Notes on a good start (I think) to the studio year:

Having agonised for about six months, I have resigned from the committee of Ryedale ArtWorks.  I have worked voluntarily for RAW since its inception and feel it is time for me to dedicate more time to my own studio work and that it is time for other members of RAW to step up and take some responsibility for their organisation.  I have happily worked alongside other committee members and aritsts to enable RAW to achieve some pretty good things. I've born the brunt of one quite outrageously rude and unwarranted public attack from a member and some pretty constant and thoughtless remarks along the lines of: it's alright for me because I don't have to earn a living from my work, which have made me feel very dejected for much of these six months, so I feel I've done my bit!  I shall continue my membership of course, because I believe in what RAW has achieved and can continue to achieve for all its members.

I made five versions so I could select the best three.

I've been in the studio for two days this week, making my postcards for The International Postcard Show 2015 and formalising my ideas for the ballot box piece.  I have never made it down to Nottingham's Surface Gallery to see the show, but I really like the idea of an international exchange of work, even if they are only postcard sized. Last year I did not exchange my pieces because I liked them too much to give them away.  They did not sell, and I gave one away to a special person and the others went to Clare Smith, who included them in her zine.  More of that later.  

This year's postcards are in colour!  Exclamation mark indeed, because I love black and white, but decided that maybe folks would prefer something more jolly in January.  I continue with my use of tally marks, layering up the paint and used the heart motif, which along with star motifs have featured in my most recent work along with asemic text.  I have called them Song #1, #2 and #3.  They are now in the post and should arrive in time for the Saturday deadline.

From top: Song #1, Song #2, Song #3

My notes about the ballot box piece are on my a-n blog:

https://www.a-n.co.uk/blogs/a-portrait-of-an-artist-as-a-very-late-starter

I have already hit a technical problem, which is how to cut my Chinese paper roll into a 12.5 cm wide strip. To unroll and cut it would prove problematic; I don't want to crease the paper too much by handling it during the cutting process.  I am wondering if a really good guillotine, such as the ones that printing companies use would be able so cut through the entire paper roll so that I end up with  a roll about the right width.  I shall visit a company I know of next week and ask them!

Meanwhile I am gathering some other information in preparation.  Once I have the paper cut and some screens made, (I will order some from Thermofax Screens http://www.thermofaxscreens.co.uk/ ), I shall be able to start and it is quite exciting!  I intend to use a mixture of printmaking techinques as well as drawing.

Back to the zine; 

Just before Christmas I received my copy of a zine that Clare Smith http://www.studio308ltd.co.uk/  produced as part of a really interesting project,

Stitched Time.  http://www.studio308ltd.co.uk/projects/stitched-time/

Front cover

Clare conceived, instigated and worked collaboratively with other women for several months on this project last year, despite falling ill and directing the hang for the final show from her hospital bed!   I feel privileged to be a small part of it by contributing to the zine and hope to get down to visit the wonderful space that she has been using in Dover some time.

From the foreword, by Clare Smith

The three pictures above show my contribution

Two pictures above show inside back cover

Back cover

Thank you, Clare Smith for this opportunity and good luck with all your other projects this year.

It is interesting to note that the artists I showed with in Wobudong all contributed, which strengthens my belief that blogging and sharing is worthwhile because it is through my blog on a-n, (see link earlier in this post)  that I became involved in that project and as a consequence, broadened my exhibiting experience and artist contacts. 

Link to Wobudong post:   https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7124941679212812075#editor/target=post;postID=3327270501718329137;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=27;src=postname 

Planning for 2015

I received an email on 22nd December welcoming me to NYOS 15 and I am very pleased to be accepted for the second year running.  It was a welcome bit of good news in the frantic run up to the festivities.

I am pleased that Jenny Pepper,  http://www.jennypepper.com  a felt maker who has a studio on the same farm out at Stonegrave has also been accepted.  It will be a doubly worth while visit for people on the studio trail in June.

For those wanting to put this popular event in their diaries, Open Studios is held on the weekends of:
June 6th and 7th, and June 13th and 14th

Meanwhile, I have some postcards to produce for the looming deadline for the International Postcard Show at Surface Gallery in Nottingham, I have never yet made it down to see the show, but I like the idea of an international exchange of art works.

