The Cooler King (part 2)

‘Thoughts on making art and where its made’

‘The Cooler’ absolutley essential. I can not for a moment imagine not having a workshop. I would not be able to opporate without a workspace. I guess those who haven’t find a way of addapting their work to what they do have a spare room or a kitchen table. Workspace is the singular most important resource.

I guess some artists may see their workspace as an office, digital based, desks, tables and papers and books.

I require both these kinds of spaces to function. The office is where a different kind of creative work takes place. Research, ideas, reading and writing. Look at other artists work, manipulating images on a computer all indoor activities requiring some level of comfort.

The workshop is almost a semi outdoor place in winter. Construction tasks are carried out almost as if working outside often making a mess, which is why a seperate workshop is required .

Drawing: Now this is the problematic one for me. I have a large free standing drawing board and separate desks with a light box to draw on. But they are in the workshop making drawing almost an outdoor activity! Not so good….drawing is the transition from reading and writing to construction and making, and in an ideal world that would be in the office in the warm with computer and books to hand.

Thats probably why I don’t do any more drawing than I really need to. I hardly draw for fun or to experiment, my drawings are always functional and practical and relate to making. This is why I recently started drawing on a tablet as this is so versatile. It’s not an ipad, but I found a drawing app and I am hoping this will change the way I work and bring in new influences and ways of working.

I think drawing is the key I’m looking for to change my working methods. Actually I think it is more fundemental than that, its not working methods that will change, it is a change in approach, a change in how you think as it can be recorded in a different way!

Can this be described with two words: It used to be design, now it’s drawing?

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The Studio

The Place I read about quite fequently on these AN blogs; These are the blogs that come immediately to mind what with Elena and Franny just moving in to new ones and that, I thought about the relationship to where you work because of these Studio blogs:

Elena’s

www.a-n.co.uk/p/1322260

Franny’s

www.a-n.co.uk/p/564556

Claire’s

www.a-n.co.uk/p/957988

and Kate’s

And then there is mine as well, I call my studio ‘the Cooler’ I never call it a studio. I might describe it as ‘the workshop’ never a studio……I read blogs by others and feel I might take my workshop for granted sometimes as I have almost nearly always had one somewhere.

I have never ever once sat there for leisure and read the paper, an artists brief, day dream out the window, read a book or play a game anything other than work.

The only thing I can think of leisure related is mending a bike and that might have been to do with tools.

I can think of about 9 previous workshops proper formal agreement ones and about 3 sort of bedroomy ones, that makes about 12 and then my current one which I have been in the longest and never looked out the window or read a book in any of them that I can remember! A totally work orientated place every time.

Now: The office is seperate and that may be the reason. I call my office ‘the study’! That’s where I write, research and read books and I dont move things around. The worshop is a place where I often move things around depending on whats happening in there. One is a thinking creative place, where you might wear slippers, the other a practical versatile place, where you might need to wear a hat, or even some kind of protective clothing. Two different places and I can not imagine them ever merging together.

The worst workshop I ever had was one that was too big and I had to buy myself out of a lease agreement to leave it. The best is the one I am in at the moment as it is so close, on the other side of that wall actually. The down side of it is I never see a sole from week to week. That’s why I call it ‘the cooler’. My family never even go in there……it can be a bit, er…bleak!

The Diary Room:

Does anyone else feel like writing on here is similar to going into the diary room on Big Brother.

Rob… is in the diary room, talking about his problems!

‘How are you today Rob’

‘Well I am having a lot trouble starting work today’

‘Why is that Rob’

I have to start re-designing something I designed about half a dozen times already.

‘Have you been given suggestions and references to help you with this task Rob’

yes I have, but its hard to just come up with more….you know ideas and its a difficult thing and

‘Is the material you were sent Rob relevant and of use to you’?

yes I suppose it is, it does not seem very inspiring though

‘And what things does Rob think are inspiring’

But that’s the problem innit…..the things I felt were inspiring and that I drew before, are outside of the ‘Design Language’ allowed for the project. I have to revisit with only things that are specifically relevant to that area. The design I did before was inspired by folk culture from another continent not even Europe.

‘And Rob did you think that was appropriate for a project in London?’

I am sorry I can see that may be it wasn’t now.

‘Good, You said the material you were sent Rob is relevant and of use to you’?

‘Can you start work now Rob’

Yes OK I will look on the internet for more local references

Is there anything else you would like tell us Rob?

Yes, I finished painting the map for the sculpture trail. The one that was drawn by visitors to the trail. It is a user generated map. It forms part of the interpretation for the project.

‘Is Rob Happy that is finished now?’

yes it reminded me of a Breugal picture called ‘Childrens Games’ that my dad used to have at home when I was small. The inks had faded and all the colours had turned greenish.

‘Is that all Rob’

yes.

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I recieved a call to say the Clerk of Works won’t be able to make the meeting in my workshop and we will need to re-schedule.

That’s fair enough. And it will give the opportunity to finish the painted map of the Wildart Trail I have still not done….I feel bad as I have been paid months ago, yet somehow just havn’t managed to do it. No-one is chasing me for it though, so I figured it was OK to leave it for a bit. It is is such a different head space doing the painted map I just have been zoned in on a different kind of task these past weeks.

Painting:I love painting. Yet really stuggling with this map! I think you have to just jump in and do it. My world of public art is very formal and things are agreed, designed and timetabled. Creativity is scheduled and typed into planning documents, ideas are time tabled and mistakes are not allowed or in the vocabulary.

This map is outside all of those criteria and ‘just tell us when you’ve done it Rob’ sort of agreement. I am not used to these flexible openended arrangements! I have waited for inspiration to come ……and it won’t…… I just have to set up and do it…..without a plan just let it take me to a new place. A ‘proper painting’ like I used to do at St. Martins ones where it feels all wrong to start and its a wrestling match untill gradually you feel its coming back and after a while your happy with it and finishing it is easy.

There… thats my plan if I needed one.

I have a mosaic flower left to do then I can crate that mosaic up and store it. I never found out how long it took to make a sparrow, because it turned out to be a ‘sedge warbler’. The sparrow is on the last one. The next one is called ‘The Old Quarry’ and has a Bull Finch.

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Thank you Franny.

Here are links to what happened on the Treasure Hunt.

Was it art…? Nearly!

my flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rob-turner/sets/72157…

and more on my website here

http://rob-turner.blogspot.co.uk/

The project was like nothing I had done before and was the most intense project I think I have ever delivered. Left me exhausted and behind schedule for the mosaics. So over the xmas I had to put a bit of a shift in the cooler. I have the clerk of works from the developer visiting my workshop next Wed to see the progress and whether things are shaping up as they should be, and talk about installation….I am not going to make the dates in my contract but it has taken over two years to get to here, so whats the rush. I am sure I can delay installation without stressing anyone out too much.

I am a work robot and can’t string much thought together for writting.

My mind is mush and in auto pilot. Systems in my head are beginning to close down and all there is to do is crack rocks day in day out in the cooler.

But…….tommorrow I am looking forward to managing the relationship between yellow and mauve. Small beer, but I am actually looking forward to yellow and mauve. Mosaic is very different from paint as you have to use the colours as they are manufatured and if you want to change the yellow then you have to optically blend it with other greys, browns, off whites. You cant just make the yellow you want, as you can with paint. Blending with distance mixing the coulours for you, kind of like Seurat and Pontillism.

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