After a Sunday morning of pointing old stone walls (filling in the cracks) here on the studio renovation, I spent the rest of the afternoon drawing from the photos of the ‘found’ cracks from the previous day.

These drawings are on A4 paper, folded to find the golden section line on each sheet, then creased along this line.

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Continuing the BlockChain The Power of Two project:

In response to Denise’s idea of revisiting the wall that ‘blemished’ her face, I went wandering this morning to the local village and on my way took photos of all the sites of imperfection I encountered. Whilst Denise is intending to conceal/hide the blemish on the wall, I wanted to reveal the imperfections I found. I am enjoying the play with the fruitless attempts to perfect and the finding of beauty within the imperfect, reducing the quest to an obsolete, as Denise says.

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Block Chain The Power of Two – Dissent Art Collaboration January 2018

This week saw the start of Block_III of the Block-Chain The Power of Two project with Chapel Arts Studios. I am currently researching in more detail the idea of unattainable perfection and the act of ruining works under the hashtag #blockchaindissentart

This has begun by recording details of decay, aging and imperfections around me, within the natural and built environment. So far, this has included washing soil to remove cracks, polishing freshly plastered walls and boarding out studio spaces.

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‘Nature is us all in the end’… Olive trees, Fig trees, Skulls & Bones, Plants, Skin, Death, Decay, Growth… This quest for an unattainable perfection… cleaning, scrubbing, improving, making, remaking, attempting, controlling, ruining, reflecting… ‘we make things – in turn they remake us’… Working in this environment: sculpting, constructing, plastering – recording the imperfections, cracks and decay.

The photos above are taken in and around my studio – glass bottles, plaster, clay soil, dirt and dust, plants surviving with very little water, growing through cracks in the old, stone terraced walls, in contrast to the sharp, measured lines of drawing boards within a box like structure.

The clay soil is dry and cracking after a long dry winter and unusually warm temperatures, I started to wash the cracks and try to reattach the soil.

Having lived and worked in Southampton for many years, I am now producing work from a completely off-grid, rural location in the Catalan mountains.

My work could be related to the theme of dissent with regards to my studio setup, out of the system, solar-powered, alternative as well as the work itself relating to certain gender stereotyping and attempting to interrupt behaviours. read more »

Fragility and the transient – immersing myself in the nature of this place, the fragility of plants yet their dogged determination and ability to continue to grow. Being this close to nature constantly reminds me of my transience. These trees have and will continue to out live me. I will do what I can while I am here to nourish, nurture and appreciate their fruit.

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It is with some urgency that I write this blog.

Work and life in the valley here in the beautiful mountains of Catalunya is peaceful, inspirational and collaborative. I have had the privilege of welcoming volunteers within the workaway project from all over Europe and the rest of the world to help here on the farm with various creative projects, working collaboratively, sharing time, culture, opinions, experiences and skills.

The peace and tranquility of the valley offers space for the creative process. read more »

Pruning olive trees to keep warm this Christmas in a very foggy valley environment. read more »

What a week it’s been here in the valley. We’ve had the absolute pleasure of hosting volunteers from around the world to help harvest the olives here at Riba Rocks HQ.

They came from Italy, Ireland, Texas, Australia, the UK and Catalunya to help prepare, pick and press the wonderful fruit creating some of the best organic olive oil. read more »

This month I co-organised the 3rd annual Riba Rocks music and arts festival here on the finca with the rest of the team plus a fantastic group of volunteers. Both from the workaway scheme and students from London South Bank University, all volunteers worked collaboratively to make this event very special filled with live performances, art workshops and creative installations. read more »