Ennoia - from my archive

Moved to a gallery location, these balloon shapes were originally filled with wild flower seeds and hung from trees in the grounds of Queen Mary's College, where they were to be allowed to decay and deposit the seed on the ground to grow.

I graduated as a mature student in 1995 and was incredibly lucky to "fall" into a teaching post almost immediately.  It was one of those accidents of fate; I was stoney broke, having used a credit card to pay my degree show expenses and was standing around at the local sixth form college waiting for my son to enrol when a lovely teacher I was acquainted with asked me what I was planning to do now that I had graduated.  On my reply that I needed to earn some money, quickly as I had debts to pay off, preferably using my skills, he beckoned me into an office and told me I could teach the Adult Education art and design course.  It was that easy. . . .  I should add that I had begun to know this teacher from conversations about art that we had while I participated in a sculpture workshop that he facilitated during one summer at the college.

I settled into the Adult Ed. curriculum, learning as I went and getting good results, which culminated in my employment as a part time teacher across the curriculum of the day time courses.  It was sheer joy!  I loved working with those young people, however "difficult" some of them were at times.

During this time, working part time during the day and still running the Adult Ed. course, (can you believe, I was actually teaching two courses at once in the evening sessions at times?) I completed the City and Guilds Teaching Certificate parts 1 and 2.  

In the middle of all this, two friends, whom I had met at the brilliant part time foundation course we did at Basingstoke College of Technology, and I formed an artist group.  We were different kinds of practitioners yet we felt we had similar concerns and sensitivities within what we made.  We called ourselves Ennoia, which is a Greek word, if my memory serves me correctly, which roughly means "a thought not yet fully formed".  We thought this was rather lovely both in sound and meaning, allowing for the enigmatic in our art making.  

This sculpture is part of the refurbishment of a small outside but enclosed patio area.  It became, with the help of the Learning Support students, a seaside retreat!  The sculpture consists of small, fired clay shapes, modelled on seaside forms, threaded onto flexible metal poles set into a concrete base.  Surrounded by other forms and ephemera, it was a treasure trove of objects and shapes, just like a real beach!

All three of us had an interest in people that are marginalised within our society; the disabled, elderly etc.  My teaching at Queen Mary's College enabled us to quickly make contact with the Learning Support department and we formed a working relationship with them, which resulted in two residencies on site.

These were early days for digital cameras, so I have been having difficulty finding photographs of these two projects, coupled with the great sadness of the deaths of my two dear friends and colleagues, Sue Offord and Jane Haines, which meant that access to their materials on the subject was impossible.  I am sure that I have some printed photographs in a box somewhere, but for now I present the digital record that I have of our work together.

When I find the rest of the photographs, I'll post them up; I remember that some of them were really lovely and showed the other part of the first residency that included the balloons, which was a series of hanging artworks consisting of small drawings inserted into clear plastic CD covers, stitched together and suspended within the hut space we were using to create art work to walk through.  Happy days!

London: Gallery Marathon Part 3

Am really liking the new extension at Tate Britain

Our entry for the Schwitters at Tate Britain was booked for 12.30, so we didn't have to rush in the morning; just as well after the previous day's work.

I remember using a postcard of a Schwitters collage as a starting point for a ceramics module during my foundation course at Basingstoke College of Technology.  What interested me about the piece was the movement and direction within it and the tonal qualities across the surface.  The colours of his collage and paint pieces must also have influenced me as, if I remember correctly, some of my early struggles with paint used similar colours as some of Schwitters abstract works although he wasn't the only influence on my work.   I must try and find some of the old stuff i did now it is all out of storage to confirm this memory, or maybe it is just wishful thinking . . . I'll see if I still have the pieces I am thinking of and take some photos to upload for later on.

 Having been classed among the "degenerates" by Hitler Schwitters fled to Norway to avoid persecution.  He was interned on the Isle of Man having fled Norway after the German invasion of that country.  The artists in this community of internees were given access to materials to work with and put on exhibitions.  The documentation about this was fascinating and heart rending.  The windows of their living accomodation was painted out with a blue paint or some such substance and the artists were in the habit of scratching designs into it, Schwitters also resorted to tearing up lino from the floor in order to make prints.  I love the way that artists always find a way to make work even in really adverse conditions.

