Louise Atkinson

New book

2012-01-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

After sending the call out for the new Artist BookCollective exhibition, ‘Bound’, I decided to create a new work specifically forthe show. I’m becoming increasingly interested in female literary characters,in this instance, Penelope from the Odyssey, with a view to researching contemporarycritical sources such as Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Penelopiad’ and Janine Antoni’s‘Slumber’, as well as the original text.

Odysseus’ absence during and after the Trojan War leadsnumerous suitors to attempt to woo his wife Penelope, to gain position as headof the kingdom. Penelope devises tricks to delay them, in the hope that herhusband will return, one of which includes weaving a burial shroud for herfather-in-law, while promising to choose a suitor after she has finished. After 3 years, it is revealed that shehas been unravelling the shroud, in an attempt to postpone her decisionfurther.

Theuse of weaving within the literary context as an analogy for Penelope’sfaithfulness, echoes Freudian analysis of women’s creativity as genderspecific. However, her cunning in maintaining her autonomy despite unfavourableodds, supports feminist re-workings of Penelope as a woman of immense power,intellect and self-interest. The book will use the weaving metaphor in form andcontent, in relation to the act of binding, whilst also considering the varioussubtexts of Penelope’s role in the Odyssey.

Bound

2011-12-21T05:10:00.000-08:00

It's that time again. We're gearing up for the 15th Leeds International Artist Book fair and this year I've been asked to join the organising team! And as usual we have the annual Artist Book Collective show which invites book artists from around the world to submit to an exhibition alongside the book fair.

This year's theme is 'Bound' and, unlike previous years, we'll be sticking (a bit) closer to
more 'conventional' ideas of what a book is, although feel free to send your weird and wonderful suggestions.

Bound simple past tense and past participle of bind.
1. secured within a cover, as a book
2. something that limits, confines, or restrains
3. inseparably connected with, devoted or attached to
4. tied; in bonds
5. limit or boundary eg. within the bounds of reason

From exploration of experimental binding techniques to more conceptual interpretations, such as the book as a ritual object, this new exhibition will investigate the notion of 'bound' in its myriad forms. It is hoped that this years exhibition will be able to tour, to promote both the collective, and the individual works shown in the exhibition, and we will be pursuing funding to try to achieve this. Therefore, please do not enter work that is not available for long term loan.

Suitable works submitted for past exhibitions which are still in the ABC collection will also be eligible for entry. Please send images/enquiries/proposals to sianlouisegriffiths@gmail.com by 20th January 2012

To follow the project or get involved 'like' us at https://www.facebook.com/artistbookcollective

News from NYC

2011-11-13T04:30:00.001-08:00

The LAB Gallery exhibition at The Roger Smith Hotel, 501 Lexington Avenue, New York opened on 4th November to a great response. The project was initiated and headed by the inspirational London-based artist, Sophie Loss. In this short clip, she presents an introduction to the group and Project 101: http://vimeo.com/31964885

V&A!

2011-09-26T03:24:00.000-07:00

Just back from another productive weekend in London. The London Art Book Fair at Whitechapel Gallery was buzzing with the who's who of the London Art Scene from Saatchi Gallery and Haunch of Venison to smaller galleries like Parasol and independent exhibitors such as David Faithfull.

Making the most of my time in the capital, I went to visit an independent artist bookshop and gallery in Hoxton called bookartbookshop. I'd exhibited there in the past in a curated show by Foundry Press but hadn't been able to visit till now. I was greeted with a small room chock full of weird and wonderful publications, all available to browse and buy.

I had already set my hopes on stocking my work there, and as luck would have it, I managed to catch up with Tanya, the friendly owner, back at the fair. Of course, a little forward planning and emailing helped too. So editions of Incidental Press artist books will now be stocked at bookartbookshop, hopefully in time for their centenary celebrations next year.

But it didn't end there. On Friday, I decided to attend one of the talks held at the event by Felicity Allen, the former head of learning for Tate Britain. The lecture was all about her new book called Education about the role which art plays in learning and pedagogy. Again, I'd prepared for this eventuality with some hurriedly printed UIK enrolment forms and, after the Q&A, managed to offload one into her hands with a brief spiel about the project, before she rushed off to her book signing.

I was on a high after this coup and sauntered back to my co-exhibitors AMBruno, feeling pleased with myself. I noticed I was one book down since I last looked and enquired as to its whereabouts, expecting a routine sale, or more likely that it had just been moved. Claire looked at me with a huge grin and told me that a lady from the V&A had been and bought a copy of each of our books for their permanent collection!

The rest of the trip is a bit of a blur, but I also came back with a limited edition poster by Lucia della Paolera from the Information as Material stand, cataloguing a chronological list of all of the directives given to the author in one day.

Blue Book

2011-09-20T05:46:00.000-07:00

This is the blue book created for the London Art Book fair at Whitechapel Gallery. The project has developed from a collaboration between myself and writer Gareth Durasow and sparks the launch of my new artist book venture - Incidental Press, the name for any future solo and collaborative publications.

Written and verbal language isused as a primary form of communication to describe our subjective experience.

We often use it to attempt to evoke other senses such as reading a menu and‘tasting’ the food before we order, amounting to a vague form ofsynaesthesia.

However, different subjectivitiesmean that language is often at best an approximation, what Derrida calls Différance:‘the notion that words and signs can never fully summon forth what they mean,but can only be defined through appeal to additional words, from which theydiffer. Thus, meaning is forever "deferred" or postponed through anendless chain of signifiers’.

A particular example of this isthe subjective experience of colour. Experiencing this purely visual with noobjective context, it is impossible to imagine how someone else views the samecolour. As with Derrida’s Différance, colour can also be changed in relationbeing seen in context with other colours. Producing a decorator swatch book ofblue paint samples with associated names attempts to highlight this disconnectbetween word and image.

University of Incidental Knowledge

2011-09-19T03:33:00.000-07:00

I'm involved in a brand new project called University of Incidental Knowledge, a curatorial collaboration initiated by artist/curator Alice Bradshaw. The project is a fun way of experimenting with engagement and education models, whilst hopefully demystifying art practice to wider audiences.

Artists involved in the project have taken tutor roles to brief participants on their tasks for the year. But as the model subverts the usual top-down hierarchy, the students will in fact be teaching the tutors by gathering knowledge for their chosen subject.

Courses offered for the coming year include: Diploma in Artwank, BA (Hons) Avant Garde, BA (Hons) Comedy, BA (Hons) Cut 'n' Paste, BA (Hons) Film, BA (Hons) Foreign Language, MPhil Mistakes, NVQ Pedantics and BSc Social Media. Course leaders are myself, Debi Holbrook, Bob Milner, Duncan Lister, Sparrow+Castice, Vanessa Haley and Fundada.

