1 Comment

In just 2 weeks time we will be setting up our PaperFields exhibition at R K Burt in Union Street, London!

While busy making we are also emailing, phoning and tweeting about the upcoming exhibition, plus completing the work and getting it ready to hang.  We’ve all exhibited before, but London being fairly far away makes it more important to be able to look at the exhibition coming together as a whole, whilst also considering the finer details of the work, supporting each other in what we are each striving for individually in our practices and generally communicating with each other regularly.  The best way is face-to-face and in this period when most of us have just graduated, the meeting is incredibly valuable.  Each time we meet I come away feeling a further understanding of the whole process and my motivation takes a leap.

My approach to building work for this exhibition is to continue my practice just adding the stipulation ( turns out it’s creativity enhancing – who knew?) of using paper.

I have been using the Intaglio printing press using gorgeous Fabriano paper at The Print Shed in Madley, most recently etching script onto thin plastic sheet.  I was introduced to this technique by Sam Staff and Rosie Daffern in the run up to a group exhibition in Hereford called Art of the Hidden Oak, when we spent a day printing cards for the exhibition.   I’m then working on top of that – it’s slowly evolving that one – I have put liquid acrylic onto it and let it run around the paper, it feels a bit like etch-a-sketch.  I’m fascinted by the partial loss of control compared to the controlled manner of writing.

There are many pieces on the go at once just now – smaller pieces – oil on paper with torn writing floating in the limited palette of crimson, ultramarine, raw umber and white.  The aim was to limit my palette to Maroon and black and white…. I’ve recently been obsessing over Mondrian’s work and thinking if I could only have one colour – what would it be?  Maroon, closely followed by a deep mossy green.  I’ve also been trying to find a way to get to the Mondrian exhibition before it closes this Sunday, but I need to save up for staying in London, the travel and other necessary expenses, so unfortunately I’ll have to miss out.  Instead, I am watching all the videos and reading as much as I can about his work, but this doesn’t come close to being there.  I am particularly interested in how his studio was an extension of his work.

Today my focus is on one of the window displays (Daisy Rickards is filling the other ) in which I’ll be putting paper tubes so that passers by can still see into the gallery, but through an arrangement of tubes, with one side of each tube covered in my painting and writing clash.   I’m working on sheets of card individually which will then be cut to size and stapled to form tubes.  The windows at R K Burt are huge, bigger than I recalled from my initial visit in March and so I am needing to make a large quantity of work to fill it..to the point I am currently running out of drying space for all of it!

 

 


0 Comments

After some PaperFields exhibition prep I got stuck into painting this afternoon.  Worked on several pieces that had already been started (1 yesterday) and another – a large paper roll.  I found a way to clamp it to a stretcher frame – the only way I could paint on it that size today.
Recently in my work I’ve been working through what I see as my battle between writing and painting.  Not literally writing, but the notion really.  I’m missing obvious things again.  And trying to distill what I am doing right down to the essential, listening, writing, painting.  I think too much and it gets in the way of my practice.  So, again, I am simply making work and moving from one piece to the other, lifting the exciting bits and being more daring, pushing what might be there if only I can see (listen) to it.  I’m facing a lot of fear right now in this post college time, which seem insignificant compared with others, but nevertheless is an obstacle I am facing and finding a way to get on with.


0 Comments

I have at long last made cleared much non-art related stuff out of ‘my’ shed and had a glorious short session in it today (40 minutes is better than nothing, but am working on getting more time in there).

One of my downfalls is that I end up letting the admin side of things take up my studio time.  I’m horrid to myself in not valuing time spend on my own practice.

Now I have looked at a piece I did a few weeks ago and am taking it onwards as a starting point for a new piece.  This time I’ve stuck torn up mono-printed writing onto the paper after painting.  Written blind in charcoal (into wet paint).

At the recent Young Open exhibition someone asked me if this was an internal battle I was having between writing and painting and I said no, but perhaps it is as it’s sustaining my work now.

 

 


0 Comments

Had a visit to R.K. Burt yesterday, the venue for PaperFields exhibition next month. On the way went to The Jerwood Space – good to see Lexi Strauss exhibiting there in the Jerwood Drawing Prize.

Had a chat with an Emmit (to the tune of ‘Everything is awesome’ in my head!) from R.K.Burt who was very helpful,  we may have solved a plinth problem.  He suggested using Google maps to see which businesses are nearby, to invite to our lunchtime PV. Plus we came up with idea’s while in the space in how to fill it and even use the A-board outside for an extra work using paper.. may be ‘My cup runneth over II’ by me.  Something a bit unusual to draw the eye.

Figured out the hanging system.  Gave guided tour on tube. Asked the Tate nicely about having some of our flyers and generally had a good nose about the Southwark area!  And saw the Malevich exhibition briefly, commenting on the curation, then sunk happily on a sofa in front of a blue screen with a calming voice, before getting the 3 minute warning that the gallery was closing.  Must have been enjoying that blue screen.  It was Derek Jarman Blue 1993  – must find out more about it.

Then had to get to train home again. Whoosh – London trips always go too quickly.


0 Comments