Inspire 52 - Week 11. Lighthouse and the Ballet Boyz

Ooh, that title "Lighthouse and the Ballet Boyz" sounds like a new fairy story! Maybe I'll write one! But before that here is my inspiration for this week...

If you have seen any of my work from my life before Inspire 52, you will know that I am Artist in Residence at Lighthouse, Poole's centre for the arts, and have been developing my art practice with inspiration from the performing arts. This ongoing relationship with Lighthouse has been invaluable for the development of my work and you can see through my exhibition work, live art and 2D work that performance art has a great influence on my style.

When I began my residency at the end of 2010, I started making simple observations of shows by attending a wide variety of rehearsals and performances. These sketches have transformed my style and approach to my 2D work and have greatly influenced my use of black ink, as this is all I use now when I go to see shows. I tried colour a few times, but when the lights are down or up in various different colours, it is difficult to distinguish which pencils are which; I once illustrated a pink violin when I wanted it to be orange! And thus so, one of the reasons why my affinity with monochrome became affirmed in my current work.

In 2011 I created a collection of over 20 finished illustrations in direct real-time response to performances at Lighthouse, many of these were of The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO), and exhibited works at The Monochronium exhibition in October 2011. Since then I have been developing new collaborations with artists and working on my upcoming six week exhibition which will take place from May to July this year at Lighthouse, which also features as part of Dorset Art Weeks 2012 (DAW).

So where am I going with all of this? Well, what I want to get around to telling you is that this week, I have started back with my observations of performances, and what better way to start than by watching a company of very fit men dancing and flexing around the stage! Yes, Ballet Boyz, hurrah!! It was a stunning show and in a way I feel my illustration does not do it justice, but I have aimed to capture the essence of the show through movement, set and the connection between the dancers.

It is always quite tricky illustrating dance or theatre as so much of it requires actively watching the performance, whereas when watching the BSO or other musicians or concerts I can let my ears do the watching for me and translate the sounds into lines whilst keeping my eye on the pen and paper. So when I say saw The Ballet Boyz, I probably only really saw half of the show!

Having said that, the music and the set were very inspiring and you can see this resonating though the journey of this illustration, also with recognition of the urban feel of elements in the performance. I very much enjoyed their use of projected film and brick work walls and windows as their backdrop. The use of space definition though lighting I felt was also really strong and absolutely loved how this interacted with the dancers.

As I like to create a finished piece in the duration of the performance, it is often very challenging when the performances are short. However, I feel that creating the work in real-time to the performance gives it a real sense of authenticity when representing the show, the lines are the movements and sounds that have been regurgitated through my senses and nerves to guide my hand in marking the page. I really enjoy this process, it is really relaxing and very absorbing.

Sometimes this process has been very challenging when I can't really see where my pen is moving because it is so dark in the auditorium, my favourite seating is therefore under the emergency lighting! I actually really enjoy sitting in 'less popular' seating areas because it gives me a completely different perspective, than when I go and see a show when I'm not illustrating it. I often like to be quite far from the stage, and in particular I love being up in the circle when illustrating the BSO because I feel like the music lifts up into the sky and that's where I feel I am up in the circle. I also love being right at the back with all the audience in front of me. I think perhaps I feel like I can absorb the whole arena this way and it feels more spacious. This way I also have a wider vision of the performance which helps with capturing the shows 'essence' in my work.

I have enjoyed this week, it has been good to start back at shows to continue the development and absorption of the influence of performance art on my work. Although the sketches I produce are in real-time, the lasting effects of the performances I watch are still cogitating inside me ready for other artistic expression. Some of these will be undoubtedly revealed in my upcoming exhibition from the 26th May to 7th July at Lighthouse Gallery.

Now for the story ...

Once upon a time, in a land where the grass was as blue as the sea, there was a boy who lived in a lighthouse ... 

 

Hazel Evans Artist in Residence Lighthouse Poole

Inspire 52 - Week 7. The Art Of Waiting

All the breaks you need in life wait within your imagination.  Imagination is the workshop of your mind, capable of turning mind energy into accomplishment and wealth. Napoleon Hill (1)

I've been waiting for inspiration to arrive all week and all of a sudden it has manifested itself in the act of 'waiting', so this is what has inspired me to create this week's 52.

