Buena Vista Social Club- Glasgow

Saw the film Buena Vista Social in New York so was curious to see this bunch of musicians live last night.
I was not disappointed. They played to a packed audience in Glasgow's Royal concert hall and they had them on their feet clapping, singing and dancing.

Forth Valley Open Studios

Have started to sound out people who may be interested in opening their studios to the public next year - Perthshire and Fife already run very successful Open Studio weekends.
Among the first to express an interest is Polish textile artist Ewa Kuniczak . Her website feltheadtotoe is worth checking out.

It is just one example of the vast amount of talent lurking in the Scottish hills around here.

Screenprinting - The Big Draw

My first screenprint : "Untitled"

Thanks to the national arts project "The Big Draw" which aims to get everyone drawing I got a chance to try my hand at screen printing in a workshop held at The Tolbooth, Stirling .

Our tutor, Andrew Mackenzie managed in three hours to give us an intensive introduction to the process which ended up with us all walking away with several screen prints each! quite an achievement!

We used the current exhibition of Aladsair Gray's prints as source material. After an introduction and brief history of screen printing we were taken to the exhibition and given quarter of an hour to draw an image from which we would later develope a stencil for screen printing.

I must admit that I entered the workshop feeling a bit sceptical: how on earth could be do a screen print from scratch in such a short time? Andrew proved me wrong. I m now an enthusiast of screen printing and want to find out more.

Glasgow Print Studio

Have started to prepare work for my exhibition next February and the first piece of work I want to complete is some digital prints on Japanese paper.

Well, I went into Glasgow Print studio to discuss whether it would be possible to do this on their new printer.

"No way!" says the director standing in the middle of his state-of-the-art new printing premises.
"That machine cost us £6,000".

OK he has a point so its back home to fiddle with my own printer and try to work out why some prints are coming out so heavily inked as to be unusable.

Well, I guess it is just another hurdle that those of us working with new media face weekly if not daily. Unlike making traditional art we can't ring up a friend or seek out expert advice on how to solve these problems, because nobody has ever done it before. It is a case that we all have to work it out as we go along.

Writing- fluid process

I was interested to hear on Radio 4 this morning Jeffrey Archer discuss his book "Cain and Abel" which he has re-written after 30 years. A Professor of English literature was asked to comment and he said that in future with the introduction of electronic books we are going to be seeing a lot more of this taking place.

He said:"Writing will become a much more fluid process with books changing all the time."

Well, this is what I am discovering now for more information keeps coming in which could so easily be incorporated into "The Children of Craig-y-nos" if it was an e-book instead of a printed book.

But the fact is though that we are still of a generation that likes to hold a book in our hands.

I suspect the youngsters of today will have no such inhibitions and will take to screen reading of books like the proverbial ducks to water...

Transmission gallery

Had a look at the new exhibition in the Transmission gallery, Glasgow. Almost didn't go in because I glanced through the window and saw what appeared to be a room full of empty canvases.

Glad I did. It shows the work of Berlin based artist Klaus Weber who is on a mission to highlight the problems of disappearing bees due to global changes. The canvases were splattered with bee excrement.

Meanwhile I am getting into a bit of a panic over my forthcoming exhibition - I hadn't realised that the space I had been allocated covered two floors! maybe I ought to find someone to share with.

Old technology and new technology

Iphone drawing

On train to Glasgow Print Studio I download a free e-book, catch up with emails, check out new range of camcorders and read a couple of newspaper articles, and do some drawings - all on my Iphone.

Realise paper plays less and less a role in my life so why am I dabbling in the past with arcane printing processes? the answer is that there is something very satisfying about making images on paper.

A useful analogy is cars: when cars replaced horses this did not mean the end of horses. Oh no, they became luxury objects , no longer the sole means of transport they are used for the sheer pleasure of riding today.

They even developed large vehicles, horseboxes, for carrying the horses around the country...

103 Trongate Arts centre

Off to the new 103 Trongate Arts Centre in Glasgow with some prints to be framed for upcoming exhibition, except I have some misgivings .

Am I just adding " objects" to an already overcrowded world? this is something that has been on my mind for some time so I was interested to read the other day that Damien Hirst has announced he will stop doing his spot paintings because the world "already has too many art objects".

Well it is OK for him having made his millions but what about the rest of us struggling to earn a crust?


So I will go into Glasgow and get my prints framed.

Macintosh on BBCIplayer

If you missed Mackintosh's Masterpiece on the BBC on Monday why not watch it on the BBC iPlayer at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00n0wrh/Mackintoshs_Masterpiece_The_Glasgow_School_of_Art/

(Sorry bugs in the system link should work).

Venice Biennale 2009..

