Luxuriating in some, much needed, Time of Reflection

Playing in my studio

So much of being an artist is experiencing, feeling and reflecting on your personal experiences. These can be experiences in the physical world or even the world inside your head. 

………...I am currently luxuriating in a, much needed, time of reflection…………..

#Studio time #3D #collage #mixedmedia #artistplaying #feedthesenses #sensory #seriousaboutplay

A post shared by Kirsty E Smith (@frillipmoolog) on Jul 3, 2018 at 10:46am PDT

So often people think that as creatives we simply ‘make stuff’; well that’s NEVER the case! 

I need to have space: to think; to reflect; to daydream and to NOT feel time pressure. I have always said that I work in a playful way and that I respond to materials intuitively. I prefer not to overthink and not to have to explain or justify, therefore it is often difficult to talk about my work. 

I have always admired the way that, for example, Richard Slee doesn’t write about his own work. (In fact he also never answers his emails; you have to know who he shares an office with and email them and that person then communicates the message to Richard!...... But I digress!) 

That little aside gives a small insight into the tangents that my mind can take. A good friend commented, “But without your delightfully tangential thinking (and conversational habits) you wouldn’t be Kirsty”. I decided to take this friend’s acceptance very positively. 

You can never do too much playing

I have recently been reflecting on my experience of educational institutions both as a child and also more recently while completing PGCE teacher training with Sheffield Hallam University. I have been thinking about my (variably successful) attempts to fit-in; feelings of difference and how these have actually added positively to my art practice. I think that it’s an indisputable fact that interesting artists have unique viewpoints and interpretations of the world. 

I find it so much easier to express deep personal thoughts and emotions through the materials that I use and the sculptural forms that my physical art takes. Of course I understand why some people instantly see the erotic in my work but when making I stop myself from being self-critical nor shy about showing this side of myself.

Buddy (AKA Space Kitty) 

Last week I attended a Bloc Projects artist talk presented by Florence Mytum (she too uses materials which are rich in their sensory qualities). Florence mentioned Michel Serres’ The Five Senses in which Serres makes a stand against the analytical tradition of philosophy where language dominates over phenomenological experiences. Serres disagrees with the reductive tendency of logic, which says that in the hierarchy of the senses articulation through language is at the top of the sensory pyramid and tactile qualities are at the bottom. I am in agreement with Serres generally in that I do feel that, ‘we need to return to the immediacy of the senses’, and this isn’t me just being lazy about writing about my art, rather I want people to experience it …. to experience it in the flesh; not just on a screen. 

Most people can't help themselves... even if they are in an art gallery 

In my practice I push ‘touch’ to the top of the pyramid (with form and colour being close followers). 

In fact I am very happy when observers actually struggle to articulate their own responses. I enjoy when they are lost for words because their brains have been overloaded with memories, gut reactions, emotions and memory flashbacks that an encounter with my work has triggered. 

What do Artists do on their Holidays? (this is NOT a food blog!)

This me Kirsty E Smith on holiday. This is a photo of a special moment.

Two favourite books from my childhood were Richard Scary’s ‘What do people do all day’ and ‘Busy, BusyTown’. I especially loved the quite surreal illustrations; the banana-mobile and much more. There is also now a great BBC4 television series called ‘What do artists do all day’. 

Illustrations from Richard Scarry books

But here’s my question; What do artists do when they are on holiday? 

My own art is about people, connections and personalities so I suppose it isn't all that surprising that although I managed to get my dose of architectural concrete (another passion) in on my relaxing and sunny Greek holiday, what is actually much more special to me, is the unexpected and special human connections made while doing the usual everyday things. 

Yes on this holiday I climbed over a mountain in extreme heat, dived off a sailing ship, swam in thermal pools, scuba dived for the first time and even fitted in a ride on the local fun (land) train. But actually whatever exciting things we humans do each day we still have to do the normal everyday stuff. Eating is pretty everyday and necessary and shopping for food is normally a job that you just have to ‘get done’. 

However when shopping in small independent shops it is completely different. People go to those shops not only for a product but also for an experience and when it is a small personally run shop they also want to feel that their purchase is appreciated (and I should know because I did set up and run my own artisan cheese shop in the past.) 

