getting a step closer.

the trail planning is ticking over nicely. i remain busy in my own practice with the snee snaw.

we're at the point of putting the exhibition for the art trail together on paper. it's exciting and daunting and fun and i'm looking forward to doing that part of the process and stuff.

on a personal note, i'm starting to wonder if the new work i plan for the art trail will be possible to realise in time, with the snee snaw and realising the art trail organisation on my plate already, will i actually be able to make the work in time...?

time will tell...

working at the weekend

i find myself working at the weekend. well that's not exactly correct as what i'm actually doing is editting and adding words to this legacy blog for the art trail while cooking and preparing brunch. i would rather play on this blog adding stuff and stuff than watch ebay continuously waiting for another bidder on an item i have for sale.

now my funded project within my practice has begun, the art trail has become a thing of beauty that i tinker and play with when not in full practice mode. i've added some additional pages to this site, they are for listing the artists and venues of the art trail. i very much get a sense of a work in progress for the whole thing. my funded project to receive funding had to be planned and thought through before any decision could be made about the award. with this project, it is very much in real time and i remain aware of the risks involved in this approach. the benefit of it of course is that in subsequent years of doing the art trail, the basis of knowledge about it will be from this pilot year, so there is everything to gain.

i've placed my own words on the artist page. they are short and to the point. the work will be made during an upcoming residency in derby. i'm quite excited about having an opportunity to show something only a few weeks after having it made. from talking to some of the other artists, there does seem to be a spirit of new beginnings and possibility.

i'm looking forward to how all the work sits together.

it also remains that i view this site as a work in progress and will only be complete once it becomes a legacy of the event. which is a round about way of saying that at any point it's viewed, there's still more to be added to it. so the list of artists added today is not the final list...

conversations

the belper art trail is becoming a starter of conversations. yes indeed, this week i have been part of several conversations with the art trail at the core.

i've noticed today that chris' a-n- blog has featured in the artists talking monthly update email from the magazine editor.

at the weekend we sent out the invitations to artists to take part and there has been a good initial response. in a conversation with one today, we explored the possibility of simply having an a4 piece of paper with marks made on it, for this year the exercise is to test and prove that a trail of work in belper is possible. in terms of curatorial weight and excellence, let us have a few years to set up the process of placing works of art in property.

the art trail for me remains about possibility, collaboration and community.

evolution of thinking about setting up the trail

when chris said to me that she wanted to set up the trail, i was instantly behind her as it was a great opportunity to so something with an art centric endeavour in belper.

we've been thinking about it and considering it since last september/october. it was before christmas that we decided to attempt 10 artists and 10 shops, as a pilot tester project. on the face of it, this is straight forward, we ask 10 shop keepers to take part and 10 artists to participate. with chris and i wanting to display, that only leaves 8 to find.

lately in my personal practice, i have been struggling to get responses from people with whom i'm attempting new things with. not across the board, just a few isolated instances. what i am experiencing is affecting my well being and clarity of thinking.

in the last few days, i've realised that the internal way i was thinking about putting the art trail together was affecting my well being also. i was thinking about it in terms of an uphill struggle, to realise the intentions. i think the source of the uphill notion is born from an exposure to all the public sector and art sector cuts and redundancy and stuff that is very pull downy for want of any other better way of saying it.

so to turn this around in myself, i need to think about the art trail in a different way. here's the foundations of the art trail:

chris and myself's intention is to mount a trail of art work in belper with the food festival as a pivot of the exhibition. the trail to be spread from the a6 to the market square. this is the first time we've done this in belper, so we're not asking for any funding, as we must first prove what we can do. we have the support and backing of a really supportive and helpful food festival committee. we will put on a display of work in belper

here's my evolution of thinking:

between chris and myself we can put work in as many shops as we can get to our target of 10. by talking to the people who run the shops we can achieve the intention of 10. by talking to members of the artistic community in belper we can replace our work for that made by others. with the help of 8 members of the artistic community in belper we can achieve our 10 in 10 goal. this shift in my thinking helps me to enjoy being part of the art trail.

to my knowledge between chris and i we have spoken so far to 4 members of the artistic community. we have more on our list to talk to too.

i think there is a little bit of a panic in me driven by the unknown, for this is the first time in belper that we have attempted this. i can work towards reducing the panic by continuing to talk and answer questions and be realistic about this, the first year of the trail. we need to do it once to establish a real foundation, to then build on it in subsequent years.