This week being Valentines week, I thought perhaps I would do a piece on love, but it just hasn't inspired me, too 'expected' and 'obvious' maybe, and I'm just not that kinda girl! So you're not getting a piece about love this week, but you are going to get something that is equally intangible.

Waiting ... a space for imagination, dreams, desires, aspirations, inspirations ... The space that occurs before the jump, the voyage or the seeds to grow.

The Art Of Waiting

Hazel Evans

Whilst exploring my 'waiting', I started looking for a few quotes that inspired me and it seemed that there were two types of waiting that people wrote about:

1. waiting = time wasting 
2. waiting = patience

... oooh this has just got complicated, I guess the key is not to wait for too long! But how long is too long?

Time waits for no man

So you may ask, 'Hazel what are you waiting for?' Well, mes chers amis, I have been cultivating, planting seeds and now I am waiting for them to grow. Surely this is not time wasting, but indeed, patience?

Oh busy busy bees,

Keep flying for me

Into the pages I write.

I've written the words

Set them free like birds

Now can I sleep tonight?

Oh busy busy bees

Keep making honey for me

Nectar for my seeds to grow.

I'm ready on the block

Singing with the clock

I'm ready for the voyage you know!

Hazel Evans

I guess another consideration is the kind of waiting one does, what one waits for, and what one chooses to do with ones waiting time!

This week's top 3 waiting activities:

1. Listening to music
2. Sketching
3. Dreaming

All of the above activities are highly recommended and conducive to enlivening creativity whist in a waiting scenario, however, be careful of No.3 as too much of this could induce time wasting!

This week I knew I wanted to create an illustrative piece again, after all the Odeful words of last week, my pen was hungry for some linear scribbling. Where to begin? ... I saw a picture posted on Facebook of a woman dancing in the street and it looked like it had been drawn over a photograph, this lit up a lightbulb for me. I took one of my portrait shots for The Monochronium by Danika Westwood and used this as the departure for the new illustration.

It was a strange experience as I sat there poised with my pen looking at myself there sitting poised with a pen! It was like we were going to draw each other ... I took a deep breath ... stop thinking and just be with the pen ... Just follow the lines ... let the lines guide you into the blank paper.

And so the drawing began...

... The waves rumbled from my hair and created a sea on which my strong sailed ship voyaged upon the oceans wide. My shoulders bubbled me into a mixture of lines, dots and crosshatchings as I held on tightly to my pen I was determind to not let these waves disolve me into a blurred scribbling mess. 'Just keep following the lines', I kept repeating to myself. I knew that if I just kept following the lines everything would become clearer soon.

As I followed the lines I thought about home, 'Where was my home?' I was unsure at this point, but although this uncertainty questioned my mind, I realised that behind the front door, was a whole world of places and opportunities for a home to be, so I walked up the steps and took hold of the door handle. I felt safe opening the door as a warm breeze whispered in my ear, 'Home is where the heart is my friend'. I walked into the hall way and up the spiral staircase. There was a rounded window, but I couldn't quite see out of it, so I pushed up an old chest of draws, climbed on top, and from there I was able to see out.

Wow, what a view! From here I could see all kinds of flowers and trees that filled the garden below. There were glimpses of bright fresh budding stems and branches. Everything looked beautifully still and silent, but I knew inside it was growing, ready for the spring blossom. I looked out beyond the garden, acres upon acres of fields surrounding my entire house. There was a figure in the distance ploughing the fields, I called out, 'Hello!... Hello!' and waved. They waved back at me, and I smiled as I realised they were planting new seeds that would grow and make the garden bigger.

... 'Ouch!', I felt a prick on my leg and then a bee flew out of the window. 'That bee just stung me!' I exclaimed to myself. 'Bee, oh busy bee, do come back!', I jumped off the chest of draws and ran down the stairs, burst open the door and stopped. It was dark! What happened, where did the light go? I stood there stunned. 'I hope I haven't missed anything', I thought to myself. It was so silent and dark, I was afraid as I stood there alone. As the dark got darker, the light of the moon grew stronger and I began to hear a voice singing. I looked up into the sky and saw the crescent moon, she was singing to me. 'Oh busy busy bee, listen to me, keep your eyes shining bright, you've followed the lines and waited for times, and now you can sleep tonight.'