This is me way back in 1991

Yes you can sell top quality products but great products with (on top of that) a memorable human interaction is so much more. This is what makes life worth living! 

And what better than when a customer who appreciates these values buys from an artisan shopkeeper who loves to supply an authentic product to appreciative customers. The connection is so special but also so difficult to explain but actually it should need absolutely no explanation. 

When the relationship works it works perfectly; it does not have to be explained. 
Enthusiasm is a word that is often associated with me. I can’t help it I really am genuinely enthusiastic about so much in life (and quality artisan bakery products is just be one thing that I get excited about!) 

anticipation!

Santa Irini Bakery Perissa, Santorini, Greece (Yes it really is open 24 hours a day!)

perusing the biscuits

But on reflection the root of this excitement is when I feel that I have met a fellow human being who I feel a deep connection with. Someone who takes pride in their work, works to the highest standards, values interaction with other fellow human beings and who works with integrity. 

So that’s the emotional part of this blog post over now on to some factual information and more photos!

Over the seven days of our holiday we went into the Santa Irini bakery not once a day but by the end of the holiday actually twice a day. We bought all sorts from flat rustic white rolls for lunchtime picnics, bread for breakfast, beautifully soft and delicious apple cake and chocolate cake. We ate spinach and feta pie by candlelight when we were too tired to cook ....or even eat out and we had fab picnics in unexpected places where a hunk of bread was perfect with our homemade tzatziki. We also enjoyed biscuits with jam and coconut and sprinkles to boost us before our scuba dive but also to make the airport queue much more bearable. 

take the locals' advice do not do this climb in the blazing sunshine

feet up

mid climb sustenance

Got bread and Swiss army knife...Sorted! 

we shared this...honest!

The best way to use up 'spare' greek yogurt? Buy some some delicious apple cake and chocolate pie.

Going into the Santa Irini bakery was not just about buying home made food to sustain us but actually we (my children Bryony 20 and Dominic 17) and I all enjoy human interaction such a lot that when our big baker (we quickly named him The Hairy Baker - see postscript for explanation) came round the counter to speak with us and to shake hands with us it was completely clear that he too is someone who appreciates human interaction and contact with people who connect on an emotional level. He knew that our enthusiasm and appreciation was sincere. 

a lovely moment

let's talk about bread, merino wool vests and much more

The 'Hairy Baker' is called Spiros and the bakery was first set up by his ...father... grand father...or even great-grandfather?  Anyway, it has been running since 1937 and not only is it an excellent bakery but it is also open 24 hours a day! 
This man does not sleep!!!

Postscript:
My father Andrew Kyle Imrie Smith died only a few days before this holiday. He was 91 and an amazing and very inspirational man. 
Amongst the many things that he did teach me is that talking to strangers is absolutely crucial to making sense of our (short) time on this planet. 
As a child it used to be annoying and frustrating when dad stopped to strike up conversation with a complete stranger but actually what I learned from seeing what came from these spontaneous conversations is actually what fires me up now in my own life and also what (not surprisingly) I have passed on to my own children. Already Bryony, my daughter, has started writing a blog- One Great People which (amongst other things) is about people who have touched her life while being a student in the North East of England and my son Dominic found it only too natural to join in a community Apple Crumble Celebration only weeks after we had moved to a completely new city- Sheffield.  

Explanation about the Hairy Baker reference:
In the UK there is a cookery programme called The Hairy Bikers 
It is presented by two men who not only are good at cooking but also ride motor bikes and are hairy (mostly on their heads and faces) so it seemed obvious to call Spiros The Hairy Baker. And finally when I did speak to Spiros I was especially interested in his vest. I had already guessed (correctly) that it was made from merino wool. Merino wool is chosen by climbers and people who need protection from heat and cold. I am a farmers’ daughter, I have sheared sheep, I teach felt-making and textiles so yes of course it was of interest to me; I knew the importance of Spiros’s merino wool vest for doing his everyday, ‘extreme sport’ of baking for tourists ....and locals too.

PPS. This is an experience that I hope to repeat. 

Take an alternative experience and Walk in the Mind of the Artist

The very interesting view from Gareth Devonald Smith's studio.

Places: what do they mean to us?

