Birthday Preparations

9 am -  Today I have set myself the task of making a Matisse Blue Nude cake for Weef's Birthday. Also a second cake to take to out tomorrow night for a friend who shares the same date. A pleasant day ahead then. Step one place all the necessary ingredients photogenically on the counter and put on baking music.

12pm - Why did I think making simultaneous cakes today would be a good idea? What illusion was I under when I thought It may be relaxing? And why does the phone keep ringing? I have perfect white frosting to whip up...I don't have time to deal with other life related issues right now.

 

1pm - Assembling: snow white frosting,smooth fondant icing. Make a stencil and sort out the blues sugar beads. I was pushed for time so had to buy mixed red,white and blue selection in Sainsburys, the blue is just the right shade but separating the colours is a bit annoying.Placing the balls individually with tweezers is bliss....complete concentration and utterly absorbing.

9 pm - Task finally completed. The kitchen floor is covered in stray sugar balls, we have no supper cooked and I have to wrap presents and make a card.... All in a days work for an Artist's Wife.

Artists Books

The Artist has a new obsession that he is slowly drawing me into.Our flat is a mess of cut outs and folded bits of paper: origami is his latest porn, I return to a room to find him pouring over sites with diagrams for intricate folds, he quickly closes the laptop guilt oozing from every scrap of paper on the table. Tiny boxes are turning up in the loo and by the kettle. We discuss the pros and cons of  paper types , the advantages of short grain folding for book pages. Folio? Octavo?
This is all leading up to what constitutes An Artist Book - If I say my book is one does that make it so? Does it have to have pages? Are words vital? What else can be used to to make pages?
We both have stashes of books we have made previously, many before we met, in a time when I didn't know such a thing as artists books existed. I made little books for my daughters to amuse them and keep up the pretence that I was still able to be creative whilst full time mummying. This in turn leads me to question whether (how) one can be an artist and a mother; more folds and layers; turning corners debate, debate......  I fold a paper chooser with my choices hidden. Mummy? Artist? Wife? Baker? Gardner? Decorator? Chauffeur? Slob?
The Artist gives me a little book with his thoughts: An Artist's Wife?

That Was The Week That.....

......We had a super Private View with lots of guests and plenty of wine.

  


Then we took Darling Daughter to University...a 14 hour round trip

Followed by a lunch at the gallery for those who couldn't make the private view. 

Next  was my birthday and our 1st Wedding  Anniversary. 

One of the delightful things about being married to this particular Artist are the postcards I have received declaring his love. So with my renewed  interest in artists books I scanned  a years supply and handcrafted a little book as an anniversary gift.


......A quick spot of garden tidying and picking the last tomatoes for chutney making.

All this accompanied by a stream of phone calls from a 'Very Home Sick Fresher' . She is suffering terribly. I feel like an awful mother for making her go miles away to University on her own with only the equivalent of a small household in baggage.
Thank Goodness for the distraction of Art, I shall soothe my fraught emotions with a spot of creativity, a bit of baking, and a glass of Red, perhaps with a background of Jazz.

This weekend is the end of the show and taking down. PHEW 

Exhibition Blues

So all the hard work has been done and its time to relax before the private view. The exhibition looks stunning. Everyone is exhausted but pleased with the results. There is this odd lull now before the private view when it all feels too quiet. A space full of lovely art but empty of people; images holding their breath.

In this void I find time to reflect on the ways in which Weef and Max's works combine and contrast, with both the gallery space and each others viewpoints. Max's  black and white imagery of London, cityscapes and greenery, create a calm balance. Weef's bright carrier bag canvases feel hectic and, dare I admit it, even angry.  The portrait gallery brings together photos and drawings, combining both artists in a way which highlights the similarities in their outlook.

  

Thoughts on New Talent

Last night we went to the MA Show at Camberwell College of Arts and it prompted some thoughts on the value of an art education and where these graduates are destined for.

Robbie Porters work was exceptional; highly professional with a focus that I'm sure will bring forth many commissions. http://www.robbieporter.co.uk/

I'm not convinced that all creative talent will need a degree to succeed or that a Masters qualification necessarily implies more than deep pockets.But good luck to those graduates for trying.  

The Glamour of Being an Artist's Wife ....

Sometimes there is nothing like kneeling in a car park in East London with your scalpel to

hand and cutting out mount-board  it's so gritty.And not just ant old car park, Atlantis in Hanbury Street, really offers the most opportunity to get down with the Hipsters of Brick Lane. I maybe an Oldie but I know the edgiest parts of London.I also know that extra large Rowney Board will not fit into a Fiat 500 even with the seats down.Luckily no rain!!

A creative couple of days in the kitchen, its not all openings and private views for this artists wife.

Being Mrs Weef often involves pastry and puddings, The Artist has a very sweet tooth; he loves to eat my vanilla sponge and begs for a lick of my creamy icing. He has been a happy man indeed this week as he has been allowed to sample the wares spread across the kitchen table.