ARTISTS TALKING

# 8 [26 August 2008]

IRIDESCENT, GLIMMERING

Willow sent me this photo of the finished roof section,it all works and is extremely stable as well as a beautiful shape. The ribbons are iridescent through the sun in the image , and I guess we will make use of the ambient lighting and our own spotlights to recreate this effect at Origin.

 

I have been writing out the roof ribbons as we are going to pre-weave them on Friday at Willow’s studio. Although they may not be readable from below (though am tempted to keep a telescope in the space) , I think what is written must be meaningful in the context of the work- start as you mean other to go on....So I decided to use the following word groups, written 8 times (one for each roof arm) ;

 

 the senses (sight, hearing, taste etc)

the elements (fire, earth, air etc)what the elements do  (eg, wood feeds fire, fire creates earth)

Craft materials (ceramics, book art, glass etc)

Craft forms (vessels, mats, mirrors, neckpieces etc)Textile terms (carding, kilim,selvedge etc)

 

The idea is that the text of the textile describes the very materials of the space and its surrounding, and - hopefully- attracts more of it to be written about.

 

I am still working on the specific instructional text for the public, I don't think it’s a question anymore, but a more general 'call to mind', like I did with the loom. Will write more on this later. 

 

# 7 [21 August 2008]

Cooling down in the english rain and wind, allows clearer thought and physical work to begin again. Although it was a very intense  trip to the Alhambra (due to the heat and vast swathes of tourists, like me), I am glad I went as it confirmed my inutition re the colour palette of the structure and surround- desert colours-  sand, gold,rust, red, black, enclosed in a deep cerulean blue. Also the use of geometry and the stilness and beauty of the spaces as you look up was inspiring.

The focus now is on the finishing of the roof. Willow is doing this as we had to focus on sewing it together and ribbon weaves when Raphaella and I went up last week, and it's slow, laborious work which takes longer than any of us realised. But, as the Sufis say 'Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet'.

I met with Hattie again and have chosen a bright cerulean blue voile for the surround, which will enclose the space like a transparent sea and allow the public to glimpse and be glimpsed at intervals as they pass the space. We are going to try out a couple of meters of this on a scaffold when we go up to the studio next week to pre-weave the roof. We hadn't planned to pre weave the roof but when we got it up and saw and felt the height, it became obvious that its not practical or possible to do this in public. So I am compliing texts, like poetic fragments, to write on the top section. I will use this to create an intention for how the work will live when it is finally put together for the 7th October. 

# 6 [30 July 2008]

I am in Spain, in sweltering heat and light with my family, trying to do a bit of work in between... Willow has sent me photos of the model she made based on sketches , to see how the frame will look around the structure. I will use this to try out  ideas on the dressing of the space and the colour palette. She also sent me some of the thoughts she has written over the years, one which resonates in particular - 
'SIMPLICITY does not mean without detail.  Simplicity means even more attention is paid to how things feel, how they really are, so that a simple gesture can summon up a whole experience'.
 I wanted to put here an updated description of the project that I wrote the other day:

'Crafting Space invites visitors to Origin to engage in the hands-on weaving of a 3.6 m high   x 2.8 m wide circular structure. 

 Visitors may choose from questions posted within the space which will ask them to consider the meaning and value of making, buying and collecting in a new  and intriguing context . They will then write their response on a length of translucent ribbon and weave this into the structure.

 The intention is to transform visitors perception of what it means to be engaged in craft.

 Based on the dimensions of the perfect circle, the project offers a point of reflection and connection, weaving together diverse members of the public and capturing a moment in time in a unique and delicate way.

 The weaving of one of the 3,000 ribbons required to cover the structure will give individual visitors the opportunity to transform the bare bones of an existing piece of craft into a stunning object of collective creativity.

 Crafting Space makes use of textiles , architecture and written text –'architexture’ – to offer a social, poetic experience  to visitors that is intended  to unify and inspire.' 

i like this term 'architexture', it captures the hybrid medium I am working with more and more. It comes from an essay called 'Drawing Threads from Sight to Site' by Victoria Mitchell, published in 'Textile - the Journal of Cloth and Culture' edited by Janis Jefferies and Diana Wood Conroy (published by Berg). Janis is my mentor on my R+D this year and I am slowly discovering her writings with relish. 

# 5 [20 July 2008]

Hattie came over to Willows and we had a great session working on the stand design but then when she costed it up realised it is way over what I can afford. So now new idea is to use lighting truss and hang fabric panels from it, which I think wll actually be more in keeping with the piece.
Katy Bevan from the Crafts Council came to look at the model on friday. She had some constructive input, we were trying out different types of ribbon and binding through the mesh. Contrary to what i expected the sheer (fake organza) and single satin seem to work the best and are the msit readable - i think it will give it an ethereal look, shot through with strong colour.
Was relieved to work with soft materials again, got rather exhausted with all the steel and worrying about the budget,  but its part of the journey and all feels like its moved on a lot this week. 

# 4 [20 July 2008]

THE SLOW BUILD OF STEEL..
Been working at willows studio in South Bermondsey this week. They know Willow well but I think the roofers in the unit opposite are quite amused at Raphaella (my production manager ) and I , small women, toiling with steel mesh - measuring, cutting, bending... Well, as Willow says, I am a 'soft machine', she a hard one. She is at home with this material and can work for days at it, I struggle , but it's good to feel my hands and sweat have touched the basic structure of the final work (we have been making the wall sections). I think this collaboration between hard and soft- steel and textile, is a powerful one and has its own momentum. Ideas flow, as does the miso soup to give us strength. I spent the night here a couple of times, only the third time I have done that since Moses was born. Have had to do a lot of expressing milk, it reminds me of my other current purpose in life , and the combination of adrenalin and oxytocin is an intoxicating if exhausting one.

