Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Ipad drawing made by sixteen year old Sarah Holliday - her first drawing on an ipad.
Impressive.

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

I had intended to keep a running blog on the Open Studios only it turned out to be too hectic. As soon as the studio closed there were special events and private viewings to go to plus Glasgow School of Art Degree show.

Well, the dust has now settled and it’s Monday. All the feedback is very good apart from a few hitches like council officials taking down our notices (seems it is illegal to put up notices on the road). This was a real pain for one artist because they had decided to close the main road leading to her studio for repairs and the only way she direct people to her studio – was to put up new directions.

I had a fraught couple of hours trying to sort that lot out.
Oh yes another complaint was over opening times. This is a real problem in rural areas where people might have driven a great distance to view work only to find that some of the studios in the area have decided to close that day. We did attempt to persuade artists to co-ordinate with their neighbours on this buy it didn’t work so I guess we have got to be a bit firmer next year.

On a personal level I am more than pleased with this years Open Studios because I made a conscious decision not to sell “stuff” and concentrate instead on giving people an experience and something to think about. It worked better than I expected but the downside was that at the end of each day I was totally shattered. Everyone stayed between 1-2 hours and some even came back with their families!

Most popular were the inter-activity sessions where people were given my ipad to draw on and I sent it on email to them so it was waiting when they got home. The teenagers who visited went straight to the electronics – no surprise there. As for my box, which became known as the “old age” box, this proved surprisingly popular too and led to many animated discussions. I asked people to write down on a small piece of paper what growing old meant to them. The only person who refused was a doctor!

Challenging ideas of older people - rock group

This is a clip from Steamer Lane, a soft rock group of retired professional men who performed recently in Stirling. They are my first participants in my project Time of our Lives which challenges how we view older people and the expectations people have of us.

Are gardens works of art?

Dominic Clare | Image | Artists talking | a-n

Ann Shaw | Image | Artists talking | a-n

"Strong" image inspired by online emotional testing kit Moodscope.com
Ann Shaw | Image | Artists talking | a-n


Waiting for the winds of 70mph ripping through Scotland to drop off before I go over to Delta Studios with work for the Forth Valley Open Studios exhibition.

I am submitting an installation, “Mobile Art”, of 100 images created either on on my iphone or ipad .

Last year I sold my iphone images for £5 each.
They proved to be very popular but they were certainly not cost effective considering the work that went into them for they were individually printed and mounted on foam board.

Also I was very uneasy with this arrangement then for I seemed to be trying to stay with one foot in the traditional print world and the other in the digital.
And succeeding in neither.

So this year I have freed myself from the tyranny of trying to produce conventional art for sale and I am giving the images away for free – in digital form sent either to peoples mobiles or computers.

I feel a lot happier with this arrangement since the images were designed on an electronic device and should be viewed on one.


David Hockney recent exhibition in Paris abandoned canvas altogether and he showed work created and shown entirely on electronic devices. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11666162

No sign of winds dropping so will video the storm instead and go to Delta Studios tomorrow.

Tracey Emin - on radio

Heard Tracey Emin talking about her work on radio this morning. Whatever you think of the quality of her work you have got to admit she is sincere about it and she connects with the public.

She's a strong woman and I have got a lot of time for her. And she is usisng her art to make serious social comments.

Her high public profile owes a lot to her communication skills - yet another example of how important it is for artists to be able to talk about their work. Gone are the days when you could sit back and say " I am an artist. The work speaks for itself."

Today art is about a lot more than selling decorative work to hang on walls.
If you want that then go to Ikea.

A-N interview on email

I mentioned to some friends that I was doing an email interview ( for A-N magazine) only for them to be very dismissal. They do them all the time. Seems these are common journalistic practise these days.

Interviews conducted over long boozy lunches have long been consigned to the history books but I had not appreciated how virtual interviews have become the norm.

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Steamer Lane ( from left to right) David Martin, Alex MacCambley and Alan Forrester

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n


Time of our Lives…challenging perceptions of older people

We were just about to start filming the soft rock group Steamer Lane on Saturday in the middle of Stirling when they started: the South American pan pipers with all their amplifiers going full blast.
Try competing against that!

I had this tremendous sense of deja- vu. Ten years ago in my Degree show at Glasgow School of Art I had installed a sound installation “Duet” of birds singing and a cat purring. It was a lyrical piece and it was set up in the Loggia, top of the Macintosh building.