Enrolment is now open till 1st October so if you want to join in you can find out more through our Facebook, Twitter, or Wordpress pages.

Archiving

2011-08-31T03:01:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of updating my digital archive and linking to past exhibitions so there'll probably be a few posts from the past for you to peruse. If you miss an update tho you can always go to http://louiseatkinsonblog.blogspot.com/p/exhibitions.html to see what I've been up to over the past few years.

Fear of success?

2011-08-24T03:13:00.000-07:00

I've turned over a bit of a new leaf lately. After some soul-searching about where I wanted to go with my practice I decided to make a concerted effort to market and sell my work more and redress the balance between admin and actually producing work, which can be a big problem when you're the only one responsible for getting it all done. All this seems to be having a positive impact, not only on managing my time more effectively with work but also in terms of a work/life balance.

However... I'm increasingly noticing that minor nagging anxiety that comes along with moving outside your comfort zone. Being more effective in getting work done means that I am getting closer towards being able to pursue the kinds of things that this is all supposed to be about; making a living from exhibiting/selling work and/or gallery representation. So what's stopping me? I have time allocated for these things and yet there seems to be an internal barrier to even getting started on them.

I was pretty sure that it wasn't fear of failure. Having been working as a practicing artist now for 7 years after graduating, I'm well versed in receiving rejection letters and I've been wished 'every success in my career' more times than I'd care to mention. Which brought me to the strange conclusion that it may actually be an unconscious fear of doing well. It sounds bizarre but after a cursory Google search I found that this could be a possibility. Reasons cited for this included fear of how others would react, worrying about the level of work or responsibility, or having to maintain success. These fears actually stopped people achieving, or worse, caused them to self-sabotage.

I thought this was an interesting discovery, particularly in relation to self-employed creatives, who often rely on their own reserves of motivation, discipline and funds, to maintain a career. Hopefully this will help me (and others) to shift that mental block.

Thinking about Blue

2011-08-22T06:47:00.000-07:00

So I've been invited to show as part of the London Art Book Fair at Whitechapel Gallery in September! The project is by AM Bruno and the focus 'Blue'. At first it seemed quite a daunting task and the ideas took a while to form but I finally settled on a swatch book investigating the relationship between text and colour. In order to produce the text I decided to invite writer Gareth Durasow to collaborate and I'm looking forward to the results.

Coincidentally, around the time of thinking about colour perception, the BBC screened a Horizon series called Do You See What I see? You can watch it here till 19th September: http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b013c8tb/

Curating projects

2011-08-16T01:34:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be aware that I've been setting up a new project at Shine business Centre, a conferencing hub and social enterprise in Leeds. This is a brand new venture for me, not only in terms of the space, but in the style and audience too. What I've always found Leeds to be very good at is creating a space for artists to work together and embark on new and creative projects across the city. Particularly since the recession, there's been an upsurge in non-traditional spaces through the Art in Unusual Spaces scheme, and this is growing all the time.

However, as exciting as these things are, there appears to be a distinct lack of buyers for artwork, which could help to support artists to continue their practice. Leeds always seems to have fallen behind in these stakes compared to other cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and London and I believe it's not through lack of talent but because of the way that we are connected to other sectors. The idea of getting involved with Shine was to promote new art to the business community without compromising artistic integrity.

The first event, which opened at the end of July, was a huge success, and sold over £2000 worth of work in a single night. Interest is continuing to grow in the space and we'll be stocking artist-produced prints and cards soon.

The benefit of Craft Fairs

2011-08-15T02:32:00.000-07:00

After at least a year-long hiatus from craft fairs and vowing I'd never again stand shivering on a city-centre market stall, I finally succumbed. There was a number of reasons for this. Specifically, a friend, fellow artist and colleague, Carla Moss, had booked a stall and wondered if I'd be interested in sharing. I was reticent at first but had some stock left over from other fairs and figured it was more likely gonna get sold on a stall than under my bed.

But the real shift in thinking came when I realised the further marketing potential of meeting my audience face to face. The people who visited were already interested in these kinds of products and being crafty in general. Showing and selling my books also enabled me to gauge interest for private bookbinding workshops, and people who were unable or unwilling to pay for a single book seemed more than happy to commit to learning the skill to create one for themselves. I also picked up a bookbinding commission. And all this while making a decent amount of sales and contacts.

Artist books

2011-08-13T00:31:00.000-07:00

Planning for Leeds International Artist Book Fair has begun in earnest, which brings my mind back to book art and multiples. I generally have several book projects on the go at once, but I've decided to focus a little and create a body of work which combines my interests in creative interpretation, gallery collections and book art.

As for the book fair, I'm getting quite excited as I'm hoping there'll be a lot more city-wide satellite shows involved. Watch this space for more details...

Photo/Sculpture Workshops

2011-08-10T04:39:00.000-07:00

Free Photo/Sculpture workshop at Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds on Saturday, 20 September 2011, 1-4pm.

Build Your Own Gallery

What would your ideal Gallery look like? Do you want to hang Leonardo next to Polynesian folk art and Hirst? Do you want a donut shop and a slide in the middle? Do you have the vision? Do you have a message? Nothing is impossible: art is in your hands!

Inspired by Sir Michael Sadler’s visionary collection donated to the University in 1923 and currently on display in the ‘Sadler Gift’ exhibition, Louise Atkinson visual artist and curator invites everyone to ponder, create, invent, build and curate their own miniature gallery!

Bring your digital camera and we’ll upload your gallery shots to our blog and Second Life for everyone to see. Art materials will be provided but feel free to bring your artwork or materials.

Places are limited so please book in advance by e-mailing Zsuzsa at libzmp@leeds.ac.uk, phone 0113 343 2777, or online at http://yourgallery.eventbrite.com.

Selling shows

2011-08-09T01:42:00.000-07:00

During an exciting sojourn in the Capital recently I decided to wander down to the art dealing mecca that is Cork Street. This is a great place to check out the national and international market for what people are buying in the art world, and for how much. As it was a Saturday in August it wasn't the busiest time of year but I did happen to stumble upon a great show of emerging artists called the Cork Street Open Exhibition.

This show helps artists to showcase and sell their work to a dedicated art buying audience whilst supporting a selected charity. The quality and standard of the work was really good and it made me consider applying next year. However, whilst perusing the complimentary catalogue I'd been given, I realised I might not have to wait that long after all. It seems they're organising another show in January. This time not an open submission but around the theme of erotic art. Again, this is open to personal interpretation but I thought that these collages, or perhaps others like them would be ideal.

New projects

2011-08-08T01:16:00.000-07:00

The last 6 months have been full of new curatorial projects, specifically for selling galleries, at Richmond Station and Shine Business Centre in Leeds. This is a brand new experience for me but has also been incredibly satisfying. Not only for the fact that I'm continuing to make a living from something I love to do, but also the feeling I get from helping other artists to sell their work and support their practice.

