Blogger Bug Blip *

Hello out there,

hope you are all keeping well and staying safe in these unusual COVID-19 times.

Looks like we are not the only ones battling bugs. BLOGGER is having some technical issues of their own. This particular system bug takes out images or photographs from blog posts in a random erratic way. This has been happening to many bloggers, not just me. Google said they are aware of the issue and are working on it. This means we must be patient and wait it out until the problem is fixed.

Just wanted to let you know what was happening so you understand that all these sudden big holes in my posts are not happening because I've suddenly lost my mind....   It sure is annoying though!

Thanks for visiting and take good care of yourselves until we meet again.

Rachelle

*Lockdown Challenge: Try saying the title of this post really fast five times. 

The Architect

Transitional Spaces; Carpark #1        R. Allen-Sherwood 2020

 

 

The way one does things is private, but what one does can belong to everybody. Your greatest worth is in the area where you can claim no ownership, and the part that you do that doesn't belong to you is the most precious. It is the kind of thing you can offer because it is a better part of you; it is a part of general commonality that belongs to everybody.You feel that what you truly have to offer is in your next work, and that what you have done is always incomplete. I believe that even a great composer like Bach, who did everything as though it belonged to everyone else, died thinking he did nothing, because a person is greater than his works. He must continue.

Transitional Spaces; Carpark #2        R. Allen-Sherwood 2020

I believe it takes a long time to be an architect; it takes a long time to be an architect of one's aspirations. You can become an architect professionally overnight. But to feel the spirit of architecture from which one makes his offering takes much longer.

Transitional Spaces; Carpark #3      R. Allen-Sherwood 2020

And where does the architect sit? He sits right there;he is the one who conveys the beauty of spaces, which is the very meaning of architecture. Think of meaningful space and you invent an environment, and it can be your invention. Therein lies the architect.

Louis Kahn
Between Silence and Light

20/20 New Beginnings

20/20 Collaboration #1  Mia Kukathasan & Rachelle Allen-Sherwood 2020

My goodness it has certainly been awhile since my last post! So many things have happened but the good news is I'm back and very happy to be here.  As this is also a new year, let me wish everyone a belated but happy and safe 2020.

To start the ball rolling, I've begun a new project, temtatively entitled "20/20". The aim is to complete and exhibit twenty collaborations by the end of this year while continuing to build up my studio work. Collab #1 was achieved late January at a lovely gallery called hARTslane. As part of their Italian residency exhibition, "Passaggiatina London"  I teamed up with sound artist Cleaver Boi (Mia Kukathasan) and we performed a piece depicting an improvisational dialogue between mark making and sound creation. (See finished result above) To view a short video of our performance, please click here. Our collaboration was brief but revelatory.. I now look forward to exploring more possibilities working with sound in the future.

Matthew working on collage at Tate Modern

 In February, I joined painter Matthew Randle at the Tate Modern to discuss Collab #2. As luck would have it, Tate was hosting a family activities event so we spontaneously joined in! We selected the collage activity as it was the least crowded and got busy creating work from cuttings, torn magazines and the myriad bits and pieces scattered around the room. The only downside was, we weren't allowed to paste anything down or take the work home! Everyone had to cut and lay out their compositions sans glue. A staff member would then come over, take a photograph and give a printed photo copy to the participant.....? Wha?? Whatever.

20/20 Non deliberation  M.Randle & R.Allen-Sherwood  Feb 2020

Matt and I spent most of the afternoon intensely absorbed, creating both individual and collaborative work. Here are two examples of the latter.The first collage was deliberately made with no plan, no intention and absolutely no attempt at composing. We tried but it was hard. What I learned in the end is that deliberately not composing is also a form of composition. We were being intentionally unintentional. It was an interesting exercise but we probably won't do that again. At least not together.

20/20 Then thoughtfully  M.Randle & R.Allen-Sherwood  Feb 2020

  The second collage was made 2 hours later but this time we did the opposite. We thought everything out carefully and discussed it beforehand. We laid pieces out and moved them about. In the end it all came together quickly despite the onerous process. All in all, it was a great, if exhausting experience. I learned a lot, as this was my first time to make collages. And Matt's a great collaborator. Shame about not being able to take work home but at least we have the photo evidence. And the memories.

See you next time!