THE EVE of the DRAWING DAY 2013

National Drawing Day 2013 is tomorrow - It's very near the time now, and I'm getting excited, though inevitably anxious as well, worried in case I forget something, and 'spoil the ship for the hap'worth of tar'.

Hope all goes to plan.
RuaRed have obliged me by removing those signs and wires from the window. They want the work to be left on display for three weeks - I think that's great. I'm including my email address with the blurb, in case anyone feels like making contact.

I will write/draw for ten minutes, and then rest for ten minutes from 2-4 pm tomorrow Saturday May 18.

I'm using architects plan paper which is translucent, and so will allow the writing to be seen from the back as well as the front. Getting very large sheets of  newspring needed more effort than I had energy for.

The invite to participate reads as follows: YOU can move the artist’s hand (for 5 seconds) to make YOUR mark in the work. Hope people aren't too shy. The whole idea is that my marks will be so 'unskilled' on account of using my left hand, that other's will feel encouraged.

Not long now .....

More DARK MARK

Since I last wrote, I've been thinking more about what I want to achieve with this piece.
Ideas I want to convey:

• that all marks are to be honoured(no such thing as 'I can't draw'.
• That using my left-hand could facilitate right brain access (that is to creative as opposed to logical thinking(
• That being blindfolded helps me concentrate better.
• And being blindfolded also limits visual input in favour of touch input - privileges the hand over the eye.

I had a look at the space in RuaRed where the Drawing Day is supposed to be taking place. Well, actually it is the space where we can do something for the month (May 7 to June 3) around the National Drawing Day May 18.

I had thought that I would be able to put my paper on the window, but this may not be feasible as there are notices on display there more or less permanently.

So I've come up with a Plan B - to make a frame using the frame used for Porridge People all those years ago in Ballyfermot BCFE.
I need to experiment to see if this idea will work. I will see what I can get in the line of Newsprint paper. I fancy this because I think if I use thick markers it will bleed through to the outside where it can be seen by passers-by.

Only drawback I see it that Newsprint is somewhat fragile, so I think I will need to 'frame' it, possibly with Ducktape.

AFTERMATH
I am also thinking that it might be nice to photograph the image each day, and to produce two 'details' as photos to display in the space so people can see if they can find the details I choose.

DARK MARK

After all this time, I'm going to explore a bit of this idea of 'seeing with my hands'.

There will be a Drawing Event in Rua Red Art Centre in Tallaght  in Mid-May 2013 and I am planning to do a performance which I will call DARK MARK.

The idea I have is to draw blindfolded with my left hand on a very large sheet of paper. I will do perform mid-morning and mid-afternoon for the duration of the Event, probably about five days. Each 'drawing' will be layered on the previous one, possibly using more than one colour.
Viewers will be welcome to guide my hand to make their own marks.

This is not nearly so ambitious as the original idea of blindfolding for a month. Not sure now whether this would be feasible. Haven't yet found an expert to advise me about potential damage to my eye-sight - but then I'm not looking very hard.

NON-UPDATE

Not sure what to call an UPDATE that tells you that currently nothing is happening on this front.
The only thing that happened since I last made a posting is that I heard, probably on some TV or radio programme that having the eyes covered for protracted periods might cause damage to the sight.

I emailed some opthmologists website for further information, but heard nothing back.
Anyway, this project is on hold - there's a limit to the time and energy in my life. One project per year is my comment - and I find it nigh on impossible to stick to this.

Am going to start a blog today to talk about my current piece.Sometimes it is easier to go with the flow, and do the possible, rather than be constantly failing to reach the stars.

COLLABORATIVE ART - a bit dubious about is this for me!

In the throes of the course with CREATE, and by and large enjoying exhausting myself on a project in the Docklands area of Dublin.
'Collaborating' has aspects I find difficult - like dove-tailing with other people in terms of time and energy - but it's good self discipline.
I also find myself holding back my ideas, and considering them before I blurt them out - which might be no bad thing, but feels like a 'spancial' on my inner Child.

(I've looked up that word 'spancial' but cannot find it. I don't even know if I have it spelled correctly. my father and my uncle used to say they would have to 'spancial the chizzlers' meaning they would have to restrain the children when their spirits got to high.) Now I read that chizzler is now an uncomplimentary word for an Asian person. Amazing how language morphs.

Anyway, there won't be any move on this 'Seeing with my Hands' project at least until towards the autumn as the CREATE project exhibition is at the end of April, and I will want time to 'recover' before taking on this one - which I expect to be quite intense when it gets going. I'm realizing that the present idea of five weeks wearing a blindfold won't be a picnic.
Of course, there's no chance I could achieve this level of skill. I think this guy has just amazing ability.

NEW YEAR 2011 - New Start

Well, I said I was going to wait till the New Year to make a move on this project. So here I am on Twelfth Night, getting started again.

Not sure If I wrote before about the enquiries I made about joining the CREATE Learning Development Programme. (I had deliberately not taken up the offer to be involved in this while at NCAD, but decided I would benefit from it to explore my ideas about the TOUCH VISION - Seeing with my hands project.

Not having heard anything so far, I visited the CREATE office today and it has got me all enthused again.

 I love this image from the CREATE website - wonder can I buy one of these jackets.

There is information on the CREATE website. There is a link Introduction for student artists which is well worth reading to get an overview of what collaborative art is about.

There is also a series of videos to be watched.

The person I have to talk to is away till next week, but she might email me. Am starting to get excited. Hope it doesn't end in disappointment. Suppose I have to pay because I am not still at the college, and it turns out to be very expensive ....

Art Beyond Sight Book

I continue to read the book Sarah recommended. It is a great read, even if you only wanted ideas about the effects of Art education on the rest of the curriculum.
I am really enjoying it.
Details of the book are here: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Beyond-Sight-Creativity-Impairment/dp/0891288503. However, it is a bit expensive - over 70 Euros, and only a paperback. So finding it in the library is a better bet.

There is also a website about art for people with visual impairment athttp://www.afb.org/
and an online biography of Helen Keller at http://www.afb.org/mylife/book.asp?ch=HK-intro.



There is also a selection of videos on at http://www.youtube.com/user/artbeyondsight