I smiled back at the moon, went inside my home and up to bed. I had a busy day ahead of me tomorrow. There was a ship waiting to take me on my voyage and I had to make sure I was up bright and early to get my ticket.


(1) www.brainyquote.com

Inspire 52 - Week 6. Off With Her Ode!

So what has inspired me this week? It's difficult to tell really, given that I have been feeling pretty uninspired all week! This is mainly due to the fact that I have been suffering from the third cold of the winter (once a month for the last three months ... it's getting a bit of a drag!) So the challenge is to make this an inspiration for Inspire 52 week 6 - here goes!

On Friday night I posted on Facebook "That's it I'm done with winter ... Can't do it anymore!" I've just logged and it seems to have generated a mini debate between friends.

"Winter is soft and white and fluffy and cold...merely a transition from old to new...hibernation and bug killing time"

And the reply to this was ...

"Nothing fluffy about winter... it's harsh... like a seasonal blade of ice particles, forever slicing the soul of sunshine dreamers. It's brittle, and freezing. The whole season should be damned... if it were not for the fact it reminds us how cool spring is."

Great, love it! Two completely contrasting views. There are way too many things I could comment on in the list of responses, but this one seems to be the most apt for what I am writing now.

" It is the void of uninspiration which inspires me"

Well I suppose I would have to agree at this point, as I am here trying to be inspired for my Inspire 52, something somewhere is in fact inspiring me through all this uninspiration ... does that make any sense? So lets focus on the uninspiration and see where it leads ...

 "off with her head!" The Queen of Hearts - Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll 1951

If I recall back to Monday for a moment, I did have a glimpse of inspiration. I was at work looking rough and ill and thought a head transplant would have been a good idea! 1, because my throat was hurting so much that the blade probably would not have made the slightest bit of difference! And 2, because the onset of winter blues had begun nibbling away at my psyche and this seemed like a good solution, albeit radical! For a moment I was transported, down the rabbit hole and playing croquet with the Queen of Hearts, having tea with Alice and the Mad Hatter. I thought perhaps I could be the Queen of Spades, a new addition to the story that way I could wear black and white of course! That is where my inspiration ended on Monday, day one of Week 6, what a great start!
(By the way, I hope that you are picking up on my sarcasm here!)

So here we are on Saturday, day 6, only one day to go until the self inflicted deadline. It's like having to hand homework in once a week, only to myself! I was chatting with my friend and colleague earlier, Caroline Parrott, she was the one who started Make 52 last year and who I am carrying on from with the creative '52' legacy. Aware that this week would be a bit of a rant about how crap winter was making me feel and that this would be reflected in my work she agreed and said that it had happened to her on occasions too, and that doing the 52 project was a bit like "a weekly dose of analysing yourself". So I guess there are going to be a whole host of emotions themes inspirations and uninspirations that get revealed as I am giving a piece of my life to you, this is a window of truth. Thank you Caroline, that did indeed help me to come to terms with what I have written, am writing and indeed will write in the future.

(By the way, I always much prefer having pictures to look at ... but there are no pictures so far ... lol ... I hope you're staying with me on this one :-)

Ok, where were we? Yes ... I am feeling particularly uninspired to create something visual so I thought I would do a written piece this week. So I have begun thinking about what it could be, a piece of prose, a poem or just a word! Hey that would be too easy ...

Having decided that I fancied writing a piece and thought back to Keats whom I studied as part of my A'levels. I thought his work was just great, especially the 50 line poem he wrote about a Greek pot! I remember studying this and being in fits of laughter with my friends, why would anyone write such an epic poem about a pot! Ode on a Grecian Urn is in fact one of his most acclaimed poems, hmmm.... - thanks Keats! Not the most chirpy of poets, but indeed a great man of words from the early 1800s. So in homage to Keats I have decided to write an ode.