Schwitters was a good painter; his portraits are very good, I particularly admire the portrait of Klaus Hinrichsen,  the intensity of the sitters' face is fabulous.  The landscapes are well painted, but are more like an exercise in painting to keep his eye in; there are so many landscapes painted in this way from around this same time that they did not move me in the same way as the portraits did.  The landscapes reminded me of  the school of Sickert, although the palette was lighter than Sickert's.  They were very accomplished though.  Schwitters' more abstract, dark and brooding paintings were very interesting as was his combination of paint and found objects, these again, took me straight back to foundation course I did in Basingstoke.  Happy days!

I found the collages the most interesting.  The tonal variation of the found pieces Schwitters used, his placing of each piece, the combination of found, cut and torn edges and subtle variations in colour are so well seen and utilised.  Add to this the humorous touches made with found imagery and the political statements within some of them and these works provide endless opportunity for study, contemplation and admiration.  I will never be bored with looking at a Schwitters collage piece.  Schwitters layered up these works, aware that the materials used placed them at a certain time in history and although sometimes certain words and images were deliberately placed to convey a message, mostly they were placed from a formal point of view; for their texture, tone or shape, to enhance the movement within the piece.  The later collages were more complex and layered, perhaps a reflection of the more abundant material available, perhaps a metaphor for Schwitters' own experience and longevity.

I think it is Schwitters' endless playfulness, his use of the found, usually mundane object, which he then transformed into an interesting statement that makes him a good artist for study at foundation level and beyond.  He opens our eyes to the possibilities of art making that are all around us.  He was an established artist before he fled to England via Norway and he was acquainted with many of the established and avante garde artists of the time, who respected his work.  The recording of Schwitters reading one of his sound poems, another aspect of his work is both strange and funny, true to its Dadaist roots.  It reminds me of an aural version of asemic text; communicating something but without using any established form of communication, which is something my work has brushed up against, although I have not taken it far in that direction.

A 'found' wall painting in my house, during building work

Another poignant part of this exhibition, along with the obvious poverty and hardship suffered by Schwitters, although he never seemed to let this diminish his interest and determination to make work, was the documentation regarding the fate of the Merz barn in the Lake District.  Various parties including Tate, had at times expressed an interest in preserving it and then backed out when the cost was deemed too much.  It seemed to me so typical of the British attitude to art and life in general!  What there is left of the Merz barn is in the Hatton Gallery, Newcastle.

I really recommend this exhibition and the catalogue is good too.  Go see, go buy!

A Relief in More Ways Than One

So, Obama is re-elected President of the United States, I was up all night watching developments with unease to begin with and relief by the end.  Congratulations to him and good luck - he will need it.

I worked on what should be the final draft of my Grants for the Arts application yesterday, finished all the attachments, did the  final word count and read through.  It's a bit over the word count, but I think it will be ok.  It reads well, and all in all, I am hopeful for a positive response so that I can get on with what I am best at: making work.  It will go off to Yvette for the final scrutiny this morning, and all being well, I press "send" tomorrow. 

I shall be so glad to have the application out of the way as I desperately need to get back in to the studio.  I never did get those experimental relief prints finished in time for the open submission in Hull, so I am keen to keep on with those.  I have one of a series of four collagraphs based on the seasons started, so it will be good to develop them.  I have a few ideas buzzing around in my head for some drawings too . . .

 

Some of the drawings I have done in my Chinese notebooks would make great etchings, and I plan to start work on some next year, when I have more time to concentrate and brush up on my printmaking skills.  It is a long time since I have made etchings, but I had a great teacher in Paul Ryan at Basingstoke College of Technology, where I did my Foundation course, so I am sure it won't take me too long before I am making some interesting prints.

Meanwhile there is a massive clean up going on at home after the plastering was completed upstairs and I need to get the rest of my studio equipment and library of art books and catalogues out of storage because I really need access to them now.  So, lots to do and exciting times ahead.

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