ARTISTS TALKING

# 109 [30 April 2008]

DANDELION CLOCKS 

You tell the time:  puff as hard as you can to blow the seeds off  -  ONE O'CLOCK  -  blow again  -  TWO O'CLOCK  -  blow again  - THREE O'CLOCK  blow until all the fairies have blown away  - ELEVEN O'CLOCK.

Catch a fairy and make a wish.  Let it go again.

Dandelions - piss en lit - wet the bed - it is diuretic.

You can eat the leaves in a salad.

Coffee can be made from the roasted tap root. 

# 108 [28 April 2008]

COUNTING SEEDS

I think I might have developed a new obsession.

It started in a small way, counting the number of seed pods on an onion seed head & carefully mounting them in my workbook.

Then I started "deconstructing" an artichoke seed head, numbering & mounting every stamen & carefully putting away the seeds to follow suit with them when time allows.

Last week, I noticed the dandelion growing outside my front door & wondered how many seeds were on each "clock". And how many "clocks" might it produce over the summer?

I'm horrified to report that during my counting activities this week, I've discovered that it has already produced 45 "clocks" so far since it sprang up a week or two ago! Today, I'm going to start mounting and numbering the seeds. Maybe then I'll draw them.

Note to Roz: why are they called clocks? And did you used to call them fairies when you saw them blowing in the wind?

# 107 [24 April 2008]

WE DID ANOTHER TALK TODAY

We did another talk (or two talks) today at the University of Brighton Printmaking Department. This was part of our Residency.  In addition to using the screenprinting facilities we have given student tutorials and this presentation. 

We focussed on How to create an Life in Art after University.  Each of us showed slides and talked for half an hour about how we had made an art life - the different mix of activities from applying to funding, creating residencies, getting awards, further study, leading workshops, making work and working in other jobs for money. 

There were lots of questions after and as always you learn so much from putting together a talk and presenting your experience to others.  You find a path through the muddle which clears the way to go forward. 

# 106 [23 April 2008]

TALK ABOUT THE WORK - CLAREMONT STUDIO, HASTINGS

We talked about Collaboration at the TATW last night.  We had planned our talks separately without consultation for the first time.  Each of us presented our view of working together and asked for comments and responses from the artists who had come.  

We wanted to notice what we had gained, and what we had lost from working together on Breaking Ground.  To consider how we work alongside each other.  To wonder whether we could adapt, improve, do it better for Stage 2 of the project.

We had some interesting and challenging feedback.  One person saw the working pattern as 'very female', 'no conflict'.  Someone suggested swapping a piece of work and the other person responding, making something with that piece.

For me it clarified the way I want to explore relationships and the avenues I do not wish to go down.

Annabel Tilley who organises TATW took some photos of the evening.  Esther Appleyard introduced and managed the evening. 

# 105 [22 April 2008]

MORE BEANS

More bean photos have arrived.  This time from Germany - Frankfurt an der Oder - from Wiebke and Benno Tetzlaff - we visited each other last summer:

Dear Roz,

It will work :-  Though the weather has been awful this spring Benno did it.  He planted the magic bean.  You can see it on the photos.  Now we ( sorry he) will look after it, water it and take some more pictures for you. The sunshine will help, I hope so.  In summer we will have a huge bean. Come here and see!

# 104 [21 April 2008]

BEAN - WISLEY MAGIC

Amanda Champness has sent some photos of her magic bean, the souvenir seed from Breaking Ground.  The shooting bean is growing leaves now.  I am sure she is going to keep us abreast of its progress. 

# 103 [21 April 2008]

LOOKING FORWARD - LOOKING BACK

With two talks to plan this week about our collaboration, this seems like a good opportunity to review what we have done so far and begin to make firm plans for our project space work in the coming months.

While choosing images for my slideshow, I came across a series of drawings which I did soon after arriving back in the studio from the allotment. I had been sorting out my collection of seeds  and  planted some  quick sprouting varieties in the studio. I observed their progress daily, and documented their progress in drawings for a while.

I was interested in how my old life drawing skills seemed appropriate in representing these contorted little bodies.

# 102 [18 April 2008]

COLLABORATION

Struggling with making slides for the powerpoint and thinking about the collaboration - how we started out and how it developed.  The good points and how it helped us work.  How we worked alongside each other.  Side by side.  Assistance.  Discussion.  Meetings always turned something up, pushed on our ideas.  Looked forward to meetings and seeing what would come out of it.  A pairing, like my seed names and nature stitches, overlapping, layering, producing textures. 

# 101 [13 April 2008]

TALK

Photographed my prints ready to become slides for the 2 presentations I am starting to build for the Talks in 10 days' time.

The first is on Breaking Ground and collaboration.  The second is for the printmaking students.  Duncan Bullen, the tutor, has asked that we talk too about how we have made artist lives for ourselves after graduating from Brighton.

I will design and email a poster for him to put on the noticeboard next. 

# 100 [10 April 2008]

TUTORIALS

Today I did some tutorials with the printmaking students - enjoyed this in spite of having a heavy cold.  First years are preparing for their Exhibition on Monday and third years getting ready for the Final Show.  I noticed how as you look critically at someone else's work and comment, you learn to look better and clarify something in your own mind or identify a muddle.  Again I notice that if you help students to articulate their thoughts and feelings about the work and making the work, they find something out.  It mirrors my counselling work.

One student is unsure where to begin again.  I draw her attention to another blog on AN - "You can go anywhere from anywhere" Jane Ponsford's new project, a quote from Anni Albers.  See her post 17 March for link to yet another blog and text. 

I collected my finished prints and cleared out my plan drawer and locker.

Arranged a date for our talk on Breaking Ground - 2 weeks today.