Stroke The Cat

Making the Future is a major new cultural heritage project delivered by a consortium of partners, the Nerve Centre, National Museums Northern Ireland, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and Linen Hall Library.

Shades of Place is a new online programme where you will explore archival maps and stories whilst learning to master the art of hand embroidery and eco-dyeing thread. 

Drawing from inspiration from the archives and your local surroundings, you will get the opportunity to use your new creative skills to contribute to a collaborative postcard map of Northern Ireland and border counties to share with future generations. 

Session 1 - Maps as storytelling with Garrett Carr

Place

This is my studio wall.. it has been like this for at least 3 years… gathering up phrases, statements and inspiration centred around my place, which is Bangor, Northern Ireland.

I have used maps in my own art making since I participated in a 2 day workshop with textile artists Rosie James… using maps, tearing them up and stitching into them felt… destructive.. these documents are official, they tell us where to go & what our journey looks like, we follow them without question.

Using the lines from maps make it instantly recognisable as of a place…

Postcards

I’ve been making postcard sized art recently. It is accessible…

The postcards I created with Rosie, where inspired by. and reflected on Brighton, a place referenced many times in Bangor’s new/future identity.. “The Brighton of Northern Ireland”

Maps

In his first lecture Garrat ask “what will you map”.. my instant response was where do people connect with the sea, where do they get there feet wet and how do they do that.

Along with the rest of the world, my work has stepped onto digital platforms in 2020. This opened up an opportunities to get back to making art, completely process focused, with no expectations of what would be created. The original "Petals", (currently on display at the Boom Studios Window Gallery on Main Street, Bangor Northern Ireland) was created through a digital abstract art class. The platform we used was Zoom, which at the time had some issues.

These issues appeared on my screen when I attended a group call, which was "ZoomBombed", interrupting a live feed and sharing disturbing, upsetting images. My purpose is "making things.making things better". This troubling experience motivated me to pull it into a positive. That this experience would have a better outcome than haunting imagery.

I pushed & pulled the image created in the online class to a final point, echoing the viral them of 2020 into a floral abstract piece.

The original work is on Hahnemuhle Aquarell 425g/m acid free. 30cmx40cm, with Liquitex Inks, finished with Uni Posca and Liquitex pouring medium.

Saying yes gets you to interesting places……

Recently, it brought me to an empty, rundown, decommissioned courthouse for a tour and a discussion with Wayne Hemingway. 

The theme is  SeaSide Revival which can   nourish the various sectors that make up Bangor, Northern Ireland.

"Good Design is as little design as possible” - Deiter Rams "

 Wayne talked through his vision of what the urban design of Bangor could be... it would need to be simple, small micro-movements, with some key  infrastructure to maintain them and provide people with  quality experiences. 

Simple things, daily litter removal, better parking solutions (not more spaces), maps and guides to what is happening.

The sea, the coast, the seaside town experience, fresh air….doesn’t  need  hours of discussion or years of consultation and design, and millions of pounds of investment, it needs clarity of thought supported by simple design.

As Wayne stated “ the best regeneration comes from culture”. The creative sector can reconnect people to the water, to the place, enable them to rediscover the coast through bespoke creative experiences….. an app, story-telling, a piece of art, a product that provokes memories, an experience…  seeing these things  appear, remain and become part of the vocabulary of the town ,inspires  confidence in others and provide a  fab experience to make a day trip to Bangor a lovely one. 

Sometimes, it takes someone on the outside to see clarity.  Wayne has permission to critique past decisions…  removing “ the god given right to free car-parking”, taking back the space that is choked by town centre workers parking and giving it to the community as a space for leisurely pursuits by the coast, is a simple action, that will solve a number of problems.  Moving the car park from A to B. Where A is currently free parking, blocking the connection to the coast and B is a currently empty multi-story attached to the zombie apocalypse shopping centre, will revive the footfall in the shopping centre and  attract some key retailers back.

The model put forward was “ A Jacobs Joint”  - A shared meal - where everybody brings something and puts it on a table for people to help themselves.

..but  these mini-events ... beach cleans, drink&draws, food tasting nights, poetry readings, drawing classes, dash & dunks, cookie night are happening  in the town already, they are being delivered by the hard-workers who want to get shit done!

What is missing is the good infrastructure and the ability to tell everyone about it.  What is missing is a clear, on message communication from our town, inviting other people to come to our town and we do not need to wait to share this message.

I find myself within a dilemma, I have the ideas, i have the studio space so why aren't I starting. I find myself with reasons not to begin and am preferring to spend my time thinking and shearing my work to date.

I now understand a bit more about why I chose not to leave Project 24 as Eoin arrived. The past few weeks have been challenging. Returning to my personal 3 R's

Reduce ... my workload  through…. Revalue … of what I do and…..Rethink.

Is it OK to be small ?  ( Small is the new big or it was in 2005.)

I recently received mentoring from Carrie Neely. She is in the business of Art, well known and respected,  she happily shared her knowledge  and experience. True to her aim of "of helping emerging local artists make a name for themselves'

The workshop presented key considerations about my work and how I talk about it and link the different threads together.

I have returned to a jigsaw that I produce a few years ago that forced me to think about my personal motivations.  

The Interuption.

I like an interruption, but disruption is better.

It changes the journey and sends you to an unexpected door.

One year ago, I ( we) was disrupted.  I was gaining confidence, being self employed  and getting somewhere.

The disruption is now 5 months old and asleep next to me.