Accounts time - eugh

I've just costed out the bower. I know you're supposed to do that before hand, but it's more fun this way - and less stressful if you don't worry about sticking to a budget! Materials came to a total of £168.14, which is at least £40 less than I expected. This probably means one of 2 things: my maths is crap (which we know) or I've lost a bunch of receipts (which we know I would never do!). There's also the possibility that I got both the maths and the receipts right, which means I'm £40 up. Which means I've got £40 to spend doesn't it??? Hmmmm, not sure I can convince even myself of that one!

Of course there's also the cost to finish the other piece in the exhibition, which came to a grand total of £13 or so (I haven't worked out the total cost of that one yet, because the work's still evolving), and the exhibition cost itself (just over £83 for each of us), plus the PL insurance I bought (another £85 - though it lasts a year), plus god knows how much petrol and depreciation on the already deprecated car, and light and heat (yes it's still freezing here!), bla, bla, bla. Basically, what I'm saying is organising an exhibition is a financial commitment even on this tiny scale.

But I don't care. It's given me the chance to make something I've had on my mind for a while and realising something that you have in your head is just the best feeling there is - when it works!!!!

What do you do to unwind after organising an exhibition?

Visit an exhibition of course! After moving countless loads of twigs yesterday, I meandered over to Unity Woods near Redruth in the afternoon to see an exhibition of 3 artists' site specific work. Alison Sharkey, Steven Paige and Sovay Berriman subtly infiltrated the dark spaces with some thought provoking installations. In the mega clean up of the car this morning I appear to have thrown out the map of the installations with the titles on, but I can remember a couple of them...Steven's 'Dig' was an archaeological dig in a small clearing; Sovay's 'Sally' was a large piece of narrative, that had you thinking about sinister goings on in the vicinity and another of her pieces called Tom's Cabin was installed in what could have been the remains of a cabin, but now it's only got some tumble down walls and a chimney... Alison's pieces had titles that I can't remember - except one of them had the word 'pan' in it! (I am feeling very slack today!). Anyhow, here's a few pictures of the work:

This work of Alison's (above) was installed down a mine shaft; at the end of the oscillating, fluorescent 'ropes' (a long, long way down) were 3 barely visible plastic birds - the kind children fly. You could easily have missed this piece, if you didn't glimpse the strange fluorescent glow, or hear the low vibrations of the birds. It was one of my favourite pieces in the show. I liked the way you had to look down on a flying bird making you feel like a bird yourself, and they looked like they were flying in formation, so you wondered where they were headed and what was in the darkness below. Her other piece (left) also explored a mine shaft, this time with the blackness seeping out from below like a sinister, treacly river.

The two works above are by Sovay. I really liked the narrative piece Sally (left) because seeing text in an unusual context gives you different ways of finding meaning and associations. When you read the text you really imagine that the character is lying in this wood somewhere and wonder whether you ought to be looking for her! I'm not sure about the presentation of the piece though: I wonder what it would have felt like/looked like if it was made to look more like an official sign? It's interesting because you wonder whether the work really only exists in your imagination...

The picture on the left shows part of Steven's installation Dig. It was set out like an archaeological dig that was confined to the surface - if you dig deep around here, you'll end up in a tunnel or a shaft! At the other end of the dig was a one man tent, complete with sleeping bag that a friend took a cat nap in for a while! Curiously, things that had been 'dug up' on the surface were mainly broken toys - what on earth were they doing all the way out here in the deep, dark wood? And why were fallen trees laid in a circle (not Steven's doing!)? His installation really made you think about what people had used the space for as well as what's so often on the surface that we miss, clues to meanings, fragments... I really loved the way this piece made me think.

It was a great way to unwind. Definitely more fun than clearing up all the twigs and other remnants of the bower that are all over the house and garden in disarray. What am I going to do with it all now?! If anyone else wants to exhibit it, let me know!

Links to Sovay and Steven's websites are in the column on the left (listed under Artists).

Il a fini!

Well that's it, it's all over. Oneinamillion changes closed is doors to the clamouring public at 6pm yesterday and the other artists had dismantled their work and were gone by about 7pm. I was still there at 10pm taking down the bower and this morning I'm shattered! I've still got to go back to the chapel garden to collect a few car-loads of twigs and take down all the posters I put up in the village, so it still doesn't quite feel done and dusted yet. Then there's the accounts to do. And some reflection on what I've learned and what I'd do differently next time...next time?!!!!!

And today's favourite comment is...

What's this?!

We went for a stroll around Manningham Woods in Illogan today (part of an excursion to put up another 30 posters 'round the village advertising the under-visited show...) and Kim found... a bower! It's a little entrance into a living willow maze; maybe I should just hang a few birds up here and have done with the exhibition?

Comment

My favourite comment in the visitor's book so far is...

