the evening before meet the artist

 

and i returned from an evening walk thinking i'd like to write down some stuff about the trail. 

sitting with my laptop to write i became aware of the achy limbs and overall fatigue from today's heat. i recalled the times back in january when i wrote about the snow.

it has been a long journey to get the trail to this point and i thank all those involved in getting it ready for their effort and patience for staying with the process.  

for me right now i'm too close to be reflective about the journey, in fact after my walk i'm tired and would really like a cup of tea.

the website description has been tweaked for new visitors and all that is left to do is ... well nothing really. there's  the odd tweak here and there to satisfy process end.

we still have some preparations to do for the stall at the food festival and that can wait till next week. my thoughts turn to tim as he prepares for tomorrow... the car packed and all things set to go.  we've has loads of really positive and complimentary feedback about the radio interview. i'll write about that...however not now as just maybe i should have something to drink and put my feet up.  after all ... all the hard work is done. 

radio interview

andrew, tim shore and ed stagg in the studio at bbc radio derby

sarah from strutt's north mill first came up with the suggestion that i should try to get onto the radio to chat about the trail. i chuckled and thought nothing more of it.

i bimbled away getting the things ready for the install and the more i thought about it the more i thought why not give it a go.  




in a very subtle manner i started communicating with andy potter of bbc radio derby and i have to say he was very cool about my subtle approaches.  the trump card of getting some interest came about after sarah was able to list tim shore's "meet the artist" event on the bbc things to do website.  i thought i could set sarah up with andy to talk about the event.

little did i expect that the response would came back that the programme would like to chat with tim and there to be someone there to talk about the trail too. i set about contacting tim and seeing if in his busy schedule he could find the time to commit to chatting on the radio.  i was really pleased after several phone calls that all was arranged and we were to go onto the afternoon show on wednesday.

day of the interview:

at a personal level i find it very difficult to fill the time before something starts to happen, so i was so relieved to see tim already at the studio when i arrived.  we caught up with things and happily chatted and i felt immediately at ease with him. our conversation transported me to another time and soon we were being called into the studio.

as we walked down the corridor i quickly negotiated with the producer for a photograph for the blog. ed was really happy to do this and i have to say we had quite  a fun time jogging around the studio to find a good spot in which to stand.

i was very nervous and this photo opportunity and subsequent banter helped me to ease some of the nerves.

we didn't really know how the interview was going to unfold and even though i felt this as it began i felt confident enough to engage with the opening question and the interview itself.  i know that my nerves are in part related to part of my dyslexia, that of processing information in real time. it's something that at times i find very difficult to do.

the interview is available on the iplayer until july 10th so rather than describe it all i'll leave you to listen to it http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/p01b1dnq/  scroll to about 2:12 into the programme, the music leads into the interview.



after the interview finished we both walked back to reception. i was certainly pleased that it seemed to go without a too many hitches. as i don't do this kind of interview very often i was a little short on reference points as to how well it had gone.  again in the moment of talking and thinking on my feet, i am aware that my dsylexia can at times grind me to a halt  when i have moments of processing hitches.  it was my biggest fear of doing the live interview that i would go completely blank and know not what to say.

that was yesterday.

today after the single installation meeting of the day, i have spent many hours really making the most of the opportunity to get the message out there about the trail. i did this for those artists showing so they can feel that their works are going to get as much publicity as possible. 

i did it for the businesses and venues talking part to demonstrate our commitment to attract an audience to the trail 

and

i did it for the audience as we don't yet know you yet and i wanted to show you enough of the trail to tickle your interest to come along 

and 

have a look 

and 

take some time 

to make you very own ...

journey of favourites.

today's discovery #belperarttrail

i had some time to wander before the last install of the day today.  i took some time to look at the things that ordinarily i perhaps wouldn't have the time to look at, like the station for instance.

as i walked to the venue to meet the artist and the staff of the shop i strolled along a street that i'd not ever had cause to walk along before.