Russian art. Big Russian presence in Venice - and it was good, and challenging

Wales: John Cale- disappointing. By the way this was the only sign leading to the Welsh venue. OK they had a board outside the venue but by that time you had found the place!


Just back from Venice. Bit of a curate's egg- good in places but also some very boring stuff. How on earth did they get selected? I heard of one guy who was so incensed with the representation from his country - Cyprus- that he went along to the officials to complain.

Loved the Canadian and Icelandic contribution though bemused at the Welsh one from John Cale. Why was he water-boarded? His film was in desperate need of editing...and more editing.

Steve McQueen had timed entry to his 30 minute film. At least this was very professional but it didn't stop half the audience from walking out...
Heard that he imported the greyhounds for the filming. Couldn't help feeling that this was a bit of a fake documentary, after all it was supposed to be Venice in the winter and those dogs were the key to the film. While I was there I saw pigeons, cats and homeless people.
But no dogs.

Police Box- video, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow

"You have been spotted" Ann and Malcolm Shaw

I have just uploaded this video to Youtube. Although this public art installation for the Gallery of Modern Art was done some years ago - part of my portfolio for Glasgow School of Art- I have only now got around to editing the footage.


Looking back on it now I can see that the reason it was so successful was that it involved the public and was easily accessible.
Police Box,Glasgow

Networking day - Changing Room, Stirling

Just attended excellent Networking day in the Changing Room, Stirling.

The consensus of opinion was that this was the best ever event we had attended for it was focused on the needs of artists working and living in Scotland.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was organised by the new temporary curator Emma Hamilton, a practising artist who also comes from the area.

We are all hoping that Emma gets her contract renewed.

Directory of Welsh Artists

Received a phone call yesterday to say that I am going to be included in the next edition. There seemed to be some confusion of whether I qualified for inclusion in a directory of Welsh artists because I have lived for the past 34 years in Scotland.

However, after some discussion it was agreed that I was born in Wales, educated in Wales and have exhibited in Wales.

Digital painting and Glasgow School of Art

"Knock on the sky and listen to the sound" - digital painting


One of my first tutors at Glasgow School of Art offered the following advise : "start from something organic".

We were doing preliminary drawings for sculpture. Even now when I work in digital painting his words still echo in the back of my mind.

In the case of "Knock on the sky and listen to the sound" -Zen saying -the original was a rose I had grown in my garden. Mashing it in the computer produces something equally beautiful yet hints at the uncertainty of the new digital age we are moving into.

"Data moshing": Isle of Skye

Title: "Hot and cold" Cuillins, Isle of Skye

Have begun experimenting with datamoshing of Scottish landscape.

Next book - Sully

Have started work on my next book and today retreated to our local library with my laptop in order to escape domestic life i.e. window cleaner arrived and wanted to "convert" me to his faith. He is a Jehovah's Witness. No, not first thing on a Monday morning...

Glasgow School of Art - library

Glasgow School of Art have asked for a copy of "The Children of Craig-y-nos" for their library, partly because they always want work by alumni for their collection and also, the librarian tells me, because of the increasing interest amongst students in the links between art and science crossover.

They have also mentioned it on the college

Glasgow School of Art have asked for a copy of "The Children of Craig-y-nos" for their library, partly because they always want work by alumni for their collection and also, the librarian tells me, because of the increasing interest amongst students in the links between art and science crossover.

They have also mentioned it on the college: Glasgow School of Art and Design blog

Way forward for art organisations?

Maybe art organisations should look a bit more carefully at trying to make their work not only more accessible but immersive too by enrolling members of the public.
How about asking the public to select art they would like to see?

empowering audiences

Edinburgh College of Art Degree Show

Mixed bag, like a curate's egg, the kind of stuff you expect from a Degree show. Compared it to Glasgow School of Art and the overall presentation and quality of the work not on par with GSA. But textiles excellent.

It is several years since I have been to Edinburgh College of Art Degree show and I was looking forward to seeing their jewellery, ceramics and glass exhibitions. Then I learn that they have closed except for a small jewellery department. If they had a display I failed to find it.

( Edinburgh is not alone - there's a trend away from making things in art college as everyone moves on to digital media).

Found most of the sculpture dry, academic and , well, tired....though I did like the singing shoes except I almost passed it by. Asked the girl who made them why she did not at least put a sign saying that it was an audio installation which would have encouraged people to stop and listen and she replied :"I don't care if people miss it..."

Excuse me?


Found some graffiti in the downstairs loo which summed up at least one student's experience of her four years at art college:
"ECA stole my sense of self"

That's a tragedy.

Venice Biennale 2009?...

Still debating whether to go to the Venice Biennale this autumn but after reading this review in the New York Times I am wondering if it is worth it.

http://nymag.com/arts/art/reviews/57466/