ARTISTS TALKING

# 14 [20 July 2007]

Opening day!! The lights were fixed, my inflatable should stay inflated and even the sun popped out for a bit (they say bad luck happens in three's). After all that stress everything seems to be going fine. I feel pretty bummed out that I didn't manage to find any mirror for the rollercoaster corner, I could of just used anything but it wouldn't really have felt right so maybe it's better that it's left as it is, it looks pretty good on its own anyway.

So as of saturday I'm just invigilating the space, it's kind of sad that I'm moving back in to my studio and leaving this massive space. It's been good to experiment and really push myself and I feel that my practice has really developed. This experience has really made me realise how much my surroundings effect the type of work I make, I hope that the work I produced during this residency shows how much I really do love Margate and hopefully the people from Margate that visited the space approved of my work.

# 13 [19 July 2007]

O.k. so I thought the dafated inflatable was a disaster until the lights in the space decided to stop working! I have to wait until friday morning (day of the openening!) until someone can come and check them out. This means if they're broken and can't be repaired that day- no lighting for the opening. I feel a bit like someone up there doesn't like me very much or I am paying the price for all those snails, ants and flies I've killed over the years!

So my moral is at an all time low, I suppose you expect things to go wrong but this really is not what I was expecting. On a lighter note, the suns shining (even though the weather forecast said it's going to piss it down on friday) and I've had lots of visitors and lots of good response. I'll be sad to move out of the space and sad that the residency will be over but it will be nice to not be stressed out and panicking all the time. I've decided that if it all goes to shit and the lights don't work, and it rains and the inflatable deflates, I'm just going to get really drunk.

# 12 [17 July 2007]

Today a bit of a disaster happened...the inflatable clam type thing has a hole, I opened the space today to find a shrivelled up thing looking not fat and bright but shrivelled and pathetic. With a bit of tape I managed to momentarily resurect it but I have some serious surgery to perform- the bloody opening's in 3 days time...aarrgghh!

 On a lighter note even though the opening is fast approaching (I think I'm in denial) I decided to finish 'Brave new world' by Aldous Huxley- scary stuff, especially the 'ending's better than mending', for the 30s that guy was a real visionary. It's weird how it rings so true to today's society. Gagging for more I also read 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell, I hated man-kind for about 20 minutes.

So other than reading scary ideas of the future I also managed to buy some beer for the opening, I hope more than 20 people show up otherwise I think I will probably be very drunk.

# 11 [16 July 2007]

The space is really starting to come together. Saturday it was a really lush, sunny day (the beach was v. busy). I bought the guardian newspaper as they were running a seaside guide and I thought it fun to see if Margate got a mention...and it did! The shell grotto got a mention as did Walpole bay and the Lido at Cliftonville and they even mentioned the proposed Turner Contemporary building.

There's been a bit of a jazz festival down at the harbour so I've been hearing the sounds of jazz drifting up to the substation. Yesterday after I shut the space I went down to have a look, it was really special, lots of people and a really great atmosphere. They had put up some coloured flags and stalls and a stage, it looked really good.

I painted the skirting in the space (I thought it needed a little spruce) and hung the collages. I'm pretty happy with them, I like that they're made from the leftovers of the packaging from the beachballs, inflatable and glowsticks. There is something tremendously fulfilling about finding a use for something that was going to be thrown away.

I even managed to name all the pieces! It was pretty tough going, so now I've really got to make a kind of floor-plan for the show. I'm getting really nervous about the opening, I really hope people turn-up otherwise I'll feel like a right plum.

# 10 [13 July 2007]

So this is the last week (aaarrrgghhh!) and it's friday the 13th! No seriously everything's fine, still no bloody mirrors though! Yesterday I managed to finish the beach ball piece so I'm pretty happy and it was lucky too because the Thanet Times came to take some pictures (my mum will be so proud) they will probably make me look like an idiot but I suppose as they say any publicity is good publicity. The photographer asked me the titles of the works and I realised that I hadn't named anything, (I wasn't sure that I should) so I suppose that's something else to consider.

Today I had some serious hoovering to do after making A LOT of mess. Everything was covered in dust after I decided to give the white walls a tidy-up. In-between the manic cleaning I did get to finish my other collage so at least I'll have a diptych. Everything's looking pretty sparkling so as long as I can do something to rollercoaster corner I'm happy.