Suddenly from the “Hen Run” adjoining I hear shots. The student next to me had installed a Western style shooting gallery as his degree piece…. I had to find a new space sharpish.

Well, we did get the filming done, once the South American players stopped for an early afternoon siesta but this is one of the problems when you are working with sound and in a public space.

You have got to be prepared to think fast and find solutions.

Forth Valley Open Studios -brochures

Our brochures have arrived and they look fantastic. Committee members went away tonight armed with box loads of them. We have worked out a distribution list for the whole of the Forth Valley plus Edinburgh and Glasgow.

All studios will each receive 100 copies too so hopefully this will help raise awareness of our event and encourage visitors.

Now the publicity ....

Rosy Naylor of Platform Designs | Image | Artists talking | a-n

Rosy Naylor of Platform Designs | Image | Artists talking | a-n

this is our new poster to advertise our Open Studios event in June. It is with the printers and we hope to have it back along with the brochures by the end of next week.

Open Studios poster

New project - "Best of Times"

I thought it would be a good idea for this year 's Forth Valley Open Studios to give myself a project with a tight deadline. Well the deadline is certainly tight - it's only weeks away - because I have dithered about the best way of doing an " art and ageing" project.

So, I have decided on a blog that looks at the many positive ways that people these days approach this time of their lives often in ways that challenge the stereotyped images that surround the subject .
You have only got to open a newspaper to see the ageist language used : " oldies" " old folks" "old age pensioner ".

The blog "Best of Times" invites contributions from mature bloggers .
Also I am doing a photographic /video installation showing positive images of those who are 60+

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n
Ernest Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea in this observatory/writing tower he built for himself next to his home in Havana.
Visitors are not allowed inside so I took this photo from the doorway while getting drenched in a tropical thunderstorm.

GMAC and Cafe Flickr

Just heard that Cafe Flickr, the monthly open cinema for new film makers run by Glasgow Media Access Centre in Glasgow has closed for at least six month.

GMAC has let the space out as offices!... seems they have got some serious financial problems.
In fact they have even let out their editing suites.

Travel blog- caribbean

Hi! Check out my new multi-media travel blog based on recent visit to the Caribbean.
I have used text photos and video. Bit of a struggle for a non-geek like myself but did manage it.
If I can anyone can ...

Ann's Caribbean travel blog

Why the peculiar name? As a child I was known as Titch and in the last year I have taken twittering under the name of Titchtwitter.
Thought you would like to know. Or maybe not...

Hope the link works. I am doing this on my iPad and it lacks some functions like being able to highlight sections and paste web links.
That said the iPad is the best gadget I have had for years . It allowed me to make an easy digital diary while in the Caribbean - bigger screen than an iPhone and not as heavy as a laptop. In fact the ideal travelling companion.

And I no longer have to carry books and magazines around . It's all online. In my handbag.

Video - Havana, Cuba

From hot to cold
Here's another piece of work based on my visit to Havana. This time I have mashed the video in my computer to create a film with a totally different feel.
Yet another experiment on my part.

guests.future.mov

Youtube link to Cuban dancers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAKnULKLstk


Still trying to figure out what it is about my work that suggests some folk may be upset by it. For months now when you google my Youtube channel it comes up with a warning.

What can I do about it? there's nothing there that could offend anyone.

Tropicanna nightclub- Havana

My channel on Youtube carries a warning that the site contains material which some people might find offensive.

I cannot figure out which videos they might be referring to since most of them are simple recordings of everyday events at which I happen to be present. The rest are either quirky or fall into the "arty" category.

This video, made on a recent visit to Cuba, was made using my new Flip camcorder which I bought online for less than a £100, its in high definition, dead easy to use, slips into my handbag but the sound quality is lousy.

Mexico- Mayan ruins

"The Waiting Game" - Tulum, Mexico
I took this photo on a recent visit to Mexico. It was terribly hot and it was the last photo I took at the end of a long and exhausting day exploring some Mayan ruins.

Only when looking through the files on my return did I realise that it had some unexpected qualities like the repetition of the curves of the iguana with that of the two figures and likewise the shadows replicated in both.

But it was the sense of something eerie and sinister about to happen that caught my eye.

Most of the stuff I shot in Mexico was video which turned out to be a disaster because I was using the much hyped Flip camcorder yes it is easy to use but it lacks a stabiliser and the sound quality is dreadful. Oh yes it is in HD and the colours are amazing.