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 19. A Week In The Life

Wow, what a week. It's all going a bit mental at the moment, collaborations ahoy all in preparation for my upcoming exhibition, 'Adventures Into The Monochronium'. I am lost with what's going on for Inspire 52 because I seem to be oozing creativity in every direction! So the best I can do for this week is give a breakdown of where it's all been at ... bear with me guys, I'm preparing for quite a mammoth exhibition so ... things on Inspire 52 are going to be a bit crazy for a few weeks ...

Without going into much detail, here is a brief outline of the week ...

Monday 7th May
- All day Street Art performances in Poole Street Arts Festival - The Ticket Office
- Work on the new jewellery collection for the upcoming exhibition

 

        Photograph by Howard Shepherd

Tuesday 8th May
- Work at a contemporary Craft gallery
- Freelance work on Festival coordination

Wednesday 9th May
- Studio session with Momo, working on the soundtrack album for 'Adventures Into The Monochronium'.
- Ordering merchandise for the exhibition and prep for collaboration with an illustrator
- Freelance work on Festival coordination
- Visit to photographer to document art work
- Yoga  

Thursday 10th May
- Travel to Taunton to work in a collaborative exhibition 'Cultivate 2', created work in response to and in collaboration with a student's art work from Berlin, Germany.
- ordered badges for exhibition
- Art work for front and back cover collaboration with a silk weaver - pictures and artist illustrated books with poetic story.

Friday 11th May
- Training at the gym
- Freelance work on Festival coordination
- collection of item from 'Wardrobe home' from the Arts University - Collaboration with Interior Design Student
- preparation for collaborative project workshop with a storyteller/Theatre practitioner
- Studio session with Momo, working on the soundtrack album for 'Adventures Into The Monochronium'.

Photograph collage by Leoni Bullcock

Saturday 12th May
- All day public workshop - the first phase of new collaborative project with a storyteller/Theatre practitioner 'In Your Shoes' for the new fairy tales 'La Fille et Les Chaussures' and 'Killer Heels'
- Drive to yogic retreat - Dance

Sunday 13th May
- Rest and chill until 8pm
- admin work in the evening

 

Photograph by Howard Shepherd

 
So all in all a very busy week, and more of that to come next week ... I am just loving being absorbed in my art, this is where I am meant to be, it is all becoming so much more real and continues to reveal more levels to me constantly ... it's an amazing journey.

Inspire 52 - Week 18. The Ticket Office

Hello Peeps!

Time is getting on, where is the white rabbit?

I can hardly keep up with myself as we come racing into May. What's ahead is all very exciting and I find myself in a constant state of edginess between utter excitement and wonder at how on earth I am going to pull this all off! I am sure I will, always manage it somehow ... and then I'll sit back on my park bench in The Paper Forest in June with a mini cup of Guiness, absorbed into The Monochronium and ponder black and white thoughts of loveliness as I gaze into the stars ... I guess you'll just have to come to the exhibition to see what I'm on about ... or indeed, I am sure I will be blogging about it too.

So what's going on this week? Well next Monday (Bank Holiday Monday) I will be performing a new performance piece as part of Poole Street Arts Festival - The Ticket Office.

You will be able to come and pick up a ticket and get it stamped in exchange for expressions of your imagination as to what imaginary sport you would like to take part in or see at the Black and White (Monochronium) Olympics. So this week I have been ticketting ... and here it is ...

Click on the images to enlarge



Sorry I can't stop too long this week ... still got work to do tonight ... but I hope you have enjoyed the poem, are continuing to enjoy the Inspire 52 ride, I certainly am, it keeps me on my toes, may need to buy some pointy ballet shoes soon!

Until next week ... prepare yourselves for this!...

Following the success of Hazel Evans' début solo exhibition, The Monochronium in October 2011, as Lighthouse's first ever Resident Visual Artist, Hazel now takes us further into the experience of her art practice with Adventures Into The Monochronium.

Adventures Into The Monochronium is set to be an extraordinary creative experience that will lead you into a multi sensory voyage into the surreal black and white world of Hazel's Monochronium. You will be able to journey into a Paper Forest, visit the Ink Mountains and experience The Wardrobe Studio where you can obtain a passport to The Kingdom of The Monochronium. You will also be able to watch Hazel and other artists create new works of art in her ever evolving developmental exhibition over six weeks.

Hazel will be featuring collaborations with Illustrator and writer Hayley Potter MA RCA with live explosive art with an entire wall of paper and ink, Silk Weaver Debby Kirby with woven illustrated pictures and artist books, and Musician Timo Peach from Momo Tempo with a soundtrack to accompany the entire exhibition and guide you through the gallery space.

Inspire 52 - Week 17. The Adventurers

Wow these weeks are just whizzing by! Week 17 blimey!!

So here we are and it is rather rainy and bleak in the British sky with lots of rain and wind ... I like it. Somebody said to me this week about how long we've had rain, apparently every day for 2 weeks already!... I'm not sure about this... call me the eternal optimist, but I must admit I have been focussing on the beautiful glimses of sunshine I have had this week and therefore the weather is just fine by me. Anyway, I've got far to much to think about and do rather than focus on the weather my friends, and to be quite honest, I am very happy for the water to feed nature (peace and love man and all that).
This week I am going to tell my blog in pictures and only a few words ... mainly because so much is happening I can barely keep up with myself. This week has actually ben full of inspiration I am working on many projects at the moment that all link into each other so when it all comes together in about 4 weeks it will be amazing.

