Inspire 52 - Week 26. The Memory Keeper

... Well, here we are half way through. Half a year I have counted in week by week. Half a moon and a silver spoon as we dance here cheek by cheek. Another day another way to say, Hey did you do it your way? Cos today is the day I stand up and say, Yes baby, I did it my way! From a piece of paper to a twiddle of thumbs and a blot of ink in the sink, washed away down the drain, that time has gone in a recorded blink. Oh, 'tis the day to celebrate half a year in and half a year out, Slap bang in the middle, sitting on the fence without a doubt. Yeah baby, I did it my way! I wrote the words that passed unheard. As I tapped the keys on long dark nights in the fight to write ... something meaningful ... But what can I say, today's another day, another week, another year ... Soon another cheer to you my dear, as we toast to memories -  hell yeah! ...

The Memory Keeper

Illustration - Hazel Evans 2012

As one day ends another begins ... And so the adventure continues

Nourishment ... temptation ... dance through time

 

This time is for reflection, as I am here in the middle of the year. Half way into the Inspire 52 project I have picked the apple and am feasting on the sweetness and nourishment it is bringing to me.

 

Looking back at the archive of the journey so far, this project has taken me to places within myself that I didn't even know were there, assisted me in getting into my little white boat and keeping it floating down my stream in the beautiful crystal clear waters - sometimes riding through the rapids - but always coming out the other side, invigorated and having learnt something new.

By the way, I am longing to write more as this is something that has dwindled over the last month or so what with the installation and working into the Adventures Into The Monochronium exhibition ... but there are still lots of words and stories inside me, just waiting to come out ... so stay with me and you will have some new stories and poems as well as new art works in no time at all ...

 

The Memory Keeper 

Installation - Hazel Evans June 2012 

An new installation in The Paper Forest. Using a book, The Memory Keeper's daughter by Kim Edwards, that was headed for pulping, I saved it and am currently using it to make art with. This is the first piece using pages form the book listed into the trees of The Paper Forest using ink and an illustrated butterfly. This was a piece I created in 'work through play' ... not much thinking involved... just going with the flow. upon reflection this piece is quite haunting when looking at the story content of the book ... I didn't read it by the way... just dove straight in and made the art ... maybe I will read it ...  http://www.memorykeepersdaughter.com/

And before I go I am delighted that I have been accepted to do an MA in Illustration, with cross pathways into Contemporary Performance, at The Arts University College Bournemouth starting in October 2012 ... How will this impact my Inspire 52 journey I wonder ...something to look forward to for then....

Until next week have a happy half year and enjoy the sunshine!

Inspire 52 - Week 25. Weather of White Pages

Weather of White Pages

A turn of sorts as she shouted short in the court
'Dont' let my soul be sold for your pot of gold'
In a dash the cash was out like a flash
and her control to too bold for her waining hold.

The jury followed the judge and all nudged away
Melting raised eyebrows into cold shadows
Before she knew it she had blown it
Her soul laid down paid, taken by the narrows.


A cold dark room she was left with a broom
To sweep her cheap feet up the steep hill
Rain falling as she began crawling
Soul gone, pages torn for a condemned bill.

The hang man pangs at the side of the road
With a full gleaming set of side poking knives
But her eyes are still there to flare her flame
'Your cold is so old, without you, my soul thrives 

Look what you've done, these people you've hung
You blame again but you should be ashamed.
Your gold's melted red from your sickening head
I'm not yours, never was' I proclaimed.

Now clouds turn white pages as they mark the stages
Unfolding steps to the top of the mountain
Her hair in the air and a new jar of flare
It's all now clear as she peers in the fountain.

Inspire 52 - Week 24. The Ink Mountains and Reflections

2 weeks to go until I'm half way though Inspire 52!! OMG can I believe it? Indeed I cannot! How to make half a year go by really quickly ... embark on a crazy art project which makes you count down the weeks ... oh, there is method in the madness somewhere ... I promise!
So what's going on this week?

Well I be damned ... it's still black and white guys!

Last week I gave a little insight into The Paper Forest and this week I am going to reveal more about The Ink Mountains ... of course I am not going to give away all the secrets of these places, as it is up to you to discover and make of it what you will.

After the exhaustion of last week where I couldn't even decide if I was going to have green or jasmin tea - I have come out of the ink pot ready to splatter lines, dots and marks on lovely white paper once again, all in the name of art - Love it ...

I went back into the exhibition on Wednesday this week and started to immerse myself in the exploration of The Ink Mountains. It's an unusual feeling when you put only the beginning of a work of art on show at the private view, knowing it's only the beginning of a piece and in time it will evolve with time spent working live on it in the exhibition ... a little risky you may think ... but risk is all part of the adventure... And so I began ...

