Sunday 20 February 2011


I have just returned from Yorkshire with a meeting with the author Jessica Hart and Harewood House. All is set to open in August and with Art in Yorkshire, supported by Tate partnership, the promotional leg of the show should be good for the summer. I am keeping silent about the proposed work for this project until we go public in March but all has now fallen smoothly into place with an opening each month with all venues and respective authors in place. I am fully immersed in the research element of the project, reading mountains of books and other research papers and the excitement and nerves are mounting.
I am also currently mid flow with subsequent works for the Fellowship of Willmore House and the works for two shows are almost complete. I have also recently had a meeting with another artist regarding a utopian manifesto and I am lagging behind with time to embark on new works for this, although its all carried around in my head for now. Once the work for the next two shows is complete, I will pursue these ideas with more gusto.
For now, I visit this week the next venue, just outside Exmouth with Catherine and the science fiction writer. This should prove to bring yet more ideas and discoveries, although I have quite firm ideas of outcomes for this particular venue. It will be another exciting week no doubt.

Saturday 12 February 2011

strösocker


This week has contained many things. On Thursday I met up with Catherine and the author Hallie Rubenhold at Dr Johnson's House, just off Fleet Street in London.It is tucked away surrounded by big businessess and to be frank is a small miracle to have survived all of the building that has obviously gone on around it for decades. The curator Stephanie was informative about the house which has already led me to more reading. The house again revealed a very exciting history that is secret from my audience for now but pertains to being another great leg of the project. I came away bursting at all the possibilities as well as a true sense of meeting some very generous and inspiring people. The pace of the day was steady although extremely wet and so I pursued a couple of shows in the East End that I found of particular interest as well as keep me dry. It was a great day out.

Work this week has been steady with a great deal of time spent on the internet buying component parts for the Manchester and Exeter shows. I have made a number of structures to contain work, found some great paper and bought spying devices. All has gone quite well, although I need to gather pace to get it all done in time. The 2D work is on the whole there, just need to frame the pieces that need it. Lists are being compiled. Now in full flow, the work needs to continue at a pace although time spent in a studio environment is restricted next week due to teaching commitments and a forthcoming meeting at Harewood House in Yorkshire on Thursday with travel up North on Wednesday. I will have to use my journey time well. I will be meeting the next writer for the first time which again, I am truly excited about. A completely different background and genre than Hallie, I hope to persuade her towards a leaning of more, more more!

Friday 4 February 2011


I visited this evening, Ms Dover and Mr Pearl, both of which appear to have inherited the second dose of a heavy cold. Both appearing flushed with the weight of it all and Mr Pearl talked about his twisted underpants, I took it all in my stride.
Ickworth with Jamie this week has brought out my lavish tendencies. Talking above and below stairs, our informative guide led us through tales of the house and its basement with relative ease. The hard part is filtering it all to decide on what I am going to focus on.
The Trust new Art campaign is moving steadily forward unlike the practical side of my work. I have had a very experimental week where most of what I have attempted have turned out to be failures, so it is my intention to concentrate all my efforts into the 3D forms that I am trying to achieve. All the component parts are there, I just have to pull it off. Easy to say indeed.
The Exeter and Manchester shows are fast approaching, so I need to start to contain what is and what isnt going in. Sunday will be the day for great mastery of the thing I cannot seem to control. Just needs a little magic.
Next week involves my first visit to Dr Johnsons house. This should be good.

Blog Archive