A few details of the bower

Bluetit

Blackbird (very kindly loaned by Richard Ward from Voguebeloth Chapel -
but he may never see it again!!!!)

Robin

Inside and Within (Bower)

Inside and Within

I haven't got time to be doing this!!!!!!! I'm in full panic mode now - but all is looking good! If you can make it to the not so private view in Illogan this pm, you're in for a treat; not only will you see lots of wonderful artwork, but Tim Chamberlain will be giving a 'poetry performance'. Right, I just need to go and find those extension cables so that I can light up those pretty lights in my bower, then I'm off!!! By the way, the bower now has a title...

Inside and Within (Bower)

Good eh?

5pm today...

The bower is now very twiggy and it looks like it's time

for the birds and sparkly crap to move in!!
The fun begins...(and a late night too!)

I went to buy more spray paint yesterday, for touching up purposes, saw these lights and well...just have to have them!!! Twiggy lights in a twiggy bower? It was meant to be! My next job is to put them in before I get going with the dead stuff. I've also got another piece to install that I haven't even started on yet... Think I should be off to get something to eat now, and then it's back over to Illogan for the evening. Tomorrow the bower will be finished and I'll unveil it here in all its glory!!!!! Watch this space.

Oh god...

I went to bed, and DIDN'T get up early! And now I'm sitting here blogging when I have sticks to load into the car... You know that feeling of drowning??!! (And not wanting to get into the water!!!). Right, priorities...blog or making a sculpture? Hmmm. Right, I'm off. See you later!!

Today's progress

about 9pm


The inside starts to thicken up

Almost midnight...

I like it so much more now it's not in the garden. It's beginning to look less like a garden ornament, or a base (as Kim likes to call it!). Still so much more work to do...studio or bed, studio or bed, studio or bed? Bed. And get up early. Then go to the studio. Night, night and thank you for watching.

I am hanging by a thread and the bower is getting darker and darker. I am making this because it is the only way I can express myself. But once I've said it, what else will there be left to say?

This morning I have been...

painting the floor; buying more brushwood screening for the inside (I can't stand the thought that the 'structural engineering' will be seen!); getting some photos printed for another piece for this exhibition; panicking a bit; getting distracted - anything to avoid spray painting!!!!!

Ooooh

This is going to be such fuuuuuun...

Forget the boring old spray painting...

Let's just play with birds!!!

Tea Break!

I've spent the last couple of hours continuing with the testing...

The brushwood seems like a good enough idea to make it denser...

Hmm - I don't remember it looking this lopsided when I was outside...

I think that's enough testing and fart-arsing around to know that I can probably get this to work the way I want it to on site on Thursday. Providing I have enough materials. And can stand another 2 days of spray painting everything black. And can afford to spend yet another £50 on the paint. It's not quite the shape I intended, but I should be able to 'adjust' that as I bulk it up with all the twigs that I now have to go and find, and then paint... I'm still very concerned that I only have half the amount of twigs I need. I have enough twigs for the outside of one side, but of course there's the other side and the inside too (obvious that, I know!). I feel a midnight foray into the local wood might be in order this evening... And if I spray paint all those leaves, won't it just come off when people walk on them anyway? Or am I deluding myself: will I be the only person to crawl inside the thing anyway. Well, it's my space so anyone else can bugger off!

Right, off to find food. I think chocolate might be in order...

Lunch break!

Well, that would kind of imply I've been doing something this morning... And so I have, but just not what I should have been doing! I have been out distributing more postcards (if I make a bower and don't do that no one will know about it and no one will come / if I do that and don't make the bower people may (WILL!) come, but there may not be a bower!!!!!). I also went over to drop some cards off to friend and fellow exhibitor Chantal, who's work is looking amazing and well on it's way to being finished...so there will at least be something in this exhibition worth seeing!!!!

Last night the bower got to the 'test' stage. It was very testing. And is going to look absolute pants, I just know it. The darling son even called it a wig-wam... I hate children! By the way, the wig-wammy bits at the top will be cut to length on site, honestly. Right, lunch over. Call in later to see the next thrilling installment of Stephie Makes and Arse of Herself (part XV)...

Help!

Panic is setting in big time... I need to stop daydreaming and get on with it, but daydreaming is just soooo nice! Distractions, distractions...

Black twigs

Little did I know that making this bower would cause another hole in the ozone layer... I bought 8 more cans of black paint yesterday and I've still got less than half way through... I've inhaled so many fumes this afternoon I won't need any alcohol tonight either. (There are several vapour masks in the garage "somewhere", but I was unable to pinpoint where somewhere actually resides; in fact getting into the garage in the first place is a challenge in itself.)





The bower now has a floor, but the rest of it is looking pretty ropey; that's to say it looks like it'll need a load of guy lines to hold the bloody thing up.

I think I may just run away and hide now.