Recently I had an interesting conversation with poet and playwright Kevin Fegan. He mentioned that he studied Philosophy at degree level. I still don’t actually know what the 'Big Themes' in philosophy are but it was the kind of conversation that whetted my appetite for more conversations covering meaty issues. I’m interested in finding out more. I have an inquiring mind.

Something that is of huge importance to me and could be described as one of my own ‘Big Themes’ is our understanding of place, personal identity and what links there may be between these two.

For me a place is so much more than a set of GPS coordinates. There are sensory connections with a place. Being in a place or seeing an image of a place is a mnemonic and can transport me into a narrative or journey of my own making within my head.

Last May I visited Gareth Devonald Smith’s London studio. What a wonderful live-work space he has, but for me the most exciting thing was this view from his rooftop garden. (See photo above.)

How to read a view like this?

A very bizarre fairytale playground. Those little houses/ palaces made from colorful metal railings. The tree stump; whatever happened there? Ogres, giants and memories of the children’s book, 'The tree that sat down', by Beverley Nicholls’ comes into my mind. Of course the windmill must creak when the sails go round. I could now easily be transported into a scene from Hayao Miyazaki’s wonderful animated film ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’.

But of course you may have other ideas. I just know what if I was a 6 year old child then this would be my playground of choice.

Back in September I went to The Cornerstone Gallery at Liverpool Hope University to see Martin Greenland’s show ‘New Fiction’. My trek up there was definitely worth it.

Firstly the exhibition space is quite wonderful. (See photo below.) I loved the architecture. I’m not usually a fan of symmetry but here it is perfect. Martin Greenland won the prestigious John Moores painting prize back in 2006 and ‘New Fiction’ was the key exhibition within the Independents strand of the 2010 Liverpool Biennial.

The exhibition space at the Cornerstone Gallery

Not only do I find his paintings etherial and extremely intriguing, but one piece especially, has haunted me.

'Self Portrait' 2010

What inspired him to name it ‘Self Portrait’?

Titles of artworks can give an insight into an artist’s personality. Is this how Greenland sees himself? Has he painted a place which he feels symbolises his own essence? Is it a place that he feels he would be completely at home in? His architectural and natural second skin?

Does he feel that this painting tells us all we need to know about him? Does it matter that I find out? Sometimes not knowing is fine; being interested and intrigued is enough.

Well actually I’d say that the work itself has to be of a quality that you respect too. For me it isn’t all in the idea; the execution has to hold up too and in the case of Martin Greenland I definitely feel that it does.

Robert Clark’s opinion of Greenwood (as published in the Guardian, newspaper),

“An eccentric neo-surrealist .....as good a surrealist as we have ever produced in Britain.”

Falling in love with a piece of art is a weird and wonderful process and, for me, the name can play a key part in that process.

A painting that appears to be a landscape but which is entitled, Self Portrait’ is a piece that I am very likely to fall in love with.

'Self Portrait' 2010 by Martin Greenland

Another show that I thoroughly enjoyed last year was ‘Exquisite Trove’ by The House of Fairy Tales at the New Art Gallery Walsall.

There was plenty of food for thought in that show; it really was a wonderful treasure chest of fun fantasy and magic.

So how does this piece, ‘Nowhere in Particular’, by Dmitri Galitzine relate to a place?

It suggests a futuristic sandcastle or a weird half-realised outcrop within the virtual reality of Secondlife.

Galitzine’s connection with the place must have been strong enough to inspire him to make this piece? And another detail which historically signifies importance is the polished wooden plinth... Or perhaps he is taking an anarchic and provocative relationship with us viewers?

Walking in my Mind was the summer show at the Hayward Gallery in 2009. It was right up my street .

Has Yayoi Kusama (one of the artists who exhibited in this show) actually become her own place?

Her art is a representation of the hallucinations that have plagued her life. They are hallucinations that only she can see but all of her art is about making physical this world that she experiences in her head.

I loved the juxtaposition of of her spotty blobs against the Brutalist architecture of London’s Souhbank but for me this ‘place’ is still only in Yayoi Kusama’s own mind.

Maybe it’s such an alien landscape with too much ambiguity that it fails to set me off on my own fantasy journey.

The playground by Gareth Devonald-Smith’s studio 'worked' for me. (See photo at the top of this post.)

