Finally got round to photographing my bunting

 

Sorry For Your Loss, 2013, fabric, paint, seaquins

 

You Can Buy These, You Know?, 2012,  fabric, paint, sarcasm

Censored

Once Upon Again

As a member of the Pack of Wolves collective I'm proud to announce our next exhibition

 

Curated by Layla Holzer, Once Upon Again is an exhibition in which

The Pack of Wolves artists show work inspired by existing fairy and folk stories. 

Fairy and folk tales reinterpreted with a contemporary eye, showing that the themes and values they contain can be used now, Once Upon Again.

The exhibition runs - 27 February – 9 March 2013
at the Milkwood Gallery,
41 Lochaber Street, 

Roath,

Cardiff 

CF24 3LS

on Saturday 2 March there will be an evening of enchanting fairy tales, puppet shows and performances at the gallery

Work, slowly in progress.

Paul Wood and his cohorts have been keeping me very busy, so I haven't had much time to get up to mischief...

But, occasionally the devil makes work...

 

Solo Show at Westgate Studios, Wakefield

I am having a ONE NIGHT ONLY solo show at Westgate Studios in Wakefield as part of the Wakefield Art Walk. 

I will be showing new collage works, all of this year's #tweetart and a new piece Ineffective Distractions.

I am told, there will be a bar. More than enough reason to come and have a gander. 

The address is 

Westgate Studios

55 Westgate

Wakefield

WF1 1BW

I have been offered the chance to have a solo show

so, essentially this is my brain at the moment.

I've been offered a chance to exhibit my work on its own at Westgate Studios (where #tweetart is held) and natch i said YESPLEASE

Then I realised I have no work...

I'm working on a Vanitas 

and I will hopefully show a new collage

Up to no good with collage again

So, I have been invited by my friend, artist and unicorn breeder Spike Dennis to join the Pack of Wolves a collective of creatives. I gladly accepted, and now need to make some work.

I absolutely need to get my finger out, but I have made a start.

Saints Gallery mentioned in Bolton News

The exhibition I curated got a full page in the Bolton News

Which was nice. 

I Curator

Street View celebrates urban life from the different view points of local artists. Taking us from the macro with Irina Rumyantseva’s metropolitan cityscapes; visiting its inhabitants and detritus with recycled-material portraits by Davlo and exploring the urban decay left behind through Karen Bricknell’s photographs. We are even invited to watch this process of industrial disintegration through Bricknell’s sculpture.

The show runs from 12th July - 3rd Aug at Saint's Gallery, Saint Andrew's Court, Bolton, BL1 1LF

Look what TNT did to my collage!

Looked good, didn't it?

I booked a next day courier to take Gone Wild in Vegas down to Hemmingway design, for this year's Bad Art Salon.

I did this through Parcel2go.com and thought it would be wise to pay the extra, insuring the work up to £200

 About 6 hours after the guy came to pick it up, I had an e-mail through from the Bad Art team saying it was being cancelled and moved to August. As the work needed to be in New Mills to go in an other exhibition starting on the 17th July I quickly rang TNT to see if I could stop it going down. "sorry love, it's on the van I will get them to return to sender it when it gets to Slough"

Great at least I wouldn't have to drive down to Wembley to get it, that was good. 

I tracked the parcel on its progress down to Slough and back. It really took its time and then it appeared to be at Trafford park, awaiting rescue. I finally found time to go and get it this morning (in between dropping work off for another exhibition and collecting materials for another)

I drove to Trafford Park and found myself in the reception are of TNT, gave them my reference and watched the nice lady go and find the package. 

A man returned, empty handed. "has anybody spoken to you about the package?" he says

"...no." I replied, stomach dropping

"What was it?"

"A framed piece of art"

the look he gives me is one of sympathy "well... I think... I don't know how damaged it is, but it's damaged. I think the glass is broken" 

Speechless

"Do you want me to bring it out and you can have a look at it?" he suggested

"Yes, hopefully it wont be too badly damaged"

He brought out the package, neatly wrapped, "As you can see, the packaging isn't damaged..." he shook the package, and looked up at my horrified expression "But it sounds like the glass is broken"

"Just a bit" I answered, dejectedly.

We unwrapped the package, the two layers of thick paper, outward most of these reading GLASS: FRAGILE HANDLE WITH CARE, three layers of bubble wrap, two pieces of cardboard protecting the glass and finally the cellophane which now contained thousands of shards of broken glass. 

The frame itself appears to have received significant dints and bumps to it, which I have only noticed on getting the thing home.... but let's just say it was

Fucked

The piece was fucked.

A hand cup photographic print on glossy paper does not stand up very well to people shaking broken glass around it when checking if it is, indeed, broken after they have mishandled it. 

The mount board at the bottom of the work even has a dint in it, looking as though someone has stood on, or dropped something onto it. On the outer of the packaging was a scuff mark, indicating something had hit the package with some force. 

The man we very sympathetic, and gave me a number to ring to make a claim as I'd have the forethought to pay an extra few pounds to cover the work up to a value of £200. Which is how much I'd say it cost me to make the work in total. 

Returning home, I called the number and was told by TNT that as I'd sent it through Parcels2Go I had to ring them. I rang Parcels2Go to ask about their process, and she pointed out the package was a "Framed artwork" Indeed, that's why I got extra cover. 

"Unfortunately, in the terms and conditions of the insurance that you have put onto the consignment it states that we do not cover artworks, canvases or framed works"

"Oh." Shattering internally to small pieces and wondering how I was going to have time to RE-MAKE and afford to have it framed and get it to the exhibition inbetweendoinganINTERNSHIPandCURATINGaSHOWandfinishingapieceofartFORANOTHEREXHIBITION "Ok....,"I breathed.

"I'm just telling you that now, but I will send you an e-mail with what to do, how to claim on it and you can put a claim in and we will see what we can do" she consoled me

"Ok.... Thank you, I will do that" I was miles away (Can you hear me Major Tom?)

"Ok, I'm sorry about this, is there anything else I can help you with?" the woman on the other end of the line chirped

"No, thank you, unless you can re-make the work for me....?"

"haha, no sorry, ok thank you bye"

So the moral of that story is

GOD HATES ME.

Street View - Exhibition

I've organised an exhibition

Street View

12th July - 3rd August

An exhibition of work inspired by urban life will be opening on Thursday 12th of July at Saint's Gallery, a new exhibition space at Saint Andrew's Court, Bolton.

Participating local artists DAVLO, Karen Bricknell and Irina Rumyantseva 

hosted by S and S Assets and New Horizon Retail Ltd.

Taking three different views of life in an urban environment by local artists, containing portraits, photographs, paintings and sculpture. Celebrating the occupants of cities, exploring their environment and the echoes that they leave behind.

Private View on Thursday 12th July 2012 5pm-8pm

With wine & nibbles generously donated by New Horizon Retail Ltd

Mawdsley Street, Bolton, Greater Manchester BL1 1LF

For more information on the participating artists, visit:

Davlo 

Irina Rumyantseva

Karen Bricknell

The Prade

Saturday and Sunday consisted of a lot of running about organising and getting things ready for 1:30.

I helped rig the pirate ship, and sort the pyrotechnics without falling off the bow of the ship or blowing myself up. 

We laid out the puppets on tarps as the grass was wet through from rain. The weather wasn't amazing on Saturday or Sunday but the rain kept off for the duration of the parade.

There was a great turn out both days, and I scared lots of children. 

result

pyros

Laid out puppets

Face paint

The wind meant that, in the name of streamlining, the highest allegorical women on the trikes were  left off

My little dragons

Me as the green dragon

My green man looking awesome

It ain't easy being green.