to my amazement at the bottom of the narrow street complete with really old street furniture i came across the mural as shown in the accompanying picture.  i stood with it for a while and took in the magnificence of the image. i started to wonder who "gibsons" were and what all the products were in the window.

i took in the surrounding environment. the glow in the dark stars, the lady sitting in the window at a sowing machine and the small cctv cameras.

i returned to looking at the image. i started to wonder when it was made, who had made it and why was there a strip of wood near the base of the image.

happy with a discovery to accompany the other enjoyable memories of the day of introducing artists to business owners and being part of artistic fusions i happily (almost skipping ) strolled to the expectant shop.

in keeping with the slightly teasing nature of the blog as to who and where the trail combinations are in this year's trail i met the artist whose work is the only work this year to be situated on the first floor.  to discover where that is there's a trail guide available from the link on the right......

so there i am in the shop, chatting away about stuff and would you believe it .... the artist whose work we were about to install had been part of the mural creation. the coincidence was astounding.  we chatted about the mural and it's creation and i learnt a bit more about it.

still wanting to not be a spoiler... i'll leave it for the artist to tell the story of the mural for herself .... over to you ......

belper news and the bbc #belperarttrail

there is soo much exciting stuff to write about today i'm a bit too excited to know where to start.









so as the song goes, time to start at the very beginning and in true big bang style will so swerve the opportunity to talk about the collection of gas that exploded and millions of years later we find ourselves with running water, electricity and a means of publicating words to a world wide web...


when we launched the call out back in october we had very little idea of what works would be submitted. we certainly didn't expect a work that would so well resonate with strutt's north mill.  we also couldn't forsee the evolution of staff at the mill so it is really pleasing that we've managed to once again include the basement of the north mill in the art trail.

so keeping with our sub-theme of discovering while on the trail, we're please to announce that on sunday 7th july we have a special event at 1pm till 3pm at strutt's north mill where artist tim shore will be available to chat with about his work installed in the basement of the mill.

this story is featured in the belper news

and is listed as something to do on the bbc website things to do. 

in a field

there are times when the best thing to do is just kick off the shoes and feel the grass beneath one's feet.


obviously i'm now sat on rock in the middle of a field paused while walking to make a very quick blog post about being in a field and feeling the grass. it's a bit prickly but despite the tickling sensation it feels lovely.


i'm off with the fairies to explore the yonder this evening as it's been a very busy week and there's only so much one can do before it's time to kick back and relax for a few days.


there is a peer to peer tomorrow so my wanderings today will be only as far as i get with a eye on getting back.  



as i take in the evening smells, sights and sounds i do feel like there's something i've forgotten to do...


did i turn the oven off ........ ........   .............

#belperarttrail update

as belper comes to the close of their arts festival, where is the belper art trail in it's preparations ?

well we're not doing too badly.  may has been so busy for the town that we've kept a low profile so that the trail can emerge during june. we certainly are liking the idea of the trail being discovered. we're also liking the possibility that in wandering around the trail in july that there's an opportunity to slow down and become a tourist in one's own town.  this is of course a sentiment that totally locally has proposed during may.

in terms of where we are with venues, the open and honest situation is that we still need at least two mores venues, if not three. the process of contacting and waiting is very much a waiting game and often without a conclusion. it affects so much that at times i get a little down about it. i become so like a teenager wanting to paint something that when it doesn't look like how i image it to be, i have a strop and storm off and play with my lego.

as deadlines for press releases approach we will soon have to make decisions and choices. 

once again my own journey is punctuated by height and lack of height. maybe it's this contrast that makes a journey interesting and memorable.  soon the audience will be able to make their own call on contrast as we will be there in july with the art trail.

i'm tempted to add..... come rain or shine ..... is this tempting something ....... time will tell !!!!!!

