Catching the thread

Trialling 'Fair Trade - Material matters at the Sainsbury Centre and Norwich School of Art and Design, as well as in my studio. Mainly in preparation for 'Matter and Memory' in Moscow - while still not having the money or paperwork to go. These occasions have allowed me to adapt ideas about what was necessary to have included in the exhibition and what would be distracting. Although people like to know how their drawing is going to be on-line it is too complicated to do the whole process while relating properly with contributors at an event.

An important element of this work is developing relationships and interconnections between the people involved, so the fewer barriers the better - and technology can be a big one if used badly. I am beginning to learn the techniques of making it less threatening for both me and contributors, perhaps because I am not allowing the technology to threaten me!

The Sainsbury Centre allowed the work to be seen in a new light, it seemed to gain credibility. I didn't need to see that, as I was already sure of the work's strength, even if I found it difficult to express in words sometimes, but perhaps it did change other peoples perception of it. Sitting next to Henry Moore, Degas and Matisse drawings it did feel right, the work belonged.

Following several sessions collecting drawings I then had to stitch the physical quilt and update the online version, currently there are 3 blanket panels, I am aiming for 4 before I go to Moscow, the image shows part of one. For the updated version online see FrostArt

Web Quilt; developing community

Developing the on-line quilt with Josh's help, he is such a good teacher and I am learning to be creative with the web-site.

The unexpected bonus of making this has been the web-sites and interest of other artists who have done their self portraits, I am creating an artificial community which will have links and relationships. It will be fascinating to see what happens as a result.

The extension of physical to virtual community, and reading Tim Ingolds work about lines and links at the same time seems to have strengthened each part of the work, both in my mind and when I share it with others.

Distraction and interest

Putting together complex work, I have enjoyed looking at references, reading and collecting a wider variety of material to find context of my work in a broader field.

The freedom and obvious involvement in development of ideas through drawing by Kounellis encouraged me to use my sketch book both more personally and moe infomatively. The whole book, material used and tactile qualities became integral to thinking process, much more satisfactory and so more infomative to both me and others.

Organisation of collaborative projects has to be the most frustrating way of working when they are in the early stages, and the most rewarding in the later stages. Working in sketchbook has to be the absolute opposite, instantly ideas can be realised and discarded if they seem non-viable

Focussing and maintaining energy to finish work, I had to spend time out side whenever the weather allowed to get the light, working on all the elements of Fair Trade Art has meant too many hours inside. I took the sketch book with me a lot of the time, and when coming in form the allotment one day saw this image - which also reminded me of William Nicholson's painting of Gertrude Jekyll's boots. I liked the physicalltiy of the leather and the potential of both boots and sketch book.

These images have some of the feeling and pre-occupation about lines, links and traces, thinking while walking and working and on the allotment. Drawing lines by planting and harvesting, patterns in the soil in relation to working on the loom.

Old and new year: people, materials and methods

The New year started as usual with our Open House party. A wide variety of people and ages come, this year included an old school friend Clare Anderson, from Woldingham who I had not seen since 1978 at our wedding until one cold early morning on the train from Littleport to London at the end of last year, 2006. I was on my way to the Royal Society's Art and Ecology conference 'No Way Back'. She was on her way to work, having lived in Cambridge since 1990 it seemed strange that our paths had not overlapped ever before., but it is great to renew a friendship.

The willow growth has not been consistent over the last few months, it has been in new bud and branching and now it is cold, really cold for the first time in more than 12 months. First there was ice on the trees and bright sunshine, then icy fog where plants started to look like they really were dormant. It felt healthy to have the cold and a chance for new growth to happen without being infected by old diseases.

Looking again at the long term, for when I am not writing so much and start being outside and making more - not just because of the seasons but because I will have to to be in the air and sun light for health reasons. I have been installing work into the allotment space - making it more of a studio for reference and archive; a record of decay visually not scientifically. Using old seats as containers for leaf mould and recording the changes makes them more than just bits of discarded weaving and old seats and turns them into potential pieces of work.

