Sculpture and Play!

Slice of the Land is a permanent sculpture created by Fion Gunn for the Zhangjiakou Sculpture Park in Hebei Province, north west China after she participated in an international sculpture symposium outside Beijing last year. It is primarily made of stainless steel and fibreglass but has elements of stone and ceramic which are not apparent in the photo below. Fion is the Irish artist and independent curator based in London who has organised the Irish Wave exhibitions in China for the past 4 years. Recently Fion has set up CATBeijing, a company which provides full tours of the contemporary art scene in Beijing, including translator and guide. The itinerary looks fantastic and I hope to be able to go there myself at some point.  For details check out the website: http://www.catbeijing.com/index.html 

Ever since I saw the first image of Slice of the Land, I was reminded of how much fun I (and my now husband, James) had at the Kröller Müller Museum and sculpture park back in 1992 when we did a trip around Europe (we lived in Toronto at the time, so it was a big trip!).  Certainly Gunn's sculpture has the same inviting sense of play to it that I found with Jean Dubuffet's Jardin d'email.

That day in May 1992 (21 years ago!) James and I were the only people running around on Dubuffet's sculpture. The sculpure is made of painted concrete and epoxy resin and is accessed from the park through steps which lead up a little stairwell inside the sculpture and out a small doorway (seen to the left).

I don't think James meant to look like the wonderful John Cooper Clarke as he ran along, but that is who he reminds me of - see the album cover below!

Suzanne Osborne and Tindersticks

I love the band Tindersticks and am really taken with their new album "the something rain" (I listened to it A LOT while I was in the attic painting my big egg).  I am excited at the news that they are coming to Dublin in October, at a wonderful small venue, Vicar St.  The last concert I have been to in fact was at Vicar St. where the excellent American bands Low Anthem and Brown Bear played.  This is the only Tindersticks song I could find on YouTube from "the something rain".

Another thing that fascinated me about this cd was the cover, which was obviously a series of paintings. Happily, the cd contained a pullout insert printed with a few of the paintings, and the artist was of course credited. So I googled Suzanne Osborne and found her website http://www.suzanneosborne.com/small-paintings, which included the section on "small paintings". She painted the sky daily for a year, and on her website she gives the date and weather conditions the day of the painting. I love the paintings and would love to see them in person. The closest thing for me though will probably be a copy of the limited edition book that Osborne and Stuart Staples (Tindersticks) are putting out together -- Osborne's paintings and Staples' lyrics. My copy is ordered! You can find more information here:  http://www.tindersticks.co.uk/tomorrows/.

Making books

I think it was in 1993 that I attended Judith Patterson's one day workshop on book making at the Women's Art Resource Centre in Toronto.  Judith showed the participants the principles and techniques behind basic book making and everyone went home with a medieval style tacket book (the light green one on the top of the pile).  Since then I have been making variations on the theme as gifts for friends and family -- sketchbooks and journals with cardboard, denim, leather, and heavy fancy paper covers.  I have recently started working on a leather cover one for Elise's birthday which is coming up.  Apparently her travel sketchbook (the denim one on which I embroidered her name), which was the first one I made for her, is just about full and she needs a replacement (the cardboard one underneath it, also with her name on it, is too large for travel).  The picture below includes sketchbooks I have made for myself, James and Elise.

Reading - Margaret Atwood

I just recently finished Margaret Atwood's "In Other Worlds: SF & the Human Imagination" and had to find a place for it on the bookshelf.  Were there ever a lot of Atwood books already there!  I guess I like her writing, which I was first introduced to back in 1978 or '79 when I read The Edible Woman.  Reading everything between the covers of In Other Worlds, I discovered that "Oryx & Crake" and "The Year of the Flood" are part of a trilogy.  How did I miss this?  Mr Google helped out:  "Maddaddam" is due to be published in September of this year.  Yay!

In addition to my own reading, I and James (my husband) read with our ten year old daughter nightly.  At the moment we are having quite a laugh reading Salman Rushdie's "Haroun and the Sea of Stories".  This was a book I picked up more than 20 years ago at the PEN benefit in Toronto, when Rushdie made his first public appearance after being in hiding for several years.  It was certainly a night to remember, though I was terribly worried that the whole of Canadian literature (every living Canadian writer I had heard of, and then some, were standing on one stage to welcome Rushdie) could be wiped out by some mad person in the audience.  Happily it didn't happen.

Moments - New Paintings

I finished another three paintings in the Moments series and signed them a few days ago (which means they ARE finished!).  They are acrylic washes on canvas.  This one is entitled Together and is 36 cm x 37 cm.

This one I have entitled Flapper, and it is 56 cm x 36 cm.

This is entitled Army Dreamer (thank you for the title, Kate Bush!) and is also 56 cm x 36 cm.