What is this Ode going to teach me? Well, it will be a new poetic formula that I have never used before in my written work. Having looked at a few of his poems, I have decided I am going to attempt to follow Keats' example from Ode to Autumn; 3 stanza's each of 11 lines. Before I get onto my Ode, (which I haven't written yet 20.22 Saturday evening) I thought I'd find my inspiration from Ode To Autumn as it has a seasonal aptness that is speaking to me, and given that Keats did not write an Ode To Winter, I have now bestowed myself with this task ... bonding with a dead poet! The full Ode To Autumn, is at the bottom of the blog just in case you fancy a read.

Ode to Autumn is described to be a poem about the progression through the seasons, the harvest and the onset of winter. 'The work has also been interpreted as a meditation on death; as an allegory of artistic creation' (1) Interesting!! And apparently it is considered to be one of the 'most perfect short poems of the English Language'(2)  ... Okay, so I have not set myself a difficult task then! My attempt is going to be totally improvised and hopefully will be written before midnight tonight! I have three hours and thirteen minutes to go! ... no pressure then ...

Okay here goes, get into the zone .... think early 1800s, miserable poet! ...


Ode To Winter - Hazel Evans

Season of white and frozen-filled air
A companion of the darken'd night
Hatching bleak plans without a care
It will be a long time until warm light;
Taken at the throat and lining the lung,
The whitening cracks of splitting ice
Make their way through each pumping vein
Feeding the weakness, clamping the vice;
Tweeting bitter sliced tunes only half sung
Transitional operations are only half begun
As the wounds are cut open by frozen rain.

Who hath not caught a cold this winter?
Lucky bugger, abroad hath your time be spent?
Shackled here with my throat'd splinter
You lucky fellow, may your luck be lent!
For here this story gets icier than icy,
As the Queen of Hearts has ordered my head
But winter has frozen my coronary beat
And banished me, eucalyptus-fumed to bed.
Steady thy chili hand, go easy on the spicy
A hot water bottle will do me quite nicely
Thou watchest the socks dressing thy feet.

Where the songs of Spring? Where the hell are they!
Think not this state of time be forever in freeze
That one day soon we'll sing a warm play,
That our layers of layers remove with ease.
Recovered from the bitter poison injection,
Will the heart grow warmer and fonder?
Again the desire lives, sweet passion not dies
In the bleakness of this day, 'tis thy wonder,
The yearning and waiting upon your reflection,
The inspiration, creation in hibernation,
From whence the frozen bird again once flies!

Voila! Check in time 22.11
I quite enjoyed that, I hope you do too. I am sure Keats spent longer than two hours on his masterpiece, and I'm sure his sentences are much better composed than mine, but hey.

Now it's Keats' turn - Critical comparison anyone!

Ode to Autumn - John Keats

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cider-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,-
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

John Keats is considered as a Romantic Poet perhaphs this is a good lead into Valentine's next week.
Until then, I hope you have enjoyed my uninspired rant of truthful insight and masterful poem for Inspire 52 Week 6!

Now here's some pictures!

Wow, I've done it homework in!

Quotes
- (1) (2) Wikipedia

Inspire 52 - Week 4. Finding The Dragon

Bonjour les amies! Je ne sais pas ou cette semaine vas m'amener, mais je me prepare petit a petit pour le grand vol.

Reflection on Week 3.
Following last week's piece, I feel changed. Like I've opened a door that I am willing to gently walk through with mindful steps over the threshold. Don't worry my work is not going to get all intense all of a sudden! For those that really know me you will know that being a free fun spirit is very much my philosophy of living so 'peace and love man!'.... What gave such an impact with Face It Pierrot! was that the story revealed itself immediately before me without me realising what I had created. Normally the delay is a lot longer ... when I look back at my work years later I realise what it was really all about and how it reflected my life at that time. I think this recent develpoment has been an imporatant part of the journey so far...

Week 4
Monday  21:08 GMT
So onto Week 4 and I thought I would do a kind of daily progress report this week. Regarding the inspiration, well I was just sitting here this evening thinking what the heck would inspire me this week ... and then it came to me ... Dragons! Today is the New Chinese Year, the year of the Dragon ... and I am a Dragon! Not the kind of old hag of a dragon that peers out from behind her net curtains or hits you with her handbag, but instead a Fire Dragon, and yes, somewhere inside me I am a magical dragon!

