this text was written on the request of Jason Oakley
Publications Manager Visual Artists Ireland
It has since been edited and will be published in January's edition of VAN
It has since been edited and will be published in January's edition of VAN
Making It
The endeavours of an artist today:
My priorities over the past 12 months have been; making sense of the reverse culture shock I experienced since returning to a changed homeland and seeking out the possible uses for skills, experience and qualifications that equate to reasonable support; both moral and financial. It began with general snooping, shooting in the dark, perpetual rejection, a sparse scattering of acceptance which was coupled with nervous anxiety about potential failure and generally getting myself roped into all sorts of challenging situations. As I trundled blindly onwards with arms outstretched I found myself with some of the most generous, friendly and warm-hearted beings and fabulously interesting personalities in awesome surroundings; under mountain peaks, on islands and facing gales at the edge of this world.
In Milford, living with my parents I started by making a shop job into an art job by answering questions from old acquaintances about the present purpose of a Masters Degree in Fine Art and why one would persist with a laborious activity that at times is detrimental to my health for no foreseeable monetary gain. Happily, it all resulted in a paid residency at Cló, a print studio in the Gaeltacht under Mt Errigal and later an exhibition at Hive Emerging in Waterford. It was at Cló that I made my first alliances with other professional artists; Ian Gordon, Sarah Lewtas, Heidi Nguyen, Ian Joyce and Oona Hyland. I continue to converse with Sue Morris (Sligo) and Anna Marie Savage (Newry); trying to nurture a seed that fell on fertile ground in springtime and presented itself as a tinfoil covered car in the wind.[1]
After my brief but effectual existence ‘as gaelige’ I was whisked off to Inis Ceithleann around the time of the G8 conference. The purpose was to make a creative laboratory with eleven other selected participants from across the North West. Despite the utter randomness of the activity I resolved to go with the flow, experiment with the elements and concoct a creative enterprise. I now enjoy a ‘performative occupation’ as a circle paper maker; believing in a revolution brought on by the use of circular individually produced material to communicate[2], influenced by philosophies put forward by Edward deBono[3], Kenya Hara[4], Nicholas Negroponte[5] and John O’Donohue[6].
I feel blessed that I have been kindly supported by Harnessing Creativity in the acquisition of a six meter hexagonal mobile art venue which I will use as a workspace for my ‘performative occupation’ mainly in rural areas to access purposeful space for gathering with the view to making things differently. (If all else fails at least I have a roof over my head.) Already it has been used at Ebrington Square in Derry to entice participants into the David Shrigley drawing activity and this makes me smile.
Finally after nine months I celebrated the dawn of an additional role; this time with meagre but almost certain regular income. In September 2013 I was appointed Project Co-ordinator at Artlink Ltd, who reside at the military base at Fort Dunree in Inishowen. My role is making an unfunded organisation survive in the wilds of the 33rd county on a ‘job bridge’ scheme. As well learning to be ‘at work’ in a ‘job’, complying with government bureaucracy, remembering not to pull all nighters on sideline projects and fail to arrive at the appointed time to be present at ‘work’ I have helped deliver the long awaited Resistance and Rebellion project. On my first day I met Christine Mackey and was introduced to her exciting plan for an outdoor intervention titled Fortifying Beds[7]. I’ve also been introduced to the work of Conor McFeely and Sara Graevu and each of their responses to the site. In dialogue with John Beattie on drawing and along with my colleagues Patricia Spokes and Declan Sheehan we have delivered a series of family drawing activities as part of The Big Draw[8]. With artists Cathal McGinley, Phillip McFadden and Sebastiano Furci, we made time to draw and look at where we are, how it is changing, and how we can approach this challenge; outside, inside; young and old; with sticks and springs and chalk and tubing.
Throughout this adventure I have remained in regular contact with Damaso Reyes[9], from New York, whom I met in Tallinn in 2010. Alongside his practice Damaso is a mentor to aspiring photographers and writes a regular blog which includes links to opportunities for paid work. We contribute to each others’ work through online critical appraisal, and the odd wine fuelled Skype party/debate. Our current line of conversational enquiry follows frivolous art activity[10] in particular the Food and Drug Administration (USA) and how they, like artists, seem to be plugging away at a cause they are passionate about, (which is likely to improve well being in society) by producing experiential material, that in the main falls on blind eyes. Despite this they get up every day and go to work and so do I.
[1] Ceamara Agus Other Pinhole Devices, May 2013, www.clo.ie
[2] www.artsaboutya.com
[3] Founder of the term ‘lateral thinking’ and Author of ‘I’m Right you’re wrong: From This to a New Renaissance, from Rock Logic to Water Logic’ 1992
[4] Graphic Designer and Author of ‘White’, on the concepts of whiteness from Japanese culture 2011
[5] Architect, Founder of MIT Media Lab and One Laptop Per Child and Author of ‘Being Digital’, 1995
[6] Catholic Theologist and Author of Anam Cara, 1997
[7] www.artlink.ie/fortifyingbeds
[8] www.campaignfordrawing.org
[9] www.damasoreyes.com
[10] ‘Meaningless work is potentially the most abstract, concrete, individual, foolish, indeterminate, exactly determined, varied, important art-action-experience one can undertake today.’ Walter De Maria, On Boxes for Meaningless Work, 1961
My priorities over the past 12 months have been; making sense of the reverse culture shock I experienced since returning to a changed homeland and seeking out the possible uses for skills, experience and qualifications that equate to reasonable support; both moral and financial. It began with general snooping, shooting in the dark, perpetual rejection, a sparse scattering of acceptance which was coupled with nervous anxiety about potential failure and generally getting myself roped into all sorts of challenging situations. As I trundled blindly onwards with arms outstretched I found myself with some of the most generous, friendly and warm-hearted beings and fabulously interesting personalities in awesome surroundings; under mountain peaks, on islands and facing gales at the edge of this world.
