Day Three #50DaysCreating #DoodleCuts #Experimentation #ArtistProcess #Art
Day Three #50DaysCreating
Category: Experimentation
Day Two #50DaysCreating
Day Two #50DaysCreating #DoodleCuts #Experimentation #ArtistProcess #Art
Day One – #50DaysCreating
Does an ‘aside’ necessarily mean less than?
I have for some considerable time worked on small pieces of work that exist alongside, I guess what I have always called my main practice, to keep me fresh, engaged and allow the brain to wander and explore. I have noticed that these projects tend to be bold, colourful and quite graphic in flavour. This process I have always considered integral and indeed essential to my practice as an artist. I have, many a time unlocked new ideas, solutions to dilemmas and rather delightfully, wonderful new directions to creatively travel whilst being otherwise engaged in this almost automatic activity.
For quite sometime, working with mount board, hand-made papers, print, collage and the scalpel, I produce, what I have termed as ‘doodle cuts’. They inevitably (bar the odd one or two dressing my studio wall and a few that made it into a book form), end up in the dark recesses of my litter bin.
As a way of honouring this process and to bring those little gems into the light, I have decided to start a #50DayCreating project. So, from today and everyday there after for 50 Days, I will produce and share one doodle cuts. I am also considering showing them at my next event, Art Fair East in December alongside my regular and more familiar work. I believe showing them together could offer a more complete picture of who I am as an artist and afford a greater insight into my particular creative behaviours.
I would be interested to know your thoughts.
Here goes…I hope you enjoy them.
Day One #50DaysCreating #DoodleCuts #Experimentation #ArtistProcess #Art
Time flies… new studio, new work
Moving
Well, it has been quite a while since my last post. Life has, as ever, interfered with everything else i’d rather have been doing for quite a while now.
Hey, ho… all necessary experiences, some good, some not quite so good… no doubt they will all inform my practice at some stage or the other.
One of the more positive shifts of late, has been a studio move. I have been so very lucky in sharing my work space with some supremely talented artists in the past, not only at The Forge, as a Digswell Arts fellow but more recently, with Jojo Taylor, Anji Archer, and Christina Bryant. My old studio was a lovely space, but the location was never idyllic and the studio was a little too dark, despite the beautiful window (rather a carrot dangler). I have also found I have out grown the space, size wise.
That great fortune of a working environment with talented artists and generally all round lovely people continues with a new studio sharing with the fabulous Gill Ayre and Karen Picton.
The move has enabled a real kick start in some interesting work for me and lots of ideas bouncing around. The location works better, slightly nearer to home, on a farm with great scenery, great ‘roomies’ lovely neighbours and a place to picnic at lunchtimes!
I’m sure winter will prove a challenge, but I am quite well adapted to the extremes of an unheated environment. At present, I am really enjoying the sun streaming in the window, all through the day, illuminating the space delightfully.
New work in progress
A little sample of work in progress. This follows on from some very recent pieces, still on show at Space2 Gallery, Watford Museum until 29th August. This new work will be shown at the Lewis Gallery, Rugby School, Warwickshire in November and December this year as the continuation of the Paper Scissors Stone touring exhibition.
As ever, the remnants of my process delight almost as much as the work itself… or is that just me and my preoccupation with anything papery!
The Voice – work in progress
Her voice may not have been heard, because she may have strangled her own words.
Considering the marks of removal – Memory, Loss and the Human Condition
I work extensively with a 10a surgical blade for most of my work. It is my most trusted tool, and has become intrinsic to every work I do… whether that is apparent in the final piece or not.
But I have started to question, what about the sharp precision of that cut line? Its clean definite mark conveys something… but does it really convey what I want in this current work? How would it be if the marks were a little more… uncontrolled, rougher, dirtier?
I have worked with burning before… but never with so much risk. The previous work to have received such a treatment, has been the finishing touches in controlled situations, where the burning can only travel a certain way until it has to extinguish.
This work is a little different. The singular pages are not treated before being introduced to the heat. It is difficult to control the timing and pressure of contact to create marks that are legible and at the same time preventing complete obliteration of the page, save for the ash at the end (I have a fair few examples!).
This is a process that feels right and appropriate to the themes behind the work. It is not fully resolved as yet, but, I feel, important to document these none the less.