In my own practice, I have new shows coming up in Whitechapel Gallery, London on 23rd September and LAB Gallery, New York on 4th November. Both projects are with artist book collaborators, AM Bruno, headed up by Sophie Loss and Joanna Hill. These works specifically focus on my research into text art to produce video and book art exploring Derridean themes.

New projects

2010-11-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

Been so busy lately that I just don't get chance to post regularly. Guess that has to be one of my New Years Resolutions. The good thing is that it means that I've been working on lots of new opportunities, exhibitions, workshops and projects. Quick rundown includes shows in New York, Tel Aviv and London in the pipeline as well as a new body of drawings starting to emerge.

Also keeping me preoccupied is an online project called Independent Fullstop. It's basically a new cross-sector mapping platform for people to share independent activities that happen in their town and it's here: www.independentfullstop.com. Some people asked me if it's a step away from my artwork but I just see it as another form of creative problem-solving. It also starts to address the issue of telling people about the exhibition after you've made all the work!

A Goal without a Plan is just a Wish

2010-08-13T04:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last posted which just goes to highlight the impact of my latest find, namely http://lisasonorabeam.com. Lisa, the author of The Creative Entrepreneur, writes an amazingly inspirational blog based around her journey as an artist and her method of 'visual journalling' or sketch booking, to realise ideas.

This is one of the practices I really struggle with as I can't seem to shake the thought that I'm giving myself more work to do. However, as today's blog title implies, we need a clear plan in order to achieve our goals, and visual journalling seems like the ideal way for an artist to engage with this. I'm always fascinated by other people's sketchbooks so would like to take this opportunity to develop my skills in this area. Therefore, if anyone has any images, inspiration and/or links they feel like sharing, then please post below.

Dear me: Get to work

2010-04-28T02:08:00.000-07:00

More motivational aids. I see a pattern developing here: http://www.43folders.com/2007/09/24/dear-me-get-work

The more you do, the more you get done

2010-04-20T10:05:00.001-07:00

I know it sounds pretty obvious but hear me out... So like most people I have my regular to-do list of household, social and work-related tasks and there never seems to be enough hours in the day to deal with it all. And like most people, except the super efficient time-managers, you spend half that available time procrastinating and trying to prioritise tasks, always worrying whether by spending time doing that thing you're missing out on the other. Apparently this is what's known as 'opportunity cost'. So today I looked at my to-do list and decided to prioritise some gardening, which half of my brain tells me is crazy cos I have so much 'real' work to be doing, but the other half wants to be in the sun and train some climbers. So that's what I did, but because I enjoyed it, I worked much quicker, and after a cup of tea, I found I had the motivation to tackle that proposal and 2 evaluations I've been stressing about for the past fortnight. So my tip for the day is: Just do something (even if it's the hoovering)

The Tenth Dimension

2010-04-11T03:04:00.000-07:00

Water

2010-04-08T03:20:00.000-07:00

Feeling contemplative and strangely content. There's a crispness to the air which feels like spring. Just potted some new raspberry bushes in the hope of summer jam-making. Despite this somewhat sedentary state, I've managed to maintain a relatively active lifestyle, having practiced my spanish, made a scrap brooch at a Remade in Leeds workshop and attended the Tim Parkin talk @ Exposure Leeds. Also got a link to my blog on the Culture Vulture site, which is a haven for all things cultural in Leeds and beyond. All this means that not much art is being made at present.

In light of this, here's a quote for all you water babies in the face of adversity (and distractions): 'Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Remember, dripping water wears away a stone.'

Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad

Poetry in Housework

2010-03-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

How can housework be made into a creative activity? The minute we apply a glimmer of consciousness to a mechanical gesture, we sense new impressions come into being beneath this familiar domestic duty. For consciousness rejuvenates everything, giving a quality of beginning to the most everyday actions. It even dominates memory. How wonderful it is to really become once more the inventor of a mechanical action! Henri Bosco once wrote 'The soft wax entered into the polished substance under the pressure of hands and the effective warmth of a woolen cloth. Slowly the tray took on a dull lustre. It was as though the radiance induced by magnetic rubbing emanated from the hundred-year-old sapwood, from the very heart of the dead tree, and spread gradually, in the form of light, over the tray'.

Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space

Psychogeography

2010-03-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

Went to an amazing open media event about psychogeography on Tuesday. If I wasn't confused about it before, then I definitely am now, but my interpretation is noticing the wealth of sensory information around us that we often take for granted. The presentations were varied and included audio tours, pumpkin mapping and urban playgrounds. Think I came away with more questions than answers but to make your own mind up and/or whet your appetite here are some links:
Deep Topography with Nick Papadimitriou
Guy Debord
Denis Wood

Rules are made to be broken

2010-03-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

While talking with a friend recently it occurred to me how many rules and restrictions we impose upon ourselves, often arbitrarily, with no basis in law or reason. Such practices suggest a pre-supposed value, often favouring labour over ideas, and seem prevalent, not only in creative pursuits but also in everyday life. Through delivering workshops I have often found that attempts to suggest elements of appropriation, reframing or even collaboration can be quickly discredited because they are thought of as 'cheating'. We define and categorise ourselves (and others) both personally and professionally, in an attempt to establish an identity with which to approach and understand the world around us. However, particularly in the case of creative practitioners, how long before these self-defined boundaries become less of a help than a hindrance?

Make Pla(y)ce

2010-03-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

Enjoyed a fun evening exploring the city through play. I admit it felt a little strange at first and I wasn't sure what to expect but everyone was very friendly and I soon got into the swing of it. From 'getting to know you' games, we soon progressed into discussing the nature of public space and its uses. This highlighted the question of public vs private, behaviour, groups, restrictions, etc. My particular interest in this group is its relevance to psychogeography and navigating spaces, which provides ample inspiration for both installation work and artist books. I also like the opportunity for interaction between people from different disciplines including visual and performance artists, geographers and freerunners, to name a few. looking forward to the next workshop!

Artist Book fair

2010-03-13T09:32:00.000-08:00

Helped cover a stall at the Artist book fair with Northern Young Artists. I always find it so inspiring being surrounded by so many talented people all with their hard work on show. Its a lot to take in but I come away feeling motivated and energised to make new work. I always wanna buy everything too. Need to stick to just looking cos there's so many nice things. Having lots of new ideas. When will I have chance to make them? Maybe I could go live on an island with no distractions. Didn't work last summer tho. Met some lovely people and opened the Cabinet of Curiosities show which had an excellent response and was amazing to see people engaging so much at a PV. Very happy that the artists were involved and that the Fair organisers enjoyed it too.

