PART 2 FROM STUDIO TO SITUATION – post 1
Exhibition plans
As I posted in Part 1, it appears that the usual physical gallery spaces will not be available for an exhibition and as the future opening of these spaces is very uncertain my planning is concentrating on accommodating this. Some of the ideas I am pursuing would not preclude a physical gallery opportunity and could work along-side this, perhaps even enhance a visitor’s appreciation of the work.
Initial ideas
Developing exhibition planning
1.Using my own garden as an exhibition space
This is my preferred option for my exhibition. I am fortunate to have a large and beautiful garden which is proving the source of inspiration for the present body of work. The images come from the garden and all of the ‘sound’ work, except pieces done from the Australian landscape, happens here. There are parking limitations which would need to be thought through.
I feel strongly that I want the body of work for this exhibition to be in a physical space if possible. I have come a long way in painting over the years of the course, mainly because I’ve always felt that my dominant medium is drawing. Although it may be necessary in the present circumstances, to resort to digital images, I intend to plan for the paintings to be seen as they should be in order to appreciate the amazing quality of paint.
2. Wisley RHS gardens.
Wisley is close to my home. They regularly exhibit art in the garden and in a separate studio attached to the greenhouse. Because my present body of work centres on the garden because of lockdown, I felt that a garden setting would be very appropriate. The work focuses on the sense of ‘listening’ and so my approach to the organisers would be to use the quiet, slightly separateness of the greenhouse to encourage viewers to remain quiet while viewing. The gallery is quite small. I felt also that the focus on ‘listening’ to nature introduced a different approach to the plants and to the garden which could be used for educational purposes. RHS gardens are teaching environments and the garden attracts many schools. (Possible link up with point 3)
I contacted Wisley giving an outline of my work and enquired about gallery space. Their reply was encouraging but said that a new ‘National Centre of Horticulture, Science and Learning’ was being built next year and they were not organising any exhibitions until that was complete. But I was urged to come back to them in the new year.
This is possibly an ideal location but no costing has been discussed which could be prohibitive!
- My third line of exploration is with education.
With a background in education, I have been exploring ideas for a teaching programme for children aimed at developing their listening skills relating to the natural world. The programme would lead them through the process of listening and expressing aural information into visual markmaking and images. I have created the beginnings of the programme and it is being trialled for me by a fellow teacher/artist. The response to the initial ideas has been good both from the teacher and from the pupils. The following are the first three images of the Power Point programme.
- Creating a book
My body of work is strongly integrated with language and I’ve found that my poetry is an important element in the creative process. I would like to find ways to include this element in the presentation of the work because it is important to me. There are many avenues into producing a book these days. I contacted a book artist who I had seen exhibiting in a local art exhibition – Tracey Bush – to see if she worked with artists to produce artists’ books. She doesn’t but she gave me some contacts which I will pursue when the ideas are clearer.
- Virtual spaces
My final line of investigation for a space at this stage is in the ‘virtual’ world. I am looking at IMovie and also have put out feelers to find people who work in the field of virtual exhibitions.