Looking at other websites and blogs, I am even more certain that my idea of having a combination of blog and web site is right. Susan Bowman's combination of open access site and passworded journal is really efficient and looks good, though it is a bit prone to lists. I will be developing FrostArt to include this, using all the new toys - Dreamweaver, Flash and Fireworks. Sounds too strange at the moment - for those who all understand and use them already you will know how long it takes. Have I taken on more than I can cope with for 2007?

To many words not enough images - this will be remedied in the next posting

Fair Trade decisions

I have decided on Fair Trade Art as a title for my exchange in Moscow, with the agreement of the Fair Trade Foundation This has provided a good starting point, drawn self portraits are the rate of exchange.
The image shows one of the students at UEA's Bangers and Mash Fair Trade Fair doing her self portrait for Fair Trade Art. Plans for both Moscow 'kiosk' are still developing. I am modelling the idea in a variety of places and it was encouraging and exciting to hear and feel poeples reactions at this event.

The climate in Moscow during February will not allow for holding a market event outside at the Biennale, or rather I will not be able to cope with temperatures less than -20c In a way this will prove more challenging; to get the Art world really involved with an
I had a rubber stamp made to 'validate' portraits for the project, this has proved to be a really effective way of making a community of artists. Seen on the left with ink pad, the ink colour is exactly the same as Woad; to some extent chance. In addition I have started a collection of labels from the blankets used, which also seem to be generally the same blue. ANy significance of all these facts may come to light at a later date.

I had not seen them but I am told Jake & Dinos Chapman were selling drawings of people at Freize Art, made on the spot portraits at £3000 or £4000 each; this is strange as I had the idea about fair trade art confirmed by Freize, without seeing them.

The next image is of me stitching on recycled blankets with woad dyed yarn, I use carbon copies to work from, the originals are retained by the artist/participants and Traditionally a quilt has three layers; the layers of this quilt will be online for all to access information about the artists and, within reason, any web-sites they are involved with. Making and feeling, manipulating materials are what I need to do, slow making helps the thinking process, helps me to understand the world. It is like the Hare Brain Tortoise Mind book by Guy Claxton, 'when you come away from a problem it becomes clearer'.

I am planning to model Fair Trade Art at galleries and coffee shops in the New Year - dates and venues will be put online as soon as I have them confirmed.

Pace, balance and rhythm

Working with trees, maintaining fedges, hedges and hedgerows -and yes there is a difference - makes me conscious of how I always work in the long term. Short term projects don't really have any attraction and have no relation to the natural world. The original fedge on the allotment is now 10 years old, the hedgerow is I think 16 years old and has so much wildlife in residence and the Goat willow fedge is now in its fourth winter. Images here of first summer, 2003 and just taken this week, this years growth is about 5 metres long and I have had to take more off so that the base is not stressed in the strong winds.

Sustainable practice has so many meanings and implications, as with most things it is whatever presents itself as urgent that human individuals consider the most important. This varies so widely - depending on life circumstance and cultural position.

In conversations with other artists over the last year - how to find a balance between energies, needs of family and time allowed to make work.

I have found myself watching and remembering my own struggle to find the balance, desperately wanting to 'be an artist' but torn by the emotional need to be a mother(never mind the social expectations) and the lack of financial and physical resources which affected my ability to make considered choices. It was more a question of how to deal with what presented itself, how to adapt it to some sort of advantage!

In the short term it seemed impossible, but now, in hindsight all those skills I gained have enabled me to work with so many people with different world views and experiences.

I have also realised that I am almost incabable of working or thinking in the short term, doing anything that is in isolation whether it is writing, planting, weaving, or 'just' making a pair of shoes for a new baby Thomas I always think in the context of past and future. The shoes were made from leather and wool that I was given from Frances Frosts' house clearance, Thomas would have been her third great grandson. The 'pattern' was the same one that I used over and over for our children, shoes are design to be first shoes - with a leather sole strong enough to learn to walk in but soft enough to be like walking in bare feet.

