Is there an interested film maker out there?

Lists:
As usual, the things I am pondering over are quite disparate in nature. These include salts, little men, ponies, concrete, karate and human pelts.

I am working through some ideas with some great artists on some other ventures for next year.

I am pleased to announce that the fantastic science fiction writer Liz Williams has agreed to work with me over the winter.

I am working on new ideas to get some funding for projects as the future is bleak on the teaching front, although I have been offered additional sessions at West Dean and will be giving a talk at an undisclosed venue in the New Year.

I am reading some great books, albeit at the same time, but then that is quite usual.

I will be planting myself at 100 Charing Cross Road, London on the night of 8 December (7 - 9pm) where work from NTWBT will be on show. I have very little knowledge of this NEW AUDIENCE but I am assured it will be fun (lets hope they will be gentle).

I am also on the look out for someone quite special:
Is there a fantastic film maker out there that wants to work with me on a short film over the winter months on the Norfolk Coast? As usual no big pot of cash but there are a few pennies and the story line will be amazing and it will be certain to be open to experimentation and humour along the way? If so, send me an email hayleylock1@gmail.com

Thanks for reading.

Awaiting further instruction

And so..
My foot is now off the accelerator and I have unduly and rather predictably caught a cold, but never mind. Recovering now, my thoughts turn towards creating a new body of work that will contain the works I have made for (Now that would be) Telling. At the moment, I see them a stars floating in the sky that need to be captured and pulled into shape, although I don't know what that will entail as yet. Much more work to be done there. The next showing will be in london on December 8th and then again in London in January.

Tomorrow I am meeting up with another artist and curator to discuss an idea and even a future something, so more on that later. I then move onto Wysing that day to have a meeting about our ROAM project which is in the research and development stage over the winter. We are coming together to discuss all that we have one so far, so it will be great to catch up with them all after a very long absence regarding former project discussion. And that is all.


The Wilmore Fellowship is again gathering itself for the selection of works by chosen artists who have asked to be considered for the contemporary collection. This will no doubt be a lengthy process with Lord Wilmore, but will be so worth it in the end.

I head into the winter with the possibility of finally having the time to get my head around new ideas which should mean that I will be at Wysing more, making new work and thinking about future possibilities, collaborations and shows. This always seems so scary when the work load has been so epic, particularly as it has been for around the last seven or eight months or so, but I realise it is well overdue and is looked on with eagerness. I await further instruction.

Wonderment, heavy or otherwise

Yesterday, (Now that would be) Telling opened at A la Ronde in Devon. On my return to this fantastic house I have realised that it has taken complete ownership over everything I have been doing over the last few months as well as everything I foresee coming out of my creative self in the upcoming months. I am obsessed. The architecture of this strange structure and the density and quality of the objects held within are leaving me in a state resembling floatation, mesmerised by wonderment and curiosity. There is indeed more work to be done.

The interview with Saatchi online went public this week http://magazine.saatchionline.com/articles/artnews/behind-the-canvas-with-hayley-lock
which I am told is "good", "revealing" and "epic", so take from it what you will. I have feelings of inner delirium when I hear back my own words, so its hard to analyse from my viewpoint with such things.

This upcoming week is meeting heavy.
I head again to London twice this week to see shows, to transport students and to have a meeting with the curator of the Baring Archive and fellow Wilmorian's to discuss working with their collection. I then move on to Cambridge to have a meeting about a meeting next week with an artist and curator to discuss work we have been working on over the last few months. This then moves on to another meeting about where our projects are in terms of the ROAM collective, who are working on filmic works ideas over the winter months.
Time to clear out my head.

Life certainly is peaches

I am recovering from looking into the eyes of sheer terror more times that I had imagined in a small passing of time this week.

After completing a significant amount of work in my week away whilst supposedly 'resting', the guilt ridden and quite honestly exhausted friend the laptop, mysteriously found itself immersed in a sticky liquid of peach juice one dark and quiet evening probably through overuse on one hand and under use abuse on the other.

With guilt therefore comes shame.

Please now imagine the scenario of being woken from a restful slumber of contentment, by being stared at hard in the face with a fast and tear heavy confessional from an distraughtly engulfed juice thrower, and then (much sooner rather ordinarily expected) having an outer body experience listening to the sounds of the self from a more neanderthal unexpected kind with sounds of gnou and mongolian throat singer wrapped up in choral rhapsody with pain and anguish.

I now diverge.
The next day was spent busying ourselves in an attempt to divert mayhem (and quite possibly a crime scene) that involved travelling across hot deserted plains in taxi's that should have been condemned many times over. That said, a different type of terror passed our eyes at scaring speeds and a sense of heightened danger clearly put everything else in perspective.

We are now home, all is well and the laptop has forgiven us of all our sins.