Maybe it’s the combination of incongruous components; a tree stump, some brightly painted traditional style playground equipment and a 200 year old windmill.

This is 'Colin' one of my more recent Frillip Moolog beings. He combines a piece of vintage agricultural dairy equipment, feathers (of the type usually associated with pipeband regalia), grey flannel suiting fabric and pinstripes.

Here we have a coming together of the most bizarre range of visual and mnemonic influences.

I could explain more about the walk in my mind but is this really necessary...I don’t think so. It’s best to set you off on a walk in your own mind.

'Colin' 2010 by Kirsty E Smith

And finally some words from Martin Greenland

“My painting has always stemmed from memory and imagination.......

Painting is like a walk; it is an exploration, but if I’m ‘inspired’ by a landscape, I don’t paint the places or landscapes I encounter, I paint about them........”

Mythogeography: museums, animals and Nina Saunders' installation at Tracey Neuls

No sooner had I read about Phil Smith’s book, Mythogeography: A Guide to Walking Sideways. than I found myself on my own “ambulatory adventure”.

"If you want a simple definition of the term Mythogeography, you won’t get one. It’s more about ways of doing things than a theory. It’s about experiments rather than text books. It shares some genetic material with psychogeography, just as Psilocybe semilanceata has something in common with the Tesco closed cup. Compared to psychogeography it is probably more site-specific and more to do with some sense of life as a performance. (If this sounds elusive, that’s because most things worth catching are." Phil Smith

I had got up at the crack of dawn to get an early train to London specially to attend a conference. I arrived, observed that the signage was noticeably discreet, handed my coat in and wondered where all the other delegates were. All this before I realised that I had come a whole MONTH early!
But every cloud has a silver lining and the adventures that I had on that day I feel far outweigh the conference that I had planned to attend.
I had my own mythogeographic adventure which had elements of meditation, celebration and revelation.

After a restorative piece of chocolate cake I planned my day. Alone in London with only one appointment to meet Olivier Ruellet at the end of the day….oh the potential for an adventure!

I started gently as I ambled, paused, and went back and forth between exhibits in the Henry Moore exhibition at Tate Britain. (This was a warm up for my planned visit to Hoglands later this year.)

I was positively excited as I strode up the hill towards the Horniman museum. I wrote my degree dissertation on collectors; how collections impact on the respective collector’s life and also the peculiarities & Britishness of some collectors. I didn’t plan to spend the whole day here (but I could easily have) so here are just a few visual snapshots.

I love the old fashioned displays......How big is that walrus?

I felt so like a child as I simply stood beside him. Full of wonder and quite overwhelmed by his size.

Beaks: why bother to show the rest of the birds’ bodies when all we are looking at are the beaks? It seems so wasteful; the arrogance of man. But this says so much about the era of Frederick John Horniman in the late 19th century. This is a history lesson as well as a biology one.

How exciting to see the inside of a tortoise! The underside of things has always fascinated me. That’s why I pay so much attention to the underside of my beings. See Hyacinth’s plastic grass underside and Penny’s plastic eye encrusted underbelly.

A Hermit crab; a wonderful ambiguous form…. and here’s the underside.

And now a hedgehog but displayed as you've never seen one before.

I walked on to The Dulwich Picture gallery. It was a drizzly wet day and I was avoiding the puddles as my (expensive!) boots were developing a leak. So watching out for puddles I started to notice the cracks.

I thought of Doris Salcedo’s Shibboleth that I saw back in 2008.

The mental map of my day was developing nicely; these cracks having as much importance as the art galleries and museums that I was visiting.

I had written a chapter on Sir John Soane (in my opinion, the grandfather of collectors) a few years ago but this was my first visit to the Dulwich Picture Gallery.

The Dulwich picture gallery was the first gallery to be built specifically as a gallery open to the public. Soane's design for the building includes skylights which maximized the daylight but which also ensured that no direct sunlight hit the valuable oil paintings. It has been said that Soane’s skylight designs, “ have been the primary influence on art gallery design ever since”.

Giuseppe, one of the gallery attendants, noticed that I was more interested in the building than the pictures (nice frames though!). He showed me into the mausoleum of Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois the benefactor of this collection. Giuseppe told me how Sir John Soane was on site starting work on the gallery design the very day after Sir Peter’s funeral.