The Ink Mountains were born ... before the ink ... in their purest form...

glass - water

fragility - flow

paper - ink

landscape - voyage

shadows - reflections

self - truth

The Ink Mountains

 

Just one drop falling

falling

falling

Frozen in time on the top of the mountain

One drop

One drop of time to take the path

One drop of a moment to make it last

Cast in glass

A fragile course

To find the way deep into the source.

Search for the answer and follow the clue

Just one drop falling will follow you.

Search for the answer it wont look for you

Follow the inked path in black inky blue.

 

Just one drop

Falling

Calling the clues

Into the Ink Mountains,

The figures defuse

Just one drop

recalling the words

Of eagling birds

falling and soaring

above in the sky

Over the Ink Mountains

Frozen in time

Into the depths and far beyond

A place you never told me I could go on,

This path wove a treadmill beneath my feet,

And the words of the forest began to speak.

'Dance with us, we'll show you the way'.

Over the mountains and far away...

                                                                             Hazel Evans 2012

The Ink Mountains - track no.7

from the CD soundtrack Adventures Into The Monochronium

What does it really mean to me?

First of all I love The Ink Mountains, they are so photogenic, magical, serene and dreamy. The are so naturally black and white it's amazing. No photoshop needed! I love the way this piece has evolved organically through the time of devising my exhibition.

Originally I wanted to do a performance piece with jars of water and ink and didn't really know more than that; creating performative illustration as the ink suspends in the water in slowly moving illustrations as it falls to the bottom of the glass. I then came accross these jars and a glass pig from about 5 different stands on one day a t a car boot sale. When I got home I placed them all in a line on the mantlepiece and thus the mountains were born. The glass pig is a new character in the scenario whose voyage I am illustrating and writing, and this will be defined as the piece still continues to grow. By the end of the exhibition, I am hoping to have the story complete.

The Ink Mountains for me are another representation of my journey. A journey of discovery through fragility and strength, coming out of the valleys to conquer the peaks and learning to face the weather. I used to live in the Alps in France - I think somewhere in this piece is an acknowledgement of my journey to find a way out of being lost in the mountains as well as an understanding of where I have come from and who I am today. Following my truth, dancing into my shadow and following the path that feels right.

The more I work into this piece the more the story reveals itself to me ... The story is not over yet ...

 

Adventures Into The Monochronium

26th May - 28th July 2012

The Gallery Lighthouse Poole

 

Exhibition soundtrack available

Poems and songs performed by Hazel Evans with music by Momo:tempo

www.hazelevans.co.uk - online shop coming soon

www.momotempo.co.uk

 

Inspire 52 - Week 23. The Paper Forest and The Meaning of Life

I must be honest with you ... This week I have been completely exhausted. It is like a the big come down after the final curtain call, only weirder because it's actually only just begun! But I think achieving the conception and delivery of Adventures Into The Monochronium exhibition was a pretty big thing for me ... My friend said it was like giving birth! I guess in some kind of way it was; I have given every spare ounce of energy to this piece of work and put glimpses of my soul out there to the world, so yes, I can say... I do feel proud of what I have achieved in this exhibition.

 

 

This is a journey that I thought would mainly be an artistic demonstration for the viewer, but is actually absorbing me... I am on this journey ... this is me ... my life. Along the way I am revealing new layers to myself and I guess this is what part of The Paper Forest is about... journey, discovery and finding meaning in one's life ... a purpose.

 

 

Trees thin and tall reaching into the sky

 

 

For many years I have struggled with my sense of purpose, trying to conform to the guidelines society has set out for us all, but never really quite 'getting it'...

 

 

Blackness transcribbling words on trees

 

 

...My sister had a child just over 2 years ago, just after my niece was born and I was holding her in my arms, my sister asked if I now felt that I wanted a baby. I didn't. Her question helped me turn a page in my 'purpose book'. Her purpose was to be a mother physically to her own child ... this is the most important thing for her to achieve in her life, what makes her get up in the morning and give meaning to her being ... for me ... the most important thing I can nurture is my art - It is my purpose.

 

 

The Paper Forest spoke softly to me

And asked me to write my story

 

 

And now is the time for me to write my story, the places I have been and the places I will go. The journey, the discoveries the sense of direction and the being lost on a path ... finding the path ... Untold stories in the folds and curls of white paper ... pictures speaking words and words making images ... The Paper Forest is my story, but it is also yours.

