shelter

had interesting day yesterday with student self critiquing the first stage of the shelter project, think a good idea in principle, with a bit of tweaking, would like to see a bit more in depth critisism.
am starting to ponder the follow on to this of a personal project- i am interested in looking at eggs in more depth and have a somewhat silly notion of maybe trying to hatch some chicks? as a sort of installation/living sculpture type thing?!
ive hatched some before and found it a profoundly, enchanting experience
maybe i am taking on too much?

liverpool biennial

well, I did enjoy lots of this, i dont think quite as much as the last one which was my first
although advised to not spend too long at the john moores painting prize, i did and LOVED IT!
far better than the previous ones i have seen, more diverse, interesting
i think i came away from it not so much having been"touched" by the actual works, but more exciting techniques, materials, applications
i went home buzzed up by myself and a resolve to push myself further with experimentation
the other exhibitions were rather a mixed bunch for me
i loved "gloria, a study for an opera 2" by Hrafnhildur Arnardottir at the Contemparory arts centre
visually stunning, flowing with the natural changing light coming in through the colours

lighting up a very manmade material brilliant!the shapes and the form the hair took on, creeping up the pillars

wasnt too keen on the basement multiple videos happening, endless oriental guys and gals sat still on mopeds or waving string about their heads for hours just doesn't get me going although i did get very engrossed in the video being projected onto the floor, depicting hundreds of office workers in a grid form moving tables about like some mad, living human rubix cube. squabbling over their perceived "spaces" like little ants in their little world where nothing is as important as having YOUR OWN TABLE.

I also enjoyed at the A foundation Joe Clark's video(for someone who doesn't like video?)of the vultures, reminded me somewhat of our mad consumerist society that panics to rush and grab and gorge on anything it finds until it is all devoured and they all leave without a backward glance

shelter

Although i have happily entered into a collaborative to look at the shelter idea, I have quite taken an unassertive role, offering my phsyical abilities, creating 2d work to highlight the actual work when displayed, as i just cant get my head aruond their proposals and the ethos behind their ideas, that being that we all wear masks when interacting with society as a form of shelter, as i dont believe i do!
i am still drawn to the idea of the egg.
having hens myself i am in awe every single day when they produce me an egg!
i have hatched my own chicks and watched the 21 day cycle of those cells changing into chicks, all encased in the most brilliant shelter, the shell(is that maybe where the word itself has mutated from, i wonder?)

My beautiful dog

Just recently i had my beautiful dog Tilly put to sleep.It was such an overwhelming experience i had to write about it.
It had such a profound effect on me, the time leading up to it when i had to contemplate the inevitable, her death during which i felt total love and calm as i cuddled her on the sofa, and afterwards (immediately after i could do nothing but prowl around trying not to be physically sick) as i recovered far quicker and more calmly than expected.
i know this will have a deeply lasting effect on me as i experienced emotions and stuff that was new to me, i just dont know how they will manifest themselves yet. lets see.

Networking!

            TANGERINE DREAMS

Last night i "gatecrashed" a jewelery evening organised in a deli owned by my friends. As an opening present to the deli i had given them a large painting, and sure enough there was my large painting hanging above the main jewelery display!I blagged my way in on the proviso that i love silver trinkets and all stuff girlie, and started to quaff the complimentary bubbly. The stuff for sale was gorgeous by the way, solid silver and very inexpensive www.ezzentiallysilver.co.uk.
Then some people i knew arrived and suddenly i was demanded to tell them about my work( they said they loved it) two immediately ordered pieces for themselves and then another lady announced she works for a certain huge private property company in Manchester and they need artwork for various office buildings! I announced i was too busy just now( seems to make them want you even more!) but would contact them to meet up shortly.
three women then argued about who had "found" me and who i should be contacting!!! thrusting business cards at me!
i have already emailed her.

Shelter

working as a group further on the shelter project( although i do far prefer working on my own, i'm going to be very grown up and join in,try hard not to control, and go with the flow a bit!!) the group have decided to look at the masks us humans wear as shelter. the mask we put on before leaving the shelter of our homes, the professional mask, the public mask, sheltering what? and from whom?
We are going to work on a video, performance type affair but in the meantime, being the only painter of the group, I have been allocated the task of producing my interpretation of traditional masks........... I have put my lovely husband to work(networking!!) an making some bases from mdf to a template, as the effect will work better with impact from repetition
i will get to work!

I have been researching traditional, tribal, masking.

shelter project research

 the ultimate shelter, being a mother myself, is mothers arms or,more intimately, the womb.


i think i will do a painting trying to express, through colour, the feeling of the womb?

about me!

Hi i'm Sasha, i'm 43 and live with my man, my daughter, 3 dogs, 1 cat and 8 hens in a village at the foot of the peak district called Bollington. It's a nice, friendly, boozy place and i'm glad i moved here from London 20 odd years ago, i think Manchester is a wonderful city.
My background is in property development, always working for myself , with quite a strong leaning to the creative/interior design side(ooo i do sound cocky, i'm not really!)
I also had a deli and coffee bar for a while, which i loved, as the whole food world is a particular passion for me.
I have a burning ambition to create a book- I havnt quite worked it out yet and intend to put my time on the Interactive Arts course to full use, by creating that book.
I dont have any definitive plan, i'm going to go with it for a bit and see where it takes me!
I'm thoroughly looking forward to it all!