July 26th
This big kiss appeared in the sky as I got off the train in Greenwich on 26th July, it felt like a sweet strong symbol for Team GB and the forthcoming Games I hoped some of the athletes had looked up and seen it, and also a kiss for me for having spent many recent grim worrying hours in hospital with 2 different family members.
I took the picture on my iphone and come across it when I flick through the images, it always gives a little spark of courage.
1st July 2012
When you walk into the grounds of Eltham Palace in South East London it is like entering a secret garden, or walking through the wardrobe and finding yourself in Narnia. This Art Deco hidden gem, built around the remains of the Palace first recorded in Domesday Book of 1086, is the location Greenwich Dance and Greenwich Theatre present the annual Greenwich World Cultural Festival, a celebration of dance, music and theatre from around the world.
As Greenwich Dance’s Resident Artist I arranged a Creative Clay workshop in the Sunken Moat, led by my eldest son Max and his friend Jess, to make clay figures inspired by the dance taking place around them. Constantly busy with all ages creating a figure to take home.
Creative Clay workshop inspired by dance in the festival
Visitors to the festival were given a map of the palace grounds showing a bridge crossing the dry moat at three given times during the afternoon, asked to meet beside the bridge to be led to the area where a dance would be performed by Beyond Front@
Beyond Front@ dancing in the grounds of Eltham Palace
I gave the spectators small pieces of paper and pencils and suggested they try to get some of the movement on to paper, at the end of the dance we hung them on the Thought Tree.
Musicians played in surprise places around the grounds
Protein Dance’s The Picnic commissioned by Greenwich Dance
May 1st
We’ve just had the wettest April in the UK for 100 years, but today at last a whole day when no rain fell on my studio at Second Floor Studios. The sun although feeble, shone and lifted my spirits which have been struggling to stay buoyant.
Of course it’s not been the rain that’s got me down, there have been far bigger more dramatic happenings to do that, but a day without rain, warm sun and a beautiful sunset has felt like such a treat.
I shot this at 8.30pm this evening as I was leaving the studios. For those of you reading this who are not South Londoners: on the left, behind the mast of the boat, you can see Canary Wharf; next to that is the O2 where the gymnastics will take place during the Olympic Games and crossing the river, the Thames Barrier.
See this view along with some great art at our Open Studios (see below).
Open Studio
Studio 17, Unit 0, Second Floor Studios
Thursday 17 November 5 -9pm
Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 November 11am – 6pm
Painting, Drawing, Etching, Sculpture
All work for sale, new commissions taken
No More Yesterdays. Etching. 2011
Over 100 open studios of artists, photographers, craft and design makers
Location: Second Floor Studios, Mellish Industrial Estate, Warspite Road, Woolwich, London SE18 5NR
car: A206 dual carriageway near Woolwich. Access from A2/M2, M20 & M25
train: Charlton and Woolwich Dockyard Stations. DLR Woolwich Arsenal
Bus: 180, 177, 161, and 472
9th October
Square Dances: 4 London Squares, over 200 dancers, bells, and a mobile audience.
The Men in Brunswick Square
50 men in tones of blues and browns, slowly walk towards a large chestnut tree. A huge church bell is struck, very slowly the men move, raising their heads and arms like plants searching out the sun, the bell chimes again, and as if the earth is magnetically pulling them they are being drawn down to the ground. The vibrations of the bell hum through the air and ground. There is a reverence, the audience circling the tree are silent and still, we are as if one with the men, all caught between the vibrations of the bell, the silence of the square and the pull of the earth.
The Dance Students in Queen Square
The dancers each carrying a desk bell, stand close to the benches where the audience sit surrounding the small square. Before commencing they quietly ask if there is a person we would like to dedicate the dance to, the name is written on the dancers arm, by the second day their arms are covered in names. They ring the bells and each dances a unique solo moving from ground to air, returning to the ground to ring the bell at the close of the dance. They move towards other benches to dance, again dedicated to another, again making a gift of their dance. The square is full of echoes and memories.
Gordon Square is the biggest square, with the largest group of performers. The women arrive dressed in shades of blue all with hand bells, as they move across the square they stop and listen, their heads on one side or their faces turned to sky. Stamping feet in an unsettled animal way, raising arms, turning, as if movement made by one group is felt through the earth by others across the square, stimulating movement.
The Children in Woburn Square
This was the last dance I watched, the children held small hand bells, which they rung as they scampered, they moved faster than the grown ups, it was great to end with such liveliness. As they left the square we could hear them ringing the bells and laughing as went down the street. As I looked around the audience, some having watched all 4 performances some having just chanced across this one, everyone was smiling.
Eighteen years ago my sister took a holiday in Cyprus, on her return to London she told me she was sick of her long commute to work, the unpredictable weather, had been enchanted by this beautiful island and wanted to leave UK. Within days she had secured a job and accomodation and relocated to Cyprus. Eight years on she married a Greek Cypriot with 2 (adult) children who also live in Cyprus and so – our wonderful Cypriot family who we recently spent our holiday with.
The first night we stayed at their home in Nicosia. As well as cats and dogs they own a bad tempered parrot called Parrot who squawks grumpily at everyone but if you sing to Parrot she is happy, she dances by ferociously nodding her head and swaying.
