Windows 204

Claire and I teamed up again for another show- this time we had a window each at 204 Gloucester Rd, Bristol. We originally thought of showing here months ago, so by the time it came for us to actually install our work we couldn't really remember exactly what we'd put in our proposal. Turned out though that our installations were pretty much spot on- although mine wasn't as fully developed as i'd like, I still think it's a nice little show. Can you guess which window is mine?

I filled it with things from my house- I joked that I just picked things up as I walked from the bedroom to the front door, but that's almost the truth. I was asked if I missed the objects while they were away from my house and I have to say you can't even tell they've gone- there's still so much STUFF here!

I think at heart i'm a shop keeper- I really enjoyed running The Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe over the summer, and the here shop and gallery before I left Bristol. Maybe one day i'll have my own shop again?

Things I am currently very excited about

I have a long term obsession with feral children and indeed all things Fortean, and yesterday I found this book in a second hand bookshop in town:

The story of a boy found living wild with Gazelle in the Sahara

This lead me onto discovering this website: Feral Children which will now provide me with hours of enjoyment no doubt.

I also am currently very excited about my new book, remember I mentioned it a while ago? Well here's a sneak at it:

It's a book i've had on my wish list for a long long time, and it arrived on the day of my deadline, so perfect timing- and I managed to find a half price copy too! What is it I hear you ask? Well it's this book: Annette Messager: Messengers
I've been rationing myself out as it's such a lovely book and it's almost unbearable to crack open the smooth golden pages, but every night I take a little look at some more and curl up feeling very happy with myself for being a good girl who did her homework and got a treat (even if she did pay for it herself)

And finally- i'm realising how great it is to have a partner in crime- a co-conspiritor in getting things done. Since our meeting on Monday, Claire and I have been coming up with ideas for future shows, press releases, pieces of work, all sorts- this is just what i've been missing out on!

CALM AIR ALL ICE

Claire Elizabeth Platt

Today I had a meeting with my partner in crime Claire. We are exhibiting together in May and are trying to be super organised with our press and making sure that we are somehow cohesive despite the fact she makes WWII planes and I make things from old hankies. I think it's going to come together really nicely and I spent the bus ride home thinking of words that have meaning for both of us, and doodling ideas for posters and so forth. Working with someone else is really good for me i've discovered- I am a natural born collaborator, and although this show will be us presenting our individual work in a shared space, it's so good to have a partner in these plans for world domination. We've got plans for a few more joint ventures ahead of us- but are always looking out for new projects, so if you can think of something the 'Calm Air All Ice' team might tackle let us know.

A busy weekend, birthdays, art, knitting and lots and lots of rain

Someone was one





Someone had some (old) art on show at Cafe Kino (that'll be me then)



Someone had some new work on show in Cafe Kino (that'll be Claire Platt)



someone had a very small (and mouldy) pumpkin



someone tried to remember how to knit



And if all that's not enough then today we printed January/February of Lucie's calendar



and September/October

I got totally soaked on more than one occasion today, and came home to find the boiler wasn't working properly, and neither was the toilet. I finally managed to get the boiler going again- filled the bath and soaked in HOT water for a while before using the bath water to flush the toilet. Never let it be said that i'm not d-i-y/crafty/green when it comes to plumbing! Now I need to see if I can fix the toilet, or perhaps maybe the time has finally come to bite the bullet and try and find a plumber who will magic everything right in my house and not charge me too much for it. It certainly would be nice to live in a house with constant hot water/central heating that works and a toilet that flushes...

Galleries are popping up all over the place

Before Claire started her MA we met up and went on a little expedition around Bristol to discover some of the new (and not so new) gallery spaces that seem to be popping up all over the place.

Windows 204

Room 212

Guerrilla Gallery

Container

Discovering all these places made up giddy with plans of world domination, so giddy that it's taken me until now to share the photos with you! It's really great to have Claire back in the area- nice to have someone to plot with and drink cups of tea with too. Have you visited her blog?

Claire Platt

My lovely friend Claire Platt has a fantastic interview up over on Heart Handmade which you should go check out- it's a lovely looking blog too, so take some time browsing it when you get over there. I'm so happy that Claire is going to be back in the west country soon- she'll be starting an MA at Bath Spa University, which is just down the road from me. We've already planned to meet up for knitting and cake eating amongst other things.

A lazy link day

Just a few things i've been reading recently:

An interview with Alison Willoughby over on Whip-Up


And both Cindy and Claire, who I exhibited with in November, have been busy:

Cindy Jaswal talks about her collections over on Poppytalk

and Claire Platt has a new blog- I love sewing.


Estelle Hanania will be having her first solo exhibition at FAT GALERIE, starting the 22nd of march until the 10th of may 08.(link should work now i've spelt it right!)


There are delightful crafts at Erleperle and lovely photos from Claudia as her take on Project 365 gets off the ground.

I'm already looking forward to the next big show at the V+A, China Design Now which opens in March

Pulling it all together for Abracadabra

Just a little post to pull all the other posts about the show together, so they are neatly stored in one place for your viewing pleasure.

We start off with:
4 weeks to go

then
6 days to go

me hating writing about my work

a photo of Claire Platt's work

a little about the opening night

me talking through some photos of my work

and to follow there will be photos and more info on Claire and Cindy's part of the exhibition.

a smattering of press

Claire's flickr set for the show