Moving

A story about trying something new, getting stuck, and moving on again.

“Nothing happens until something moves” Albert Einstein.

In April 2018 I made my first tentative steps into stencil cutting and spray painting. I used Record Store Day as the spark to cut and spray some simple lettering designs onto old LP records. The response to these initial pieces was positive, so I kept making, and the vinyl junkie project was born.

Record Store Day 2018. The Happy Talk art is sprayed on to a copy of South Pacific.

I began to develop my own lettering styles and experiment with different paint effects, and then I received my first vinyl junkie commission. I was learning lots about how painful on the fingers stencil cutting is, and how fiddly spray paint can sometimes be. I was enjoying the project, things were going well.

Developing the project
My first vinyl junkie commission

A couple of months later, while showing my work at the 2018 Carshalton Artists Open Studios, I received some unsolicited feedback on the vinyl junkie project. ‘It’s a bit A-level, a bit student. These aren’t very good, I think you should stop doing them’.

One of the things I experienced when I was at my lowest with stress and burnout, was a tendency to focus on the negative, and I took this feedback to heart. The open studios event was a success, but in the aftermath, I put the vinyl to one side, and stopped making. Every day I walked past a small stack of vinyl leaning in the studio doorway, and every day I did nothing about it. The vinyl shifted from something I really enjoyed using, to becoming an obstacle around which I skirted every time I passed through the doorway.

This went on for a while, until one day I accidentally kicked the pile, and some of the vinyl scattered on the floor. I restacked the pieces and carried on. Two days later, during my weekly counselling, I talked about this story, and concluded it was time to either restart the vinyl junkie project, or put it away and move on.

“Nothing happens until something moves” Albert Einstein

I decided to go again, and almost immediately after making the decision, a commission enquiry arrived, and that enquiry turned into this.

I was asked by some good friends to make something with a nod to the city of Cleveland where they live. I experimented with a few stencil cuts before settling on the one you see here, laid onto a starry night sky background. The piece on the right was a surprise thank you for my friends, incorporating letters of their names into a heart shape. Shortly after making these, I was approached by someone wanting a black cat vinyl. This black cat commission marked my first move into multi layered stencil cutting, and I am continuing to develop my practice with more layers, and different paint effects.

I’ve learned a few things from this experience:

  • Whilst I can’t stop unsolicited feedback – I don’t have to pay it any attention.
  • When giving feedback, I should ask if it is wanted first.
  • Getting stuck isn’t great, but it happens. When it does, remember that nothing happens until something moves.
  • Show your work.
  • Keep experimenting.

What’s next for the vinyl junkie project? I don’t know, and I am open to commission enquiries so if you have any ideas, drop me a line and let’s talk.

Stories of Hope and Courage

My friend Andy Copps recently invited me to take part in a storytelling event in London, called Stories of Hope and Courage. I was asked to provide some live art to accompany the stories as they unfolded, and there was some live music in the mix too. We gathered to be entertained, and to  support Donate4Refugees, a small charity which provides essential shelter, warmth, food and other critical daily needs of refugees and migrants in Europe. You can find out more about them here. I sat at the back of the room, I listened, and began to draw.

Artist At Work

In the run up to the event I decided to frame my work around the enso symbol, a hand drawn circle symbolising a moment when the mind is free to let the body create. Given I had not heard the stories beforehand, this felt like a useful way to begin each art work. As the stories unfolded, I made an enso and added symbols within each enso to reflect aspects of the tales as they drifted by me on the air. Most of the ideas worked, one or two did not, and ended up in the bin 🙂 After the event I photographed the art works. Here they are in close up, and mounted and framed. 

These original A4 signed art works (unmounted and unframed) are available to purchase at a cost of £25 each plus £5P&P. £10 from each sale will go to Donate4Refugees along with the donations of £105 which were raised on the night. If you’d like to purchase one or more of these works, you can do so via my PayPal page. Thanks in advance for your support.

Minden Calling : European Adventures

A few weeks ago I wrote about the free art project extending into Europe. Since then, I’ve accepted a kind invitation to show some of my art at an exhibition in Minden, Germany.

Minden is one of the towns twinned with our borough, and next March there will be an arts festival to celebrate Minden’s 40th anniversary of town twinning. I’m choosing to show some works from my I Guardian series, which is an exploration of mental health and the human condition. Earlier today I sent off my submission to the exhibition catalogue. This is a first for me, and I can’t quite believe it’s happening. I’m excited and grateful, and a great reminder to me of the importance of some of what I learn through my free art project, namely:

Be curious. Start something. Keep going.

In case you are interested, here are the works I’ll be showing next March. I use the words ‘I’ll be showing’ quite intentionally, because I’ll be at the exhibition when it opens.

Waiting To Hold You. This piece represents forgiveness.

Halo Effect. This piece represents inner peace.

I Believe In You Believe In Me. This piece represents trust.