In Milford, living with my parents I started by making a shop job into an art job by answering questions from old acquaintances about the present purpose of a Masters Degree in Fine Art and why one would persist with a laborious activity that at times is detrimental to my health for no foreseeable monetary gain. Happily, it all resulted in a paid residency at Cló, a print studio in the Gaeltacht under Mt Errigal and later an exhibition at Hive Emerging in Waterford. It was at Cló that I made my first alliances with other professional artists; Ian Gordon, Sarah Lewtas, Heidi Nguyen, Ian Joyce and Oona Hyland. I continue to converse with Sue Morris (Sligo) and Anna Marie Savage (Newry); trying to nurture a seed that fell on fertile ground in springtime and presented itself as a tinfoil covered car in the wind.[1]
After my brief but effectual existence ‘as gaelige’ I was whisked off to Inis Ceithleann around the time of the G8 conference. The purpose was to make a creative laboratory with eleven other selected participants from across the North West. Despite the utter randomness of the activity I resolved to go with the flow, experiment with the elements and concoct a creative enterprise. I now enjoy a ‘performative occupation’ as a circle paper maker; believing in a revolution brought on by the use of circular individually produced material to communicate[2], influenced by philosophies put forward by Edward deBono[3], Kenya Hara[4], Nicholas Negroponte[5] and John O’Donohue[6].
I feel blessed that I have been kindly supported by Harnessing Creativity in the acquisition of a six meter hexagonal mobile art venue which I will use as a workspace for my ‘performative occupation’ mainly in rural areas to access purposeful space for gathering with the view to making things differently. (If all else fails at least I have a roof over my head.) Already it has been used at Ebrington Square in Derry to entice participants into the David Shrigley drawing activity and this makes me smile.
Finally after nine months I celebrated the dawn of an additional role; this time with meagre but almost certain regular income. In September 2013 I was appointed Project Co-ordinator at Artlink Ltd, who reside at the military base at Fort Dunree in Inishowen. My role is making an unfunded organisation survive in the wilds of the 33rd county on a ‘job bridge’ scheme. As well learning to be ‘at work’ in a ‘job’, complying with government bureaucracy, remembering not to pull all nighters on sideline projects and fail to arrive at the appointed time to be present at ‘work’ I have helped deliver the long awaited Resistance and Rebellion project. On my first day I met Christine Mackey and was introduced to her exciting plan for an outdoor intervention titled Fortifying Beds[7]. I’ve also been introduced to the work of Conor McFeely and Sara Graevu and each of their responses to the site. In dialogue with John Beattie on drawing and along with my colleagues Patricia Spokes and Declan Sheehan we have delivered a series of family drawing activities as part of The Big Draw[8]. With artists Cathal McGinley, Phillip McFadden and Sebastiano Furci, we made time to draw and look at where we are, how it is changing, and how we can approach this challenge; outside, inside; young and old; with sticks and springs and chalk and tubing.
Throughout this adventure I have remained in regular contact with Damaso Reyes[9], from New York, whom I met in Tallinn in 2010. Alongside his practice Damaso is a mentor to aspiring photographers and writes a regular blog which includes links to opportunities for paid work. We contribute to each others’ work through online critical appraisal, and the odd wine fuelled Skype party/debate. Our current line of conversational enquiry follows frivolous art activity[10] in particular the Food and Drug Administration (USA) and how they, like artists, seem to be plugging away at a cause they are passionate about, (which is likely to improve well being in society) by producing experiential material, that in the main falls on blind eyes. Despite this they get up every day and go to work and so do I.
[1] Ceamara Agus Other Pinhole Devices, May 2013, www.clo.ie
[2] www.artsaboutya.com
[3] Founder of the term ‘lateral thinking’ and Author of ‘I’m Right you’re wrong: From This to a New Renaissance, from Rock Logic to Water Logic’ 1992
[4] Graphic Designer and Author of ‘White’, on the concepts of whiteness from Japanese culture 2011
[5] Architect, Founder of MIT Media Lab and One Laptop Per Child and Author of ‘Being Digital’, 1995
[6] Catholic Theologist and Author of Anam Cara, 1997
[7] www.artlink.ie/fortifyingbeds
[8] www.campaignfordrawing.org
[9] www.damasoreyes.com
[10] ‘Meaningless work is potentially the most abstract, concrete, individual, foolish, indeterminate, exactly determined, varied, important art-action-experience one can undertake today.’ Walter De Maria, On Boxes for Meaningless Work, 1961
