Peace Painting in Norway Ønsdag

Waking up to this veldig vakkert landskapp

Hyggelig

The drive from Catrine's to visit artist Inger-Hilde Nyrud 

Heilhornet

Passing Heilhornet 

Children playing

 Meeting artist / kunstneren Inger-Hilde Nyrud at her home / hjemme and studio / atelier in Bronnoysund. 

Meeting kunstneren Inger-Hilde Nyrud in her home and studio in Brønnøysund 

With Inger-Hilde Nyrud

On the way to Herøy

Waiting for the ferry

There were three ferries to Heroy

Another Norwegian church

The Seven Sisters

 The Seven Sisters (not in Wales!) 
Waiting for the last ferry.

The Seven Sisters

On the ferry to Herøy

Vi gar til Herøy

View of the Seven Sisters from the ferry

Selfie with the Seven Sisters

The evening's meal - courtesy of the Sami people - tusen takk!

Bjorn's tent-making workshop.

Reindeer with lingonberry sauce and homegrown potatoes

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/norway-reindeer-lightning-weather/

Tone and Bjorn live and work in an old school in Herøy

"Lenin" Bjorn spends a lot of time in Russia.

Norway trip Mandag / Tirsdag

On Hallowe'en, I flew into Trondheim Vaernes airport on the first leg of the Peace Painting trip to meet Catrine and see the Peace Painting workshops.

Editing The White Poppy For Peace

Arrival at Trondheim Værnes

When life gives you Hell, go here to complain to the manager!

In Hell for Hallowe'en!

It was too wet to stop at Hell jernbanestasjon and God's Expedition

Never answer the phone to anyone called "Indrid Cold"!

The worst thing about being in Hell, was the lack of tea upon arrival!

The next part of the trip involved taking the train / tog fra Trondheim til Grong.

I had time to go into Trondheim and visit Rockheim, so this is in reference to earlier work.

Rockheim in Trondheim

Bridges / pre- A-ha legend

The mixing desk is great for exploring Norwegian bands

Lacking a Take On Me installation for fans...

Photography exhibition by Guido Harari of many bands and musicians.

A-ha in the 1980s - I'm sure these photos graced many an issue of Smash Hits!e

A-ha in the Rockheim Hall Of Fame

Trondheim

Trondheim

The fjord at Trondheim

The fjord near Trondheim

I was fascinated by the way the water melted its way to the shore.

En norsk kirk

By the time I got the bus from Grong, it was dark.

Arriving in Terrak

I was greeted by Jens at the bus stop, and he showed me around Terrak on the way to Catrine's hus.

Catrine's norsk hus

Arriving at Catrine's hus - it was dark when I arrived, so this was taken later. The stars were incredibly clear up in North Norway.

With Catrine for Peace Painting

Meeting Catrine for Peace Painting and hyggelig :-)

Exhibition Payment Guide

This week was the announcement of the a-n Exhibition Payment Guide

which seems like two years of hand wringing whilst ignoring Article 27 of the Human Rights Act

Article 27.
 

(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author

The way this is avoided is by the bureaucracy of arts council grant applications. Expected to spend ages writing out lengthy applications for funding, only to be rejected anyway for spurious reasons. The DWP have taken a similar approach for welfare benefits, see I, Daniel Blake, and Portrait Of Ian Duncan Smith With Bandaged Nose.

An artist cannot produce work without funding. Or they can, but that work is by definition a form of self-imposed slavery. This blog, for instance, does not in any way generate an income. Which is why I stopped even writing this blog. I felt that I was contributing to my own slavery. I still do, and I disagree with it completely.

So the arts council reject your funding application and colour it with flowery language to obscure the reasons why, or their abject discrimination.

I was invited by City Arts to exhibit with them again next year.

This is conditional on a number of factors. One is the success of an ACE grant application to produce new work.
I have asked them their exhibition payment policy, and they are very keen to cite that it isn't a gallery exhibition space, but work is for sale, so sales generate an income for exhibiting artists. 
But Portrait Of Ian Duncan Smith DIDN'T sell, so for me, this wasn't successful, and is based on a lottery. It's unlikely I'll take the risk next year, when my youngest son finishes college, and I'll be in a similar predicament with another drop in income that I can ill afford.

On top of that, I may have to deal with changes to self employment.

Portrait Of Ian Duncan Smith With Bandaged Nose is already obsolete, now that it's been a while since Stephen Crabb replaced IDS, and then the new Work And Pensions Secretary Damian Green, who no one seems to be consulting about the careers and livelihoods of artists.

And I have been unable to develop any new work without funding since 2013, which is a direct human rights abuse, as outlined above.

I took on a zero hours contract job as a Bikeability Instructor, as I was being forced into taking on a part time job to pay the bills in lieu of arts council funding. There are pros and cons to this work.
The pros are that I am provided with uniform and admin is done on my behalf. I have CRB clearance to work with kids in schools, and an opportunity to teach without being a full time teacher, and it's fun.
Cons are that the work isn't enough - I was looking for a job for 2-3 days per week on a good salary, with all the stability that would provide to not rely on Working Tax Credits any more.
It's a zero hours contract, and I have to wear a cycle helmet, even though I disagree completely with wearing them.
Another reason I haven't given it up, is because unlike the arts, I go to work, do the job, and then I get paid. I don't do the work, exhibit it, and then still have a huge overdraft that no one seems to care that I have or not, nor do they offer any solutions to how to get paid.