I have spent many years trying to hide my dragon, suppressing my creativity, my passion and my self. Believing that playing small would keep me safe and giving others permission to ride my Dragon.

'Hiccup: [Walking through the forest and crossing out his map] Oh, the gods hate me. Some people lose their knife or their mug, no not me! I manage to lose an entire dragon.'

How to Train Your Dragon - Movie

In actual fact this has lead me into much danger, confusion and down a path into a dense forest with no breadcrumbs, impossible to take flight because the trees above are so entwined they form a matted canopy of branches ... But now ... I feel like I am on a Yellow Brick Runway, preparing for flight, sitting firmly on top of my dragon! - (just got a bit dramatic there, was enjoying the story that was being conjured!)

So I guess what I am trying to say is that I am aiming to celebrate the Dragon this week, and over the next seven days try to illustrate my Dragon.

'Eragon: You can hear my thoughts!
Saphira: I've waited a thousand years to hear your thoughts and now you can hear mine. I am Saphira, and you are my Rider.'   Eragon - Movie


Tuesday 21:38
Incubation.

In no particular order, my top 5 Dragon films:

• Eragon
• How to Train Your Dragon
• Spirited Away
• Avatar
• The Lord of the Rings

Wednesday 23:38
Blue, part of me is definitely blue. Tonight as I was meditating during my yoga class, it just came to me ... of course I am a blue Dragon, I couldn't be anything else but blue!

                                                                                                                              

Not many people know, but this whole 'Monochrome' phenomena of my recent work , is indeed not new to my practice. In 2000 I embarked on a period of creativity and oil painting, discovered Pthalo and Prussian in depths I had never ventured into before and found myself indulging in a beautiful pool of blueness... aaahhh, those were the days! Come to think of it when I revealed these paintings people around me said 'yeah, I like them, but they are all blue, how about adding some colour!'. So I painted my final piece from this series with a red ball inserted into the landscape, it was then auctioned off in The Royal Academy of Arts for a charity event for Marie Curie Cancer Care in 2001. And that was the curtain call on my works in blue. That red dot ruined everything!

Thursday 21:58
I am in fact a Piscean Fire Dragon... Odd combination given that water usually extinguishes the fire ... did the fire actually evaporate my water?
... red dot? ...  .

... I'm still waiting ...


Friday L:8
Fire Burns

Tonight I went to The Mayor of Bournemouth's Burn's Night evening. I was wondering how this would help me in the quest for my Dragon.

When I got home, before going to bed I popped into my studio and randomly opened an old book that was on the desk, it happened to be English Quotations published in 1937 and I opened it on Burns (seriously, what are the chances!) So here is the last verse from the poem 'A Red, Red Rose' that jumped off the page at me.

And fare thee weel, my only luve;
And fare thee weel a while!
And I will come again, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile.

It seems that there are always journeys to be made and people going places.

Is my Dragon linked to love? Is my quest for the Dragon actually a quest of love? with whom? ... What is happening? hmmm


Saturday earl:y pm
I am exhausted today... (no not hungover! I was driving last night :-) ... just exhausted, need a bit of 'quiet time'.

I feel like I have not really achieved what I have wanted to achieve in finding my Dragon. The inspiration was there at the beginning of the week, maybe it is still there... still incubating ... Maybe it is not about the end result but about how you get there, and when you think you are there, being ready to explore further? I don't know ...
Anyway, today I thought I would throw some ink onto a bit of paper in the true spirit of furthering my black and white adventure. Even that turned out not as planned as the black was spewing shades of red, purple and blue at me. So I put the tunes on and decided to switch the brain off and just enjoy a simple moment ... just me and the ink.

Hiccup: Oh, for the love of... I was a coward! I was weak! I wouldn't kill a dragon!
Astrid: You said "wouldn't" that time.
Hiccup: Well, whatever! I wouldn't! 300 years, and I'm the first Viking who wouldn't kill a dragon.
[pause]
Astrid: First to ride one, though. So...?
Hiccup: [sighs] I wouldn't kill him, because he looked as frightened as I was. I looked at him, and I saw myself.

