Masterclass with Paolozzi - 1996

Paolozzi having his hand cast in plaster- Edinburgh College of Art, 1996

“The golden rule is just to follow one's obsessions."

 Eduardo  Paolozzi

 "Paolozzi is all about the unexpected - as anyone brave enough to sign up for his Masterclass in Edinburgh this summer will quickly discover” – art critic Iain Gale. The Independent

Well, I signed up for this Masterclass in Edinburgh College of Art  and Paolozzi asked us to keep a diary. I did so. 

The other day I re-read it  and realised what a remarkable insight it offered into this grand old man of British sculpture.

Oh it was not easy. We had a roller-coaster  ten days when we saw Paolozzi in both his benign and belligerent moods.

Today with the ease of self-publishing  both e-book and print-on-demand  I have decided to put publish that diary. 

But first comes the difficult bit- editing the images and text.

The city that distrusts photographers

   I am great admirer of the Magnum photographers so I looked with special interest at last Sunday Observer colour magazine  (17.11.13) which carried a selection of photos they had taken in Marrakech in preparation for the worlds largest photography museum opening there in two years time.

   Two years ago I stayed in a riad in the medina and took photos. Here was a rare opportunity to compare my work with these internatioanl photographers. I would learn from them, see the opportunities I missed.

   But it was not to be. The Magnum photographers had encountered an unfriendly reception from the locals and were unable, with the exception of Susan Meiselas, to access the local community who for cultural reasons are very unhappy to be photographed.

    Well, for some reason I was able to win their trust and here is the result.

It is a city of contrasts, the old way of life mixing alongside the new:

While there I took a day trip to the Atlas Mountains, only regretting it could not have been longer:

Tap-dancing grandmother: 60 is the new 50

Anne Aiken,  founder of The Happy Tappers , gives a public performance in Stirling.

I first met Anne through the Macrobert Arts centre older dance project . She is aformer dance teacher and having moved to Stirling to be near her family decided to start a tap-dancing group here. I joined, then lapsed, then re-joined to-day. 

Watch this space!

Drawing Together

Drawing Together

“What on earth are they doing?” you may well ask.

Well this is the grand finale of a group of artists in the heart of Scotland “drawing together” using every kind of utensil you can think of from sweeping brushes and mops to household paint brushes, sponges and plastic balls using pure graphite and printmaking ink.

For we were all taking part in Perth Visual Arts Forum “Drawing Together” day at the Birnam Institute, Dunkeld.

Those of us who had travelled from neighbouring Stirlingshire were envious of the sheer quality, diversity and organisation of this artist led venture.

We have nothing like it in our area.

A number of international artists (Ilana Halperin, Su Grierson, Liz Kemp and Pat Law) spoke about their residencies in places as diverse and remote as the Arctic, Iceland, Japan and Kenya.

And one workshop run by Kate Downie on using the ipad as a drawing tool using an app called Paper53 will surely see the sale of ipads soar. Even the most cynical were converted at the end – here at last was an app designed for artists.