12th August 2013
This week I am taking workshops at Greenwich Dance for 6-10 year olds with dance company Charlotte Spencer Projects. We are using Charlotte’s latest work Walking Stories as a starting point for play, experimentation and creativity.
£15 per day, turn up on the day or book in advance. 020 8293 9741
12 – 15 August 2013. Monday – Thursday 10.00am – 1.00pm
11 August 2013
Twelve blissful days in Cala Gonone, on the east coast of Sardinia. It couldn’t have been more perfect, all that was missing was my eldest son holidaying in Australia with his girlfriend – but that’s how it’s supposed to be isn’t it? I was just 15 and my sister 18 when we wrecked the family holidays by winning a travel bursary to go back-packing together in Europe, the next year we won again and then the next my sister was working in Switzerland so I earned enough from part time jobs while in 6th form to travel out to and join her. So although our party seemed small I had expected it to happen. Just me, my 16 year old son and my 14 year old daughter.
Why Sardinia? Easy, we agreed either we would find somewhere to canoe or to scuba and snorkel. I put snorkeling and scuba-diving into google and diving-school Argonauta in Cala Gonone appeared, owner Maurizio provided us with a beautiful apartment overlooking the village and the sea and took us on his boat to snorkel and scuba. Fabulous. I had one rule, when we arrived I said “While we’re here I’m not Mummy, I don’t want to make decisions, I don’t want to do all the cooking and I absolutely don’t want to be clearing up after you” “That’s fine Mum,” said daughter immediately “you can be our sister”. And that’s how it was.
Here is our holiday in pictures. Kids took quite a lot of photos beneath the surface of the water which will come later. Thank you to the wonderful team at Argonauta: Maurizio, Cinzia, Aurora, Bernd, Andy and Dario, truly they never stop smiling.
The local beach in Cala Gonone, my daughter snorkeling.
On the boat, spent wonderful days diving off and snorkeling. Son passed his Open Water Padi. 40 degrees – draped towels over us until we got used to it. Love the beautiful world beneath the surface of the water, saw octopus, lots of fish, star fish – large bright purple and little blue ones and jelly fish (not so keen on them)
Left. Gola Su Gorrupa is a gorge. There were 2 ways to reach it and as my son was map reading he took us to the start of the “most dramatic route”. A 2 hour hike down the mountain, it began though trees with goats wearing tinkling bells round their necks ambling around but soon became increasingly more rugged and barren and saw a snake. Maurizio had told us we’d find a pool when we reached the bottom, after the hike in the heat it was the most wonderful sight, and we spent ages in the cool water.
Right. Cala Fuili. Furthest beach south of the town accessible by car, all others can only be reached by boat. We spent day snorkeling, reading and drawing, we also did some climbing
This was the view from the boat as we passed by, earlier we had snorkeled though the dark caves by torch light; when the light was pointed towards the ceiling we could see stalagmites.
8th June 2013
Today Greenwich Dance (GDA) opened the doors to the local community for a day of free dance classes Open Doors, Open Dancing, as Greenwich Dance Resident Artist I organized easy going art workshops throughout the day. All ages participated, youngsters drawing the dancers on long sheets on the floor while the class was in progress, older children and adults preferring to use individual sheets of paper.
Drawing the dance class while the dancers danced
Some preferred to sit apart and try collage or drawing from memory
Ballet Class
African Dance Class
We made a Greenwich Dance Gallery
4th June 2013
Sadler’s Wells, Clod Ensemble. I’d been printing in the morning, drawing the Dance Marathon in the afternoon and helping middle child with Biology GCSE revision … bit weary but didn’t want to miss Clod Ensemble perform. Son promised to keep working so left the house. I knew Allessandra Ruggeri would be dancing and didn’t want to miss her, in 2009 we made a film together, Chasing Shadows, Allesandra’s response through movement to my painting. I am a great fan of her dancing.
Live band on stage with Hazel Holder singing Blues which was fabulous. Loved the spacing and dynamics of the choreography and the dancers. I was sitting too far back though, I wanted to be up close, in a much smaller more intimate space.
May 29th 2013
Richard Alston Dance Company dance a mixed repertoire of Cunningham dances within the Barbican Art Gallery. I am there with my sketch book and pencils.
22nd May 2013
I am at Greenwich Dance (GDA) for a meeting with Charlotte Spencer to discuss a summer children’s project we will doing at GDA 12- 15th August, Summer Shake Up. I draw the workshop one of her colleagues is leading while I wait to chat with her.
Later I join them for a fascinating Walking Story in Greenwich Park.
27th May 2013
On 5th June at 8.00pm you have the opportunity to see Amstatten at The Place, an extraordinarily haunting, beautiful and moving dance. Choreographed by Robert Clark, the dance is a solo. I drew during the rehearsals at The Place (look out for my drawings on The Place Social Media).
Some of the many drawings of Janina Rajakangas rehearsing
November 20th 2012: the day my beautiful extraordinary Mum died
May 6th 2013: the day that would have been her birthday
Not a conscious decision to stop writing during this time, just that my heart went out of it. I have continued small work, drawing and etching but no painting, no sculpture, just work fitted around the necessity of sorting out my Mother’s house and all the contents. A huge sad job, going through her papers, clearing her house of furniture, pictures and possessions, cleaning and organising, with the aim to put the house on the market.
Not just down to me but as I live nearby and was her main carer and now the executer, the responsibility seems to lie with me. I have siblings, my sister lives abroad and my brother is a couple of hours drive away, however we’ve managed to all get together to work out who should take what, thankfully we are each so different from each other that the possessions haven’t split us apart. Our tastes and style so entirely different, the spaces we inhabit so different and it seems that the memories we associate with the objects are different too. Over the last few months we’ve been able to appreciate each others strengths. My brother’s ability with everything mechanical, he is a fixer, arriving with his van full of tools and his happy positive outlook. My sister’s strength lay in her cataloguing, there were so many books and I was at a complete loss as to what to do with them all. And me what was my strength? No idea, maybe just the ability to keep at it until the job was finished.
Now I am back in my studio, preparing work for the Open Studio and it feels good to be here.
OPEN STUDIO
Saturday May 18th and Sunday 19th 11.00am – 6.00pm
Studio 17, Unit 0, SFSA
Harrington Way, Warspite Road, London SE18 5NR
Force Fields. 2012. Oil and acrylic on paper
18th November 2012
Open Studio today. 11am – 6pm.
I’ll be there with my work and demonstrating wire sculpture construction Studio 17, Unit 0