Kirkstall Abbey

2010-03-11T00:34:00.000-08:00

I've been working with a photography group at Kirkstall Abbey over the last 3 weeks on the Museums and Galleries iTransform project. The idea is to produce new interpretations of the heritage site to encourage people to view the space in a different way. The outcomes will then be uploaded onto a new Microsoft Surface table for the public to view. It's been interesting to apply creative interpretation techniques in this way and I think it's produced some good results. Quite interested to see how I can develop my own ideas with this too.

Contextualisation

2010-03-10T00:25:00.000-08:00

Went to see an amazing exhibition @ Leeds Art Gallery today called Between Kismet and Karma. It's South Asian women artists responses to conflict and has some really interesting work. My favourites are the ones which relate to clothes ie. the elastic dress and chastity belts. Well worth a look!

Update

2010-02-24T06:44:00.000-08:00

More shows, fairs, projects. Trying to get ready for book fair at Leeds Uni so busy making and planning. Also curating a show called Cabinet of Curiosities. It's very much an experimental project so we'll see how it's received and what the results are. Finishing off the last bits for my work in that too.

More planning happening for Dialogues project and Sheffield residency later in the year and big 4 person show next year. Having an evening off tomorrow after a day workshop at Kirkstall Abbey, with maybe just a little bit of art - but let's not kid ourselves - it's all about the free wine :)

Doing an outreach project for the Art Gallery too which involved me sourcing the groups, so I get to work with the people I want to work with. Very satisfying working with the Young Asylum Seekers and NEET kids - and got good feedback from them too so even better!

Shows, shows and more shows!

2010-01-20T03:14:00.000-08:00

Lots of plans happening at the moment. Feeling quite experimental and performative so not sure where that will lead but excited about it none the less. First things first, new group show at Westgate Studios Project Space opening 27th January 5-9pm called 'Collect'.

Also went to the rescheduled talk by Rachel Goodyear, nominated for the Northern Art Prize. I love her work ever since I saw it in the Unheimlich show at Leeds Met Gallery and, and, and, even better she's agreed to be my dialogue artist for a project that we're in the process of organising. Basically get to have a one-to-one, again not sure of the outcome but that is the process of dialogue I guess.

Flow

2010-01-13T03:45:00.000-08:00

A very useful talk on flow, a state of ecstasy where creating becomes effortless and worth and meaning relate only to the action, resulting in increased happiness :)

Collage crisis

2009-10-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

Settling back down into work and focusing on my collage stuff. I'm hoping to use this technique to pull a few ideas together, namely the thought maps, surrealist photography, found objects, and psychoanalytic/linguistic theory. Initially the collage work was created in response to a brief for an exhibition at Temple Works using old Kays catalogues as inspiration and material, but now the focus has shifted slightly to incorporate Freudian object theory, fetishism and the Engineering of Consent - a driving force of Capitalism. Need to do a bit more reading and research, starting with Adam Curtis' Century of the Self. See you in 3 hours...

....and relax

2009-10-15T05:05:00.000-07:00

Been crazy busy lately as usual with solo shows, group shows, new ventures, Light Night, etc. Got a few projects ongoing but things actually feel more relaxed given that I don't have 3 deadlines in the same week! The Tate project is going well and just finished working with an artist from London, Faisal Abdu'allah, who is a fantastic photographer and has recently been commissioned by Christian Boltanski, no less! There's also plans in the pipeline to go to Tel Aviv and New York which is very exciting! Less deadlines and more space for thinking inevitably seems to lead to more ideas tho which is good but frustrating cos I want to make all of them. What I need to do is be more playful and allow more process into my work which is starting to happen a little more with my new collage pieces which I'm loving making. Pics to follow...

A case of the gonnas

2009-09-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

I'm too excited about everything and it's making me lose focus. I'm making a lot of work and there is a kind of thread but it still feels a little disjointed. I know this isn't ostensibly a bad thing, it's just that it can make me feel a little disorientated and I start to do one thing then get distracted thinking about something else. I just need a plan..

Work, work, work

2009-08-28T06:58:00.000-07:00

It never rains, but it pours...

Projects so far: Another solo show 'Old, New, Borrowed, Blue', opening next Friday at Back o' The Shop Gallery in York. A show at an arts conference in Tel Aviv from 13th September. 3 Person show at Temple Works in October. 'Electric Pets' project for Light Night Leeds. 'Natural Selection' @ Holy Trinity Church in October. 'Porno-graphy' (graph paper) exhibition @ Brahm Gallery, can't quite remember when (must check that). Something Bauhaus-related. Molekskine show (luckily I've already done that work). Plus workshops, more Tate projects and possible international exhibitions...

It feels like a blessing and a curse but I do it to myself so I must love it :)

Twitter-tastic

2009-08-22T02:08:00.000-07:00

I recently joined twitter which I've been resisting mainly due to the fact that I already spend enough time in front of a screen trying to get work done. However, due to an inability to keep up to date with various events in the leeds social calendar I thought that micro blogging might provide an answer - and it has! It feels like one step away from plugging a usb stick directly into your brain, but the 140 characters of information at a time afforded to each user seem to be an effective way of communicating - as long as you're not trying to broach a particularly in depth or sensitive subject (but why would you do that on a mass media outlet anyway?) So despite the total information overload, I have already gained a lot of interesting information about local events and developments, arty tips and interesting projects such as this one: http://mysteriousletters.blogspot.com. Now I just need to figure out all these tweetisms (@reply, ff, etc) to stop me feeling like a grandma trying to work a VCR. Any offers of tutorials gratefully accepted.

Temple Works!!!

2009-08-17T05:25:00.000-07:00

Started working with a new placement artist from Bradford College and we've worked out a plan for how we're gonna conduct the next month or so. Also just found out about a new venture from Culture Vulture called Temple Works. Need to get involved with this space and there's a couple of open days at the end of August so I'm gonna try use that to explore the space and do a bit more of my photography stuff.

