Move slower, search for the things that fall between the cracks.

I enjoyed making these a couple of weeks ago. I was going to attempt a collage a day but somehow I always end up distracted, lose my way or simply life takes over. However, I am committing to getting stuff off my phone and stored into this space as somehow it makes it real then. Again, there's something about the immediacy of 'Stories' on Instagram that allows me to be more spontaneous, I'm able to hit a button and not overthink a little bit of doodling. Oh, for spontaneity and not overthinking, everyday, forever and ever. And ever. 

Making Your Mark

I am completely swept up in collage at the moment, yet another Tapies inspired wave! I know my art experience should move beyond the joy of making smeared and dirty smudge marks using oil stick and a range of pencils (this is a description of my work NOT Tapies's) ... but even after all these years I still have to have my fix and my feeling is that, if it was good enough for Tapies then it's good enough for me. This week I've really been enjoying this wonderful body of work and this guy's work too!!! This is what you get when you mix drawing, collage, humour and satire, Mr. Fullarton I salute you!!!! I'm going to head off now to try and finish these collages that I'm working on, hopefully I'll be back tomorrow to show how they turned out. Be back soon!

Fine Art versus Craft

A couple of posts ago I showed this new piece of work which had come together very quickly when I was playing around for twenty minutes. I received some positive feedback and decided that I would carry on playing with these ideas, particularly as my youngest boy is finally established at nursery for 2.5 days and it seems like now is the right time to begin reviewing what I am making and why. When my hubby saw this work he was very encouraging and with a look of relief on his face he chirped 'Now, this is Kate's work, very you!'. Now, first of all I must apologize for using my poor hubby to illustrate this point but it is a fair point I want to make so I'm sure he won't mind. Whilst I am pleased that hubby recognizes that I have a style, what I really think he wanted to say was 'Phew, she's stopped with the pretty butterfly/bird thing, now she can get back to some real art' and in a roundabout way he did say that with comments like 'I like the paper on canvas stuff but ....'!!!!

I've had this problem at different times in my Art career. There have always been those that like my printmaking but not my 'wierd loud art installation thingy's that are always about 'women' or 'childhood' and those that like my drawings of moustached women but not my pretty butterfly/bird thing. Those that give me pitying looks and say 'when the children are older I'm sure you'll find the time to be an Artist again, you know making sound and installation work?'. Those that have really touched me by remembering that I at times I have performed as part of this outfit and that ask 'when' I will do so again which is both reassuring and exciting for me.

My point really is that the world of Fine Art, Music, Performance I believe is a very strict one with definite perimeters of what you 'can' and what you 'mustn't' do and sometimes that is just stifling. I know this stuff is my baggage and in a way I shouldn't even care but actually it bothers me. That hierarchical snobbery bothers me and it always has done. Right now I get as much joy from revamping an old frame to hold my earrings as I do from producing a piece of work with a fine art aesthetic and audience in mind. I love Pinterest, I love Instagram, I love Fine Art, I love Craft and I love pretty things and I really am ok wearing different hats on different days but it's always going to niggle!!!! What's your achilles today?

His Wing

One of the great by products of being a hoarder is that re-discovery of items and scraps long forgotten. Today I found a whole load of papers and hand made things incorporated into paper, small beads stitched into hand made paper with my own hair used as thread. It got me thinking about how much fun it is to pull out some random stuff from the found pile and just sit down for twenty minutes and see what the outcome is. Well here it is: 'His Wings'. I automatically tidied up the edges by cropping them when I uploaded the photographs and then remembered that in this case, it's all about the edges.

Birds, bugs and butterflies

Carmen and Nadine

Working after dark

I am very happy to say that my 'me' time balance is greatly improving ... I am producing more art work even with small children around. As much as I can, I now designate my evenings to creative production whilst during the day I try and prepare blog posts(in between being 'mummy' of course)even if, like right now, I have to bribe my children with watching a film - Elliott is currently watching Dr Seuss' Horton hear a who!

Typically though something's gotta give and this week I have definitely neglected to feed myself the necessary nourishing three square meals. The rest of the family I have dutifully looked after but that extra 'me' time has meant living on diet coke, hula hoops and toast!!!!(it has felt deliciously irresponsible and vaguely nostalgic plus who can cook when you've got oil stick all over your hands)

So, next week when half-term is over it's back to the kitchen and to cooking three healthy meals a day in between school drop off and pick up, playgroup, chores and time with my boys and hubby .... prepare yourselves for angsty Katy next week brandishing a very long creative TO DO LIST!

play room to artist's studio post bedtime

printing from hand-made stencils

detail of Susie Sue - work in progress

hand printed pigeon stencil - addition to previous work

Inspiration list - Week six

1. street of crocodiles by the Quay Brothers

2. sweetness by Yes or what I like to call 'The John&Missy Song'

3. the grayson perry process

4. josephine baker's 'banana dance' here and clip from 'la revue des revues'

5. lorraine pascale's savoury palmiers

6. the man with the dancing eyes by sophie dahl

7. juana molina

8. ghanaian waakye & shitor

9. the wire

10. the pink panther(nominated by zach&elliott)

Here are some updated photos of the current drawing/collage that I am working on. I managed to muster some energy to do a little work on this, hopefully I will find the time to catch up on all that sleep missed earlier in the week ... hmmm ... perhaps not, it might just have to be more comfort in the form of 'Aunty Adelaide's waakye&shitor. Waakye brings back fond memories of family in Ghana, in particular my cousins Doris and Abigail.