Irish Wave, China

Last week Fion Gunn (the main organiser of Irish Wave) posted some photos to dropbox to give the artists involved in the various shows an idea of what the shows looked like -- I don't think too many of the artists were able to go to China for the launches. 

 I am glad my cow curtain was free hung so that one could walk around it.  I like the shots of people at the exhibition seen through my curtain.  Fion also set up a FaceBook page for Irish Wave, now listed on my sidebar.  She posted separate albums for each venue, and there are 39 photos of artwork in situ at the TuShanWan Art Museum, Shanghai (there were two shows there, Gather and ReMade).

Prague

 After Easter I went to Prague, to both visit relatives and to see the sites again (it has been a few years since I was there).  This is a typical view of the castle above the Vltava River (also called the Moldau).  The castle complex also includes St Vitus Cathedral, whose spires can be seen.

I went on an introductory tour of the city (which included coach, boat and walking tour), so I got a good sense of the four historical towns -- Staré Mêsto (Old Town), Hradĉany (Castle Town), Malá Strana (Lesser Town) and Novo Mêsto (New Town).  The first time I had been to Prague (1992) I also got a sense of the Communist-era outer city, which I don't need to explore again (very ugly block buildings outside the historical centre).  The building below is called The House by the Minute and is adjacent to the old town hall and astronomical clock tower in Staromêstská (Old Town Square).  This beautiful building with stunning black and white sgraffito-painted facade was Franz Kafka's childhood home.

The astronomical clock -- still accurate after several hundred years -- is a thing of wonder, as well as being a major tourist attraction.  Every hour, on the hour, small doors open above the main clock and there is a parade of carved wooden saints.  The skeleton on the side of the clock also shifts his hour glass so you can be more aware of your mortality...

It's great to see some new architecture too!  This building is called The Dancing House, which I first spotted from across the river (I was staying in the Smichov area), is an office building designed jointly by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Miluniĉ and American Frank Gehry.  It was built in 1997 with the strong support of playwright and former president, Václav Havel.

One day, after a visit to Strahov Monastery, I walked down Petřín Hill.  It is a very pleasant walk down to Malá Strana, and at the foot of the park is the Memorial to the Victims of Communism sculpture by Czech sculptor Olbram Zoubek.

Dublin and Shanghai!

After the Big Egg Hunt artists event last week, James and I walked up to the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin in order to see the Francis Bacon Studio, which had been meticulously catalogued, taken apart in London and recreated in its chaotic entirety in the gallery in Dublin.  It is a fabulous exhibit, with accompanying interactive computer information as well as a room full of Bacon's research material and photos, so one really gets a sense of Bacon's working process.

On the way along the quays, I came across this bus signage which I though was totally surreal.

Last night the group exhibitions "ReMade" and "Gather" opened at the TuShanWan Art Museum in Shanghai. They are part of Irish Wave 4, an annual event of exhibitions from Irish based artists which take place in Beijing and Shanghai.  This is a photo of my work "Pastures Green" taken in the cow shed at Fernhill Gardens, Dublin in 1997.  The two cow curtains visible in the foreground are now being exhibited in Shanghai.

The Big Egg Hunt - Farewell!

This morning I was in Dublin for the Big Egg Hunt artist event and photocall. It was great to see all the eggs gathered in one basket (so to speak).  Impossible though to take a picture to show all 100 in the T-space of the building, plus the side gallery. Here is mine, Wild Roses, in the foreground, Lynda Cookson's Aspirations in the middle ground, and James's Hilbert Curve just beyond (then the others become a colourful blur).

A view of the other row of eggs (the floor plan was like a big T -- two rows going down the stem and then bunches at either side of the entrance.  There was also a gallery with the 30 something eggs which will be auctioned live on Saturday night at the gala event.

And I was giving my egg a big hug goodbye, as today will probably be the last time I see it.  There have been bidders, so it will go to someone at the end of March.

Good Egg Hunting!

Yesterday, despite the freezing climate, we ventured into Dublin to find some of the eggs.  Mine was tucked away inside Dublin Castle grounds, near to the Chester Beatty Library.  There was a tiny bit of damage done to "Wild Roses" -- a bit of blue paint chipped off, probably in the siting move, leaving a tiny circle of white.  Though probably not noticeable to most people, I will touch it up next week when the eggs are all brought together in a space at the IFSC in Dublin.  That will be my final goodbye to this egg.  :)

Painter Felim Egan's egg is so much more beautiful than any photo can show.  He is a well known painter whose work is in the National Gallery, and this simply is one of his paintings wrapped around an egg shape.  It an encaustic painting and deliciously tactile.  This egg was also in Dublin Castle grounds.

I watched some Facebook postings of Lynda Cookson's egg "Aspirations" in progress.  I love the painting!  It was found in Powerscourt Townhouse shopping centre.

Niamh O'Connor's "Laced" was also at Powerscourt Townhouse.

Again, all the photos I had seen of this piece did not do it justice.  There is an amazing amount of detail of pressed lace; again this is an encaustic egg which is absolutely beautiful!

