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!

Thoughts on Collaboration

Session 4        R & Z   Nov 2017

 I like doing things to challenge myself, which is probably why I enjoy doing collaborations with other artists. Not everyone feels the same. Some of my creative friends can't understand why I would willingly want to share my artistic journey with someone else. Unfathomable!

Session 1        R & Z  July 2017

Maybe one of the reasons is because - for me - collaboration is another way to engage in a deep and meaningful dialogue with another. A true creative connection can only be achieved if both parties are genuine and the relationship is honest. Trust, respect and clear boundaries are crucial for success.

Session 3       R & Z  Sept 2017

The images shown here are some of the results from a six month long collaborative project I did with a painter friend (who wishes to remain anonymous). Our project started around July 2017 and reached it's natural conclusion in early December. It was a good project in that I feel we both achieved our goal to stretch ourselves as artists and grow - a great way to end one year and start the next. I look forward to new and more exciting collaborative adventures in 2018. Happy New Year!

Session 1        R & Z  July 2017

Interview with Rachelle Allen-Sherwood

The following excerpt is from a recent interview about my artistic process by Bridget Bekikg from the Kent MA Curators team at the University of Kent School of Arts. The interview will form part of a group project currently in the works. More will be revealed in a few weeks time. These accompanying images are from a live painting session I did last month in Margate with the talented b.supreme dancers from Brixton, London.

Bridget: The nature of your work is an ongoing process. What value does motion have in your work? And how does it relate to still pieces?

Rachelle: To me, without motion, there is no life; motion kind of equals living. So everything that is life moves, pretty much. But then if you think about it, even death is movement because when you die, you’re decomposing. That's active. There’s a constant movement going on. And then after that, when there is nothing, then all the invisible particles are moving around. So what I mean is... there’s no place without any movement so where is there stillness?

Actually, I think it’s an illusion. There is no stillness really. But stillness in our language means quietness or it means stopping. Stillness and motion are very fundamental to my work because I’m practising Japanese brushwork. It conveys present-ness through depicting space, there is something about that depth. When you look at Japanese calligraphy work, in traditional calligraphy you find a 3D depth that draws you in and keeps you calm. Or, it can also make you dance, so it has a very powerful aesthetic....

But it comes from a practice of stillness because on the basis of this lies the way the Japanese calligraphers learn their craft. They learn through practising meditation and doing certain repetitive movements over and over again. It’s the mental and spiritual training that keeps them still. And then, in that frame of mind, they move the brush....

It’s very important what motivates the work or what drives the work. But you know, I’m still working on how to clarify it all. So please ask me this question again 20 years later and I will tell you more then.

Bridget: How do you go about choosing a subject (for your work)?

Rachelle: Well, I think it’s more like the subject chooses me. It is like a subject chooses you and then it bites on to you and never lets go. I am interested in certain things and it just carries on; even now, 20 years later. Basically my main themes are still based on the idea of space.

I’m very interested in anything to do with a state of space, the philosophy of space. And you know space is limitless because when you go into space you’ve also got nothing. You can go into nothingness as well. I mean, I can be totally occupied for the rest of my life, it’s just something that I became passionate about and then I’ve stayed with it.

There is one more thing. Recently I’ve done some artworks that are not a regular thing for me as they’re more politically driven. The current world situation has got me so worried and my friends' anxieties also affect me. And so I decided to make some works to try to express those feelings.

Certain circumstances will affect my work, but generally I have certain themes, and I stay with them pretty consistently and as much as I can through the years.

*Interview with Artist Rachelle Allen-Sherwood 
by Bridget Bekikg   University of Kent MA Curators Team / 6 June 2017

*Note: All edits and corrections were made by Rachelle

Time Waits For No Man

Looking at beautiful things is one of the ways I use to cope with what is happening in our world today. Because of my early years in Japan and my artistic interests I find it particularly satisfying to watch a skilled traditional calligraphy artist demonstating their craft. It is their sincerity, authenticity and skillfulness that inspires me.  

Japanese calligraphy artist Tomoko Kawao has all of these traits, plus she is beautiful to look at as well.. Her graceful mesmerising movements and consummate control of the unwieldy (and oftentimes heavy) ink brush, is a great pleasure to witness unfolding before our eyes. Somewhat akin to a many petaled lotus flower opening out in slow motion time-lapse. .

Additionally (an rather rarely in what is a mostly male dominated industry), her intermittent feminine aural outbursts of exertion adds an unmistakable dimension of sexuality into the already heady mix of 'delicate woman battles with massive ink brush on megasized paper" scenario..

The resultant phrase; "Time Waits for No Man" (or "Time Flies") comes to life at the very end for both the artist and the viewer, as we gently come out of a meditative trance and sit in the ensuing peacefulness together on the giant stage of life.

Enjoy!  

Dark Matter

"To Infinity & Beyond"         R.Allen-Sherwood  2017

This is not my usual style of art. Unusual work for unusual times. I have been making a series of small postcard sized collage/drawings as a way to cope with what's going on in the world. Maybe it could be called art therapy, I don't know. But it seems to help defuse some of this almighty rage I feel inside.

"How to be sure of Heaven"      R Allen-Sherwood 2017   

Rage is not my usual state of being. I don't like feeling helpless, hence the anger. Especially with the threat of a possible nuclear war looming over our heads. Perhaps this what now pushes me with a sense of urgency to " GET OUT THERE AND DO SOMETHING!"....even if it's a small something. And so I am making these art pieces from the depth of my soul. And I've recently created a new Facebook page Floodlights that I'd like to make into a collection of stories that inspire and give hope. These are some of the ways in which I am trying to tackle those dark clouds out there......

To all my friends be well, stay safe and don't be afraid. (As I run away screaming and pulling out my hair) See you next time.