Doris would arrive unannounced bright and early in the morning having picked up our dish from our favourite street vendor just along the cantonments main high street. She would arrive with it still hot and we'd sit on the veranda at Abigail's house, ushering the children away just like our mums/aunts/older women had done to us as kids, we'd each sit on a stool and Doris would place our prize on the low table before us, we would see the steam rise off it as we opened up the plantain leaf that waakye and gari is traditionally served in, then the three of us would 'chow down' three hands scooping in and washing it all down with ice, ice cold muscatella.

I'm really pining for Ghana right now, that said the hubby and I did have 'a moment' as we were driving along winding country roads, with a light drizzle coming down,checking out the fabulous british landscape and burnt sienna leaves whilst listening to the stranglers. It was beautiful! But waakye&shitor with Doris and Abigail it ain't!!!!

work in progress

Before

Work in progress

Before

detail of work in progress

detail of work in progress

Little by Little

work in progress

As I have mentioned before, it doesn't take much 'change' for my daily routine to be off kilter. Some days, weeks, months are just like that ... they just don't go quite to plan. Last week was one of those weeks for me. It started with Elliott having a couple of restless nights and Zach running somewhat on empty and refusing to surrender to illness(he gets this from the Broadhurst side of the family - aka Grandma Peppermint)and so the week was already starting with a build up of sleep deprivation, which in the early stages you are barely aware of but experience tells you that, it will chase you and catch you up and eventually cause you much fuss!

I wasn't too bothered because I had arranged a couple of exciting get togethers with different friends who I don't always see regularly and I knew the expectation alone would see me run on adrenaline. So wednesday night came and off I rushed for cocktails at 'Cherry Reds' with my girls. I arrived late(this is a subject for another post)and having power walked there, as I sat down with my first 'cherry coke' my skin, shall we say glowed a little ... my company however, were looking radiant and beautiful and I was reminded of the days where I too could arrive looking groomed and glow-less! A great night was had by all, a good stomach workout from all the giggles and of course a drink or two too far(Roxy!!!)completed the evening.

The next day my very kind mother took over childcare duty and off I went ALONE to the city centre to meet my dear friend Sarah. I was extremely grateful for the hot tea and toast at the french cafe that I shared with mum(I couldn't quite face my usual weetabix ie cocktails&wine, ain't so fine!!!!)before setting out, I'm not sure I could have endured the no.50 without it. Upon arriving in town, I was delighted to see that I had about 45 minutes to kill before meeting Sarah and so I indulged in one of my favourite past times - shopping for paper & postcards!

Paperchase in Selfridges is a great starting point, I often use papers bought there for the collages and mixed-media stuff that I make, journal work etc. The postcards are just a habit from my teenage years that I haven't felt the need to break and they are mostly for inspiration but I do sometimes send them too. Despite the tiredness, I felt determined last week to start stocking up on materials and fresh inspiration to get started on more new work. I've had some really wonderful feedback on the blog and some really kind comments about my work but as soon as anyone tells me that my work is 'pretty', like a slightly sulky teenager I seem to react by making work that is less easy on the eye or on the heart, hence the new work pictured. It may well be pretty but please note the 'Susie Sue' type character has facial hair and is somewhat androgynous! I have attempted self portraits(no facial hair, just Kahlo-esque monobrow)but I keep being drawn back to Susie Sue. It's early days but it feels so good to be making stuff. I'm still combining drawing and collage and using felt tips pens, coloring pencils, oil sticks, oil pastels and my dad's trusty old typewriter that I use for a lot of the text that appears. Here are some other pics.

Looking at some of the postcards that I bought plus finally drawing again got me thinking about some of my old journals and the different things that I have been interested in over the years. With that in mind I had a look on the web and discovered so many amazing people doing equally amazing art work. Firstly there's artjunkgirl's moleskins and the fantastic sketchbook project and yet another great blogger recording a daily routine. All of this helps to serve as a great reminder to me that a little and often goes a long way ... hmm now to apply that to all aspects of my life! Here are a few photos from a journal I completed in 2004.

The ever useful postcards also triggered a reminder of another favourite past time of mine- collecting tins! I LOVE tins! Tins for me hold the same gripping power that a found photograph holds, a yearning to find out its history, its previous owner, its age. The combination of colour, text and font, size and shape and uniqueness of the tins, how I have come to own the tin(gift, found, stolen, charity shop). Honestly, the discovery of a great tin can leave me quite bouyant and overcome! Here are are some of my favourites that are really inspiring me. xx