Grumpy Parrot
Sirina Bay
We left Nicosia to stay at the coast and the relief of a slight breeze. Days spent snorkeling, diving off rocks, reading, drawing. Evenings, barbecues of fresh fish, sheftalia and souvlaki, followed by midnight swims with an underwater torch.
I was so fortunate that I was given the opportunity to draw during rehearsals for Marc Brew Company‘s Nocturne and Luca Silvestrini‘s Crossroads. I missed the performances along with other Greenwich and Docklands International Festival performances of the first weekend of the festival, having been partying in Suffolk.
However the following weekend there were some real gems performed across the river at Canary Wharf.
Underneath a transparent stage, I sat on a reclining seat and watched Spanish company Producciones Imperdibles perform La Mirada Transparente above me. Interesting drawing at that angle, I focussed on feet, the man opposite focussed on knickers. (True).
La Mirada Transparente
Deaf Men Dancing in a collaboration with my friend, visual artist Rachel Gadsden together created a spectacular performance and celebration of being alive. The show incorporates sign language, sound and live painting. Also see my drawings of Deaf Men Dancing performing Elvis at Candoco’s Birthday Party.
Deaf Men Dancing with Rachel Gadsden. Alive
The biggest crowd puller was Waiting Game, presented by Motionhouse Dance Theatre: a couple out for a romantic dinner in Canary Wharf only to be repeatedly scooped up by a JCB digger. A very large man and his very large friend were blocking my view, by the time they’d done as I suggested and sat on the ground (to a cheer from the audience members behind them) I’d lost the desire to draw.
Dancing to Romanian brass band music and the backdrop of our River Thames, Compagnie Pied en Sol performed Pied Filigrane Fanfare in the Canary Wharf uniform of grey buttoned up suits but with the striking addition of red shoes.
Compagnie Pied en Sol. Pied Filigrane Fanfare
Still time to catch Deaf Men Dancing and Rachel Gadsden if you live near Bristol, Stockton or in the Lake District.
Sometimes when I kiss my daughter goodnight she asks me to tell her a story ‘not from a book Mum, from your head’. So I told her the dream I had recently.
A heavy down pour of rain woke me during the night, I went into the garden, stood in the pouring rain and waited. My three children slowly appeared and stood with me none of us spoke but we acknowledged each other with our eyes and held hands. Together we filled our lungs with cold night air raised our heads and blew in unison, we repeated this again and again in rhythm with each other all facing the same direction. The rain began to ease and without speaking we returned to bed.
In the morning the dream had evaporated, I woke up the kids and on opening the curtains I realised it had rained heavily during the night. My 14 year old son wandered into the kitchen saying “the rain woke me when it was still dark, didn’t it wake you?” “Oh… I’m not sure, maybe”, I replied. The dream drifted back to me as I remembered the reason why we were blowing the rain, we were sending it to Somalia. If only it was that easy.
The half term holiday seemed to arrive too early, the kids had only just got back into the school rhythm after the extended Easter break.
The weeks holiday cut through the middle of the AS exams the eldest was taking and more time off from school seemed detrimental to his attempts at focussing on work. He discovered that if you create something gorgeous and delicious you are left to get on with it, so baking became a great alternative to revision. We ate lemon drizzle cake made for his sister’s birthday and on another day chocolate torte. And yes during the baking sessions I stopped nagging him to revise – the results were too fabulous to put a halt to.
When the kids went to see their father for a few days and I drove to Norfolk with a friend. Norfolk Courtyard bed & breakfast near Fakenham proved an excellent place to explore the North Norfolk coast from. The barns have been stylishly converted to individual suites, cleverly offering complete privacy and relaxation by including a fridge in each one containing everything you might want for your continental style breakfast. Luxurious adjoining bathrooms and tables in the courtyard to eat breakfast at in the early morning sun. Home made cherry cake and a bowl of fruit were waiting for us when we arrived, could you ask for anything more? (Ok there’s a flat screen tele and a table inside too incase it rains).
Norfolk Courtyard
My favourite walk was on beautiful Holkham Beach, wind swept white-gold sand covered in tiny cockle and razor shells. We walked for several miles with pine woodland on one side and the sea on the other, horses were being exercised through the shallow waves creating magnificent spray. The beach is so vast that you could sing at the top of your voice and no one would hear you – perfect. Ahead we saw the masses of coloured beach huts of Wells-next-the-Sea, we returned through the pinewoods.
Our hosts suggested The Bell in Wiveton in the evening, I ate delicious haddock smoked locally in the Cley Smoke House.
The beach at Cley Next The Sea
Twice a year at Second Floor Studios we open our studios to the public, there will be at least 130 studios to walk round and meet the visual and fine artists, craft and design makers.
Open Studios May 2011
Opening night – Thursday 12th May 5pm – 9pm
Saturday 14th May 11am – 6pm
Sunday 15th May 11am – 6pm
Second Floor Studios, Mellish Indust Estate, Harrington Way, (off Warspite Road), London, SE18 5NR
My studio is 17, Unit 0 (the building overlooking the river). I will show life size wire sculpture, framed and unframed charcoal drawings, sketch books (seen in my blog), etchings and paintings on canvas. See my website to view more of my work
The Women in Gordon Square