I’ll be taking photographs of the exhibition when I can find a spare moment to go and see it again.
I am really proud of the collaboration and the pathways of inspiration that Sam and I have created. The artwork and the words grew from each of us and I feel excited to know that Sam and I will be continuing this on and creating new work together.
The exhibition is a really joyous display of the innovation and life in words and printmaking. To do my fellow artists and writers justice I will hold off from saying more until I have seen it all once more.
Forgetting to blog can be counted as one of the many things I’ve not remembered to do over the last few months. It feels like too much to squeeze into one blog post so I’ve been putting it off and putting it off so now I’ll just bullet point the things and return to fill in the gaps.
Without further faffing, since I last wrote these things have happened, are happening.
-I started my residency at the ECA in the textiles department. I’ve been working in the print room,(pictures of my dyelab adventures below)
– The Written Image work was finished, handed in and is now showing at Edinburgh Printmakers (pictures soon)
– Funding application has been finished and handed in, the first of many to come
-Went travelling up to Orkney, saw seals on remote islands and flew in tiny planes
-Tried somewhat unsuccessfully to get a job……
-Wrote proposals for exciting things, things to be a part of and things to make a difference in. When the initial thrashes of working things out calm I’ll have to set out my time and my directions.
And so for the photographs of my dye lab testing for a new Procion MX dye colour book. Each colour in a three shade test with Mercerised Cotton, Silk Viscose Satin and Silk Twill. The ECA’s old colour book
In these photographs you can see the three strengths of dye bath which affect the shade produced.
before being added to the bath the dispersed dye cab appear black
Birthdays’ bring presents and opportunities for me to try out weird ideas.
Happy Birthday Tom
And new bands bring chances to design logos and EP covers. I have already done some band photography for Thunkfish, so these were the next step in their evolution as an Unkown Species. Check them out hereand the EP here.
Now, The Written Image progresses and other things begin to take hold. Working at the Dovecote is going well so far, tapestries are interesting (and its good to dig out the old weaving knowledge). Boomtown on Friday, and promising meetings during the week.
The Written Image collaboration between myself and Samuel Tongue
Second meeting words:
The uniquely human ways we separate ourselves from animals, so well that we forget that humans are animals. Written language, belief and textiles are all human constructs.
The sanctity of text, the consecration of language. Language, symbols, sigils; the marks we place upon our world to imply importance and meaning, and their design which conveys that importance.
Illuminated texts, text must have context. Hieroglyphs, pictographs, runes and alphabets. The etymology of text|textile, the origins of the written language in drawing, fusing language and imagery: to write an image – to draw a poem
‘graphein‘ is the Greek for ‘to write, or ‘to draw’
At this stage we will develop a visual language, part of Sam and part of myself- a combined way of imparting meaning through words and drawings. I will be developing the shapes of the letters and words themselves, integrating symbols into the text, text becoming part of the drawing. The design of the words’ alphabet, created together with the words themselves.
Before we look at the physical printing, the where and upon what, it is the content which we will be printing that Sam and I are both concentrating on. He will provide me with the raw materials, the words in their order and form.
I will take these words and shape their forms together with imagery into designs, forms with words.
We will then tackle how these forms of [words and images || images and words] will be created, birthed onto objects to become physical things.
As an artist and a poet we are an interesting pair, both with a strong focus on disparate areas of study which have clicked together in a unique combination of the two.
Sam is a theologian, his inspiring interest in the origins of language and the etymology of words leading us towards this exploration and my practice giving these themes a physical outcome.
I am more than delighted to have been offered the post of Artist in Residence in the Textiles Department of Edinburgh College of Art, I start in September.
This leaves me the rest of the summer to work on The Written Image, find funding, sort out what I’ll be working on in the residency and generally get on with things in time for the start of the post, which lasts for a year.
A thing that I have been getting on with is the design work for Thunkfish, a band to be found every Thursday night at The Jazz Bar throughout the festival.
It’s been a year since I graduated, a year so full of new that I feel like it has spun me around on the spot.
I am back from festival travels; to interviews and continued sunshine.
The Ribbon Tower, Glastonbury, 2013
Glastonbury was the mad, life affirming, joyous week that I remember it being from two years ago. I made LED lights (photos/videos soon), taught people how to make LED lights and saw some incredible installations- inspiring of awe and covetous thoughts. There was some beautiful music in there too.
Not that I left everything behind when I headed off: Wherever I See, the ongoing photoseries can be seen here
The studio is still a mess and the move into the expanded space has been put on hold by interviews and meetings, and prep for the two. In fact blogging shouldn’t be anywhere near the top of my list of things to do but procrastination is rife and the task in hand is scary.
Earlier this year I joined Edinburgh Printmakers so I could expose screens and create new works in my studio. Luckily for me it is just around the corner from Superclub and so far, so good- though to make it cost effective I have to expose at least two full screens at once. Hassle.
On seeing the call for submissions at the Printmakers, I applied for the collaboration The Written Image, a project run by the Printmakers and the Scottish Poetry Library.
My application was successful and I have been paired with the thought provoking and like minded, Samuel Tongue. The project is in its infancy and is as it should be – intriguing, confusing and a plethora of tempting ideas.
In these early days of the project Sam and I agreed that we’d like to see what happens to the printed words when they are left in the elements for a long period of time. We have until October, that should do it.
These snippets have stayed with me, the words lodged in my brain. I find I scrawl them sporadically in my sketch book,
words interlaced like drowning fingers text : textile
In other news I have been somewhat frantically writing applications, it is encouraging and exciting to find that there are always things to which I want to apply. They take time and brain space and can be heartbreaking if you get too attached to your proposed idea.
Off to the festies now, The Inisder and Glastonbury. I have printed a couple of things to take with me, a travel series. Watch this space etc etc
Summer has hit and run, but it came and is remembered in the sun burnt tops of my feet.
What’s the what:
I took photos of Thunkfish, a ‘two horned funk monster from the deep’ – see more here. I am also working on their logo and EP cover, feeling quite limited in space and time but so far so good.
I met up with Samuel Tongue for our paired collaboration for Edinburgh Printmakers and the Scottish Poetry Library’s The Written Image.
Sam and I chatted over our work and what poetry and printmaking meant to us, grand plans were made and it looks to be a challenging and interesting project. More soon.
The words for Shadows of the Land still stuck in the last day of Knockengorroch’s mud, nothing I write is what I want to say.
Finally, we made a golden donkey for Balkanarama’s 6th Birthday. Now my studio is covered in gold glitter, oops.
I’ll be taking photographs of the exhibition when I can find a spare moment to go and see it again.
