What I really want to have....

Is a fancy dress shop specifying in fruit and vegetable costumes.

I saw this display in Harvey Nichols in Bristol and it reminded me. Look at the leek!!!

Cupcake Stripes

This gorgeous dress is by Twenty8Twelve and has delicious colors. It's made with meters and meters of fabric, looks like a tent, but oh the color! It has inspired me to buy food coloring in candy/acid colors instead of the usual primary blue, red, green, ugh.

Materials

Happy April! My orchid has five flowers now, and 15 buds.

Here's a very old picture of all my materials spread out. I want to re-do this, I still have the same old stuff, but never use it. I'm all pens and pencils and inks and scalpels.

Cats and Dogs

...Always make me laugh.

Glue Reciept Mounains begin!

Barfoot and Duggan in action! Lucy and I are using Trevor's reciepts (he has collected every reciept ever since he was 16) to create some kind of mountain. We're working out the aesthetics and concept continually, but getting close to the material - covering it with glue, pushing it around, into cracks and peaks.

We're making small ones, well not really small - 4ft x 3ft mountains, and then taking them on location, on a sunny day, filling in the gaps to make one big mountain, then after lots of photographing and thinking, deconstructing it and bringing it
home.

Eggies

http://www.eatock.com/project/manifesto/ I want to do a manifesto

Here are some eggs

My website is nearly done!

Make It

My studio is homely now, shelves to be put up this week (made by Nigel)

Making:
- Reciept mountain with Lucy
- Text pieces: 'Persevere' particularly
- A mess
- Tidying that up

Nigel Sawing

Here is a video of my fantastic father doing what he does best! The sight and the smell of him with his saw takes me back to being 7 and dusting the saw-dust off for him, and being terrified of the saw. His dry woodwork hands and concentration face.

More collaging

I have such a big stock of collage images from magazines, I could make anything with them. I need to cut out more heads, hands, legs, body poses, trees and less square-shaped things and blocks of colors.

Snowmen

I have enjoying the abundance of snow here in Bristol. I have made six snowmen in total. Look at these skinny legs. These two are five days old today. And also pictures is a beautiful lady which Mia and I sculpted, complete with lipstick and mini-snowball hair.

No pics

My camera died and I feel like it's not a real blog post if it has no picture.

Barfoot and Duggan have sent off 2 grant applications, for lots of money. Will we get it? Yes! We should hear anytime between now and March.

I took the carpet up in my studio, sneezed a lot. Found mouse droppings and brown patches. It's not less granny's lounge and more nice wooden floor. Thinking of putting down some latex flooring though, wipe clean.

I love Bristol, this is really my home now, I have met great friends, I have met my muse! And it doesn't get much better than that.

Room 212 + New Contemporaries

This Saturday I showed my apples in the window of Room 212, which is a tiny Art Gallery in Bishopston, on the Gloucester Road. Three in each window, close to the glass so that people could peer at them and wonder what they are. This great little place is usually brimming with paintings; i got a few funny looks. Here's my profile on the Room 212 website.



Today i was at Fairfields Art Gallery in Basingstoke setting up 'Sense' to show as part of the 'Young Contemporaries 2008' show. The circle or apples look a bit ridiculous to be honest. It's tiny! There is no impact. The original circle of the 1,200 will be included in the catalogue, so there will be a history shown.

Supertoys

I went to the Supertoys exhibition at Arnolfini for the second time this Friday with my family. There is a workshop where you can take apart old toys and make them into hybrid new ones. Amazing. Crab-Girl is mine and Dino-Scull is my nephew Ben's.

Sea scape

Working on this triptych for my Mum's Christmas pressie. It's your usual seascape - she lives in a place called Lilliput, by the sea in Poole. I haven't properly painted in ages! It feels strange, but good.

Studio Space!

Finally, i have decided to get a studio! This may not look like much, but once i lay some white lino flooring down, put some shelves up and get my stuff in there, it will be just the kind of space I need! This is so exciting! It's in Stokes Croft Studios, right in the center of it all. Shared with lovely people too. I move in tomorrow!

Stall success!

Lucy and I had our stall! It was hugely successful, not just in terms of making a little bit of money (Enough to cover the stall and buy balloons and mulled wine) but it was also SUCH a fun weekend, I haven't laughed so much in ages.

Angela & Yannick came to visit, they did some Blind Drawing workshops with us. Elena came too, I drew her and her wild hair a few times. Nicole came on the stall for Saturday. We were the ever expanding stall! We got a star for being the smiliest stall too.

Lucy's bears were really successful, they have such character. We're going to make some more of them together for the next stall. (Start the Bus has free stalls on Sundays?) No one bought my Nice, Love, Yes of Cup of Tea, but it was not the right place to sell those i think - they were quite expensive too.

Carboot Circus

I am working on the things I'm going to sell at Carboot Circus. So much to make, and it's limitless - I can make as much or as little as I like. Feeling like this is not the thing i want to be making, but knowing that it's not far off.

