And so it begins.....

Next spring I will be launching my first exhibition of art infused poetry in Cornwall. This blog is to advertise and update events and above all keep me on track by recording the highs and lows of this enterprize in my posts.

Official Dates of Exhibitions

'The Old Press Gallery' (St Austell)
PREVIEW EVENING - Friday 22nd March 2013 7pm - 9pm

EXHIBITION STARTS - Saturday 23rd-28th March 2013

'Cornish Studies Library' (Redruth)
EXHIBITION STARTS - Tuesday 2nd-6th April 2013



Saturday 23 February 2013

Short...unsure...but still....

it's one of those tidy up posts, to brush up all the bits and bobs that occur when you believe you've wasted a week on nothing substantial. Well I'm going to throw that metaphor into confusion by telling myself - 'Rubbish' I have actually achieved rather a lot. Photo shoot with Charlie, goosebumps and all! pictures surreal, a very real statement. Countless emails (and repeats of emails) to people regarding promotion. Sue Farmer from Redruth Community Radio was on my list this week, an email went today. Her show 'The Written Word', Friday's 3.30 - 4.30 pm, is perfect for a plug in the right direction. I really want to talk about how much Kim has supported this exhibition. The descriptive pieces for each sculpture makes sense, not an easy task,both sets of surveys are drafted and proofs checked by both venues.
On a more reflective note, time for contemplation is short, and I'm unsure: is my work deep enough or consistently surface styled (that's a definite no, minimalism I can't do, but would you make a cup of tea without the leaves in the bag...?).The ideas are solid and the poetry is by far the best I've given to my friend and foe 'word'. I have to remember that this is not art alone in just the visual sense. I want each piece to be enough to hold the attention, the novel can lead the reader like a symphony...is the poem the poor overture?
I have never attempted an epic piece of poetry, it is better when I separate my poetry from my short stories, the endings fall and settle as they should. Whereas my poems rise, fall, rest and rise again like breathing, it is a process which is the same every time. The end can come if it needs to or it can pause infinitely, the subject getting tired of my observation. Every theme has a character of its own; I would say its almost like interviewing the subject whilst the object appears busy but aware. Odd, but imagination must be, should be? All I have to do is try and hold on to the ropes of technicalities, form, movement etc... moulding my creations like Ovid's Prometheus, 'From such rude principles our form began' but it is not man that is revealed in my words, but there once was a toad.......

Sunday 17 February 2013

Opening night, late nights, shells and hairspray.......


I've used half a large can already, hairspray that is, and still my charcoal smudges. I wait upon further ideas fellow artists out there....
I gave a tub full of beautiful shells a bath a couple of nights ago; when they are dry I will begin to burrow through the layers of calcium carbonate to find another poem.

Last Tuesday evening (12th Feb) I attended the preview evening of 'Lightlines' to witness the two screens of photographs and poems parallelled to show and speak to the visitors.

Tom said: "We haven't asked photographers to illustrate poems or poets to respond to photographs. Instead, we all gathered at Trebah on a single day in late November, and particular areas of the garden were assigned to poets and photographers. The results are stunning: a version of Cornwall's most beautiful garden transformed through the photographers' visions and the poets' imaginations. One of the best things about teaching and studying at Falmouth is the opportunity to develop collaborations between different creative disciplines, and this is a great example."



Tom Scott had compiled all our poems into a A4 booklet - I'm still slightly overwhelmed and remained a quiet observer on the night being surrounded by experienced published poets. Ros was on one side (beautiful flowers and now fully bloomed, thank you fab friend), my husband on the other; so apart from winching at my audio attempts I was bursting with pride. It was very sad to hear about Rodger, I will remember him, eyes closed and intently listening to the poems read out that day.

 
Pondering over my presentation to the first years, I started to wonder how my brain was functioning with the constant hopping from academic study to writing creatively. Is it artistic to compose a qualitative survey? As another evening slipped on into the darkest recesses of the night I doubted that any poetry would ever come out of my curdled mind again after this endeavour; then I delved around, my curiosity wandering through a lecture on music, a book on a 'Wider Sky' and a diary entry or two from dearest Woolf and the wisps of words began again.

 
Six pieces done, my back to expose and a bowl of soil to set with PVA.... What wild ecstasy....

Wednesday 6 February 2013

Presentation Day.....




Hello everyone in Room 140....

I'll begin with my first epiphany.....

The Landscape Conference......

CMR writing workshop at Redruth.....

The introduction of two artists and what was revealed to me in their work......

Connecting all the dots.....

The final picture in the shape of an exhibition.....

End result: two exhibitions, a Blog, and a mountain to climb.....