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.

Incantations, Tea & Biscuits

INORI (Prayer) from nobumichi asai on Vimeo.

Inori means prayer in Japanese. Produced and created by Nobumichi Asai, the concept behind this video is roughly about magical prayers overcoming the destructive nature of radioactive forces. The dancers showcasing this remarkable piece of high speed Face/Motion Mapping are the popular vogueing duo known as AYABAMBI. (You might have noticed them in Madonna's tour videos last year)

Face/Motion Mapping can be incredible to look at, but takes considerable effort to realise. It took three months to make this one minute and ten second second video clip. But oh, what a result.

With an increasingly unstable world around us, themes like these resonate with the viewer. Dark though the theme may be, it also offers us a way out of suffering ; incantations, incantations, incantations.

My personal magic potion is a strong cup of Earl Grey tea with biscuits. Works every time!

WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS SOME FLASHING LIGHT SCENES

VR Painting

The magic of virtual reality has many applications. Here is a nice one for immersive three dimensional drawings.. It's extremely interesting to think about how this could be applied to art exhibitions or interactive installations. And perhaps someday, with the continued improvement to 3D printing processes and holographic technology, we can probably expect some sort of combination which will give us real space 'print outs' of 3D drawings made in real time. 

American celebrity astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson, says that our universe could be a simulation. Therefore we could all possibly be projected virtual beings to begin with, so this whole push into developing AR or AI etc could be due to our need to leave some kind of legacy behind? If that even has a chance of turning out to be true, then what is one to make of something like Donald Trump?

Stay safe and well. See you soon.

Happy New Year 2017!

My chosen image this year is a China Space Program poster entitled:  "Roaming outer space in an airship" "  It was made in the sixties by designer Zhang Ruiheng

Happy New Year!

Disclaimer - I have no association with the poster company nor do I get any money for mentioning their products. It was solely chosen for the appropriateness of the design, and it's relevance to my blog about the aesthetics (and all things related) within the theme of space. 

" http://chinesepostershop.com/poster?poster_id=e15-824

Rodin's Essence of Motion

 "Nijinsky? 1912?" unfinished plaster cast & shadow

"To express a movement in all its character and truth, it is important that it be at once the result of the successive moments that have preceeded the moment that one has fixed, and that it announces the sensation of those that will follow."  Auguste Rodin 1911

The above quote was taken from an interview with sculptor Auguste Rodin in 1911. I encountered it during a visit to the "Rodin and Dance: The Essence of Movement" exhibition at the Courtauld Institute in London.

Rodin clay piece, an impression

His words have stayed with me since then. I've been fascinated with the universal nature of the artist's instruction. It has commonality with Sean Scully's description of abstract art. But also with the traditional 'living line' teachings in Japanese calligraphy. There are also similarities, I feel, with the concept of Quantum Entanglement. Or even in Buddhist teachings, where the concept of past, present and future dynamically merges into one great pulsating singular point of Now. Chop wood and dance!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if someday in the future, they discovered that the marks of an artist do actually move - on an atomic level, after being fixed into position. So much to think about. If you are able to see the show, do go, as it's quite beautiful and rich with inspiration. I could have stayed there for days, happily working in my sketchbook.  Click here to learn more from the Courtauld website..

Stone Whisperers

‘Manual of Calligraphy and Painting’ (Chinese, 1633), 

There is a strange affinity between artists and rocks. By rocks I mean anything made of stone, from the humble pebble to a mountain. "To Chinese artists, rocks are the basic building blocks of landscape painting,'' says Robert D. Mowry, curator of Chinese art at Harvard University's Arthur M. Sackler Museum. ``Magnified in scale, the rocks are mountains. Embellished with details, trees and such, they become complete landscapes.'' In this instance he is speaking of scholars' rocks.

Brice Marden in his studio   

According to "The Spirit of Gongshi", Chinese scholars' rocks, also known as scholar stones or viewing stones, are naturally occurring or shaped rocks which are traditionally appreciated by Chinese scholars. This trend towards cultivating an aesthetic appreciation of scholar rocks began in Tang Dynasty China and has spread to the present day western world. American painter Brice Marden is an avid fan of Chinese scholar rocks. His collection is a source of inspiration which he displays along the window sill of his painting studio.

‘Manual of Calligraphy and Painting’ (Chinese, 1633), 

Richard Rosenblum, sculptor and dedicated gongshi collector described scholar rocks as monuments to inner thought.  The sense of space within the rock - the perception of almost being able to look inside a world contained by the rock - is what most draws his interest. It compares more with Western painting, he says, than with Western sculpture.

‘Manual of Calligraphy and Painting’ (Chinese, 1633), 

"Rather than being solely about the solid form, and the space around it, as much conventional sculpture is,  the rocks create their own worlds,'' he explains. I would suppose it is certainly the privilege of gaining access to that inner world which drives the collectors to keep seeking ever more unique and unusual specimens to add to their collections. 

Movement   charcoal  2013l     sepia filter)    R.Allen-Sherwood

In my case, my interest remains firmly with Japanese Zen gardens, which have a presence and space all their own. But I feel there might be a kinship between us artists who get inspired by, and communicate with stone. It's almost like being in a special club of stone whisperers. Hold that thought. See you next time,  

Image Credits

http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PR-FH-00910-00083-00098/1

True Ink : Maaya Wakasugi

   

Calligraphers come in all shapes, sizes and types. Just like people. All of us who love and have an affinity to the fude brush and sumi ink might look different and have differing styles, but the underlying allegiance to truth in expression and spirit is the same.  Viva la unité !

