Last week was half term and our
first holiday abroad as a family for three years. I decided I was leaving all
coursework and sketchbooks behind. The week would primarily be spent plonked on
a sun lounger with a book and an ice cream watching the kids splash in the
pool. After the flight (during which I mastered double crochet for the first
time but still not quite the granny square), we drove to the resort and the
Spanish sun was shining in a cloudless sky. All was going to plan for the
recharge as we changed and flip-flopped down to the pool.
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| Andalusian Blue Skies |
Switching
off my mind was not so straightforward. There were new and interesting patterns
to be seen everywhere. The strong sun cast fabulous shadows and colours seemed
so much more clear and vivid. Sunlight twinkled on the fountain and on the
water in the marina, as shoals of the fish swirled round a crust of bread.
Then
there was the beach with all the interesting little pieces of debris and shells
to discover and the patterns of the pebbles and foamy waves. I could hardly
wander past the series of ten Salvador Dali bronze sculptures we came across
without a second glance and then there were the glorious sunsets and teasing
little glimpses of life behind doorways.
Even my novel, Brixton Beach by Roma Tearne, was unexpectedly packed with inspiration. Chosen purely because it was a high-scoring read for my book club before I joined the group, I hadn't a clue what it was going to be about. Well I found it so much more meaningful than just a good yarn. Being in a sunny climate when I was reading helped I'm sure, but the wonderfully evocative descriptions of the landscape transported me straight to the beaches of Sri Lanka where the book is first set. The characters were complex and flawed and as I came to understand the reasons behind their behaviour, I was glad I had sunglasses on because this was, I think, the first time a book has made me cry!
Two of
the main characters in the book are also artists, as is the author who has
produced paintings, photographic, film and installation work. At the end of the
book, there is a really interesting section about how Tearne's novels
materialise from a visual image and how her use of sketchbooks has changed over
the course of her life. She began with a collection of thin papers pulled from
her mother's diary and enjoyed the torn curled edges and stitching holes. She
describes people watching on Cornish beaches on her holidays, making quick
sketches with whatever was at hand and writing short stories in the margins
about her unsuspecting subjects. Pages were interspersed with found objects
from the location. Together the drawings, text and objects evoked strong
memories of the experience.
When the
shop where she bought her usual cheap sketchbooks discontinued them, she was
becoming busy with her writing and simply stopped using them. The books that
she calls a 'warehouse of memory' were stowed in the loft for years. After her
first novel was published she was given a small, black notebook. She describes
how the thin paper brought back memories of the books she used to draw in, but
then feeling (as I do with a virgin sketchbook) disturbed by the uniform, clean
blank surfaces. Once she had ripped off the cover, it was ready to use!
Tearne
also talks about how she has used her sketchbooks as a kind of diary, drawing
something from the previous day from memory. Text, she says, has always found
it's way into her sketchbooks. This week I met up with some OCA students and we
had an interesting discussion on the meaningful use of words in sketchbooks.
Again I found it invaluable spending a bit of face to face time with other
distance learning students.
This time
all of us took some of our own recent work so we could encourage each other,
and discuss our concerns. I was so impressed with the talent on show. As we had
met in one of the student's studios, we also had the opportunity to try making
photograms. These were similar to the sun prints I recently did but gave a
sharper image in black and white. We were let into the darkroom, given some of
photographic paper and showed the technique. (Thanks Penny, it was very kind of
you and brilliant fun!) One of my concerns was how to present work so a couple
of us are meeting up again to see some of the degree shows that are on next
week. Hopefully I'll come away with some good ideas.
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| Photogram Experiments |
Reading List
Tearne, Roma (2009) Brixton Beach. London: HarperPress
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