How to Train Your Dragon - Movie

Sunday Just:Sunday
Sorry if this blog seems so disjointed, vague and have no point to it. I feel like I'm skirting around something, perhaps with a big frilly tutu ... If you have managed to read between the lines, perhaps you may have enjoyed this week's exploration?

I will refer back to Week 2 and The Rules Of The Game, Rule No. 1 - Keep it simple and No. 3 - Have fun at all times. I still seem to be trying to find my footing with this project ... what's it all about?

Eragon: I need to know, Saphira. Why me?

Saphira: You choose a leader for his heart.

Eragon: But I'm not without fear.

Saphira: Without fear there cannot be courage. But when we are together, it is our enemies who should be afraid.

Eragon: And are we together, Saphira?

[draws his sword]

Eragon: AS ONE?

Saphira: [Saphira breathes fire for the first time]

Eragon: I'll take that as a yes.

[the battle starts]

Eragon: Into the sky. To live or to die!

Eragon - Movie

Inspire 52 - Week 3. Face It Pierrot!

Face It Pierrot! - Hazel Evans 2012

Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.

Muhammad Ali (1942 - ), "More Than a Hero"

Okay this week is freaking me out! It's because I'm not really thinking about what I am doing, yet it seems that something is coming out. I decided to start playing with characterisation and all of a sudden something is speaking to me as I take the journey this week. So I begin this blog with the final work of art and by the end you will see where it may have started.

The image begins the blog because I want you to make of it what you will, without input from me, see it how you see it. As I said, I did not intend for it to happen like this, this is just what happened, it's only now that I realise what I have just created!

It feels really weird that this has turned out to be my Inspire this week ... but I don't have time to do another one, so here goes!

As you will see from my work and artist profile, characterisation is an area of interest that I am very passionate about, and working closely with a performance art venue as Resident Artist at Lighthouse Poole, theatricality is really starting to embed itself into my practice.

A couple of weeks ago I was messing around with a black eyeliner and illustrated a black heart on my lips, and this is where this week's piece derived from. So this afternoon I beagn to play around and create a new piece for Inspire 52 Week 3. This piece is inspired by my love for the performing arts, my life in France and my 'silence' - Ma silence ne dit pas mon accord!

I began by getting out the children's face paints that I had bought for my nieces teddy bear's pic-nic last summer, and thought it was about time to give myself a make-over! I did not know what I was going to do but I started with the black heart lips and then filled the rest of my face in with white.

It was a wonderful feeling, the cold wet brush painting on the canvas that was my face. I whitened in my face from the chin upwards, then I figured ... seems as I was 'dressing up', I may as well put on my favourite pair of eyelashes! So on when the eye lashes. I was then complete .... or was I?  I stared at myself in the mirror, blank white face with a black heart for my lips. What had I created!?



'Pierrot became an alter-ego of the artist' (1)

He who does not know how to be silent will not know how to speak.

Ausonius

I wasn't quite complete, something was missing. So I blacked up my paintbrush and blackened in my right eye. I enjoyed the feeling that I was creating a new painting, going with the flow and being in the creative moment, just 'being' and 'doing'. Before I knew it I had illustrated a crack down the middle of my face and given myself a black eye! But it wasn't until I had photographed my new painting and saw it on the computer screen that I realised what it was all about.

In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

First of all I realised that I had transformed myself into a Pierrot like character. [Pierrot is a stock character of pantomime and Commedia dell'Arte whose origins are in the late 17th-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne] (1).  I love this Black and White Pierrot character, it just fits perfectly with my recent black and white work - (see http://www.flickr.com/photos/hazelevans )

But despite having a Pierrot like quality to the image, it is infact not a charicature, but a self portrait. However, it doesn't represent who I am today, indeed it represents more about my life in France, where I lived during my 20s and even before that. Please make of it what you will, my interpretation rests in Silence.

                                             

Pierrot was not a fool but an avatar of the Post-Revolutionary people. (1)

This is me dressed as Pierrot aged about 10 in the 1980s - I loved this costume.

My brother is Batman and my sister a Red Indian

(I'm sure they'll love me for posting this picture out to the world!)