Moleskine books

2009-08-14T03:30:00.000-07:00

I'm just starting to settle in from getting back from Cyprus and thinking about all the work I need to catch up on including the Travelling Moleskine book that I need to pass on! I chose the book of bad ideas cos I thought it could produce some amusing drawings, but when it came to it, it was hard to think of anything! My mind kept wandering to more serious political ideas in history which I didn't want to focus too much on but then more trivial thoughts seemed a bit obvious and flippant. So I decided to focus on annoying, pointless or badly designed products/services and this is what I came up with. Still not sure if I like it but it's a good exercise in working to someone else's brief. You can see more artist book entries here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/travelingmoleskine/

Cyprus Summer Studio

2009-07-23T00:19:00.000-07:00

So I decided to bite the bullet and set off in the great blue yonder; in search of inspiration, to find myself, etc, etc and other cliches... I'm currently spending 3 weeks in Cyprus at the Summer Studio in Lempa, which feels more like some kind of spiritual retreat at the moment due to the baking heat and the (very) basic facilities. Still pondering ideas and trying to concentrate on one thing at a time, which is difficult at the best of times but in 42 degrees with no air con, is downright impossible. Anyway I've made some tentative starts so we'll see where they lead. I'm also gonna be writing a project page about my experiences and progress here. You can follow it by clicking this link: http://louiseatkinson.blogspot.com/2009/07/cyprus-summer-studio-lempa.html

Chicago Calling

2009-07-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited! Just been asked to contribute to The Bauhaus: 90 Years / 90 Days as part of The Fourth Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival (Oct. 1-11, 2009). The project is being organized by the Borderbend Arts Collective and the Gropius in Chicago Coalition. Need to look into it a bit more and get more info but I think artist books might be an interesting way to respond to it.

Moleskines and drunkenness...

2009-07-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

The show opening went really well, a little too well perhaps. I met some new friends and also some people I haven't seen in while so that was lovely, but then proceeded to drink wine in excess of my petite frame, which wasn't so lovely... Needless to say the next day was spent recovering and vowing never to drink again. Anyway, the show was well received with possible new opportunities and even sales, which is a bonus, and I'm looking forward to making more work to show alongside this in September in another solo show at Back O' The Shop gallery.

I've also been asked to contribute to a travelling moleskine exhibition by starting off one the books entitled 'Bad Ideas' before passing it on to the next collaborative partner until it's full. Ten of these will then be exhibited at an event organised for The Big Draw by the lovely people at Culture Vulture, with a celebrity version being auctioned off during the course of the evening. Aside from that I also have a meeting with a sound artist for a secret project we're discussing for Light Night, which should be very exciting. And in the meantime I'm trying to get ready for Cyprus, which is quite difficult cos I'm torn between filling my case up with nice summery clothes and much needed art materials. All my clothes end up covered in paint anyway, I don't know why I bother.

Humans and Other Animals

2009-07-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

After we wrapped up the Identity Cards project it was time to get back to thinking about producing work for my solo show. Luckily some of the ideas discussed during the previous month fed into it so I'll be able to use some of the collaborative images I produced with Zeev, which will take a lot of stress off. I also like the badge idea we worked on so I think I'll follow that up too. On a sad note, Sarah (my placement artist) will be leaving after this show, which is a real shame cos she has been such a massive help throughout her time spent with me.

So anyway, it's the last push before the opening of my first solo show next Wednesday. I'm quite nervous about it, but hopefully I'll get a good response, and if not I'm off to Cyprus the week after so I'm sure I'll get over it :)

Identity Cards

2009-07-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

I've been super busy working on the Identity Cards project and feel like I've produced some really interesting work, but more important than that, met some amazing artists and people. Collaborating is one of my favourite things to do as I feel that the result is always greater than the sum of the parts, and the ideas generated within the work can inform many more projects. The exhibition was well received and, after 2 busy weeks of working, eating, drinking and talking, everyone went home happy.

More Tate stuff...

2009-06-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

I've been asked to work on another Tate Britain project which is amazing news. I knew they were happy with the last project I did, but it's always good to get confirmation (and paid work!) This time it's the second phase of The Great British Art Debate, which is a 4 year programme aimed at critically engaging audiences in historical and contemporary British art. The first phase, 'A Picture of You', focused on individual identity. The second, 'A Picture of Us', responds to ideas around a collective British identity and will feed into a touring exhibition called 'Restless Times'.

My brief was to deliver workshops to the participant group that would be exploring these ideas to help them to select work for a curated show. Considering the theme of the touring show alongside the political apathy which led to the BNP having 2 MEPs elected into the European Parliament, I decided to focus my workshops around the ideas of protest and activism in and as art. More to follow...

Safe to Touch preview

2009-05-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

Finished setting up the Hub exhibition on Thursday. It's been a long haul but finally got there. And then the private view yesterday. Really liked the work that had been selected and it was great to see people interacting with the work, especially as one of the technicians had brought his 4 and 6-year-old along. They had great fun running in and out of the eyeballs and kissing and hugging them. Now onto collab and making work for solo show. Thank god for Sarah!

New collaborations

2009-05-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

The Art House contacted me about a residency they're hosting for 12 Israeli artists in June, inviting me to collaborate with one of the residents. The project is all about identity and sounds quite interesting so I'm looking forward to it. We are supposed to have email conversations before the artists come over so I'm gonna keep a record on my archive. You can see the project developing here: http://louiseatkinson.blogspot.com/2009/05/identity-cards.html

Art of England

2009-04-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

The Safe to Touch show is almost upon us. It's come round so quickly. Got an email today from Susanne Skeplek, who's curating the show. We have an editorial in Art of England! Very exciting. I love being in magazines!

2009-03-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

Saw some amazing art in and around Brussels including a beautiful exhibition in a church by painter and philosopher Caroline Chariot-Dayez. 'Contrary to any demiurgic attitude, the concern for realism is the expression of fascination and, more generally, of the ecstatic state of mind peculiar to contemplation. Beauty is ever present; it takes possession of whoever discovers it. Realism is possession.'

Bienvenue in Brussels!

2009-03-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

Decided to go to Brussels to visit a friend who was working there. I've never been before and my French is less than basic so I was a little daunted at first but I love a challenge. When I got there I had amuse myself for a bit so I decided to take a stroll round the arcades. Found a lovely little art book shop with a gallery inside and started talking to the shop assistant about artist books.

(sub)Missive preview

2009-03-08T12:24:00.000-07:00

Got the work in for the (sub)Missive show and I was really impressed with the quality of submissions. The whole project has been a bit of risk to see what would happen if I directed a project remotely with little input or control outside of the initial brief and timescale. I'm pleased to say it's even better than I anticipated and I hope it's helping to establish links between the group. Getting the cabinets in the Uni was also a bit of a coup and the work fits perfectly. I even gave me ideas for more of a site specific project in the future. Great news as well! Chris Taylor who is organising the book fair liked the show so much that he made it the focus of the preview night. High praise indeed! Which meant all his guests came including the artist book buyer from the Tate!

Book Fair

2009-03-03T13:08:00.000-08:00

I've been off the radar for a short while. Down in London meeting people and picking up work for the (sub)Missive show at Leeds Uni Corridor Gallery on Friday. Also got food poisoning while I was there which was not fun! Anyway, meetings all went well and had some nice discussions about how we might take the project forward. I also did the final session with the Sheffield Tate group and found out that the evaluator is a trustee of Bookworks (a London-based artist book commissioning body) so gonna pass on more details and see what happens with that.