I love stories and stories about people in particular. I also love how small the world is.

As I looked up to Soane’s trademark yellow skylights I would never have guessed that just two weeks later (yesterday) I would be in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter having a private tour of Pugin, Hardiman & Powell Ltd. world famous stained glass specialists. One of the many prestigious jobs that they are working on currently is restoration of glass in Sir John Soane’s Museum, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London.

Sir John Soane’s museum is a place I will visit again and again and I hope to visit Pugin, Hardiman & Powell Ltd. again as it is very definitely a most wonderful hidden treasure.

It is believed that Giles Gilbert Scott took inspiration from the mausoleum roof (see photo above) when designing the domed roof of the classic K2 red telephone boxes. Giles Gilbert Scott became Chairman of the Trustees of The Soane Museum in 1925 and designed K2 in 1924-26.
(This red phone box strategically placed in the grounds of the Dulwich Picture Gallery makes comparison of forms even easier.)

While walking you notice so much more. These window boxes filled with synthetic flowers. Nice and bright on a drizzly February day but surely lowering the tone in the very affluent borough of Kensington & Chelsea?

I marvelled at this sliver of house. I suppose it was bombed during WW2 but it is still used. Such fun .....a building as pointed as a spear. I looked in the window to see the narrowest kitchen ever.

At 6pm I positively jogged up to Tracey Neuls’ shoe emporium on Marleybone Lane to check out Nina Saunders' installation.

I entered the wonderland….The theatrical setting…..Shoes in a forest of silver birch tree trunks. And in the centre a chair which has broken free from the confines of our normal expectations of such furniture.

I have followed Nina Saunders for many years now. I grew up with Sanderson fabrics and homemade curtains. As a teenager I even made myself a dressing gown from my mum & dad’s old bedroom curtains . (I really loved the fabric).

So shoes and a mutated chair all upholstered in a reissued Sanderson classic design all seem perfectly natural to me. But the wonderful, magical and at the same time sinister artwork that Nina has created was even better than I had expected.

There was a customer trying on shoes but I was in another world. I hope that my own art takes people to the “place” that I call Frillip Moolog. I wonder if Nina Saunders has a name for the “place” that she hopes her art will transport us to?

Writing this now I realise what an interesting role that animals had played in my day of adventures.

They had been presented in such unnatural ways: Beaks in cases, a walrus on a fibreglass iceberg, tortoise shells opened like treasure chests, hermit crabs’ privacy being invaded and finally Nina Saunders’ installation presenting a jade budgie and fluffy red squirrel laid to rest in handmade shoes. This was far from cute.

I had an unforgettable “Artist Date”. I looked at things from other viewpoints, made connections, walked avoiding the puddles encountered art and exhibitions which played with my emotions and ignited my imagination.

I am on a journey of discovery; interested in Mythogeography and even more convinced in the power of art to transport us to a very special "place".

Getting the date wrong I got much more than I bargained for.

Frillip Moolog gets dramatic at Solihull Arts Complex with visitors from France and Chicago

The vinyl lettering is in a font called "Synchro". This tied in with the show card which was designed by Paul Wigelsworth.

The G1 exhibition space at Solihull Arts Complex is one where all types of people have had the chance to encounter my Frillip Moolog beings. The gallery opens onto the public library and is within the same complex as a very busy theatre. So it is not surprising that the technicians who installed the show usually work in the theatre. This made it all the more interesting for me as, while we worked together, I learnt a bit about "flying cloths", making automated horses for performances and also setting up lighting. Here Richard was completely un-phased about having to crawl into the cavity wall that we were fixing Madeleine to. Crawling in and out of unusual spaces is all part of the job for theatre technicians.


My first degree was in Accountancy. Even on graduating I was unsure about plunging into the world of finance and at that time did look tentatively into doing a post graduate course in Theatre Studies. But that was back in the 80’s and I chickened out.

I have always said that there is a strong theatrical element to my practice so it is no surprise that admirers of Frillip Moolog are often from the world of theatre too. Benny Semp , a Frillip Moolog fan and fellow artist based in Birmingham actually did his degree in Theatre Studies.
……..“Very witty, cute and sexy in places, nostalgic and thoughtful in others.”……Benny Semp

Cheryl (another of the technicians) spent time making sure that the lighting showed the beings off to their best. I was really pleased with all the interesting shadows that were cast. Shadow puppets ... another form of theatre!