We moved on to Brown Thomas on Grafton St.  This is a shop that has a doorman wearing livery and a top hat...  James Hayes's Hilbert Curve was in among the very expensive shoe department.  A member of staff very kindly offered to take our picture around the egg, and was chuffed that one of our party was the artist (James is my husband).

There was nice lighting on Hilbert Curve, and a very large mirror nearby.

We were surprised that designer Louise Kennedy's "La Duchesse" seemed to be tucked away in a not very interesting spot beside the elevators.

As can be expected from a designer of Kennedy's calibre, La Duchesse is tres elegant, but again, most photos I have seen of it belie what the eye sees in person.

Another well known designer of elegance, John Rocha, created this sparkly egg which we found appropriately in the Tiffany area of Brown Thomas.  Any photos I have seen of this are completely missing its sparkle.

We zoomed around St. Stephen's Green finding the eggs there, and then dived for cover in the warmth of the nearby shopping centre where there were more eggs.  My absolute favourite of all the eggs, seen in photos and live, has got to be Jordi Fornies "Treeborn".  It made my day to be able to see it in person.

Marlay Park

On Sunday we went to Marlay Park after breakfast, to find some of the eggs in The Big Egg Hunt Dublin.  Reportedly there were six there, but we found 7.  This one, Eggscuse the Mess by Frank O'Dea, I particularly like, so had a photo opp!  

It took us ages to find the entrance to the Regency Garden, a walled garden within Marlay Park, where all the eggs were hiding (in plain view -- except the one which is masquerading as a shrubbery).  The entrance was through the coffee shop, where we returned later for twelveses.  The coffee shop patio seems to be the happy home of a peacock and peahen.  Here is the peacock being very impressive indeed!

Performance and Paint

We went to the Mermaid Arts Centre this afternoon to hear Vyvienne Long and The Balanescu Quartet do a rehearsal for their gig Saturday week.  It was fascinating to hear them play, and the banter as they tweaked a few pieces to perfection.  It was supposed to be open to the public for half an hour, but 45 mins went very fast.  What a lovely way to spend lunch!

In the meantime, I am also working on some new paintings for my Moments series and revelling in my recent acquisitions from London -- Liquitex paint bought at Cass Art in Richmond and my new Van Gogh book with lots of colour pix!  I have also been enjoying my various bits of reading, including the manuscript of a novel (unpublished so far) of one of my sisters-in-law.

Painting!

James edited together the film from the plantcam in the studio to create this video of me painting the egg -- 10 days of work tuned down to 2 and a half minutes.  Some feat of magic I'd say!

London - 2

We spent a day in the Science Museum, which is pretty fabulous!  There is a huge hands-on section for kids of all ages.  Here we are learning about infra-red and heat detection.

We also saw a 3D Imax film, Deep Sea, which we thoroughly enjoyed!  Elise was delighted that Captain Jack Sparrow (aka Johnny Depp) was one of the 2 narrators (Kate Winslet being the other).  We also went to the short Apollo Experience in 4D (the chairs moved, we got sprayed by water at splashdown, etc.).  It was a full fun day!  The next day (I think) among other things, we went to the British Museum to meet up with some favourites.  Elise wanted to see the Rosetta Stone again as she didn't remember it from last time and her class had been studying Egypt earlier this year.  We also made special re-visits to the Sutton Hoo artifacts which I love, the Egyptian galleries and the Easter Island giant stone figure.

We got to the Saatchi Gallery on the Wednesday, specifically to see Richard Wilson's installation in the basement.  The room is filled with sump oil except for that small angular walkway.  Unfortunately the walkway is not open to the public, so viewing is from a balcony.  The reflections are pure and the room is so serene.

I also did a Placement© while we were waiting to check in, as we had arrived a bit early to Heathrow.

Bet on this!

I'll do another post on visiting museums & galleries in London later, but in the meantime I thought this was too funny/interesting to resist!  My Mum gets the Racing Post regularly as she bets on horse races, but there are plenty of other things to bet on!

London!

We were in London for Chinese New Year.  We missed the parade (which started at 10 am) as we didn't want to spend the whole day outside in the rain (it was non-stop).  It was very festive and crowded for the events in Trafalgar Square, and Chinatown was absolutely packed.  Lanterns all over the streets of Chinatown, this is the view from our restaurant window.  We were happy to be inside at Hung's, not outside!

While in London I also did a few new Placements.  This is outside Hamley's toy store near Oxford Circus, we spent a few hours inside with my daughter!

This gives some context for the Placement.

New Mortar and Pestle

Wow this is amazing! I have never used a mortar and pestle before, but yesterday I was making a quick salsa to go with our dinner and needed to crush the coriander seeds.  It worked like a charm and that salsa was pretty tasty too! James bought the marble set a few weeks ago but this was the first time for it to be useful.