Highgate Cemetery

one of my top weird things to do in London.

Small Publisher's Book Fair London

light-trap press recently had a stand at the 9th International Small Publisher's Book Fair London. We were able to show twelve labours, The Night Ladder and holding Job's hand to the many people who visited our stand.

Up coming events

Poetry Reading:


National Library of Wales Aberystwyth with Keri Finlayson lunchtime 10 November

Date: Wednesday 11 November
Venue: Menzies Centre, Australia Centre, Corner Strand and Melbourne Place, London
WC2B 4LG
Cost: Free
Please rsvp to frank.bongiorno@kcl.ac.uk for details

light-trap press will have a stand at the London Small Publisher's Fair ... 13/14 November. Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1 (tube: Holborn) Main Hall, open 11am – 7pm. Admission free. Readings (including one by Angela Gardner) 14th Nov afternoon.

Current drawing project at UWIC

I've been working in the studio at UWIC School of Art...exploring the sensory and graphic elements of the written as visual language dislocated from the sign-specific meaning of words themselves. This is seeing whether theories that originated in linguistics such as Julia Kristeva’s argument for the materiality of language through the gesture of writing have a correlation in visual language. I've also been thinking about Derrida’s absent/presence narrative and the silence of spaces whether it can be interpreted as the artworld’s ‘negative space’. How do writing and drawing relate to each other? Obviously I have a lot to learn about linguistics but thinking about how these concepts translate in the studio is proving very interesting. Drawings in the sequence are currently titled "Out of Sight (of thought)" Drawings are in unfinished works in progress.

Derek Jarman's house and Dungeness

Had a wonderful few days with Laurie Duggan and Rosemary. Laurie took us all the way across the other side of Kent to visit Derek Jarman's house and Dungeness. Strange and wonderful.

Brommies

We're seeing a different side to London - yes we have got ourselves folding bikes - serious fun. If the weather holds we are aiming to ride to Greenwich to meet up with poet Cherry Smyth. Most of the route is via the Regent Canal...we've already headed West to Little Venice, this time we'll be heading East.

NightLadder (after)

To have a look at the book works made from offcuts of the Night Ladder project by artist Caren Florance see her blog Ampersand Duck

Shoes on holiday

Just to show how far a gifted pair of shoes can travel here are some photo's from my recent roadtrip in Portugal and Spain. Thanks to Belfast artist Angela Ginn for the now well travelled shoes.

My poem Three hours out from Heathrow has been read on Radio National's Poetica...if you want to listen there is a podcast.

I've just spent the day at the Alhambra...I am speechless.

Currently in Portugal. Picked almonds and figs yesterday. My friend Wendy has hurt her arm so I am doing the driving...we are driving to Spain tomorrow hoping to make it to Granada and visit the Alhambra. I am writing a poem (of course!) hoping for it to become part of a new Iberian manuscript....along with some poems I had written around a previous trip to Madrid.

In Wales tonight!

Been a busy few days, first picking up the books at Llanfyllin, a poetry reading at Whitchurch Library in Cardiff, off to see a Iwan Bala exhibition (highly recommended) and last night to see Tim Minchin (humour like that makes you proud to be an Aussie).

When I leave the Clouds - Billboard

Have a look at: the QUT site to see the latest public art installation from light-trap press and artbunker.

Cherry Smyth walks on water

This miraculous eveent took place on a visit to Crom castle. It was witnessed by Angela Ginn, Angela Gardner and Lauren Crux.

Recent Rain

There has been quite a bit of rain in August - fine for staying in the studio or at the writing desk, but a bit difficult for Miles and David who are filming or for painters wishing to go out au plein air - the air has been anything but plein! Just to give you an idea here are some photos of Annaghmakerrig Lake. You will see the floating jetty is now an island. I was going to take a photo of the water level gauge but couldn't find it - missing presumed drowned!

A Reading, Recital and Open studio evening organised by myself, Clodagh McGuiness and Angela Ginn. Readers were Lauren Crux, G.C. Waldrep, Gerard Giux, Angela Gardner, Cherry Smyth, Belinda McKeon, Henri Cole, Mona De Pracontal and Mark Roper. Recital by Francesco Turissi on piano in the Composers Room followed by a demonstration of techniques on various European and Middle Eastern drums. (sorry no photos from that). Then the following artists openned their studios: Clodagh McGuinness, Angela Ginn, Debi O'Hehir, Janet Pierce and last but not least Cynthia Moran (see seperate post below).