Reading a blog reviewing and commenting on Nicolas Bouuriaud 'Realtional Aesthetics'in terms of Theological and Christian world view, this has to bee seen as a subjective position, I have no knowledge of the contribution to the Blog in question but have found it an interesting develpment of Community and relationship, extending the relational activity, art and family charechteristics.

creative involvement

Making work that is public and includes the actions of others, like the Field Theatre Group in Littleport, where I led the initiative for a community walk to define green spaces, is a trading of skills and inclusion of others creativity. This is ongoing work and will be built on when funding is available, about the 'spaces in between' and green corridors' which are essential to sustianable and healthy communities.

In making an application to the British Council I have become much more objective about the process. I may or may not receive support but it has made me able to do more of the process independently, and efficiently. Plans for creating a place or time in Moscow will be transfered to Fair Trade events in Norwich and Liverpool if funds are not available, work with people is transferable so long as they are not taken advantage of or manipulated.

Drawing together people and places is very much like the action of drawing together yarn for a warp, there are places where it tangles and is difficult to work with, and places where it runs smoothly unexpectedly. Planning does not always allow for chance opportunities - make mistakes into a positive part of the design process

Trading

I went to Freize Art in Regents Park, London, a strange experience - so much expectation and money it felt more like a fashion event. The exchange of ideas and concepts into hard cash - a strange market and one that the artists do not seem to benefit greatly from, other than gaining their reputation trhough association with gallery owners and dealers.
With ideas of Fair Trade and planning for next years events during Fair Trade fortnight this yet again strengethened my aim to make and promote the action of making that is not resource wasteful, either for maker or buyer.
There is no image for this entry, which is indicative of the amount of reading I am doing. Beginning to get itchy fingers, wanting to make for the sake of making is not a good reason to create anything!

trading places tracing lines

This Image is of Conni Blom in a studio space in moscow - a very strange experience - one of many and one that I still don't really inderstand the significance of. I took the photo and didn't see him in it until I had enlarged the image two weeks later, in the computer.

I think this is where my idea about an exchange of self portraits started, but perhaps this was so subconscious that I am trying to do something artists wont want to.

The exchange of images and ideas that has been going on as part of the Passion for the Real started me thinking about Fair Trade in Art, we have been very trusting and generous to each other. Is this is because of the innate desire artists seem to have to share their work and want approval, response and affrimation that their ideas convey something more than just self interest?

I have been going into galleries, studios and cafes in UK to both exchange and collect work, self protraits mainly, to be included in the Fair Trade Art Project. This has produced intersting responses form all contributors and thos who don't want to contribute. I have had to both justify and think through the idea in detail, which should mean it is refined and more relevant to more people.

Until I had selected this portion of the image I had not seen the link to the icon shapes already there as well - how much subconscious is at work all the time.

New Language

The previous entry had a strange combination of fonts - somehow I couldn't resolve this or ran out of energy, I apologise if this affected your reading of the blog.

This is another image of the workshop I ran at the Dascha, with Conni Blom moving the whole 'page'.

I have been reading work by Nicolas Bourriaud, 'Relational Aesthetics' and 'Post Production' which is explaining the actions that I do and which Janette is doing with communities in LIverpool. The work is 'to consider interhuman exchange an aesthetic object in and of iteslf' except that our work is not purely about human exchange but about the living world, the non-human inhabitants as well the human.
I read Bourriaud in French to start with - simply because that is how I came across it first of all. I found it very strange to read it in English, there were some discrepancies between the original and the translation so I tried to do my own, but some phrases just could not be put into English. Somehow that is an expression of what I am doing in my work. There are gaps in both in the expression and the understanding, but this is not negative - just a different way to see and understand the world.