More good feedback from the interactives as well. Apparently front of house are collecting anecdotal evidence and people seem to be responding well. One of the nicest, and most surprising, comments was from a work which we were unsure of how people would respond to. The work is in relation to the image of Christ carrying the Cross and is a sign which says 'Do not attempt to lift heavy loads single handed'. But one the the Christian trustees of the gallery felt such an affinity with the concept of religion being an aid to helping with carrying the weight of life's troubles, that she has decided to hold prayer meetings there. Despite the fact that I am not religious, this was one of the possible interpretations that we considered for the work, and it feels really good to have someone respond in such a meaningful way to work that you have been involved in. However, it also begs the question of why the original piece didn't provoke this response, but I guess that is the role of interactives.

Now I have to get back to thinking about my own work. It feels a bit lonely just making work on my own but gonna make some books for this weekend's fair then take time out to reflect on my next projects.

In anticipation of participation

2009-02-20T06:15:00.000-08:00

I've finally finished the Tate Britain Visual Dialogues project which is fantastic cos I get some of my free time back, but also I had a chance to review the work that we'd created and get feedback which was also great. Here's a few snippets:

'A great mix of humour, great art and craft and lots of hard work.'

'COW is a particular favourite of mine too – the way it binds the Devotion section together and the description of the thinking behind it is just inspired! I love it.'

'Watching our visitors in the gallery yesterday afternoon responding to the work added a new dimension to some well thought through ideas, delivered with flair and enthusiasm!'

Anyway, now I have chance to look at my other projects and see what needs organising. With regards the residency at LCAD, I finally got a chance to visit the participatory thought map that I'd left on the wall and was pleased to find a good number of responses. Those will develop up until the end of April, so if anyone is in the vicinity of Jacob Kramer Building, Bleinheim Walk, Leeds, head down to the Studio Theatre to contribute. Click here to see more images: My Collective Unconscious

The Artist Book Fair is also looming so I'll be organising the exhibition I'm curating for that as well. A number of interesting questions have arisen during the course of this collaboration, notably regarding ownership of work developed from others ideas, which I feel is a relevant part of the concept, although can prove problematic when it comes to actual objects that have been created. Hopefully we'll be able to come to a satisfactory resolution.

USP

2009-02-05T05:43:00.000-08:00

Ahhh USPs. It all sounds like corporate marketing nonsense but it's a good exercise to work out what makes you unique as an artist and also as a person. I've been thinking about it recently after receiving some positive feedback about some work I did. So what makes someone want to hire you as an artist and what can you offer that is different from your competitors?

Sometimes what you perceive to be weaknesses can be the things that set you apart. I used to feel that my work went off in too many different directions, so much so that people remarked that it sometimes seemed like 2 or 3 different artists work. I thought it was something I should curb but never wanted to. Now I realise that not only do other people feel the same and that solo shows in an exhibition have been curated specially by genre, theme, etc, but it can actually be a positive thing when working in gallery education as you are able to offer a wider repetoire of options.

I also worried that I always wanted to try new things and didn't make 'serious' work, read. painting, but it seems that risk-taking and user-led decision making processes are also highly valued skills. So now with more experience I am not only a lot freer to do the things I want to do, but also much happier in my education work.

AA2A talk

2009-02-02T02:06:00.000-08:00

I'm busy planning my talk for the students tomorrow. Started to use the mind maps I was making as installation which I think is working quite nice. I was using some typography but I wondered about adding small pieces of text for people to respond to as well. Maybe I'll see how the response goes first. Just not sure how to depict 'Manufacture of Consent'. So yeah, up to now it looks a bit like this:

I've also seen some interesting projects where I can develop the work so it might even be the start of a new body, but everything always is it seems.

Tate Project

2009-01-27T10:41:00.000-08:00

The Tate project is nearly wrapping up now and I had a really good session with the group yesterday. They were super engaged and motivated which was great cos it was also being evaluated by an independent researcher from the University of the Arts in London who has been commissioned by Tate to produce a report on the project as a whole. We are now busy working on the final design briefs for the interactives, marketing and launch activities ready for the 17th feb deadline. One of the interactives, which is a personal favourite of mine, is where the group have placed signs around the gallery in response to the work.

Collaborations

2009-01-25T06:09:00.000-08:00

The MONUK international collaboration project I am working on is still going and I just heard back from some of the participants about my request for hand signals. Basically, I'm looking at how hand gestures, as an integral part of communication, are culturally significant and can be wildly misunderstood when taken out of context. Anyway I got these pics back and I have no idea what they mean but the kids are soooo cute!

Is it summer yet?

2009-01-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

Still sorting tax out. It shouldn't really take too much time but I can't bear to sit and do it for too long. So with that in mind I won't go on about it. The social housing project is going well, with more residents turning up each time. It was a bit freaky on Thursday tho, when someone kicked off in the flats and the police came charging through. Not quite sure what happened, but you know, all in a day's work.

Don't really know where I'm going with this residency project at LCAD at mo, but I think I need to focus a bit more attention on it cos I really want it to be the basis for some other residency applications. I've agreed with another of the residents to organise a crit to discuss our work so that might produce some answers. Maybe it really is about the journey, but it's turning into something different than I proposed. Is that ok? I would say so but would a funder agree? Anyway, I feel like I have got a lot out of it already even if it is a different project than I started. Gonna be working on my artist talk soon, but more about that later.

On a totally unrelated topic I think I'm gonna order some seeds online so I can be ready to start sowing in spring. Garlic should be going in now so it has some cold weather to make it split. I've already bought some flower seeds and bulbs (perennials, so I don't have to keep starting from scratch), so should have a nice garden to work in when it gets to summer, if we get one this year.

Taxing times

2009-01-14T01:26:00.000-08:00

I've heard back from National Centre for Craft and Design and the plans for the tactile exhibition in May seem to be coming to fruition. It's all very exciting. Still trying to decide on a definite angle to go with. I know I definitely want to do something interactive or participatory, which would obviously fit in with the tactile element.

The curator also likes some of my 'older' work. I think I need to start practicing what I preach. I always say that you should show work in new places even if you've already shown it because so many people haven't seen it and it takes on new meanings in relation to other works and spaces. But, in reality, it always feels like a bit of a cheat.

Note for the day: Don't try to reinvent the wheel

But when I should be thinking about fun things to make and do, all I can really think about is my tax return which I've been putting off since April and now needs to be submitted imminently. So I'd better get on with it.

Hermits...

2009-01-13T02:29:00.000-08:00

The start of a new week at the start of a new year. Time to plan. Still busy finishing off projects but I need to start looking for more work to make sure there's no gap. So, I've been looking at residencies to see what's about and to give me chance (and money) to develop my own practice. I thought I'd found the perfect one; 2 months in a hermitage in Manchester, not too far away from home for my first permanent residency, and all about communication which is my thing recently.