Readings, Recital and Open Studio evening 21 August

Here are photos from Cynthia Moran's open studio. Annaghmakerrig's oldest reident artist working hard at 79 years of age. She often works in stone but is currently making macquettes in clay.

I 've been sent a photo of me reading at Annaghmakerrig a week or so ago. Photo taken by Miles Lowry the poet, artist and all round theatre person (is there nothing he cannot do?)

Conference papers for Traditional and Emerging Formats of Artists Books: where do we go from here? (9-10 July 2009) are now published:

http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/conf_trad09.htm

Blue Bus Poetry Reading Series

A very enjoyable night of poetry readings from Laurie Duggan, Elizabeth James and myself at The Lamb in Lambs Conduit in London. A very good crowd (full house) on a warm Summer evening.

The following day I went to the Tate Modern for their Futurist exhibition and having seen it believe that the Russian/French take on it was much more interesting. They seemed to have divested themselves of some of the more chauvanist and brutal aspects of some of the Italian practitioners - unnessary because the art wasn't necessarily made more interesting because of it. Laurie made an interesting comment about Modernists actually believing in the machine...though from the looks of it the machine of war did for some of that optimism.

I was particularly impressed with the room of British Vorticists Wyndham Lewis, Jacob Epstein and David Bomberg who were more than holding their own. I wondered having seen it whether Bomborg's painting on show had any influence on the battle paintings of Australian John Brack. It just struck me that the use of the geometric planes to stand-in for the figures reminded me of the massed pencils in some of those Brack paintings.BTW Epstein has an interesting large-scale concrete sculpture in the nave in Llandaff cathedral in Cardiff which I am familiar with that dominates the space in a very satisfying way.

Views of the Hudson published by Shearsman

I go up to London via Dublin tomorrow for The Blue Bus poetry reading series with Laurie Duggan and Elizabeth James:

at The Lamb, 94 Lamb’s Conduit Street, London WC1, in the
upstairsroom, on Tuesday 18th August, 7.30. This is the
twenty-ninth in THE BLUE BUS series. Admissions: £5 / £3
(concessions).

I will be reading from Views of the Hudson which is now
available from Shearsman. For more info see:

http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2009/gardner.html

An artists book I assembled but haven't sewn together yet charged worlds. I have been writing a series of prose poems (new thing for me) entitled Notes to Young Architects.

Third and last day in my borrowed studio though Dr Pat Donlon the Director of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre has said they will look out for a studio for me when I get back from London. Basically I am attempting to use the rhythm and graphic qualities of writing while dislocating it from the sign-specific meaning. Instead by layering and overworking, I am hoping to come to an abstract composition that utilizes the words without being swamped by them. I am also interested in the negative space created between lines of text (both from calligraphy and typeface will come later when I get an opportunity). Although I'm using pen/brush and ink I can see that this idea also lends itself to printmaking techniques. This is just a start i am hoping to continue with the drawings when I next get a studio to play in.

Cover and detail from "shape intention". Cover Red and black ink on elephant dung paper sewn with green thread, inside pages Red and black ink on glassine paper.

Cover and detail from "spark". Red and black ink on elephant dung paper sewn with green thread.

three artists books

Cover and detail from "stop". Red and black ink on elephant dung paper sewn with green thread.

Details from the latest drawings

Here are some details from the drawings - all done in pen or brush in ink on elephant dung paper which is uncoated.

Time in the Studio

After writing writing writing I have now got the loan of a studio at Annaghmakerrig and a pen nib stuck into a twig from Irish artist Gabhan Dunne. So yesterday I got the work I had previously done but not able to look at or finish up on the walls. I also got lent thread and a needle so I could put together some artists books that had been formenting. I have got the studio (#6) until Friday while Gabhan goes out drawing on pure white Bristol paper...not quite what I am doing with the elephant dung paper I brought from Dublin.

Music and Readings at Annaghmakerrig

Elizabeth Greisman's installation at Annaghmakerrig

Went down to Dublin for a few days to see a production of Sheridan's The Rivals at the Abbey Theatre. It was in preview so any of the cast seeing me sitting in the stalls with my notebook would probably be worrying about me being a critic! Also got to the national Gallery of Ireland - hadn't realised they had an early Velazquez and a Vermeer. Also got to see a William Scott - a British painter I have admired for years. I hope at some point to also have the opportunity to go to the Hugh Lane Gallery. I also got to buy some more of the elephant dung paper I have been working on - drawing loosens up my thinking. The photos are slightly unusual views of Dublin.