The biggest con is that while I'm doing this work, I have less time to do my art work, which I cannot do anyway, because my time is wasted biting my nails wondering of the bills are going to be paid.

Leonardo Da Vinci at Nottingham Castle

Today I was in Nottingham to pick up Portrait Of Ian Duncan Smith With Bandaged Nose from City Arts.

He wasn't selected for Nottingham Castle Open, however, I suspect this is because he's a one - off, and I thought about it, if the Artist As Carer As Artist project is funded, this will give me the opportunity to produce further work, which I can submit along with Ian for next years' Open.

So I got into Nottingham Castle for £2. Adult ticket price is £7. I paid £7, then went to look at the Da Vinci exhibition before it closes later this week.

Here are some photos I took, including obligatory Internet cat pics.

Whilst walking back to the train station, I was collared by some people doing market research, they said there'd be a fiver in it, so I went in, did the market research and got a fiver. 

£5 for 20 mins. Times that by 3 (60 mins) and it's £15 an hour - I could've charged them my artists' day rate, but I did blag some power for my iPhone as well :-)

Cat sheep obviously existed in Leonardo's day.

This reminded me of the Tin Tin shop down the road!

This was how I transported Portrait Of Ian Duncan Smith With Bandaged Nose from the train station to home.

Dutch style.

After looking at the Da Vinci work, I spied through some doors to see people busily installing this exciting looking exhibition, and was invited in to have a sneak peek by artist Karina Smilla-Bobinski, so I may return once it's installed to have a look!

Peace Painting Project / Norway trip

I finally have everything booked for the Norway trip, so it's exciting!
But I've unfortunately missed Magne Furuholmen and Queen Sonja's exhibition at Paul Stolper Gallery in London.
I'm also missing Queen Sonja in Trondheim, as she is opening Trondheim Kunsthall on 20th Oktober.

This week, Portrait Of Ian Duncan Smith With Bandaged Nose has unfortunately not been accepted into Nottingham Castle Open.

I suspect that this is because they expect more than one artwork, and this was a one - off painting.
So I'm off to Nottingham to pick up the work - he is still available for sale at a slightly reduced rate (taking off City Arts' fees).

I have a lot of Bikeability work over the next two months - October to November / December, which is good.
Whilst at Hartsholme Academy, I saw that they have a brand new art room, so I went to have a look at what the kids were creating, with support from TA Amy; looks like the kind of space for Peace Painting :-)

This week, news that people with long term health problems will no longer be subjected to ESA assessments is small fry, compared to the devastation that cuts are still imposing on the most vulnerable.
But I'm feeling overall less stressed than I was. 

Back To Work

Due to slight delays, the Norway trip is postponed until November, which gives me time to properly plan it without other distractions.
I will now be in Hell on Hallowe'en! But luckily, Hell means "luck" in old Norse.

I've been invited to an Open Call for an empty shop  project for artworks made from discarded materials, so I am working on a proposal for this.

For this work, a Guy has been constructed from the shredded remains of a mis-sold Orange business mobile phone contract from 2012, and old clothes.
He will become disgraced BHS owner Sir Philip Green (or as some have dubbed him, Sir Philip Greed). An anonymous mask has been fleshed out with packing material to make the head.

Sir Philip Green / Greed

Penny For The Artist?

I am hoping to source a wheelbarrow to make into his yacht, the BHS Destroyer!!
The Hallowe'en section of The Range has every colour wig possible - except Sir Philip Green's hair!!

My fingernails are still bitten to shreds, but this news might help to ease some worries - been panicking over Tax Credits as Portrait Of Ian Duncan Smith hasn't sold - I'm panicking that by the end of A Journey exhibition it still won't be sold, and my overdraft remains to taunt me until Christmas.

In other news, see my ad in the Lincolnshire Reporter

Norway trip

It's been tough keeping up with work since my youngest son finished college back in May, so work is very intermittent, and has dwindled further now it's the summer holidays.

I'm taking some time out to concentrate on the graphic novel and plan the trip to Norway for the Peace Painting Project.

So far, the Norwegian Embassy have confirmed there's a grant available for a trip to Norway to meet with Catrine to discuss the Peace Painting Project, which is good news, and it's exciting to think I'll soon be off on my travels again to explore a new part of Norway, up in Nordland, where the Peace Painting Project is organised.


Of course, Portrait Of Ian Duncan Smith With Bandaged Nose is still exhibited at the IMH in Nottingham until September.

It will be in September now, and I should be able to fly to Trondheim, then take a train and bus up to Bindal. 
This is quite an adventure!

Aside from expecting some magnificent scenery, I am expecting to meet with two Norwegian artists in connection to the Peace Painting Project.

Exciting!

Meanwhile, I'm still continuing with my graphic novel Cloudbusting, and spent last week putting together a proposal for a new experimental piece for Green Man festival to build an actual Cloudbuster as a large scale experimental sculptural piece.