I will be in the studio solidly for the next few weeks, working on my ballot box project for the Democracy Rocks upcoming show in March/April, (dates tbc).
I have lots of thoughts and ideas floating around in my head but it is time to get on with working with actual materials, to develop, refine and select the format and processes that will make these ideas real.  I am slightly worried that I need to get something ready for early February for photography purposes, but I seem to thrive when I put myself in a tight deadline position!

I am planning to actually get my aritsts' books underway this year too, as well as making the final two large paintings of the quartet I started for my solo show in 2013.  There will be lots more paintings based on sketches and doodles I made last year as well.

Oh, and I am going to finish the books I started reading last year and do lots of walking, starting with short ones to begin with. . . . 

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, please feel free to leave a comment.

Happy new year!

Quick studies ready for posting

I can't for the life of me remember what I entitled these; I forgot to photocopy the application form for my records but it was something to do with ideas about stitching the fabric of life together.  

I made it to the studio on Monday.  It was not too cold although the doors were very difficult to lock at the end of the session because they had swollen up so much with all the rain we have had.  The trusty Calor kept me from freezing and I managed to complete the 3 postcards for the Surface Gallery's International Postcard Show and made a good start on the book for The Sketchbook Project, which I have since finished at home due to yet more workmen being on site.  All in all a pretty good week so far.

http://www.surfacegallery.org/index.php

http://www.sketchbookproject.com/

The reason I have frantically finished the book is that I knew I would not have much time after today because I have decided to drive down South to go to the PV for the Frome leg of the tour for SKETCH, in which I have a book.  I am interested to see how the works are displayed in a different venue and to meet some new people.

http://www.rableydrawingcentre.com/sketch-2013.html

Below are some pages from the book, I am interested in how working quickly has thrown images and ideas together again and I will pursue some of these further during the year.  It will be absorbing to work with the symbols and marks, to find out if they can all be incorporated into single pieces of new work, or whether they will in fact work better kept apart but presented together as a body of work.  Hmmmmm.

Apologies for the variety of tinged backgrounds to these photos; I took them at different times of the day, some with natural light, some with daylight bulb lighting.  I have not yet learned how to adjust my photos on photoshop using the CMY balance.  It is something I intend to rectify this year!

Getting my brain back in gear

Groan!  I have a surfeit of food in the house and am planning the new year's eve family gathering.  I am going to have to vastly increase my exercise in the new year to work the over consumption off!  We are all having a very nice family Christmas up here in North Yorkshire; we managed to clean all the builders dust away just in time.  It has been a relaxing gathering, with more family arriving tomorrow and on New Year's eve itself.

I hope that everyone reading this blog of mine is having a very happy Christmas and I wish you all a successful and fulfilling 2014.

I am now beginning to think about  my work again; I already have two deadlines looming for mid January.  One for the Sketchbook Project, www.thesketchbookproject.com , which I have not even begun and needs to be registered and posted by 14th January, and another for the International Postcard show at the Surface Gallery in Nottingham; again, not started yet.  For both though, I have some ideas, so I am looking forward to doing the work.
http://www.surfacegallery.org/

The cheque to North Yorkshire Open Studios must be posted in January, so I must not forget. NYOS also want some photos of me working in my studio; I hate having photos taken of me, I am much better if they are taken with me unaware as I get very self concious.  On January 16th we have our trip to MIMA with Ryedale ArtWorks, where William Tillyer is going to show us round his retrospective exhibition.  http://www.nyos.org.uk/

I need to decide if I will submit to the Ferens Open in Hull as well.

Meanwhile I have to plan how I am going to get my large painting across to Manchester for the W0budong exhbition. http://w0budong.wordpress.com/

I see asemic text everywhere:

The bright white light reflections in this textured glass really look like magical text that somehow expresses something that is intangible.

I am determined to be in the studio as much as possible next year in order to make lots of new works, both large and small as well as some research into suitable galleries for my work.  There is a huge amount of work to be done alongside my responsibilities as Chair of Ryedale ArtWorks.  

Oh, and I don't think I have mentioned this before because my daughter-in-law has been understandably cautious:  I am going to be a grandmother in the summer!  (Fortunately due after the NYOS in June!)