Ickworth work starts

I am tired.
For some reason unknown to me I am waking at 3am and 4am, wide awake and ready for work. I am however expected to teach long days around this and I have been pushed to keep it together for the last couple of days. I now have two days solid in the studio, so I hope to recapture where I left off at the weekend. I have since got materials rolling and have ordered some exciting things. I have clear ideas on what I am making, I have a certain number of component parts, I just need to get it all together in one place. Relying on other people is always difficult and you never quite get people to work at the same pace and so fingers are crossed that this will work out. I have very nearly completed the first series of portraits for Ickworth which has, for some reason been the hardest to squeeze out through my already full mind and I have been recently hampered by not having an A3 printer. It is my intention to see if I can justify buying one although it does seem extremely wasteful to part with my fantastic relatively new Canon A4 printer. I will just have to see.

I am plotting as to what to take with me to the art fair in Limerick in terms of work in a couple of weeks time. I am only taking hand luggage and I should by then be working on the Harewood work, so fingers crossed my plans work out. I now realise how large this project is in real terms. It is all consuming, both day and night.

I would however just like the opportunity to thank thus far the Arts Council for their kind support with (Now that would be) Telling as well as The National Trust, the contemporary Trust New Art arm of the Arts Council and National Trust, the additional three independent significant houses involved, and to all the people that have been involved in the project to date, of which there are many.

Pairs

I have spent time again at Ickworth today firming up in my head what will go where and how much work I need to make overall for the space. I found today a pair of one of the earls slippers and a dog collar in a box frame which need to go in to the show somehow I think. Work is forging forward for this and I need to go to the framers tomorrow to talk about shiny stuff, so its now feeling very real. While I was there today I managed to grab a couple of the Trust New Art leaflets featuring the Telling project too, so that was a bonus. All is pretty good right now, I just need to push on so I can start to get my head around work for Harewood.

Leg of Monte, silly sailors and dark corners in the bag

Work has been up and then down at Rogue in Manchester with the next leg of Monte happening in Limerick as I mentioned previously. I have offered to help Transition over the latter weekend, the 28th/29th May which will mean a quick dash over after teaching on the Friday, a camp over somewhere in Cambridge that evening and two early flights there and back with just hand luggage, so the work I plan to make there will need to be small. It will involve a silly sailor I think.

The work for Telling is bobbing along with a quick flurry last week to nail my ideas and put them in the bag. I have worked like a crazy thing possessed to get all the other small jobs done in order to clear my path to making this work, so all is looking good right now. I have had two more very exciting contacts this week (this good weather is clearly bringing everyone out of their dark corners). It all looks promising so lets see.

Conspiracy

The Count of Monte Cristo: Conspiracy opened in Manchester on Thursday at Rogue Artists Studio Space and we found ourselves in the Guardian Guide today http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/apr/30/this-weeks-new-exhibitions.

We then had a meeting over breakfast to discuss the next shows, an art fair in Limerick at the end of May, http://occupy-space.blogspot.com/ a show at Asylum in London at the end of July http://asylum-arts.co.uk/ and a showing of work at Folkestone Triennial in September http://www.folkestonetriennial.org.uk

I have returned to a furious attempt at filing my studio at home into some kind of order in anticipation for continuing my work with 'Telling'. I have received a number of images and documents from the houses this week at my request and I am ploughing through the order things as I write. Tomorrow, I hope will be a very productive day.

The designers meanwhile are working on the public face of the project and writers are furiously working on exciting texts. I need to go searching for the Ickworth element of the project (currently secret) and all should be well on the way over the next week or so...

I had a very exciting phone call this week from an acquaintance who is going to introduce me to someone else at my studio at Wysing who would like to talk to me about a really exciting idea for next year. Cant wait to hear about that!

Telling Ickworth and the Count

The Count of Monte Cristo: Island of True Stories has received a great review in an interface which made us all smile http://www.a-n.co.uk/interface/reviews/single/1219112. Plans are afoot in preparation for the next and third chapter and show, The Count of Monte Cristo: Conspiracy, which opens at Rogue Studio space, Manchester on Thursday 28th April http://www.rogueartistsstudios.co.uk/Default.asp?g=3&key=53&i=&p=1&Ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Erogueartistsstudios%2Eco%2Euk%2FDefault%2Easp . We have confirmed a slot in Folkestone Triennial and a London space in July as well as being part of an art weekend of events in Limerick at the end of May with Transition Gallery http://occupy-space.blogspot.com/.
I have started work on Telling Ickworth and hope to start picking up pace over the next few weeks. Harewood have now confirmed a July opening, so its busy time on my part from now until November. The designers are in (bit excited about this!) and plans are in place for making a cake. So exciting stuff indeed!

Prize Fighter

So, a quick catch up. What have I been up to? Not even I can remember..(hasty check on ical). Ah yes, I had a great day with Hallie at The Heinz Archive, then on to The V & A chasing a newly discovered object on my part and then onto a bit of drawing at The Natural History Museum, great day. I have been to The Sainsbury Centre looking at hairy braid and filmic wonderments, then onto a meeting with a collaborative artist, visiting her studio with plans afoot to make new work. Then two days in Cumbria with another writer visiting Grizedale Arts and a meeting with The Director to research further our ideas of how to make this part of the project happen. Prints, photograph, sugarcraft, cake meeting and a haircut later I am sitting here exhausted attempting to send my CV off to West Dean as well as some photographs. I have been fortunate enough to have been offered some work there next year and so a trip to their headquarters and London follow to check out a new gallery space this week. In the midst of all this work for Manchester slowly builds as well as materials and ideas for Telling. I am so excited that we have our designers Povi and Ivan onboard, cant wait to see what they offer Telling.
Monte has offered forward more shows in Limerick, London and Folkestone where I might attempt to find out more about Ruskins prize fighter. More on that later..and The Spring/Summer 2011 edition of Arty is a Count of Monte Cristo special. http://www.artymagazine.com/pages/arty29.htm

HyperReal

The work has been installed and the private view has now passed, so The Count of Monte Cristo at Exeter Phoenix is now open to the public until mid May. The next chapter at Rogue Project Space Manchester is 'The Conspiracy' opening for a short stint at the end of April 2011 and I have researched my next step carefully.

It now feels like spring time for Telling. Writers are stirring, houses are being revisited and the meta-narrative is forming nicely. I spend my travel time making copious notes and diagrams to make sense of it all and hopefully I will be able to relay my thoughts in a telepathic way to Catherine over the next few days before our next chat on Tuesday.

I am meeting Hallie again on Thursday for a spot of research at the Heinz archive which I am SO excited about. I have never visited, so I am hoping that what we are looking for is there! Its like looking for more treasure.