Inspire 52 - Week 31. Pop Up Paper

This week, after a lot of cancelling, I finally managed to make it to Portland. These injuries I have had for the last 5 weeks have been making it difficult for me to get around, but I am gradually mending, so I hope there will be no more set backs along the way.

So the Olympics has rocked off to a great start ... apparently as I don't watch tele!! But Weymouth and Portland have been very quiet as there was so much hype about the roads being bad ... so now is in fact the quietest and best time to go to assure yourself a spot on the beach and also great entertainment all for your self!!

Anyway, enough of that and onto this ...

... Pop Up Dorset invited me to install a mini Paper Forest in their Historic Church exhibition, of course I said yes, as I was delighted about taking the forest out of the gallery environment and creating it in new environments, and this was a great place to start.

http://www.popupdorset.com/

St Georges Church on the Isle of Portland near Weymouth. This historic church here is some information cunningly pinched of Wikipedia ... thanks Wiki!

St George's Church is a Church of England church on the Isle of Portland, built between 1754 and 1766^[2] to replace St. Andrew's which had fallen into disuse and was no longer suitable as a place of worship.^[3] The church was closed in 1914 for many reasons, and fell into further disrepair ever since that time. In the 1960s however, the church fell under the protection of a newly formed group, the 'Friends of St George's Church', who were able to restore the church. Now no longer needed for regular worship, the church is now a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.^[4] It was declared redundant on 16 April 1970, and was vested in the Trust on 27 October 1971.^[5]

St George's Church is regarded as one of, if not the, most impressive 18th century church in Dorset.^[1] It is a large church built of Portland stone and has a tower, a nave, transepts, an apse, and a kind of abortive dome over the crossing.^[1] The design is reminiscent of Christopher Wren (particularly the tower, with regards to the clock towers of St Paul's Cathedral).^[1] The windows are arranged in two tiers, all with simple, broad raised frames that lack moulding. Architect John Vanbrugh called the result a "a masculine show".^[1] It is a Grade II listed building.^[6]

Well I think that's pretty interesting stuff!!

This venue has an amazing vibe about it. It is soa beautiful and grey on the cliff top in Portland ... Stunning ...

And here's how the Paper Forest worked in the space...

                                          ... For more on The Paper Forest you can see Inspire 52 - Week 23

http://hazelevans-inspire52.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/inspire-52-week-23-paper-forest-and.html 

The Paper Forest soundtrack echos through the church ...

Click on the images to enlarge

See you next week ... I don't have a clue what I'm going to do next week!!

Maybe something Olympic inspired?

P.S. Hazel Evans artwork, Adventures Album and other signed collectible merchandise are on sale at the exhibition.

Inspire 52 - Week 20. Passport To Your Imagination

I have not been sleeping very much these last couple of nights due to getting stuff done, and yes, stuff is indeed getting done! One more sleep to go until I start working on putting up the exhibition tomorrow in Lighthouse, Poole. Yippie! I suppose the official phrase would be 'I'm going to hang my exhibition tomorrow', but given that some of the main features of my exhibition involve things like a wardrobe installation, an album and United Kingdom of The Monochronium passports, not much 'hanging' is going to be going on - and as for The Paper Forest, well I like to think of it more as 'growing my exhibition'! The only hanging I will be doing, is hanging around having a cup of green tea whilst waiting for the paint to dry, as we partake in step one tomorrow of preparing the gallery walls and plinths.

So given that I need to get some sleep and there are only 45 minutes left of week 20, I need to get a groove on and tell you what happened this week.

Well, as with last week, this week has been pretty full on and so much art I don't know where to begin so I will choose just one thing ... soemthing very exciting ... the passports arrived this week! Yes, now it's becoming more real than ever and I now can welcome the public to get a passport to adventure into The Monochronium exhibition, as well as discovering it as a pathway to their imagination.

I also took the opportunity to be inspired by a new piece that I have created for the exhibition - The Ink Mountains.

