ARTISTS TALKING

# 33 [28 October 2007]

I've had some work selected for TULCA, a city wide festival in Galway Ireland. Last week we (my husband Paul and I) had fun packaging up four neon pieces and transporting them gingerly to Art Moves in London where after unloading them, our car promptly broke down. A few hours later and thanks to an efficient AA man we managed to get going again with the advice not to stop the engine until we reached home and call out our local garage the next day.

The neon will be shown in a large open building (1 - 5 Merchants Road). I have seen photos and it seems to have some interesting architectural features, wide stairs, large windows, alcoves. It will be interesting to see how the work is hung. The festival theme "If we accept that we are strangers to ourselves then there are no strangers, only others like ourselves" by Julia Kristeva is a fascinating choice for a show of international and national work and I am keen to see how the many artists have responded to it when I go over for the opening on 9th November.

Tomorrow I will go to take down the drawings in the Saffron Walden show. The exhibition period has gone quickly. Looking forward to seeing the work again having had some distance on it.

# 32 [24 October 2007]

Writing this blog has gradually become quite an important part of my practice, so much so that it feels strange when I don't post an entry on a regular basis. The Inishlacken Project has entered a quiet phase and there is no news relating to it that I can post for the moment. All of which leaves me with withdrawal symptoms and the question of whether I should carry on regardless of subject here on this blog or think about starting a parallel one that is more general. If there IS anybody out there who has a view on this please email....caroline.wright6@btopenworld.com.

Last night I held a mad artists tea party as part of the NAN ReVIEW bursary that I received a few months ago. Rebecca Weaver offered the Town Hall Gallery in Ipswich as a venue and it provided the perfect setting for a slightly kitch arrangement of objects and food and drink on a large table. Artists from Suffolk listened to a presentation by Sue Jones (curator of the Whitstable Biennial) and then engaged in general discussion with each other and Sue. Lots of sweet sticky cakes were eaten and copius amounts of tea were drunk.

People seemed to enjoy themselves. Was it useful? I spotted lots of addresses being swopped, so maybe it was...

# 31 [11 October 2007]

Just downloaded the rest of the images taken in the gallery in Saffron Walden. It seems to help to look at the show through photos as it distances me from the work and I can look more objectively. I intend to return to the gallery at the end of the show and try to assess the work anew, having spent three weeks away from it.

Heres another image....

# 30 [10 October 2007]

Another image from the show in Saffron Walden. The building was once used as an overflow for the water tower close by. The water was stored in separate divided sections and entered the building through porthole shaped openings in the roof. More about Inishlacken work soon

# 29 [9 October 2007]

A lot seems to have happened since the last post. I have installed the show in Saffron Walden and the PV was last Friday evening. To show the power of [an] blogging, artist Gordon Flemmons, another blogger, heard about the show from this blog and came along to the PV. I found it a very useful experience taking to everyone there. There were some taxing questions asked - it made me really consider the resolution I have for the work when giving my answers.

Inishalcken is still special. The second visit did not dispel the strong memories only served to enhance them. We were fortunate with the weather - it was bright clear and warm. This was particularly good news as the memorial piece that I was completing took place at nightfall over a period of two hours. Caroline, Rosie. Paul and I stood motionless and silent for some time watching the piece in a contemplative atmosphere. The last candle extinguished itself after a long battle with life almost one and a half hours after it was lit.

Now my attention must turn to video editing all the material I have accumulated from Inishlacken and then making editorial and critical decisions to produce a coherent body of work for the February show.

# 28 [25 September 2007]

This is a postscript really. Just thought I would add an image of one of the drawings I am going to put in the show in Saffron Walden next week.

# 27 [25 September 2007]

Its a few days since I last wrote an entry to this blog and I find myself preparing for the return visit to inishlacken. In between packing bags and making sure I have the right camera equipment with me, I have been planning the artists forum that I am holding in Suffolk as part of a project supported by a NAN bursary. It is going to take the form of a 'Mad Artists Tea Party' and have some references to Alice in Wonderland. Subject to a conversation with Rebecca Weaver, the arts officer from Ipswich Council I am hoping it will be held in the centre of Ipswich in the Town Hall Galleries in October. Its open to all artists living in Suffolk, so if you are one of them you will be very welcome. More details to follow.....

Back to the suitcase and the mounting excitiment at the prospect of visiting Ireland again. Will this trip shatter or enhance my memories? I will only be on Inishlacken for one day and in ireland for just three days altogether. I am anticipating a very different landscape with the autumn weather. Less swimming this time, more fleeces and gloves!

# 26 [14 September 2007]

Rosie has received my proposal for the February show. She is happy so I send it off to the gallery curator. The proposal contains a couple of ideas, well, three to be more precise so I am hoping the gallery director of Galway Arts Centre will relate to at least one of them. Writing it has made me realise that there are many potential works that could develop as a result of my Inishlacken trip. I have arranged to return to the island in mid october to complete the third memorial piece that was curtailed by the weather. This time my husband will accompany me. He'll stay on the mainland while I am on the island and then we can spend a day afterwards exploring Roundstone.

The proof invitation arrived in the post today for the Saffron Walden show. It looks ok but I wish I was better versed in typography and graphic design then I might feel more confident in making a judgement. Nevertheless I make some suggestions and edits and return it. It will be my public face when it gets sent out so fingers crossed I have made the right decisions.

# 25 [12 September 2007]

Its in the post
Far from being one of those excuses you hear when people are late with a delivery or payment, today this statement means that I have cleared some of the backlog of paperwork, completed my Galway proposal and as a result have a clear head. Strangely the proposal came all in a rush together with a fully formed idea for another application I have made to a festival called TULCA - which also takes place in Galway. The next stage is, of course, the waiting to see how ideas are received. I dont think about things too much once they have gone off in the post, I am out of control then, nothing to do so might as well get on with other things.
I spoke at the AIR event in Colchester on Monday PM. Alex Pearl, another [an] blogger also talked about his future plans as did David Kefford. They had interesting things to say. We had all been asked to speak about 'Key issues for our practice in the future' and there was a lot of overlap in the three presentations. It seemed we all knew that networking was important (although some did not like the term networking) and that we needed to find our own way to work effectively. I like to be in my studio and also out and about whereas David spends as much time as poss in his studio and Alex prefers to work from home and uses the web proactively to raise the profile of his work. By the way Alex, if you read this please correct anything!
The audience were really involved, it helped the evening discussion flow. In fact I think it could have gone on a lot longer as people had so much to say.
The next thing on my agenda is a solo show I have in early October in Saffron Walden Essex. I am showing some new work - very different to anything I have done before, so there are a few nerves creeping in as the date of installation gets closer.I am planning to show some drawings. They are quite large, about 1.5 mts x up to 5 mts. Its strange really because I feel more nervous about showing these than doing a live performance piece. I guess it all about what you are used to

# 24 [9 September 2007]

Back into the normal routine now, its been several months since I left the island. I have so far managed to stick to quite a few of my resolutions, in particular the reading, drawing, looking and walking. I have made some new work and am still distilling the Inishlacken experience. I have to write a proposal for the forthcoming show in Galway Arts Centre that will showcase all the artists who have been on the island over the past eight years. At least I think this is correct. Rethinking it, I guess not ALL of the artists will show work. My proposal is late - it was requested three weeks ago - but I have only made a tentative start to date and knowing my way of working this is because the ideas are not yet fully formed in my head and like all good things they will happen when they are ready and cannot be forced.

Am I making excuses? probably ...
Could I write the proposal now? Yes, but it would not be as detailed as I would like.
Should I get on with it instead of writing this Blog?
YES