However, after examining the small print it seems they're not messing about. The terms are to work in what basically amounts to solitary confinement, literally a hermit for two months! I mean 24/7! You get internet and phone but that's surely not enough. So now it comes time to weigh up the opportunity costs; pros v cons, benefits v compromises. So it's 2 months R&D, 2 months in the hermitage, plus time for publications and evaluation post-project for £12,000. Not bad, but I think the biggest trade-off seems to be £12,000 for my sanity. Think I'll stay in the real world thanks.

Adult education

2009-01-08T03:40:00.000-08:00

Lots of workshops and projects on at the moment. Namely Heydays at West Yorkshire playhouse, which is a really nice group for people of retirement age who want to learn new skills, get involved in projects and meet people. I'm teaching them bookbinding and yesterday was the first session which went really well and everyone seemed to enjoy it so that's good. Then I had to leg it over to Wakefield to pick up materials for a social housing project in Huddersfield. With this, I'm working with a tenants association to create artwork for communal spaces in the flats. Again, it's a nice project cos it means that people can meet their neighbours and gain a sense of ownership over where they live. Before being installed the work will also be exhibited in the local gallery.

The Tate project is getting ready to wind up so we're busy planning for the launch event in mid-Feb. I've also been commissioned to make some of the interactives so really need to get cracking with plans to present to the group. Apart from that, there's also the MONUK online collaboration and (sub)Missive project to administrate, not to mention my LCAD residency, so I am well and truly occupied, but loving it :)

New Years Resolutions

2009-01-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Third day into 2009 and already I'm preparing samples for my next bookbinding class. Time was when I could ease myself into the year gently, only to find myself in mid-Feb without actually having achieved anything. So here's to living in the moment. Let's try it this way for a while. This year I also decided to make myself accountable to the powers that be (Facebook) by setting out a list of goals and objectives for the year ahead. In a bold move I stated that I would learn to cook, speak more Spanish and decorate my house among other gargantuan tasks. I have faith. There's also a few other more private goals that I hope to achieve, but they're less quantifiable (is that a word?)

Anyway, I finally downloaded a Spanish podcast. I've been looking at it for a while but never got round to using it. If you're interested you can view it here: www.notesinspanish.com. I was also given a vegan cookbook for christmas and the recipes look really good. Even my boyfriend, an ardent carnivore, said he would consider eating something. High praise indeed! Anyway, back to bookbinding and I will now attempt to create a clamshell box. Wish me luck!

Human Behaviour

2008-12-27T04:17:00.000-08:00

So I finally downloaded some images off my phone. It takes me ages to get round to it, which in a way is nice cos I find things that I've snapped and it reminds me what I was thinking at the time. Anyway, I came across this pic of something that intrigued me when I saw it; an air brick in a wall that people had carefully placed their cigarette butts in when they had finished smoking them. It looked almost like an archive and I wondered if it was one person who had done it. Surely there was too many for just one person. How long were they stood there? But even if they had only put one there, what made them do it? The aesthetic? An unwillingness to litter? And why had people folowed their example? What had determined the order in which they placed the filters in the holes?

In pondering this, my mind wandered to a walk at Bolton Abbey. Along the side of the river a tree had fallen and become lodged halfway up the bank within reach of the path. It glistened in the light and as I looked closer I noticed thousands of 2p coins hammered into the bark of the dead tree. Now this clearly wasn't the work of one person, especially after myself and friends had contributed our small donation. But it made me wonder again why people would undertake such a pointless, almost ritualistic task? And why had we felt compelled to collaborate?

Exhibitionist

2008-12-22T11:41:00.000-08:00

Just got an email from the exhibition curator at Hub National Centre for Craft and Design in Sleaford today. She wants me to exhibit some work in a show about tactile art alongside an RCA researcher and a lady from the Courtauld Institute! Alongside my Brahm Show and this other possible exhibition through Museums Sheffield makes next year busy before it's even started. So much for relaxing, I have to get some loose ends tied up before the start of the year.

Also got more bookbinding and typography workshops booked which is great, just need to keep on top of it all. Need a PA. Luckily a lovely lady from Huddersfield Uni contacted me a while ago and I think she will be coming to work with me for a month in April. There's definitely plenty for her to do and I think she will get a lot of good info and contacts out of it. Ok, best get back to it.

My Collective Unconscious

2008-12-18T05:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't get much shopping done yesterday, but I did go see the lecture. It was by the curator of E:vent Gallery in London, and OMG! so inspiring! The work was really interesting but also how it made me think and make connections in the stuff I've been doing. So I came out of there buzzing with ideas and started to do some research straight away. One of the things it made me think about was the hyperreal phenomenon so I did a search in the library and it came back with 'Travels in Hyperreality' by Umberto Eco.

I particularly like how this guy fits into my research into language and communication. The problem starts when you realise that everything links into everything else and all of a sudden you're overwhelmed with ideas about semiotics, Marxism, phenomenology, etc, etc. Which brings me to my next point.

Trying to decide how to tackle this wealth of information I started to draw diagrams of how I linked the different disciplines. This led me back to thinking about the event as the site of production and I started to wonder why the speaker hadn't made the lecture as interactive as his practice. But I digress... I decided to put together my typography research and the thought maps to create an interactive wall piece that people could respond and add to. Perhaps it might be good to try it out at the next talk I'm doing at the college?

Loose ends

2008-12-17T03:11:00.000-08:00

So much to do, so little time. It's coming up to Christmas so I'm trying to work on tying up all the loose ends so I can relax, although I know I'm gonna be bored after about half a day and go back to drawing. There's more work coming in for the new year so I feel a little more secure and lots of interesting projects to get my teeth into.

After some initial teething problems the (sub)Missive project is up and running and I've had lots of positive correspondence from participants which is great news. Also, I might have secured some exhibition space for the work alongside the artist book fair in March. It's behind glass, but hopefully I'm gonna look into funding to have it in more places so that people can get to handle the work.

Went to see the PSL show and hand in my images for the curators to have a look at. I hope they like them. Unfortunately I didn't get pics of my newest stuff but maybe they'll want to have a chat and I can show them then. Right, I'm off to finish my shopping and see a lecture about the event as the site of production.

Talking to myself

2008-12-05T09:52:00.000-08:00

My own non-verbal communication.
A misunderstanding between the left and right brain causing confusion and anxiety.
The analytical left brain attempting to rationalise events to the intuitive right brain.
Speaking a different language, they constantly misunderstand each other deferring meaning and interpretation.
Language becomes irrelevant, unintelligible, and finally communication breaks down.

