BATTLE SPONGE: There's a new imaginary tattoo artist in town, and she's opening her parlour soon

a pile of my tent and shelter fabric and equipment

altered waterproof jackets, made into a tree hugging device

very eerie!

it's seriously satisfying hammering in these eyelets!

the beginnings of a Calais-inspired shelter entity for those seeking emotional refuge. This idea was abandoned; the soil in the garden is very sandy and doesn't hold much, and it also rained heavily just after, and I really wasn't prepared to gather all the equipment necessary to make this last, not a strong enough idea.

dress painting

a monument to permanent movement, ironic enough as it is, and it's painted on one-life plastic sheeting.

this is the Spirit Shelterers Club

Below are the results of my impromptu painting session with some of the centre visitors on Friday. Below is mine.

And then below that are some of the group's results...

This is a snail (L) from Lewis's snail collection. He collects spiders, worms and snails, despite being terrified of spiders. Immersion therapy?! On the right is Josh's 'fossil', which is a work in progress, and the later versions are amazing! He was inspired by my book of South African homes and how people make their marks on the small amounts of personal space they have in the townships.

And this is Mario on the left, by Lewis. And on the right is a creature that I never quite found out what it is, but possibly a turtle? I got to keep that one!

Josh with his amazing fossil painting.

***

I have learned my lesson today; keep it simple when making art in a shed!

Instead of trying out new mediums such as sculpture, painting or installation, I need to be focusing on the methods i've always done and love and know well. Like printing and drawing and writing!

The work I want to produce while at Free Space is some work that will comment on, or raise interest in the idea of art as a channel to explore one's mind, or to speak one's mind.

Because of my exploration of SHELTERS and GARMENTS in relation to emotional and spiritual direction, I've been dreaming up a character, who is a sort of performance persona for myself and embodies everything I think, need, desire and fear, but simultaneously offers a spiritual/emotional exploration platform for others.

This character is a tattoo artist, clearly! Because of the power of adorning the body in inky talismans, and the ritualistic, repetitious and meditative nature of the tattooing process.

Her name is Mistress Axolotl.

Mistress - cos she's there for everyone, no strings attached.

Axolotl - this is a creature used for scientific research and can grow cells and/or (can't remember!) for any part of the body from their embryonic stem cells which stay with them throughout their life. Axolotl's symbolise adaption, transformation, and inhabitation of a new entity/space.

Possible background for group workshop collaborative warm-up piece

I am working on making prints and print-media installations/spaces that represent her tattoo practice and parlour, and that also represent the aspects of clothing and shelter that accommodate our minds.

Obvious features like this would include:

enclaves,

hoods,

thresholds,

steps,

fastenings,

pockets,

and of course decoration.

When designing my work I am thinking about aesthetic solutions that offer meditation in their execution, but also can help to define a message when applied to particular text or imagery combinations.

Such aesthetic devices/solutions include:

SYMMETRY

REPETITION

ISOLATION

DISTANCE

REFLECTION

DIFFERENCE

VISIBILITY

TRANSPARENCY.

And the motifs to which these can be applied can be extremely personal, which makes this a good subject matter for a workshop!

My own motifs are coming out as mono-prints; I find that having to draw and write in reverse is very freeing for your minds; there's less thinking about the consequence and meaning, and instead more thinking about the gesture and the subject matter itself, purely in the context of your own brain; which having studied graphic design for four years, I have been told is a cardinal sin.