PMAG Artist in residence. Day 1

 

So today I was introduced as the Artist in residence.  Staring with my arrival at the staff entrance, security called the curator to let her know that "her artist is here". . .Well, this is very real. 

It's been an amazing day! 

Everyone I've met has been really accommodating, I've been really warmly welcomed and I've got lots of directions to focus my work, from responding to Artwork, creating a zine, writing a blog specifically for the PMAG, potentially creating work in response to the Staffordshire hoard and working with the educations teams and pinc college team. 

I'm aware of my assessment deadline and I'm really keen to do as much as I can in the timeframe I have so we've arranged a 2nd afternoon tomorrow.  The curator is happy to accommodate me for 4-5 weeks so I'll crack on and do as much as I can in that time.

The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery is a completely different experience when you're being shown all the hidden spaces that hold staff, the oil stores and the labs.  It's such an interesting place.  Everywhere you look there's an artefact or an image that holds a story.   This week's lead blog image is my research space in one of the labs - assisted by a lovely collection of taxidermied animals, in for a treatment. 

The oil store houses the most amazing collection of paintings and drawings by so many artists.  I think I may ask for another look at this as and when it can be accommodated because it's just amazing.  There are some volunteering opportunities working at the Art gallery, archiving and photographing work - something that I'll definitely bear in mind.

I'm aware that I need to keep good records of my placement and in all honesty, day 1's photos were not as great (in quantity or quality) as I'd set out to achieve -  so I've spent some time this evening with my mobile exploring my options. I work from my phone quite a bit so have sourced another that I can put in my tripod - otherwise - I end up just creating artwork with the actual tech that's supposed to be documenting it. The tripod didn't even get pulled out today, I just took a couple of sneaky selfies in different spaces.  I asked if I could take photos of the oil store but I was a little hurried and got a rubbish blurry one amongst them so I need to slow down and make sure I do, what I need to do.

I'm glad I worked in my space for the last hour and a half today creating work - I feel more confident now that I've got some work in my space. I spoke to some visitors to the museum and put out some cards, one of which a lovely lady took (a fellow artist  - although she says she's not, I can tell you she is as she showed me her beautiful painting of a mountain scene)

A child couldn't stop to chat as his parents didn't have time and were off in another direction,  but I heard him say as he left " but the drawing is good" which kinda made my day. 

John Curries stored work in the oil stores, including a self-portrait bottom left.  This took my interest as it's a soft, carefully rendered image, depicting the artist as he wanted to be remembered. In contrast to his paintings of "Molly" his mistress, who he painted older than her years in a structured way.

My research space in the staff lab - with printouts of "The witch" Curries last painting of Molly when their relationship had turned sour.

My pop up studio space, complete with business cards and art in progress. (Why didn't I move that whacking great case?   - I'd kept dipping into it for things - but I think more about how I set up tomorrow)

Studies of Molly's face - I'm trying to capture her as a 20-year-old, in the style that she chose for herself in photographs that were taken of her, rather than how she is depicted in Currie's work. 

Through my research, I've found additional portraits by other artists and another photograph so I'm referencing a combination of grainy images and very different styles of portraiture. I'm hoping to move to an oil painting working with skin tones and colourings.

Crop of a small photo of Molly in 1913.

The PMAG from the spitfire exhibition side.