Wasting Time

2008-11-27T08:45:00.001-08:00

I'm not really afraid of failure. I seem to have a crazy amount of self belief that somehow everything will turn out ok. What I can't stand is the idea that I am wasting time. The irony is that I spend so much time worrying about whether I'm making a decision that will result in a good piece work that I actually waste more time. So I guess the moral is that you should get on with it and try everything once. Well, maybe not everything. Let's not get carried away...

Dropping Breadcrumbs...

2008-11-26T13:04:00.000-08:00

I'm lost again. Managed to focus for about a week but I've steadily gone off track. Well, I guess I'm not so much lost as just completely overwhelmed by the amount of ideas I'm trying to process at once. I'm feeling lots of emotions: anxious, excited, frustrated...

The residency is giving me lots of time to think about the stuff I'm producing and I seem to have drifted off into a typographical jungle, but this should be a positive thing for my artist books. I was so busy thinking about how I was going to illustrate my text work that I completely forgot that type can be a visual medium too.

A woman's work... blah blah blah

2008-11-18T10:51:00.000-08:00

It's been crazy busy with workshops despite the supposed credit crunch and my new disciplined regime of prioritising seems to be helping as I'm getting other work done and still having time for myself. It's so not like me! Been over in Knottingley today working with a group of teenagers. They're having sessions out of school because one of the pupils burnt it down! Luckily my groups have all been well behaved so far.

I'm in the process of moving into my new studio space as well, East Street's new building, Barkstone House. It's closer to where I live and communal which I prefer. I hate being stuck in a room on my own. We met some of the neighbours the other day. As it's on an industrial estate there are lots of interesting people, from vinyl banner makers and fashion designers to a company who fabricates knives for kebab shops?! Could be some scope for collaboration?

Incubator

2008-11-16T05:05:00.000-08:00

Just had news about my online Incubator gallery project. They've been having a few technical difficulties with the web host but are up again and ready to relaunch on Monday 24th November. My title bar submission Cultural Parentheses will launch on the same day and run till Sunday 11th January 2009.
To view visit www.incubatorgallery.org.

Felicitations facilitations!

2008-11-08T03:53:00.000-08:00

The Tate project is progressing well. Participants are responding to the brief and starting to be a lot more creative in the way that they view the work. They are also recording their thoughts and findings online at http://visualdialogues.blogspot.com.
In my individual practice I've been invited to be part of a UK/Mongolia visual art collaboration called The Silk Highway. This project pairs an artist resident in the UK with a Mongolian artist to discuss relative working practices with particular relevance to transnational trade links in a Post-Communist era. Yet another blog! I wonder if a lot of my work is taking a more conceptual slant, more like a documentation of ideas. Maybe that's what art is?
However, I will also be starting my residency at Leeds College of Art, so I will get to play with all the printmaking equipment and facilities to make new bookworks which is very exciting. Again the process will be documented and marketed on a national platform in blog format! What did we do before the internet? Luckily I don't remember.

Weekend working

2008-09-27T01:58:00.000-07:00

Busy day again, despite being the weekend. I've come back from Madrid to a ton of work but I'm enthusiastic about it. First thing is to install some textile sculptures I made with a primary school in the summer term. Then I have a bookbinding workshop to prep for and a presentation for the Tate.

More good news tho. I've been offered a place on the AA2A residency scheme at Leeds College of Art and Design which means I get to use their printmaking facilities and have a materials budget to spend.

Row, row, row your boat...

2008-09-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

Managed to get out on the boats yesterday although the experience was cut short by a sudden downpour. It soon cleared up tho and spent the rest of the day sunning myself in the plaza. Took some more photos of the local grafitti (of which there is lots) but it is quite artistic.

More galleries

2008-09-22T02:58:00.000-07:00

Went to the Museo del Prado yesterday although it was a bit of an ordeal. The guide book said it was free on Sundays, however when we got there, it was only free from 5pm so we decided to come back later. When we returned the road was blocked by a random bike race so we had to wait for ages to cross. We finally got in and I was pleased to find a temporary Cy Twombly exhibition, which was nice alongside all the historical work. Lots of Goya and Velasquez aswell, though the layout was a bit crazy so finding your way round was quite difficult.

It's a bit overcast today but I'm determined to go on the boats at the Parque del Buen Retiro.

La Reina Sofia et al

2008-09-21T06:06:00.000-07:00

Went to the Reina Sofia today and it so happens that there is a temporary exhibition on at the moment called Maquinas y Almas (Machines and Souls). Basically it is artists responses to biological evolution through digital art and new media. I guess it's the zeitgeist as there seems to be a lot of this kind of thing at the moment. Will be good for the Altered States project I'm working on anyway.

Good news from Incubator Gallery aswell. They'll be installing my online text project, Cultural Parentheses, from early November so it'll be interesting to see how it looks and if there is any feedback. Which reminds me I hope to make books of that for an upcoming show alongside some Romanian artists at Dean Clough next month. No rest for the wicked!

Madrid!

2008-09-20T02:05:00.000-07:00

Haven't been able to get online for a few days as I'm in sunny Madrid! Could be worse. I decided I would take the opportunity to make pinhole cameras to capture some interesting images for my books but it's proving a bit difficult to sort out as everywhere is so light! Anyway I've decided to postpone that idea until I get home and stick with normal photos. Bueno, ya me voy. Hasta luego!

More Things in Heaven and Earth

2008-09-15T01:56:00.000-07:00

Durham Cathedral
2nd Aug - 4th Sep 2008
Organised by Yorkshire Sculptors Group

A specially composed piece of music by Scott Senogles was played on the
cathedral organ during the opening. The exhibition was officially opened
by the Dean of the Chapter of Durham and Benedict Reid of the University
of Leeds - and included work by several Leeds artists: Louise Atkinson,
Paula Chambers, George Hainsworth, Lucy Hainsworth, Terry Hammill,
Victoria Lucas, Scott Senogles and Rebecca Strain.

Books

2008-09-13T04:39:00.001-07:00

I've taken to artists books in a big way so I've started doing more research on different styles of binding and paper folding. I'm quite pleased to find a link to a site that I'd saved and forgotten about that has lots of flexagon patterns - definitely a benefit of storing random information. You never know when it will be useful.

New Blog

2008-09-12T04:08:00.000-07:00

So...
This is the new blog to add to the ever expanding archive of my life.
Lots to report anyway.

I've been accepted as part of the Tate's Visual Dialogues project in partnership with Sheffield Galleries. In short, this means I will be facilitating creative interpretation workshops to set up a dialogue between contemporary work from the Tate collection and historical work from Graves Art Gallery. This will culminate in an exhibition of interactives and a launch event in Feb 2009. Just had the first planning meeting a couple of days ago and everything seemed to go well so now I just need to get on with the prep...