As the ceiling in G1 exhibition space was much lower than the one at Westbourne Grove Church Artspace it meant that for Close Encounters of a Frillip Moolog Kind at this venue the beings were suspended at a level that enabled gallery visitors to get really “up close and personal”.

At the Private View it actually felt like the beings themselves really were involved. They had seemed to be celestial beings while at Westbourne Grove Church Artspace. Now at Solihull Arts Complex, they became more like celebrities.

It’s interesting how many people want to be photographed alongside their favourite.

Aimee Green, the Borough Arts Development Officer and Sarah Miah, the Gallery Officer were really proactive In getting outreach workshops arranged for me.

Through my AllSensesArt business I already have lots of experience of teaching feltmaking but this was a fantastic opportunity to link feltmaking to mixed media sculpture workshops.

I led sessions with children from Forest Oak Special School, Hazel Oak School and also the children who come to the gallery’s Saturday Art Club. I explained how Stan and Russell both had nuno felt (which I had made) combined with ambiguous objects (a vintage bus station down pipe and an aged galavanized draining drum). It then made perfect sense for the children to make their own mini-sculptures which combined felt with various items of kitchen equipment!

This pupil from Forest Oak School did a great job of working with the sculptural qualities of a plastic kitchen funnel. He also has a great sense of colour.

BTEC National Diploma Students came from Solihull College and we had a great session investigating objects and fabrics. They seemed to really enjoy experimenting with these eclectic materials.

Presenting my Artist Talk and also working with the Solihull College students was a great way to remind myself what I’m interested in and what I want my work to “say”.

The show was blogged about by various people including visting members of the public, Southhampton based artist Chantal Powell and it was reviewed on a-n by Becky Evers .

Becky has since asked me some interview questions. This question about future exhibition spaces has been most illuminating….. I think I surprised even myself with my answers.

"You produced a photographic project with the Frillip Moolog creations in ‘Chiptop,’ and have mentioned an interest in non gallery spaces. In the interest of site specifity where would you like to exhibit Frillip Moolog next and why?" Becky Evers

My answer to this question:

Skyscrapers:
Chicago and New York: I watched a lot of old American movies and musicals as a child. They featured sophisticated lives with no responsibilities and definitely quite different from my farm childhood. I also visited Chicago last year to visit SOFA Chicago. My mother trained at the Chicago school of floristry in the late 1950’s.

Someone from The Art Institute of Chicago visited Close Encounters of a Frillip Moolog Kind on the opening night of the show at Solihull. It feels so right for the beings to make a statement in buildings which are making a statement.

Quirky Museums:
I wrote in my manifesto (while still at university) that I wanted to make objects that defy categorization. I had at one point planned to display my degree show as a strange museum with cabinets and a catalogue. My dissertation was on Unusual British Collectors, their museums and how their collections had impacted on their lives.

I have come to realise that I collect people. The beings have their own personalities and I hope that other people will want to collect them too.

Grand Country Houses:
The beings have come from me. These are places that I like to go to. Places with sophistication, grandeur, fantasy, where I can imagine living another life in another time.

Art Deco houses (preferably by the sea):
I would love to own one and live in it myself. I’m a fan of PG Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster stories; carefree, elegant era, spacious rooms.

Film sets: But not as props definitely as stars. I have a growing interest to animate the beings so perhaps this would become much more than an exhibition and more of a performance?

Corporate buildings:
Feedback from the visitors to Close Encounters of a Frillip Moolog Kind was overwhelmingly that people felt uplifted when they spent some time with the beings. Corporate foyer and atrium spaces would be fantastic for the beings.

When people encounter the beings on a daily basis they start to form relationships with them.

If the beings could move around the corporate space/building then this would be perfect. When we encounter an object in another space we look again with fresh eyes.

"I came from France especially for this exhibition!!...Not true of course but I have had great pleasure here today. This will make me happy for the whole weekend." Christophe

What a lovely comment to find at the end of my exhibition. It makes it all worthwhile!