The Xmas BOGOF at WW Gallery, 19 - 22nd December

Really pleased to be one of the participating artists in The Xmas BOGOF at WW Gallery:

WW Gallery is pleased to present the Xmas BOGOF, a buy-one-get-one-free fundraising art sale. For 4 days only (19th – 22nd Dec 2012), WW Gallery will hold a unique sale of art works by 100 emerging and established contemporary artists.

The Xmas BOGOF features an eclectic range of works donated by artists on the contemporary art scene. The participating artists include established figures from major collections such as Deutsche Bank, Saatchi Gallery and the V&A, as well as those who have won or been selected for prestigious awards such as the Jerwood, Threadneedle, John Moores, and Marmite

The principle is very simple; all works of art are £100 and they are all buy-one-get-one-free. The sale will begin with a special private view on Wednesday 19th December at 6pm and will close at 4pm on Saturday 22nd December.

The BOGOF is a fundraising event in aid of developing WW Projects’ non-profit initiatives. It is an opportunity to invest in the on-going work of WW as well as all of the artists involved and a chance to start an art collection or build upon an existing one.

Artists: 
Alex Michon, Annabel Dover, Kate Davis, David Moore, Oona Grimes, Flora Parrott, Chiara Williams,
Boa Swindler, Rob Miller, Enzo Marra, Eva Lis, Sadie Hennessy, Jarik Jongman, Maria Chevska, Karl
England, Sardine & Tobleroni, Julie Westerman, Edd Pearman, Caroline Walker, Susie Hamilton, Perdita
Sinclair, Phil Illingworth, Kirsty Tinkler, Yukako Shibata, Claire Brewster, Paul Kindersley, Scott
Robertson, Jane Ponsford, Mike Chavez-Dawson, Broughton & Birnie, The Caravan Gallery, Inguna
Gremzde, Sarah Kate Wilson, Mindy Lee, Sarah Gillham, Mark Scott-Wood, Elly Thomas, Natasha
Bailey, Siobhan Barr, Liesel Böckl, Lorraine Clarke, Barry Cottrell, Shona Davies, Wendy Elia, Chantal
Powell, Momoko Suzuki, Florin Ungureanu, Eleanor Havsteen-Franklin, Nikki Plews, Zena Bielewicz, Jo
Metson Scott, Luke Renouf, Roman, Evy Jokhova, Kaori Homma, Marguerite Horner, Valerie Jolly, Jayne
Wilton, Gemma Cossey, Rachel Wilberforce, Kate Murdoch, Gabriela Fabrowska, Alex Pearl, Andrew
Litten, Amelia Critchlow, Judith Alder, Wendy Nelson, Alison Bickmore, Imogen Welch, Tessa Whitehead,
Jonathan Gabb, Ben Walker, Kirsty Harris, Paul Stanley, Charley Peters, Jane Oldfield, Natalie Dowse,
Kate Smith, Laurie Nouchka, Sarah West, Stephanie Wehowski, Jemma Watts, Susan Francis, Julia
Miranda, Caro Halford, Araba Ocran, Jolanta Dolewska, Lisa Muten, Corinna Spencer, Catrine Bodum,
Natasha Kahn, Peter Sylveire, Rodrigo Pires, Emi Avora, Nicky Hodge, David Kefford, Jack Stokoe,
Andrew Seto, Emma Cousin, Wendy Saunders.

One week at a time..

Activity - year 3

Activity - year 4/ week 1

I've just completed Activity - Year 3. Year 1 was laminated and stitched into one long chronological installation, Year 2  is 52 lots of of 7 acetates (each 'week' in a cellophane packet) and I am hoping to animate Year 3 in the not too distant future (not sure whether this is actually going to work but going to give it a go when I have a block of time). Towards the end of this year I got really lazy and stopped taping the paper to my digital tablet. I have decided to continue this for Year 4 - on larger paper (A4 instead of A5) which completely covers the whole tablet (I never use the buttons/ shortcuts) and instead of changing paper daily I am going to leave in place for a whole week (might even go mad and leave for a whole month...).

12 weeks later

12 weeks ago

Surface..

Twist (untwisted) - date unknown

Thinking a lot about surface at the moment - and the relationship between surface and mark (and gesture/ touch)  As usual something I've been toying with for a while but it is popping up often enough to mean I need to spend some time on it. It is, of course, sod's law as I am about to enter a very busy time day job wise. That and a few potentially life changing developments in the pipeline mean I am preparing for a lean studio time. Fast followed by Feast? - hopefully.
I was listening to the radio the other day and a couple of novelists were talking about how it takes them around 3 years to write a book. It's good to be reminded sometimes that you are not the only one whose work takes time. (I am ignoring the bit where one said he was giving up writing novels because it took too long :))

Hybrid (fade) Drawing #1 in progress..

How do you measure success as an artist?

A fellow artist Pauline Woolley (who does some fascinating work) recently asked on fb how people measure success as an artist - sales, shows etc. I've been thinking about it for a while and this was my response

My main definition of success as an artist is sustaining work and continuing to question and critically evaluate work – not to give in and just make what people ‘want’. I see it as an inevitable journey – I have to do it – so when things get tough I know I’ll have to find a way of getting through it. (I see that as success too).

Showing work is important – if I lived on a desert island I would still draw etc. as I need it to make sense of my world, but I don’t - and communication is an important element of my definition of ‘art’. Exhibiting work mean I’m not always talking to myself (which as we know is the first sign of madness!!) but I don’t want to talk to everyone all the time, and some people it’s not worth talking to so there is a selection process involved in what shows to participate in.  High profile shows are good as they can give access to a wider/ specific audience and help (on c.v. etc.) when applying for further exhibitions and opportunities to continue the conversation – but small, unknown venues can also do that. I’m aiming for an audience that is open to a dialogue about the content of the work rather than whether it will match their settee. Some of my work will never be seen but it has inevitably informed the work that will so is equally important. The ‘success’ of being selected is irrelevant to how I view my success as an artist.

Selling work – I’ll happily sell work and I’m happy when people want to buy work – but I won’t make work to sell. (If I did that I would consider myself as unsuccessful.)

When I did my degree (back in the late ‘70s) it was considered bad to get a first on the fine art course as it meant you fitted too well into the ‘establishment’. ( 2:1 was ideal as it meant you could apply for an MA if you wanted to – not sure if it’s still the case but back then you could only apply if you had a first or 2:1). When I did my MA 20 years later the final mark was not a measure of my success on the course – what mattered to me was that I moved my work forward and entered into a regular dialogue which at the time was much needed. I consider that it was very successful for that reason (I see the distinction as a result of ticking the right boxes).

The main problem is that ‘artist’ covers a very diverse range of people and different aims and objectives. A commercial artist will absolutely measure success by sales because they want to appeal to a wide range of people. I’m happy to finds a few people who get what I’m doing J.

I think it is a really interesting question - and could have spent a lot longer and written a lot more answering it. One of my day jobs involves selling cards etc. which I design and make. This is a completely separate business (none of the designs are related to work I produce as 'Kate Smith - Artist') - purely intended to make money for day to day living. I am thinking about the customer and what they want when designing products and if they don't sell - I stop doing them. Many people I know don't see a distinction -  Kate is an artist, she draws, she makes cards and jewellery. I see them as very distinct - with completely different aims, objectives and indicators of success.