 

The Paper Forest

By Hazel Evans

I stumbled on the crumples that drew me in

taken by the forest and absorbed within

Trees thin and tall reaching into the sky

Thin tall trees speaking tales in time

Enveloping twisting and churning out

Spouting secret stories were all about

Illuminating shapes and scribing sounds

Murmuring roots from the undergrounds

Wonder away, wonder away

Wonder away, drift away,

Deep into the Paper Forest

And play

Whiteness dancing the whispering breeze

Blackness transcribbling words on trees

The Paper Forest spoke softly to me

And asked me to write my story

So I walked the path kissed by leaves

Drawings sang and caressed my sleeves

Dancing into the pictures and the light

Shadows emerged smiling bright

Wonder away, wonder away,

As the trees lead the way

Deep into the Paper Forest

To play

Adventures Into The Monochronium

26th May - 28th July 2012

The Gallery Lighthouse Poole

Exhibition soundtrack available

Poems and songs performed by Hazel Evans with music by Momo:tempo

www.hazelevans.co.uk - online shop coming soon

www.momotempo.co.uk

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The Paper Forest is sponsored by CCM till rolls. The Wardrobe Post Office is sponsored by Dorset Reclaim.

Inspire 52 - Week 22. Introducing The Holiday Makers

At the end of April, I set out on a birthday trip with my housemate, wearing our newly acquired vintage dresses, for afternoon tea ...

... after some editing and with the onset of Trip 2 having taken place today to celebrate the Jubilee weekend, we have compiled, edited, trimmed and spruced Trip 1. The Wuthering Scone, ready for publishing...

...this is what happened

The Holiday Makers

Trip 1. The Wuthering Scone

When the weather is rainy on your holiday,

There are plenty of things to do inside.

Like afternoon tea and champagne I must say,

And watching the windy wuthering tide.

On a jolly vacation you don't need the sun,

Its important in England to simply have tea.

Enjoy fine cakes and a belly warming bun,

Keeps you grounded and safe from the sea.

So where are we from and where do we go,

Saucers of languages from far and wide.

Embracing the change with motions in flow,

And tea cups of weather in our stride.

By Hazel Evans and Marketa S.



Inspire 52 - Week 21. Making of 'Adventures Into The Monochronium'

Hello everyone ... what a week!

This blog has a different angle on it this week as something rather big happened. Adventures Into The Monochronium happened! A very intense week where a whole forest and mountain range were created!

This is my biggest solo exhibition to date and also features extracts from some of the collaborations that I have been working on since the beginning of this year. The exhibition will be growing and changing over the next 2 months as it gets worked into with illustrations, writing and performance emerging from the space - I'm really looking forward to this.

Adventures Into The Monochroniumm is a development from the first Monochronium exhibition which was a more studio style exhibition with comments saying it had a 'Warhol Factory' feel about it. This one is a real space to journey into and discover what my Monochronium is and also to discover what is is for you.

Two new installation pieces include The Paper Forest and The Ink Mountains. Both of these pieces blur illustration with performance and installation ... I will introduce these pieces later in Inspire 52 as they become worked into and documented in the exhibition.

The collaborations I have introduced act as accents to the exhibition theme and help describe the journey of my practice as well as that of The Monochronium.

My collaborations are with:

Hayley Potter, RCA MA, Illustrator Writer - Illustrative and explosive inking. Exploring how our styles merge as illustrators and writers, creating narratives from working on location in rural environments and the impact of water within our landscapes. Originals from £30

Debby Kirby, Silk Weaver - Merging the craft of silk weaving with illustration and story. The creation of an artist book 'The River Story'. The creation of a series of silk weaving pictures with collage, poetry and ink. The River Story book £12.50 art work from £95

Momo:tempo, Timo Peach Musician - I first approached Timo in order to lay down some of my poetry and stories with some background music ... before we knew it we had created a whole CD that takes you on a journey and back. I am very proud of this, it is my first CD and gives people who have been asking me to record my voice the opportunity to have a listen and enjoy the ride. The soundtrack accompanies the entire landscape of the 'Adventures' and features poetry made into songs and spoken word tracks that will make you feel the magic. CDs £10 accompanying Passport £5

Leoni Bullcock, Interior Architecture and Design 3rd year student at the Arts University College Bournemouth - The wardrobe studio/post office was embaced as the final big project with Leoni as I put a call out to collaborate in making a portable studio space that will give me a 'home' in Lighthouse in order to create work from. This is a piece that is a work of art in itself. It is a fully functional studio, post office and performance space.

Michele O'Brien, Theatre practitioner and storyteller - We have created a new fairytale that will be perfomed later in the year in the form of 2 shows, one for children 'The Girl and The Shoes' and one for adults 'Killer Heels'. We have started workshops with the public to create a collection of shoes that will form part of the set and exhibition to accompany the show - the shoes are indeed all black and white!!

Artwork available for sale from myself and Lighthouse ... I will also be launching an online shop soon, so I'll let you know about that too.

I will give more details of the collaborations over the next few weeks of Inspire 52 as the exhibition develops and grows

... In the meantime, here is the video diary from the set up week of the exhibition.

Adventures Into THE MONOCHRONIUM
26th May - 28th July 2012 (new extended date)
The Gallery, Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for The Arts.