Market Gallery Residency - Day 2

As I struggled to open the roller shutter to Gallery 3, the local hairdresser passed and gave me a hand. Note to self: it helps if one is trying to open the correct shutter! My excuse - it's only day 2 and all the shutters look the same!

I met with another couple of volunteers; firstly Brogan, a Fine Art graduate from the University of Cumbria. I am so pleased that so many people are keen to help.

I'm beginning to realise how many events Market Gallery run and things the gallery is involved in. On Tuesday evenings Roos Dijkhuizen leads 'AIRPLAY', inflatable building classes. She came in to set up for the class, and I learned about how the inflatable sculptures will be installed in a local 'Stalled Space'. Stalled Spaces is an initiative run by Glasgow City Council in partnership with Glasgow Housing Association (GHA), in which small grants are given to communities across Glasgow to help them temporarily take on and breathe new life into sites which are currently stalled or unused.

Read more about the Stalled Spaces initiative here:

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=5118

Roos is a Printmaking graduate from Grays School of Art, and I told her about my plans to do some DIY screenprinting without exposing the screen. Roos suggested using watercolour on the screen and then pulling emulsion over the screen to transfer the watercolour pattern to the surface below. This is a process she has used, and some of her works made in this way can be seen on her blog:

http://roosmariedijkhuizen.tumblr.com/

This evening I met with Nikki K, (as opposed to Nikki F who I met yesterday!), who is a graduate from Glasgow University's History of Art department. Nikki is unfamiliar with the process of making art, and is interested to experience how work comes into being. She currently works for NVA, the Scottish arts organisation that strives to "make powerful public art articulating the complex qualities of a location through collective action. [Their] practice engages participants physically and creatively in redefining urban and rural landscapes. [They] take the existing landscape as a starting point for uncovering complex underlying realities, revealing how places shape and are shaped by their inhabitants."

Read more about NVA here:

http://www.nva.org.uk/

Following the success of 'Speed of Light' at Edinburgh Art Festival in 2012, NVA will take 'Speed of Light'  to Salford’s waterfront from Thu 21 – Sat 23 March. Nikki has the challenging but fun job of helping to make  this happen!

With so many people to meet I have not really got into making work yet, but am chomping at the bit as they say!

I find it useful to refer back to my proposal that I submitted many months ago in 2012. Key aspects of the proposal are:

"to conduct intensive research into colour and test the possibilities of  combining controlled processes with chance elements when making work."

I "seek to establish a relationship between the sculptural objects, floor and wall", and make the most of the space, enabling me to work on a larger scale and experiment with the installation of work.

I am trying to relax about the exhibition, seeing it as an opportunity to reveal what I have been doing during the residency. Basically, I want to focus on making, PLAYING, and experimenting with material and processes and see what develops!

This is easier said than done as I am always striving to make the best work I can, and it is a challenge for me to loosen up and go with the flow!

I ended my day by making a cardboard structure and am thinking about how I could make the raised surfaces colourful and any elements that are floor-based could be grey.