I guess the main artistic focus this week is writing the new poem for my upcoming exhibition, Adventures into The Monochronium, as well as preparations for the exhibition. Many themes and characters are emerging as the exhibition develops, it's a beautiful organic way of making an exhibition happen and also really exciting watching it grow.

Over the last week I have recruited several interesting characters as I have been voyaging into The Monochronium, one of the most exciting is the Glass Pig who I discovered as I journied from the Paper Forest and over the Ink Mountains. The dancing shadows of the mountains were also very beautiful and then I came across a science professor who was able to explain everything to me. The Clock, The Adventuress and The Bees are also all part of the journey.

I guess this all sounds pretty surreal, well I guess it is ... You can see how it all fits together in the exhibition. For now ... here is the story so far ...

Adventures Into

THE MONOCHRONIUM

Night lit sky walking though a circled floor

The lines lead to a half opened door,

Scribblings curling sideways unfurling

And singing songs are tweeties birding.

Check the clock, the seconds of time,

That chime and skip over the travelling line,

For a ticket to the colourful monochrome

is waiting inside the wardrobe home.

Before you leave write a letter or two

and don't forget to visit the pig and read the clue.

Passports are for fast sorts, so keep it secure,

Stamp it and don't show it to anyone obscure.

Stories in the trees made of blotted letters

Are feathering dots in all kinds of weathers,

As the Paper Forest transports us far

To places and faces from that door left ajar.

Inside the minds of lines, dots and marks

Are tickets to places with warming heart sparks.

All you need is to foot, hot on the track,

Adventure into The Monochronium, and never look back.

This poem is what ties the whole exhibition together and will inform and inspire other works of art an collaborations. One of the most exciting additions to the exhibition will be a soundtrack which I am working on in collaboration with Timo Peach from Momo Tempo (Also see Week 13. One Momo In Time). Here's a snap shot of what we are up to.

The poem is also the inspiration for a new headpiece for The Adventuress. In the evening I wore the piece to The Mayors Charity Ball in Bournemouth. A great table of fellow adventurers on our FAB table.

I attended a workshop with Simon Meanwell-Ralph from Marvellous Millinery at Walford Mill Crafts and this is what happened in picture, in reverse. (Click on the images to enlarge).

Go to the exhibition event on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/events/241411849299021/

www.momotempo.co.uk

www.lighthousepoole.co.uk

www.hazelevans.co.uk

www.marvellousmillinery.co.uk

http://danikaimages.com
Adventures Into The Monochronium portrait by Danika Westwood

Inspire 52 - Week 16. Three Little Pigs

My inspiration this week has come from a sense of creating space. Space in the mind through rest, space in the body through yoga and space in the heart with new friends. Due to certain recent happenings I am finding myself in what feels like an exciting state of transition. I feel like I am in my little white boat rowing downstream and, for once, taking the time to breathe a few deep breaths and enjoy the scenery whilst basking in the light.

Be true to yourself

This weekend I was on the quest for building parts of my upcoming exhibition, Adventures into The Monochronium' and I came accross a piggy. It soon occurred to me that he was going to join me on my journey, but he was fragile and made of glass and was going to need looking after.

The glass pig has a long journey to make. He had come from the Paper Forset and his journey was not even half finished, ahead of him were The Black Ink Mountains. He did not know who he would meet along the way ...

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...

Find out more and experience the journey of the Glass Pig, The Paper Forest and The Black Ink Mountains in the new phase of my art work at my upcoming exhibition

Adventures into The Monochronium

26th May - 7th July

As part of Dorset Art Weeks 2012

In association with Lighthouse, centre for the arts, Poole.

This is what I started off by writng ... but between that moment and this ... it no longer seemed apropriate to continue a rambling ramble of words, so rather that deleate all those words that began this inspire I thought I would just paste them into a sub text. An unedited and unfinished beginning, that is now the end.

Well what a week I have had ... without being too personal and writing my entire life for the world to read ... I can say that this week has been quite a turn around for me. It started by being signed off by the doctor on Monday morning ... under strict orders for rest.

She ran down the hallway shouting "Rest! Rest!!! What is this!?! But I have art to make, festivals to programme and an exhibition to prepare! I have no time for rest doctor!!"

It didn't quite happen like that ... but I was wondering how on earth I would be able to rest as I like to think of myself as a 24/7 kind gal, but apparently this is not very good for the body! Hence, I guess, ending up with re-uccuring bronchitus! Yeah ... not great!! Anyhow, I am at the end of the week and I can safely say that this 'rest' melarky is actually pretty enjoyable!

Lovely new yogi friends of mine have inspired me into a better way of life in order to bring balance into everyday living ... I'm getting there, however I think these next 6 weeks are going to be pretty full on in order to launch all the projects that I have been working on for the last six months... so we'll see.

So what has all this go to do with this weeks Inpsire? and where do the Three Little Pigs come into it all? Well bare with me as it will all become clear very soon...