This piece is personal on many levels, it seems to have told me a story today, one that I am not ready to give physical words to yet, one which some of my friends know bits of and it is also a story that I have never communicated through my art yet, until today that is! I guess this is the first piece of art I have ever made about it ... I may share more one day but until then you can read the image in silence.

Wow ... that was quite intense for me! I hope next week is a bit more playful!! But I guess that is what Inspire is all about, things that come from your heart and soul. I didn't realise that this journey would lead me on quite such a personal level so early on, but I must say that I am really loving the fact that I am giving myself the time each week to dedicate to the development of my art practice through the freedom of Inspire 52. It has no agenda and that is what is so freeing about the whole project. Onwards and upwards until next week ... Who is your alter ego?

Over and out xx

(1) References taken from Wikipedia

Inspire 52 - Week 2. The Rules Of The Game

Okay, I have written about three opening paragraphs, and for some reason I can't seem to express what it is I want to say ... so I will hand it straight over to my idol Mary Poppins to explain ...

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and - SNAP - the job's a game!" Mary Poppins

Thank you Mary. I don't think I need to elaborate more, you see I tried to, but it didn't work out, which brings me back to Inspire 52 Rule No.1 - Keep it simple (1) For full list of rules see end of Blog

After I began at the beginning with Week 1, my mind went into overdrive about what I could or should be doing, making or creating in order to make this project a success. But there are in fact no coulds or shoulds about it, note Rule No.2 -There are no rules. In trying to force myself to come up with a revolutionary life changing concept for Week 2, I remembered that I am actually doing this for fun! Yes, it is indeed a challenge, a 'job' that I have decided to 'do', but this job must be 'fun' ... note to self... repeat Rule No.3 - Have fun at all times x4, chant Rule No.1 for one minute followed by a round of Rule No.2.

Ok I think that's done the trick! (Hazel now deletes the original three paragraphs she wrote).
If you are still with me by now 'hurrah!', cos this is the bit where we get to the art! With the implementation of Rules No. 1-3 now firmly in place, welcome to Inspire 52 Week 2 ...

It's the simple things in life that are the most extraodinary. Paulo Coelho

This quote is not to imply that I have done something extraordinary, (or maybe I have ;-) but it is the deeper meaning of the experience which is in fact extraordinary to me - Dance ... I love it! A couple of months ago I was introduced to my first experience of BioDanza. I had been wanting to start dancing again and fancied doing something a bit more creative than ... 'and a 1234 and side 234, turn 234' ... and was invited to a BioDanza class ... it was exactly the kind of different I was looking for. Since then I have done about eight classes and simply love it. I just love the enlivening journey of dancitivity and the inner imaginariumation it takes you into during the lesson. (Yes I did just make those words up - artistic licence darling!)

This week was rather special. Due to the roof of the theatre having blown off in the recent storms (slight exaggeration) we were re-located to a ballroom in an old mansion House ... (I know!) As I walked in the room eight large chandeliers adorned the ceiling and flying above them were painted swallows on the ceiling. Magic... this dance was going to be magic, I could feel it.

Birds flying high you know how I feel. Nina Simone 

I spent the first half hour continuing to glance at the ceiling, and as each dance took place, we were all guided into a journey of movement. We were simply asked to 'Be and breathe the music'.

As the bird flew above us, I wandered how many people they had seen dancing in this ball room below them.

As we dance into a place where our souls are born

Every beat of yesterday from our body is torn.

An expression of freedom from soul and heart

Dance into the light, a youthful beginning, a sweet start.

Beautiful sparks of the divine, why aren't we living it?

Dare, love, express, dissolve into the music.

                                                                                                                                                  Hazel Evans

Dancing is an expression of freedom and connection. Connection to the people you dance with, a connection to yourself - body and mind, a connection to the floor we perform on and to the air that passes through our lungs.

I do not have the body of a Ballerina, but I do have my own expression and my own story to dance.

I do not have the wings of a bird, but I do have my own funky moves that will continue to take me on my journey.

