last night?’ I’m not usually so forgetful, but to have so much happening ALL of the time is really hard to keep up with ( well sleep deprivation and the amount of alcohol consumed isn’t helping I suppose)

Tuesday then…. we were interviewed by the local radio station. That was pretty scary actually. We weren’t given a list of questions beforehand, so having a mike stuck in your face and asked what the work was about suddenly felt very complicated. As soon as we have the link to the interview I’ll post it on here.

Three more of the artists were leaving on Wednesday, so we decided to have a last night out together. The evening started really nice with a meal out, but sort of degenerated after a call in to the liquor store. No, it was really a great evening, but I kind of felt rough the next day.

I bought a pair of sunglasses from the dollar store and joined Debra on the airport run to drop off Bruce and Michael. Two less in the house. We had a meeting afterwards to discuss extending the project further – next year that is. With so much documentation this side, there is more of a possibility of getting funding. This discussion needs to be continued, but we did get the basis of planning started.

We found out that the video made at the preview went live yesterday so we must have watched that about 6 times. Really pleased with this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ybd5nSnmvI&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

Although we were really tired, Debra showed Jean and I how to make a ‘Chunky Journal’ – a hand made book, in the afternoon, back at her house. We only had a couple of hours, but I was thrilled to see the book forming.

Wednesday evening I ran a class from the house. We couldn’t advertise it extensively with it being in the house, but I more than thrilled to get 5 paying attendees ( plus Jean and Debra) I taught them Momigami and we all got our hands really dirty dirty by scrounching up paper. It was a good night, despite feeling like I wanted to nod off several times.

By 10.30, it was time for Kimbal to leave – catching a bus to Toronto to meet his parents.

So now we are two.

Yikes – no, there’s THREE of us left. We all forget about David Cotton for some reason. He’s doing a residency at the Community college, so he leaves really early so that he can get a lift down and we don;t see him all day.

THREE – yes, now there are three of us :-/

I’ve opted out of tonight’s gallery debate https://www.facebook.com/events/613377488745517/ I really have gone out of my comfort zone for a few things here, but a debate is a step too far for me. I’ll leave it to the ‘experts’.

It’s kind of nice having the house to myself for a couple of hours. I’m going to be boring, slip on my pyjama bottoms, read ( and blog!) and maybe do some washing.

Having a wild time in NY, ha ha.

Had a fabulous trip out to Niagara Falls yesterday though. Absolutely stunning! We had to leave ridiculously early though as Susanne’s flight back was at 3pm and we wanted to make it a group day out. It was kind of sad saying goodbye (again!) but hopefully we’ll all meet again in July for the next exhibition.

After the falls, we headed out to Buffalo to catch the Small Press book fair http://www.buffalosmallpress.org/ My interest in books and zines sort of fluctuates, but I’ve enjoyed this extra contact with them. I bought a few things and vowed to take it up again when I get back to the UK.

My list of things to look up or to do is steadily growing. I feel like a sponge at the moment, continuously absorbing and holding tight to all of this new information.

This morning, I headed out to Lancaster High School with Jean and helped out with her zine workshop. The lesson was pretty short ( just 45 mins) but it was enough time to get the idea across without them losing interest. They were nice kids though, so it was a pleasure being there.

I’m going to run a class from the house on Wednesday night, so I’d better do some prep while its quiet.

It’s the morning after the opening night and here we are again, sat round the dining table with our laptops. Only this time, there is one extra body sleeping on the settee in the adjoining room.

Kimbal Bumstead arrived a couple of nights ago (Wednesday?) a detour from his epic hitchhiking journey : http://horizontallybackwards.tumblr.com/ Now there are no beds left.

I had travelled to the airport on Tuesday with Debra to pick up Susanne Torstensson and her partner Mikeal . They had spent a couple of nights in New York City after flying from their home in Stockholm. We had met Susanne at SUPERMARKET in Sweden two years ago and kept in touch. Since she’s been here , we’ve been discussing a further collaboration and the possibility of setting up an exhibition back in Stockholm next year as a group, so that’s something to look forward to.

Its kind of weird seeing Kim and Susanne again. We pretty much only meet during these collaborations, carrying on conversations as if it was only recently we all saw each other.

Soooo much talking going on!

But anyway… the PVs….

Well, I’d say they were slightly different than what we’ve been used to in the UK! For a start, everything we asked for, we got – furniture, audio equipment, printing etc etc. We were amused that we had to pick up several bags of ice in the afternoon as we usually don’t bother making such an effort.

Food and drink at both venues were plentiful, only reminding me of one of the PVs we had in the UK where someone had to run out to the local Tesco to pick up some cheap beer as we had run out half way :-(

A huge amount of people attended – despite a thunder storm and heavy rain. AND we were interviewed by the local press ( appearing in today’s Post Journal front AND back page!) So many people were asking about the work and wanting to talk, I was hoarse by the end of the night .

Talking and talking and talking – so much of it! I’m starting to find myself creeping up to the bedroom just for some quiet space now. I’m not particulary home sick yet, but I do miss being able to shut myeslf off from others.

I’ll update the website when I get a chance, but in the meantime, we’ve posted lots of images on the facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/pages/SCI/170190669682733

I realise this post is only really skirting round the edge of all of the recent activities and doesn’t really cover thoughts or conversations we are having. But time to think and reflect will hopefully come later when I am not bombarded with so much information.

…and now we are five.

Debra went to pick up the ‘boys’ from the airport last night, while Jean and I just chilled. It was good to unwind and sit in the quiet for a bit though before all the talking started again. I’m not big on talking.

Yesterday, we headed over to Dykeman Young with the work we had and I began my installation. It’s always difficult to begin when I haven’t seen the space beforehand. I had been sent images and a rough size of the space, but until I’m there, I can’t really make specific plans.

The gallery has an original ornate metal ceiling, so I couldn’t attach anything to it. The best I could do was throw fishing wire over the casing of the strip of lights and hope for the best.

I also stapled wire on a side wall and strung it across, but after attaching several flowers to it, I realised it wasn’t working and had to take it down. That was really frustrating as it was a couple of hours wasted and I was already starting to ache with being up and down the ladder. Jean had helped enormously though by shaping all of the flowers that I had pre cut, so I didn’t have to keep stopping to do that.

As Debra had to leave, we decided to call it a day. We’d made a start, but it was no use pushing things if we were all tired.

So now we have another day of installing ahead of us. Both Jean and I have been up since 7am, so it’s a mad dash to get to the bathrooms before the others….

( further images on the SCI facebook page if anyone wants to see :

https://www.facebook.com/pages/SCI/170190669682733 )