#belperarttrail june 8th peer to peer meeting

following on from the creative roadshow that chris spoke at last week we have a peer to peer meeting scheduled for saturday 8th june at strutts centre beginning at 2pm and running till 4pm.








the peer to peer meetings are for practioners in any medium who wish to talk about what they do to an interested group of people and engage in conversations and exchange of ideas and thoughts.

the format works at it's best when things that you've made are brought along to show and discuss.  we can offer you a safe place to talk about your work and experience constructive words and feedback about what you do.  it's also a place to gain advice on topics and to ask questions of the group to test out ideas/creative concerns/ or simply where to get something done.

we charge £3.50 and that includes a hot drink.

we look forward to welcoming returning and new participants.

#belperarttrail venue tastic !

i get so excited when a venue says yes.

attention now starting to turn to setting up publicity articles and the like.











for me it becomes about the cat and the bag and hinting at the cat while the bag is not fully opened.  

if we were sitting face to face i'd probably find it difficult to contain my excitement about how the trail is shaping up. as i'm blogging about it, part of the strategy of the blog is of course to develop a bit of tension as to what the trail looks like.  that tension being releaved in an article somewhere, probably in june or july or further hints here.

as to how long the tension can be held for ... this is of course something to guage ... 

next peer to peer meeting

we've another peer to peer meeting booked for june 8th at 2pm at the strutts centre.

chris will be talking about the peer to peer meetings at the creative roadshow,  part of the belper arts festival on 16th may.

for more information about the peer to peer meetings:

http://www.corridor-arts.org.uk/abcd/dates/

#belperarttrail : form

follows function. i love bauhaus and particularly herbert bayer as he's one of the less well know members of it's haydays.

i've had a bit of a rambly day today. possibly related to a disturbed night's sleep. i get them occasionally. they might be related to the fine balance of food or drink or something on my mind.  everyday normal stuff really.

chris and i sat down with amanda from artsbeat this morning. it was early and i'd barely finished my coffee when we began to chat.  just between you and me i was bothered that we haven't quite finished putting the full trail together and as yet haven't let the submitees know the outcome of their efforts.  

upon checking in with my project plan this afternoon our lack of progress to know what the form of the trail is isn't as bad as my initial slightly sleep deprived self made it seem.  it bothers me that we haven't yet been able to confirm the trail with the submitees because i feel we should have let them know.  this is of course simply me pushing myself and responding to the self appointed pressure.  what i can add here is that we are beginning to draw up the necessary emails and there might be a few situations where we want to show something but are yet to secure a venue.  

as it was said to me on monday " you're ok though, there's loads of time till july."

meeting amanda this morning brought home the reality on the monday comment. how can we publicise something we don't know the form of?  i think the reality of that is that one publicises the concept in general terms when the full form is not known as the form continues to take shape right up to the point of the trail being live. indeed in our pilot year we still had a venue to find during the installation week, which we did.

just between you and i, i've been worried and a little stressed. all self inflicted as i want the trail to be as good as possible.

also just between you an i, that stress is coming from the need to have copy for articles publicising the trail.

note to self... publicity stuff is stressful but very neccesary, because we want the trail to be seen by as many people as possible.

on that note, it's time for a cup of tea.

happy wednesday everyone, including that alex chap in manchester...

putting the journey together #belperarttrail

use the hashtag for all you art trail tweets.

i'm feeling happier today. why? because we have made really good progress through phases 1,2 and 3 of our venue relationship building programme.

it does leave me with a bit of a headache as we're not quite fully venued up and this always has a little domino effect on what we display and where.  i am very aware that we still need to make the announcements of who will be in the trail this year and chris reassures me that it's ok as she's experienced how other trails take time to let people know as it does take time to successfully realise the ambition of placement.

i am getting very excited by what we've done so far and i really really want to say more, however i need to finish some details so for now i'll leave it at that and not fully reveal the destination......

it's coming .........

the journey of favourites.