The aesthetic is simple, but i am keeping to the three important elements of the things I make;

1. Accumulation obsession
   
2. Color importance
   
3. Labour intensity

So that's good! Thinking about studiospaces - There are possibilities of finding a free one here in Bristol, run down buildings and disused basements. If i had the space, i would make the big, messy and scary things.

Process

I forget sometimes how process-led I am. It's important for me to savor the process of the making; it is just as important as the finished piece. And i love the process of cooking. Obviously eating is pretty good, but the real enjoyment is in making.

I especially love the terribly boring things. You would not believe the stillness my brain has whilst doing these dull things. It's like a little vacation. I get sucked in.

Wynitia & Elena highspeed

Hello friends in high-speed. Thinking about things like this as in time-lapse photography. Must abuse my tripod!

Lucy Lists

I photographed my shopping list collection today, seems a lot smaller than i imagined. Lucy and I are going to do something good with our list collections. Shopping Lists and Things To Do lists. A little exhibition? A massive one? I need to bribe the supermarket trolley staff to save the shopping lists for me. If you have any of the two lists, please save them up for me and post/give them to me. We need lots.

Thread Thread Thread

I have been experimenting with these thread sewing pieces. Both have taken about 2 hours, but this is in keep with my artistic method - everything is labor intensive and has an accumulative effect. More more more, and bigger. these are only3 inches big.

King Collage and Words

I am feeling like i really need to make some collages. This was the first in years. Nice scary faced man.

I've started a new cut-out-text piece, quite fittingly it says 'This Is It' but i'm trying to this of other good things to spell out. Nothing too cheesy, something life-affirming maybe, but short. Or nice words, or meaningful words. What do you think? Please help!
Things i have thought of so far:
Home
Enjoy
Relax
Sexy
Yum yum
Yes
Crap
Shhhhh
Hello

Laugh Love

I have made something. I have finished something. I like something i have made!!! These are two pieces for lovely Claire.

Anniversary

Two Years today darling, how about that! what a long time. What have you got to say about it?

"I love living in your face, we have a nice nest, we are in love, it is lovely, I like your nest."

Tonight i have cooked a lovely meal - Paella with grilled mackerel, Trevor is playing on his decks (The first time i have heard it!!!!) and i am taking photographs and drinking Limoncello, Thankyou Wynitia!

I can't help it now -

Kasai Masai

Last night was the Knees Up at Hamilton House, Stokes Croft, they were raising money towards a community arts center. It was fantastic, so nice to be out in the City with nice company and lots of friendly people. Amazing music by Kasai Masai (Listen to 'Yumbiana')

"You will feel the music oozing through your veins, pumping a rhythmic African beat through your body. Hence, the audience find themselves on their feet, moving toward the dance floor on an uncontrollable shaking of their hips."

That happened, it's true! I don't remember the last time that i was in an atmospheric location stuffed with people all dancing together and loving the music. It was ace!

System

This is a drawing from about a month ago, but i like it, and i has something nice about it which i should continue with. Prints??

1988

Brian Griffith Artist Talk

What an great day I had yesterday! I attended an inspiring Artist's talk at the Arnolfini by Brian Griffiths, who is a twitchy man who pretty much is Columbo. I forgot how full-up i get after listning to Artists talk about their working practice, the things they have made, what works about their stuff and what doesn't. I'm definately going to go to a lot more of these talks, for sure. It's nice to sit in a dark room too. Like the cinema, but with lots of note-making!

Before i go to bed, I found this T-shirt website Chimpogo which is looking for people to submit designs and slogans. Money prizes for the one which will be chosen to be sold on the website. I think i'll submit something tomorrow.

Getting on with it

I wrote my new years resolutions early last night. Today was the first day of the rest of my life, and it feels good. up at 07.30, spent an hour writing in my diary and visualising the day ahead. Then i went to THE GYM and loved it, and this afternoon i walked for an hour around Gloucester/Cheltenham road taking in everything and really enjoying myself.

I met a nice lady called Lucy today, and infact i met another Lucy, and mistook her for the Lucy i was meeting. We met to swap shopping lists and things to do lists and had a lovely chat. She mentioned morning pages which is something i have forgotten about. Think i'll start doing that.

AND my commitment to being an artist is obviously working because today, unlike ever before, i recieved TWO invitations to be exhibited. How great is that! I have lots of work to do and it's exciting.

Richard Madely

Hello! This is the start of my blog, and about time too! I am using this blog as the place to document my daily creative endeavors.

So today, i cooked a delicious roast dinner, my second one ever. Cooking can feel creative to me, especially so when it is Sunday and we are a little bit hungry - but are willing to wait a bit. It's a pleasure to cook.

I drew this little Richard Madely, it doesn't look like him, but it still is. I was inspired by Lazy Oaf's Gemma Shiel who has made this print of Eastenders characters. So cute. She draws lovely noses!

I have been super-productive yesterday and today, reasearching and reading so many arty websites, which are going to help me to get out of this 'un-motivated/artist's block' kind of thing. There is so much information online for arts graduates who need help setting up, which i didn't know about. It feels good.