Spurn news

Do keep an eye on the new Spurn Artists in Residence blog for news of up-coming events in the lighthouse.  The next one is in a weeks time when there is an exhibition by the Hull University Social Sciences dept.  This is an opportunity to see inside the lighthouse as well as learn about the work of the department.  There is also a lovely film on there about embracing change in coastal landscapes and creative projects related to it.

saying goodbye

It has taken me all week to recover from last weekend - I've been in a bit of a daze.  The exhibition weekend went so well and exceeded expectations on various levels.  We had 700 visitors over the three days, which was fantastic.  Many had traveled quite a distance to see the work.  Family and friends came from London, Cheshire, Bolton, Grimsby, Bradford, Leeds and elsewhere.  People I don't know came from Peterborough, Boston, Buxton... and many from south of the Humber and from York.  It was really quite overwelming to find so many people had made such an effort to get there.  There were also many who were just visiting Spurn anyway and came in to see the lighthouse.  Hopefully some of these were pleasantly surprised at what they found inside.

The space worked really well and I'm so glad that I used each level in different ways.  It made for a journey of discovery as you climbed up all those steps.  It is only when people actually start to come into the space do you find whether it has been successful and whether people will react how you've imagined they might.

There were many lovely comments about my work and it confirmed for me that I'd managed to capture something of the place in what I produced.  The book was a big hit.  This is available directly from me at £10 (+ £3 p&p).  Just send me an email to request one. 

Of course this isn't the end.  Although I've handed back the key to the lighthouse and my residency is over the project continues for another year with the work traveling to various galleries in the region.  The first of these is South Square next week (link on the right).

So as well as recovering and unpacking and generally adjusting to the real world again I've been preparing for the next exhibition.  Each venue will be different and will show a different selection of the work.  The lighthouse is unique and was such a special (as well as challenging) space to show it in.  It belongs there.  However, I am looking forward to seeing it elsewhere.  There isn't space for the two big Spurn Cloths at South Square so in order to represent these large textile works in the smaller venue I have made three small Spurn Cloths.  I'll show images of these later.

So this blog will continue as the work travels and develops. Don't go away...   

before the visitors arrive

I took a few photos yesterday before the visitors started arriving (they were waiting to get in when we opened the doors at 11am yesterday and kept coming all day).  The light keeps changing in the lighthouse spaces, governed by the weather outside.  We've had a range of weather so far!  Yesterday was a stunning day: beautiful sunshine and clear views and perfect for people to visit Spurn and see it at its best.  Today looks promising too...

all set

Everything is in place and ready for the exhibition opening today.  We're open from 11 to 5 today, Saturday and Sunday. 

open studio

Alongside the exhibition on 21st-23rd at the lighthouse Ruth Brown of Stone Creek Silks will be opening her studio to visitors.  Therefore there is a chance to take in more than one event in the area at the same time.

Ruth teaches a range of taster sessions plus one, two and five day workshops on a variety of textile subjects as well as exciting, new, City & Guilds courses in Textile Decoration (Art cloth) and Creative Computing. 

She will be opening her studio, Stone Creek Barn, to coincide with my exhibition, so you can have a look at the Studio and see her demonstrating some of the techniques you can learn. The Barn will be open from 10am to 4pm on the 21-23 September. You will also be able to meet her friend Jane White, who is a brilliant couture dressmaking and pattern cutting tutor. 

Ruth is multi-talented and has helped me publish the book I've put together to document my residency. 

count down

The countdown continues with just a week to go now before the residency exhibition.  I've spent most of this week quietly stitching away on Spurn Cloth #1 in my studio at home.  This 4.7 metre long piece is a patchwork of rust-dyed silk and I've used stitch to add further texture to the marks already there.  Some parts I've left without stitches: this space is important.  The stitches confirm the creases in the cloth giving movement, like ripples on the ever-moving water out there, or the ripples set in the sand each time the tide comes in and then out again. 

In the lamp room this will be hung in a curved form so you can't ever see all of the piece at once.  The visitor will walk round it on their way to the platform to look at the view.  This piece quietly reflects that view, with a horizon of sorts along the whole length of it.  Soon it will be time to roll it up in my studio ready to go back to the lighthouse.

invitation

There are just two weeks to go now until my exhibition at Spurn.  Please consider yourself cordially invited to join me at the old lighthouse, whether the road is in action that week or not!

Spurn on TV

The BBC Look North feature on my exhibition aired last night.  Here it is on iplayer.  Scroll through to about 23 minutes.

It will be replaced by this evening's programme later today so catch it quick.

testing

With less than a month to go before the residency exhibition things are coming together.  I've spent today testing out how things look in the different spaces in the lighthouse.  As an exhibition space it is pretty challenging: there are low light levels in most rooms; floors and surfaces are dirty; and there are a lot of steps!  By exhibiting work at the top of the building (where the light is better) you are expecting visitors to invest in the effort required to walk up all those steps.  Hopefully the promise of the view from the top is enough to encourage people to make that investment!  Lower down, where it is gloomy, even on a bright day, there is a risk that work will just not have an impact at all.  There is a lot to consider in trying to create an exhibition that will be successful for the viewer.

I was also interviewed today for BBC Look North, which was fun.  We recorded sequences on the top of the dunes, in the lighthouse and up on the balcony at the top.  The feature should go out sometime next week in the eastern part of the region.  The weather was good to us, with bright sunshine while the crew were there.  

Later things got very hazy and strange light joined rumbles of thunder before some rain.

big news

I was absolutely thrilled to receive a letter over the weekend confirming that my application to Grants for the Arts was successful, meaning that the project has been awarded funding from The Arts Council.  I am officially now supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England!  This is a really big step for me.  As well as the financial support, which makes this whole project much more comfortable to undertake, there is a stamp of approval for my work that is a real accolade.  I'm excited but also quite daunted!

The residency will span the next six months, culminating in the exhibition weekend in September and after that the work will tour a number of galleries through into 2013.  Currently dates are confirmed for October at South Square, Thornton and then January/February at The Ropewalk, Barton-upon-Humber.  There are more venues and dates yet to be confirmed.

I'm very much looking forward to visiting Spurn later this week and really getting going on things.