# 9 [11 July 2007]

Yesterday I spent the day in Ramsgate, I had chips, seafood and an ice cream it was great, something about the place just made me want to eat seaside food. There were lots of charity shops and poundshops so I bought some glowsticks from a poundshop and bought some plastic beads from a charity shop for the swing piece. Ramsgate doesn't really feel like it's in England you feel a little like you're abroad and there seem to be ridiculously low-flying planes, I suppose because of Kent international airport.

I brought 20 metres of gold chain on Monday and today I attached the gold chains to the beachball piece, I also decided that I'm going to add some plastic fake gems. My partner said that it looked a little like a raining cloud which I quite liked the idea of. With the glowsticks I made a hanging pendant style piece, it looks a little like a mini neon piece, except the glowsticks will fade- an element I like. I also started a new collage with the packaging from the paddling pool and the glowsticks. I really need some mirror for the rollercoaster corner!

# 8 [8 July 2007]

Yesterday I had a lot of visitors to the space so I didn't really get the chance to do anything constructive. It was really hot and sunny (at last no rain!) and the beach was pretty packed. Today it's a little over-cast and very quiet which has given me the chance to really think about what I have made so far and the space. I'm going to get some gold chains for the beachball piece and possibly steal some sand from the beach (it's a bit of a cliche really but i am a bit desperate to get some natural elements in the space). I also decided that the disco/rollercoaster corner needs mirrors, so I'm going to keep an eye out for tacky mirrors or any plain mirrors I can arrange in the space. I want it to look spangly and fun and be vaguely reminiscent of the old Dreamland theme park.

# 7 [6 July 2007]

I've been working in the space for 12 days now and it really seems to be taking shape. I seem to drift between days of extreme energy and intense production of work to days of sitting and contemplating. I've been enjoying my travels around Margate town, not really like a flaneur cos mostly I'm looking for stuff to take back to the space but sometimes it is nice just wandering around, over-hearing conversations and looking at the beach. I made a really simple piece involving some gold chain, a twig, some plastic hearts and something from a skip. I find the fragility and balance in the piece quite interesting. I also added an element to the carpet piece which I'm fairly happy with, it's kind of reminding me of a clam or oyster shell (except a Margate version). I'm planing to take a visit to the Shell Grotto which I'm very excited about, it's suppose to be beautiful and supposedly over 100 years old. Apparently the rainfall is causing havoc so I want to see it before it's too badly damaged.

# 6 [4 July 2007]

I've been really busy in the space and haven't had a chance to add any new posts so this will be a long one!

 I found some plastic lights from rollercoaster tracks and arranged it in a corner of the space, I really wanted a theme park element within the space so I'm pretty happy, I like the way the arrangement glows in the light.

 I changed the carpet so there is only the longest piece, which means it now has a gentle curve, kind of like when children make hiding places with blankets over sofas.

I had some pink tiles I fished out of a skip and used these to create an interesting floor arrangement in a corner. I felt it was a little sparse so I added a branch from the trees next to the space and some bangles from 'Claire's accessories'. I think the people that work in the shops in Margate think I'm a bit loopy (buying 20 beachballs and 30 bangles is not very sane).

I decided to move the mirror from the carpet to the swing. I felt it wasn't particularly working and it seemed to really help the swing piece to come to life.

Finally (!) I went to buy some bulldog clips to hang the collage properly but Margate is rubbish and I ended up buying a pack of assorted multi-coloured clips reduced in WH Smith for 99p. Realising that they would not work for hanging the collage, I made circles form them and hung them on the wall. They look a little like catherine wheels or like mini versions of the big wheel that used to be in Margate. The shadows created on the walls from them look really interesting.

# 5 [28 June 2007]

I started hanging the beachballs today, it looks pretty good, like a big beachball cloud. I think it definately needs something else though. The packaging from the beachballs has pictures of these lovely ladies holding the balls, I decided to cut them out and make a collage. It's kind of strange working like this, I usually make work really quickly and spontaneously, so it's nice that I seem to have chilled out a bit, I'm in less of a hurry to make stuff and am taking longer to really think about things, although saying that, I'm already thinking about what element I could add to the beachball cloud.