Hiddip the hop it don't stop*

Sketchbook

Had a wonderful opportunity to continue my work-in-progress explorations into the human body, motion and space via breakdancing. Hopefully I will be able to investigate this topic with more depth and detail in a few months time.

Fingers tightly crossed.

*Das Efx  The Real Hiphop

AR Mark Making

When I first came across the GRAVITY tablet prototype a few years ago and posted it on the blog (here), the idea of bringing 2D concepts into 3D reality was still in its early stages . Granted, the virtual world of Second City was in full swing at the time but AR was still considered a kind of cartoonish sci-fi fantasy world, inhabited mostly by geeks and otaku types. In other words it was all still a bit weird.

But it has come along quite a bit since then. I like what artist Marc van Elburg is doing with AR in visual art and find it quite interesting. These two videos of his experiments with drawing with augmented reality gives a hint of the potential of mark making in space. Exciting!

Monastery Diaries

Mulberry paper with sumi ink and paint

Sometimes looking back at the past can help propel forward motion in the present.

These images are from a 2012 artist residency I did at the Community of the Resurrection (CR), an Anglican monastery in Mirfield. West Yorkshire.

Close up detail of hanging piece

The works were made using Chinese mulberry bark paper, which has a very light and delicate quality. This trait caused a most surprising (and wonderful) unforeseen effect with some of the pieces I installed in the final show.  

You can read more about it here in my Mirfield Monastery blog.

What an amazing experience it all was! Thank you so much to the CR Community ffor inviting me into their beautiful and special space. 

Unforgettable.
.

Google Maps 1572

Inspired by air - sketchbook work     R Allen-Sherwood 2016

I attended a very interesting event recently. "A festival of ideas: Questions of space" was a two day collaboration between Canterbury Cathedral and researchers and academics from the Faculty of Humanities Department at Kent University. 

It was the leaflet catchphrase that hooked me: "We’d like to share with you our research on how we respond to the spaces around us, and how we as artists, architects and historians are exploring Canterbury Cathedral’s hidden spaces."  

My balloon now lives on my kitchen ceiling

One of events Hot Air, was a hands-on experiment to analyse the air flow inside the cathedral crypt, using helium balloons. 

Shadows and light     photo R. Allen-Sherwood 2016

On the one hand it might sound dry and boring, but imagine seeing a bunch of adults navigating shiny floating balloons inside an semi lit ancient medieval crypt! This is the stuff of dreams for a spacenik like me! Even made drawings from it. 

Eastbridge Pilgrims Hospital

Another offering was the chance to experience how Canterbury looked in the 1500's by walking around (in our socks) on top of an enlarged medieval map placed on the floor of the Chapter House.

The hood in the Middle Ages 

Seeing the wide empty open spaces where my neighbourhood now stands made me feel like I was inside an old Google Map circa 1572

Mapping Canterbury in my sketchbook 

Thank you Canterbury Cathedral for daring to experiment and try something different  And, of course to all the researchers, academics and teachers of Kent uni for putting it all together. I thoroughly enjoyed the event!

Becket's Candle               photo R Allen-Sherwood 2016

(And please do it again next year)  (Bigger.)

To Drink the Act in Motion

I want to find myself standing on the wire of action, inside action. In the realism of motion.

After action begins, before action comes to its conclusion.

I want to be lost in the inebriety of the instant, in the giddiness of motion. 

 I need to drink the act of motion, and fall asleep drunk.

 

Excerpt from
"To Drink the Act in Motion"
by Antonio D'Alfonso 
9 June 1983   

Breakin' Convention 2016

The Ruggeds in mid flow in my sketchbook!

Last week a cutting edge hiphop dance show called "Breakin' Convention 2016" came to my area and performed at a local university to a fully packed house. The show was incredible! It all kicked off at 7pm and I sat, transfixed, in the middle of it all with trusty sketchbook in lap, drawing materials to hand and a great big ear-to-ear grin all across my ever loving face....

Hella yeah!

The video piece is from Iron Skulls, the troupe from Spain. I love how well they integrate architecture and space in their work. And this is only one example from so many good performances!

Seriously, if you get the chance, do see Breakin' Convention UK Tour. It's better than a vitamin shot! 

(A few more drawings here)

Presence & Absence

"Adam" (detail)               RAllen-Sherwood 2016

Some say absence makes the heart grow fonder. But perhaps it was written by a hopelessly romantic soul.

I've been away due to some unforeseen circumstances beyond my control.....but thankfully things are slowly getting sorted. Thus, I am grateful (and relieved!) to be back in the studio again.

Hands, detail

As a warming up exercise to stretch my creative muscles, I attended a life drawing class run by a close friend. These posted images are from that day. I wanted to document and share them because it's not often I find such strong statements of presence and absence in my work. And from life drawing, of all things!

"Adam 4"  ink & brush        RAllen-Sherwood 2016

My guardian deities of Form & Emptiness sit deep at the core of my being, quietly awaiting my next mark.

Art keeps me real.