We are really lucky in Bridport. For a very small town we have loads going on. The flags in Bucky Doo Square for the Hat Festival today proclaim us a Britain’s Eventful Town. We have a film festival, a book festival, a literary festival, three performing stages and a number of pubs and other venues for music and events. One of the key arts sites is the Bridport Arts Centre where this project will be installed in March 2014. LIke all public arts venues the Arts Centre, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, is always in need of funds. We are lucky to get people willing to give their time and performances to aid the cause: on of these was Mark Knopfler who appeared in conversation with Polly Gifford, the Arts Centre Director, to talk about his career and music. I can remember him talking about how he needed to have a little riff to let the audience know what song it was but that mostly he just improvised and it was different every time. He was playing guitar as he talked and a number of times said “I’ve never played that before”. Well I can honestly say about today’s piece, “I’ve never done that before”. The combination of surface treatment, format, materials and even the style of the marks and structures are totally new – and yet it sits in the flow of my work in a way that you can tell it is by me even though it is quite radically different to what I have done in the project before or even through all my work. Oh, by the way, I really rather like it!
It’s perhaps that I am still upset by our cat being unwell that it took me three goes to get a piece good enough. I think that I may have been over critical of one but the other was crap! Well perhaps that is not fair. The piece didn’t work as a finished artwork and I would not have been happy seeing it on my wall or anyone else’s, but It was useful to have tried it and understood why it didn’t work.
The piece I did complete for the project started a bit tentatively – not surprising after two false starts – but turned out well in the end.
Now I have reached the halfway point I need to crack on with all the things that will make the whole project come together: things like this blog’s design and additional content and being able to buy on-line and sponsorship perhaps.
I hadn’t left myself that much time to do today’s piece so hesitated when my idea got superseded by another. Pleased I let myself commit to the inspiration as it turned out quite different to much that I have been doing recently and I really rather like it!
Dedication to Bramble on the back of the envelope of No181
It’s been a very emotionally trying day for me and I have decided that today’s piece is not for sale, but is dedicated to our cat Bramble who may not be with us much longer. She went to the vets to have a dental treatment today but we had a call to say they were unable to give her the anaesthetic because her tongue was swollen with what is probably a tumour. It was that and not her teeth that has been causing her discomfort and difficulty in eating. We thought we might lose her today but she has had a shot that will take away some of the inflammation and discomfort and we have some time to love her until the inevitable time comes when we must decide to have her put down.
I have been pretty distraught and today’s piece is a personal response to the imminence of her loss and as such is not for sale, though it will be displayed in the #Letter365 installation.
No181, devoid of much writing was delivered by hand
I was very pleased with yesterday’s piece, created at Tate Modern and partly because I was tired I decided to develop that theme today and I am really pleased I did. It took a bit longer than I had hoped, well quite a lot longer really, but it was really worth it and I will be doing more in this vein or progressions of the idea both in and outside of the project.
As mentioned yesterday, I had a plan for today’s piece which worked out just great. Executed after seeing the Malevich and Matisse shows at Tate Modern I posted it in a double box just round the back.
Complete change of tack today for the piece but using this post box (first used yesterday) for the second time. Sometimes I take a gamble and it just works. Today’s did. Either that or it’s total rubbish – but I still would have it on my wall. The “rubbish” thing comes from my preparation for tomorrow. We are going to London to catch the Matisse Cut Outs before it finishes and so I have prepared an envelope – Oh bugger I forgot the stamp on today’s!!!
As I was saying, I have prepared an envelope, now with a stamp on it, and when I gathered together some materials I had an idea to try something tomorrow about which I am quite excited. Of course anticipation is always more delicious than hindsight so I lost confidence in today’s piece in the brilliant light of tomorrow’s as yet unstarted work. Of course, the idea might turn out to be a crock of shit when I actually bring it into being! It could end up in a waste bin at Tate Modern and I will have to start anew.
All a bit of a rush today and because we went to a concert this evening I didn’t have time to post this on the blog till late. It was posted in a post box I have not used before, in East Street in Bridport.
The piece inside is carrying along the line of the idea of the previous two days. It suggested something else which may or may not get taken up in this project or elsewhere: it’s all so fertile this do-something-each-day stuff!
Having problems with IT again – struggling to get images up from my PC at home. Computers and IT generally are now anathema to me.
On the other hand making art is good for me. Rather than forget that I had stumbled across something interesting yesterday I decided to continue on with it in today’s piece: not that I forged ahead but it is rather lovely.
I say interesting because I thought twice about sticking with today’s piece. I found the results and process very interesting and want to play around with other things in this vein but obviously don’t want to start tweeting images that might give people clues to what I am doing. So yet another thing goes into abeyance – or not!
Today was the first time for ages that I have used sealing wax and I stuck the stamp on sideways which I have not done before.
Back of #Letter365 No175
An unfolding artwork created a piece each day for a year