There is indeed a beautiful song, poem, story, performance and installation that are part of this piece of work, but this wasn't enough for me! So I illustrated it too, and not just one picture, oh no - 2! And in order to share the love I cut it up and packaged it up into 12 unique passport packages for the first 12 lucky purchasers to get theri hands on at the private view of the exhibition on the 30th May. This whole adventure is becoming rather epic! But loving it ... sorry if I am blabbering on, I am feeling rather delerious, but trying to hold it together ... I have a feeling that as soon as I have finiched this I will shut my eyes and conk out right away ...where was I, oh yes ... Here's what happened ...

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... 

11.52pm - Only just made it ... right I'm off to bed, another busy week ahead ... over and out. 

Inspire 52 - Week 12. Adventures Into The Passport

Week 12 of year 2012, and it's the year for a new passport for me... Yes indeed it has been a whole 10 years since my last one, and I am now preparing to get a new one, but before I do lets make some art about it!

The whole notion of getting a new passport has inspired me this week and it seems to be perfect timing numbers-wise, the perfect dozen! And what better time to think about the adventures ahead as we break out of the grip of winter into glorious summertime.... I AM ALIVE!!!

It has got me thinking about the journey of the last 10 years. Where has this passport taken me? Who is that girl in that picture in 2002 and what has happened to her? And what is the next part of the journey?

I remember which Post Office photo booth I went into to get this picture taken. It was the summer in 2002 and I had come back to England  from my first year living in Grenoble and teaching English. I was in love and living with my French boyfriend at the time. I was also working in a surf jewellery company and in the picture I am wearing one of the shell necklaces.

The journey of the last ten years has taken me far from one camera flashing moment in that photo booth. Looking though my passport I have stamps for France, Morocco, Slovakia, Egypt, Tanzania, HongKong, The Philippines, Borocay Island, and Namibia. These journeys have taken me not only physically to other destinations but have formed part of who I am today. Some of the journeys were in love, others in adventure or escapism.

Passport Memories

Road trip from Grenoble to the Tatras Mountains in Slovakia. Three days journey through Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Slovakia over Christmas. It was a beautiful trip to visit my best friend at her family home for Christmas. Christmas day was in Saltzberg, Weiss bier and sauerkraut in the central square. A nice moment. Driving home in the driving snow. Life would get more complicated after this.

I remember walking down the street in Metro Manila alone, the colour of my skin and my height clearly distinguishing me as a stranger. My mobile phone rang. I knew the number. I didn't answer as I didn't fancy being subject to exactly what I was escaping from... if only he knew where I was, I am sure it would have made him even angrier! It was probably one of the most surreal moments of my life so far.

Hong Kong. A flighting visit. I was on my way back from the Phillippines and I had a six hour stop over. Any normal single white female would have stayed safely in the airport and read a book, but I fancied a challenge with my new found sense of freedom. I sat in the airport for 10 minutes and weighed up the pros and cons and then decided to go for it. I checked out, got on the navette train, then got a taxi, walked a bit and then got a boat over to central Hong Kong. It was about 6pm and all the town was illuminated. Nobody knew where I was in the world. It was great. I walked around for a bit took some photos and then got the boat, taxi and train back to get my flight home. This moment changed me.

So what now?
I long to travel again. I love travelling on my own, or meeting up with someone somewhere then going onto somewhere different. I love journeys. My next big soulful journey I want to be India. But the USA has been calling me to go back there too ... I don't know... one thing is sure, I've got a lot to get done here before I can go anywhere else.

What about this week?

So as you can see from the image at the beginning of the blog I have created a new passport. My next exhibition is going to be 'Adventures into The Monochronium' and I figured I needed a passport for this as the journey is quite an official one! I have made sure I have gained all relevant and official stamps and visas necessary and am now preparing to embark on the next creative journey.

You are of course welcome too. You can come to 'Adventures into The Monochronium' without a passport if you are just visiting for the day, from 26th May onwards. I will however be there until 7th July hence official document requirements! Now I know this seems like quite a way away, but like all great voyages it's all in the preparation to make a safe and enjoyable trip!
Who is the woman in the new passport?

Well that is a good question. I think she is someone who knows more about what she wants from her next journey.