And so this is where I have been taken for Week 2. I let go of my coulds and shoulds, I established and implemented the rules of my game, realised that my dance doesn't actually require any rules and as a result had a lot of fun. (Note Rule No. 3)

(1) Inspire 52 Rules:

No. 1 - Keep it simple

No. 2 - There are no rules

No. 3 - Have fun at all times

No. 4 - Make up rules

No. 5 - Break the rules

No. 6 - All rules are subject to change

No. 7 - TBC
(Rules 4 to 7 will be covered in another blog!)

P.S. There are no rules to the dance ... until next week, keep dancing!

Inspire 52 - Week 1. Begin At The Beginning

Bring on the fireworks and the Champagne ... my 2012 artistic challenge has begun!

52 inspirations (translated + regurgitated + communicated) = 52 works of art. What have I committed myself to? Will I be able to do this? Where do I begin?

'The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. "Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?" he asked. "Begin at the beginning," the King said gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop." '
(Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 12)

I do suppose the best place is to start at the beginning, and so I shall begin ... here goes!

I had several ideas for how I wanted to start my Inspire 52 challenge, but the plan I started to concoct last week changed in the lead up to the New Year, and it is through that failure of Plan A that Plan B kicked into action ... and that's where my Week 1 begins.

I began asking myself 'what is inspiration?' and 'where does it come from?' so I simply began to gently observe the 'present' life around me. You see, two weeks ago I had no plans for New Year celebrations and then all of a sudden I find myself at a great party with live music from Richard James, the cast of Cinderella from Lighthouse, a costume designer who very kindly fixed my black wig, and I was waving a sparkler outside at midnight! The next day, New Years Day (minus the wig!), I made my way into the woods to spend the afternoon in a self-sustaining eco-lodge with some nice people I have only recently met. Sauna, steaming hot tub in the pouring rain, dancing, napping, eating energising food - Not bad for one afternoon's work!

The following morning, 2nd January, I woke at sunrise with the sunbeams breaking through the trees and into my bedroom window. I took my lovely new Moleskine black notebook and a pen with me as I wrapped up warm and ventured into the morning woodland, walking on the orange bed of fallen leaves sponging under my feet. The birds were tweeting and deer ran though the trees as they caught ear and sight of me. I began thinking about what had been inspiring to me since the beginning of this new year. I felt energised by the location and by the fact that I had just spent the last two days with people who I didn't know very well, but had been invited to share some wonderful experiences with, and for this I felt very grateful.

What was inspiring me right now? The music, singing and dancing; the sense of freedom that doing these things infuses in me. New ventures, new faces and new places; the feeling of being enlivened through new experiences. The fresh air, sunshine and the trees; stimulating a sense of love within my heart.

Inspire = infuse, enliven, stimulate

I sat on a log facing the sun, took a deep breath with my eyes closed. Opened my eyes and then opened my notebook. This is what came out...

What a gift to welcome the year,

It all begins from this place right here.

Another day just like before,

But this one's different from the last I saw.

Another day not like the last,

Different from the ones of past.

As the morning sun casts light on my skin,

It conjures up something else from within.

A new day, a new way.

A new ticket to play the game my way.

And so it seems that my first Inspire 52 takes the form of a poem with an accompanying illustration. Raw, Brut, Premiere Cru from my notebook. (I must admit, it does feel a little exposing opening up my notebook and scribbles onto the face of the internet ... this feels like this is going to be an interesting journey on many levels!).

I did share my piece with Caroline Parrott, from Make 52, and she said 'That's it, you've done it!', so I guess I had!! But it wasn't quite finished for me, so I took the poem and the sketch and incorporated them into one illustration, this is the final piece below.

Upon drawing this piece and getting absorbed into its lines and words I realised that this picture actually does represent the beginning of a new journey for me. I didn't really think about it when I was splurging it into my notebook, but it seems so obvious now looking at the image. I don't think I need to spell it out, I will leave it up to your own interpretation.

I don't really know what I was expecting, but I guess my Week 1 has marked the beginning of my journey into the word 'Inspire' and what it means to be inspired. A simple start that will lead me on an unknown creative voyage. At least I know now that I have indeed begun from the beginning.

One down, 51 to go! I hope you have enjoyed beginning at the beginning with me and continue to join me for the ride :-)

Until next week - Over and out x