# 3 [14 July 2008]

MAKING, BUILDING, SHAPING (1) 
Willow has been working away at the structural design of the central piece, making steel mesh models and trying out the roof. It looks certain to work and am doing a ribbon weave with a piece of mesh to see how a section works. It's a bit tricky to get the ribbon on but it fits perfectly along the mesh, as if made to order which is satisfying. Also, its very easy to read the texts. We calculated we can get just over 4000 ribbons woven into the walls, then the remaining ones (if there are any) can be hung from inside, also very easy to read.  Willow has sent over photos and we have been talking on email and phone - my late night treats arriving at night, when the children are asleep.. It looks like she got the only remaining roll of that paricular steel mesh left in the country..just enough for the build this week...I am looking forward to being in  her studio and working on the structure...been very much on pre-production from my laptop, with bursts of sketchbook activity. Also, it brings home how much I need to return to making again, on a small, daily scale. I have a lot of objects lined up to make, but this project and my R+D have been v concerned with larger scale, one off live works. Still, it all feeds into each other..Today is the first day of my two months of work focused time,as my partner Leo is taking main carer role with the children. I can't quite believe how perfect the timing is.

# 2 [8 July 2008]

AUDIENCE, COLLABORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

When I did a performance lab with Janine Antoni in 2006, (Lore and Other Convergences) she got us to write a letter to our audience for the piece we were making together. I really like this practice and have used it a few times to get in tune with my work and those I am making it for.  As a precursor to this am thinking about my general intentions for the work and how it lands with the public; 

My intentions are for this installation to be a social space - a space which is easy to access but which facilitates a degree of reflection on the visitors wider experience of Origin. A space which holds an artwork which intrigues and invites people to participate and return over  the two week period, to want to see how it progresses and feel a certain sense of attachment to it. Am going to write that letter over the coming weeks to help clarify the questions I wish to ask of the public in the making of the work.

 

I had forgotten how many elements there are to consider and decide apon with this kind of piece and also the joy of working with other people who really know their stuff.

I am working with Hattie Spice (runs Spicelumb, an event production company in London and I know her from growing up in Tunbridge Wells) on the design, build and install of the stand for the piece. This feels good as she is very creative and experienced in  this kind of project and with that comes dealing with a lot of technical issues (ground plans, risk assessments, electrics etc) which lifts a load from my shoulders. I have in the past been very bogged down with the production and admin of my own work. There is stuff to work  on for this part of the project, but I am planning to have most of my part of the really  techie stuff handed over by the 21st July so I can concentrate on the content and aesthetics of the work.

I am also working with Willow Winston, an old friend and extraordinary artist who mentored me and  helped me design the chamber space for The Loom Project in 2005. We have collaborated before that ( her- book art, me-  film). We had a synchronous moment when I called her to outline this project and ask her to work on it ; I mentioned the structure being circular / dome–like and she had the exact image in her head. As if whispered by angels. And already, as with the loom chamber, magical esoteric numbers are coming from her experiments on the structure (she is a master mathematician / geometrist as well as deeply esoteric in her approach to work), which will be made of steel mesh, painted, bound with wire and woven through with ribbons.

# 1 [8 July 2008]

Origin Interactive; Crafting Space - Starting points..

 This project, which feels like it came from nowhere and has happened very quickly, is a step up in scale for my public, participatory practice as an artist. I am drawing very much on my experience on The Loom Project installation, as well as the R+D I have been doing since, and am enjoying the many roles I am currently occupying through the process of pre-production. Here is part of the brief I was sent from The Crafts Council who are commissioning it;

"ORIGIN INTERACTIVE - THE BRIEF

To produce a new large scale piece of work or installation that is created at the event or evolves over the two week time span for Origin.The piece of work should be thought provoking, vibrant and unique. 

The piece should engage with the public and /or exhibiting makers in some way during Origin, for example, have a participatory or interactive element. 

Thought should also be given to how the installation might look during times it is not engaged in activity and safety of the piece during these times.

THE THEME

The piece should respond to or comment on the environment of Origin in some way, for example with regard to:

The exhibiting makers  / The visitor interaction and what they do / buy at Origin

The objects on display / technique, material or process / Collecting objects

The selling aspect / value and preciousness of objects

THE SPACE

A key space within the Origin pavilion will be allocated to the installation feature – depending on the nature of the work and medium used, this could be floor space / wall space or, if appropriate, the roof space within the height of the pavilion.”

Here is a section of my proposal :

 “We will create a large scale, strip-woven textile house that is a record of the dialogue around making, selling and buying crafted objects at Origin. 

The making of this piece will constitute a collective presencing of selected objects and their makers / new keepers in the context of a poetic, participative artwork. It will invite the public to consider the idea of Gift and exchange –

What do we receive when we give? And what might certain objects given as gifts signify to the giver and receiver?

This will take place within a creative ‘lab’ space that enables the public to contribute to and engage intimately with the work within the wider context of the Fair.

The  participatory strip-woven textile ‘house of words and threads’ within the feature space – a dome-like, standing structure, will constitute the empty space in the poetic reference above.

The aim of the piece is to articulate a process of reflection and dialogue which participants are drawn into, thus deepening their experience of the Fair. It will provide a lively, daily critical context to the event which not all participants will have had access to without the work being made.”