Magic

The last post was a while ago as I headed into a foray of work, keeping up with all things A La Ronde, research for a new proposal, presentations and talks at Dr Johnsons. With extremely tight deadlines there was very little room for manoeuvre before heading off for a week's rest in Essaouira, Morocco, which is where I am writing from now. I have had a couple of days rest and have now completed a written piece up in the terrace room, an ochre coloured hideaway which has been ideal to get away from the hub bub of daily Moroccan life. This place is rich with trade, colour and boys that say 'hello' at every opportunity. It is refreshing to think that places like this still exist away from the homogenised feel of the UK with its wall to wall failing retail outlets and branding of the most banal kind.
I am completing a couple of last minute things for A La Ronde as well as working on this exciting proposal and it seems fitting with each of these tasks to be researching ideologies of magic, class, travel and race whilst residing for a very short time in a coastal town of foreign origins. This seems like the most appropriate way to get away from the norm although not particularly chosen for those reasons at the outset.
With this in mind I travel back in my mind to 18th century travel and wonder at how it must have felt living and discovering new things amongst foreign locations at such a time. I doubt if things have changed that much.

I move on

We were very lucky to have caught good weather for the PV's of Treasure and Dr Johnson's before what is now a distinctly chilly autumn air outside. I have a list as long as anyone else's arm of things to achieve over the next few days but with teaching over with this week, the rest of my time has been free to put my head down and work.

I have been wrapped up with a group presentation mainly this week, to which I have finally and rather exhaustedly wrestled to the ground. The thought of sitting down and doing it was as ever bigger than actually getting on with it but as I have mentioned before, I like to stick my head in the sand until I HAVE to address things. Whether it's an excuse to not face the inevitable, or whether its the thrill of working right up to the edges of sanity, I have never known, but it is definitely an inherent trait to accumulate black circles under the eyes and a distant persona to boot.

What I do know is that it's stressful and the idea of sleeping under a heavy book is much more attractive yet rarely achieved. I am pulling a few favours and involving others in this one too.

I move on.

Work for A La Ronde is about to properly commence with research started and ideas starting to flow. The writing, as ever is beautiful, and working with a science fiction writer for the first time is particularly exciting. The text is broken down into eight due to the nature of the building and other factors and there are ghostly references throughout as well as nods to black magic and whispering girls. A La Ronde itself is a particular favourite with its upstair shell grotto and Point-In-View chapel that housed girls for a 'decent' education.

I haven't got long as I am slipping away for a well earned rest towards the end of October, so things will need to be together and moving forward quite soon.

(Now that would be) Telling is 3/5's of the way in with three houses opened and two more to go. I will be giving a talk at Dr Johnson's with Hallie Rubenhold on the 20th October to talk about the project, the work and our practices as well as work in the future. It's free, so come along if you can to experience the house, the garret and what we have both been up to.

I am waiting on another couple of things, but cannot reveal them as yet. I will when I can, I promise.

What an odd lot?

I have had a fraught week of meetings, teaching and finishing off trails of titles, photographs and things for the media for the next leg of (Now that would be) Telling at Dr Johnson's House in London as well as complete works for "Treasure', the next chapter of 'The Count of Monte Cristo'. It was a mad dash late of Thursday afternoon that I set off in the heat towards London to deliver the works to both venues. One huge job done.

The next morning was a bus journey to Fleet Street, stopping off to find the printer of the brochure for NTWBT. I was rather relieved in retrospect that we had decided to instal first at Dr Johnson's House early on Friday morning as with the unexpected rise in temperature over the last few days, it meant that by the time I would complete and then wind over to Peckham for the installation of Treasure then most of the work would be done before I melted into a puddle. The pressures of this however took their toll a bit with me as I was in a complete daze mid evening at Treasures opening and showing signs of odd behaviour (I apparently moved a light that was highlighting Mimei's painting and placed it over a triangle of treasure that we had created on the floor over the day. Such an action to my thinking, should have resulted in a big slap from Mimei, but she was thankfully too polite to tell me off). Other fellows like Annabel fainted on Friday which resulted in her not making the PV and later on Alex also had the collywobbles, pre private view, en route to talking at TAP in Southend. What an odd lot? I move on....

Sunday proved to be move relaxed after sleeping in the comatosed shape of a crucifix at Cathy's house on Saturday night. After a day of not eating or drinking enough, I needed the rest. We had a few visitors over the day some of which we knew and some one which we didn't. Alex headed over in the afternoon to keep me safe (apparently) after leaving Annabel to sleep off her exhaustion. We ate biscuits and drank gallons in order to keep our strength up and somehow we managed to find our way home.

Today I have been writing.
Tomorrow is the private view of (Now that would be) Telling, Dr Johnsons.