The cut landscape
The burnt landscape
Tomorrow (Not) The burnt page
Halftone burn
Halftone burn
Burnt holes
Burnt holes
Burnt holes (wired)
New work – furthering unexpected process – Nothingness?
I have been beavering away in the studio working towards my next exhibition, a group show, Nothingness, to be shown at the beautiful Parndon Mill Gallery in Harlow 7th August – 14th September . It is truly a great theme to work on. I have found that my mind is bouncing around all over the place with possibilities.
How does one represent nothing? Does nothing actually exist, if it does, does that not make it something? ok, so slight mischievous glint in my eye here, but you get my point 😉
Wikipedia references it as…
‘Nothing is a pronoun denoting the absence of anything. Nothing is a pronoun associated with nothingness. In nontechnical uses, nothing denotes things lacking importance, interest, value, relevance, or significance. Nothingness is the state of being nothing, the state of nonexistence of anything, or the property of having nothing.’
My approach is examining the notion of ‘nothingess’ by exploring emotional responses to ‘the space in-between’. Still a somewhat untangible description, I know. I am refering to this in two ways really. The ‘space in-between’ can be perceived as empty (though of course isn’t technical so). The emptiness is more a emotional perception rather than a physical reality. This emptiness has darkness and light. The darkness could be considered perhaps a little more readily than the light. After all, the connotations of the word ’emptiness’ are mainly negative in flavour, consider if you will, this list of synonyms: empty, vacant, blank, void, vacuous, bare, barren.
It is challenging the lightness of ‘the space in- between’ that has prompted a most interesting process for me.
I had recently posted about the influence of a particular piece of music by the talented Ludovico Einaudi. I pondered my difficulty with the visual response of my physical and written expression of this experience. Rather strangely, I have experimented with painting yet again, to bring this more clearly into view.
This work is not going to be shown at the ‘Nothingness’ show, but informs an important part of my working process. I have documented the stages of painting, each layer being photographed and recorded. This documentation I have reflected on, exposes for me the importance of remaining connected to process. It is my experience of producing this work, the way I have moved my body, the choice of colour, the way this action makes me feel and the quality of marks that has stimulated the next stage of development.
Yes, there is still still a way to go, but very excited to have this record of an important part of the journey.
As a wee aside… when creating this, I had noticed the dust sheet I was using, rather delightfully revealed these characters. Of course they have been there before, but the process is allowing me to see with an open and enquiring mind (if not a little mischievous one at that!).
Thought i’d have a little fun with them… Enjoy!
New work – unexpected inspirations
I am currently working towards a group show, opening in August at Parndon Mill Gallery, Harlow.
The theme of the show, ‘Nothing’.
In exploring what this means for me, the mind has wandered down dark alleys as well as through light port holes.
Whilst experimenting with materials, I had the fabulous Ludovico Einaudi playing in the background, as I often do when in process.
For some reason, I hadn’t really heard this piece, even though I must have heard it a hundred times before. All of a sudden, it literally took my breath away… resonating with what I was exploring, syncing so beautifully to my minds journey.
The difficultly is, I can understand this expression through my physicality, and with some words, but the visual is just that little way out of reach.
So looking forward to the time when I can clearly bring this into view.
For best experience, play loud with eyes shut.
Extraordinary and exciting process!
There is wisdom everywhere…
I believe in a wisdom in what we do, how we behave and what choices we make on a sub conscious level and yet, so often, that wisdom’s clarity eludes us.
Occasionally, it slaps us right in the face!
Sometimes, we can gain a greater understanding on reflection, when you are not swamped with less useful brain activity… but sometimes, not.
Sometimes, we create in what appears a void, and yet, we cannot exclude ourselves from the process.
And that process… well, we just have to trust in it, no matter how scary that can be.
Sometimes we just have to trust in the process, else would we ever start out on the journey in the first place?
Some random musings for some rather random, if not slightly intriguing work.
A little serendipitous photography
Isn’t it strange … if we can just respond to impulse without question … what may be the outcome? Not to stop and question, but just do. You may end up with nothing exciting at all or It may sing to you in joyful voice or perhaps, make you groan inwardly. Whatever the outcomes are (and many of mine are languishing at the depths of the rubbish bin) there may be some that you want to capture for examination and enquiry… these are a couple of those moments.
Quite fascinating the choice of angle for the photography…. I didn’t read the text on the pieces until I looked carefully at the photographs…
Amazing!
I think I need to let go a little more often!
Jo Howe-Artist 
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