Hackney Museum

I went to Hackney Museum exhibition about Womens' Activism.  Very different to what gets displayed at the National Portrait Gallery about women!  All sorts of activists - women; lesbians; unionists; Greenham Common women; domestic violence campaigners; transgender campaigners.  Wonderful.  All strong women.  I'll have to go back to get images of artwork but here's the descriptors that give the context.

Tutorial with Imogen 8.2.18

Good Tutorial.

I said I had finished Aunt Joan's sampler and was starting the new body for work for the cleaners at Liverpool St Station.  I showed Imogen the completed sampler and the new artwork, via my phone.  I need to get the Ethics form done for the proposal for the cleaners.

Look up Orlan - performance art and cleaners/cleaning.
Mierle Laderman Ukeles.

I showed my writing on the history of samplers, working into modern samplers that I like - all with strong narrative about the maker's life.

I said I was doing 5 x 2 hour classes about Women at the National Portrait Gallery.  So far it's been Queen Elizabeth I, other queens and Mary Beale.  I suspect the women featured will all fit with masculinist criteria, as they will be powerful, or writers, surgeons or have some other skill valued by men.  I am going to Hackney Museum today for the PV of 100 years of Women's Activism, and it will be interesting to see what the values behind the activism are.  Will they be masculinist or not?

We had a debate about the people whose work I find interesting.  Grayson Perry for his ability to convey a narrative about people without pulling his punches; Caren Garfen for her comment on women and eating disorders; Brendan Ahearn for his comment about experiences of being a gay man in the USA during the HIV epidemic; Andrea Deszo for waspish comments about her mother; Cornelia Parker for her inclusion of prisoners as stitchers for the Wikipedia Magna Carta stitchery.  I've seen Miriam Schapiro's work at New Hall College and it leaves me cold - but Imogen said it was the catalyst for the appreciation of domestic women's art and has led to the huge Fibre Arts interest in the USA.  Likewise for Judy Chicago, I've seen The Dinner Party at Brooklyn Museum. I think its interpretation is directed at a US audience and I think she ought to have acknowledged and named her skilled workers; but what is interesting is how this piece changed the direction of women's art in the US.

Find my key artists and follow up.
Look at modern artists.  How is each piece placed in their oeuvre?  What is the back story/social history? What are the contemporary events and issues they address?  Why do I buy into the narrative?

Idea - do this for Grayson Perry; Caren Garfen; Cornelia Parker; (UK)
Brendan Ahearn; Andrea Deszo; Miriam Schapiro; Judy Chicago (US)


Read Mikel Dufrenne The World of the Aesthetic Object in The Continental Reader.

Writing:

Introduction - covers purpose, and backstory.                            2,000 words

Chapter 1                                                                                     7,000 words
Background - Why and rationale
Ideas about feminism - differences between UK and US.
Social change -v- art
Use of art to comment on social change
Sampler and narrative
Broad social/political/personal

Chapter 2                                                                                     7,000 words
Contemporary issues dealing with how my work fits

Chapter 3                                                                                      7,000 words
My actions and explain what and why and compare to others.
Reflection - institutionalisation and power.

Literature review is incorporated in Chapters 1 and 3.

Conclusion                                                                                     2,000 words
                                                                                                        __________
                                                                                                        25,000 words

Artwork for new body of work

I've been starting the artwork for my new body of work.  I'm thinking about cleaners at public toilets. I can't use any actual inspiration from the Liverpool Street location, because I don't have the ethics form sorted out yet.  But I can start drawing objects from that environment that inspire me.

Other people in art class are working on landscape, animals and flowers - and I suspect they all think I am a bit strange when I start drawing toilet utensils!

Collage of my toilet brush.  

Cleaner's rubber glove

Wet floor warning sign.

These will be useful materials for a concertina sketchbook created from collage.

First print from linocut.  I like the dark quality

Selective print from Linocut.  I like the definition of the object, and the noise of the background

Print on dressmaking pattern

I like this dark outer area.  The pale inner area has potential to be worked into.

Cleaning fluid bottle - draw with two media , using right and left hands

Draw your object, using your neighbour's chosen media - ink and stick, then spritz

Draw your object, using two media (w/c with palette knife and graphite stick)
using right and left hands at the same time,
Then add a detail (coloured line) with another tool (credit card)

Draw different object, using 2 media (w/c with brush and graphite) at the same time 

Draw object with 2 media (w/c with palette knife and graphite)
Add in opposite colour (yellow)

Linocut of cleaning fluid bottle

Rubbing of linocut.

These will be useful materials for a concertina sketchbook created from collage.

Aunt Joan's sampler is finished

I'm pleased to say I've finished Aunt Joan's sampler.  This image shows it laid out, prior to hemming. As usual the final additions - the central section with the pattern pieces - did not take very long to stitch.  It is always the border that takes the longest.  Because I know what size I want the embroidery to be, I mark out the border first.  Also, I had the ideas for what the border would be (inspired by Sissinghurst), what the alphabet at the top would be (styled from her handwriting), examples of her style of embroidery (all counted work, carefully executed) and the description of what her values were (researched from my cousins).  It took me a lot longer to come up with the idea of using dress making and glove making patterns to show the depth and breadth of her skills, yet this bit was the quickest to stitch.

Portrait of Aunt Joan

I've been galvanised into action to prepare for the Private View at Dundas Street Gallery in Edinburgh, where my Self Portrait will be shown as part of the Women's History Month exhibition.  I've booked my flights and hotel.  I'm losing weight to get into my 1960s shift dress (3lbs so far!) - I need to lose half a stone by 6 March.

I went to my art class, and took some invitations for the Private View.  I felt really self conscious.  I very much wanted someone to come to the PV, but it's a long way to go to Edinburgh, would require an overnight stay, and would involve a fair bit of spending for anyone to attend, what with flights or trains, and accommodation.  To my utter astonishment, 3 people wanted to come!  Lori and her husband love Edinburgh, and this will give them a reason for a trip to Scotland.  Karin and Sheila also want to support me and my work, and would enjoy a trip away, and would take in some galleries too!  How good is that!

I've started trying out different images for a new business card - I think this might be the image, but I'm struggling to get it right in all the details.  This might be unconventional, but I think it will be great for the above event, as it is a section from my sampler.  I've taken about a dozen shots on my camera phone, in different lights, and with varying degrees of ironing and pressing.  But only the first 2 shots are appearing on My Photos from iCloud.  Still working on this one.

Potential business card image.

Seeing Linden and Gareth

I had a lovely meal with Linden and Gareth last night, to celebrate Gareth getting the Best Dissertation award at London Met.

We discussed my values project - and Gareth thought it should be called The Unvalued.  Look at Pragmatism.  Henry James.  Values come from your life experiences.  How are Lieta and  Margaret getting on?

Listen to Analysis R4 last Monday 29 January.