Last post?

This is probably my last post despite it not being my last week. I will be travelling for the next 2 weeks and am not sure how well the Internet works in other places.
Tomorrow is my show and I have been beavering away in the studio trying to be ready in time. We have international dignitaries coming which adds to the pressure and unlike home, an exhibition here is a big event. No joke, I'm expecting half of Cyprus.
I have 3 pieces of work to show and I'm really happy with all of them so it should be good night. The weather today must have been in the 90s and so the evenings are balmy and perfect for our show. I'm exhibiting my work with another artist, an American, who works in computerised media and sculpture. Our whole show, titled Boundaries, will rely on light and shadow and looks to be a great success.
Saturday sees me leave Lempa. I will be travelling to Nicosia, the divided city of the north. (Half belongs to Turkey while the other to Greece) I plan to stay in the north until Tuesday/Wednesday when I head to the south to Larnica. I will stay one night at the colleges other premises. I have been asked to do an artists talk for the students there and perhaps do a few crits before flying out of Larnica and meeting my family in Paris

Wednesday 10th October

It's raining today. It's rained for three days, Cypriot style, with lightening, thunder, and wind. There is water running down the roads and waterfalls that cascade through the roof and along the floors. This place is in such bad repair that too much water and it'll cave in!
Thank goodness for the car. I feel liberated. We've been on several jaunts to the mountains, north coastal towns and legendary sights.
And work is progressing now and at speed. The chairs are finished and I like them a lot and I've started a new project. I have decided to take my drawings of the Wall of Lempa and reproduce some of the figures in 3D. I'm manipulating fly screen mesh which is luscious, like a fabric that is stiffened. In my head I plan to use spotlights to produce shadows. (See below for my first experiment) It may work?!!!
I have a date for my show here, the 18th October. It will be together with an American, Karen Niemczyk, and the title of the show is Boundaries. Apparently it's a well known venue for seeing good art and people do come. Lets hope so.
I will leave here the very next day or that's the plan at the moment

Week 3 Wednesday 3rd 0ctober

I'm now officially one of the locals! The taverna is full of old Greek men who play cards and I'm expected to join them ..... often! I enjoy it but when i want to work it is somewhat difficult to avoid when I need to pass the place to get to the studios!
Work Is going well and I have a new partner in crime. She's an American called Karen who makes electronic instillations. We have decided to collaborate for a show that we will be putting on right here in Lempa. Below is one of my leggy chairs. It took me ages to make it as I have only a saw to cut the steel (which are extra dense construction bars) and the 100 year old welder is totally different to the one I use at home! I'm also in the final throws of completing a bamboo leggy chair which is meant to highlight the cypriot north/ south divide.
Karen and I have also decided to hire a car which arrives on Thursday. This will enable us to do some sightseeing in the mountains and further along the coast.
I have to say that I recommend the life here. It's still extremely hot preventing me from working in the afternoons however the days start early and finish late so plenty of work can be achieved meanwhile you can swim and hang out with the locals in the afternoon, bliss!

Wednesday 26th September

It's now a little over a week since I've been in Cyprus and already it's hard to believe that I haven't lived here for ever!
Work has begun and I'm also in the throws of sourcing not only materials but tools as well. Everything here is, rustic, broken or non existent. I met with renown artist, Stass Paraskos, who runs the Cyprus School of Art and he invited me to add to the wall of Lempa by making a sculpture. In order to " release" some materials and in true Cypriot, no health and safety style, he began demolishing one of the older sculptures here. The site was one to behold, a man in his early 80's who looks like Captain Pugwash, hammering a 10 ft sculpture made of wood from its struts. If it hadn't have been for the volunteer handyman who just happened to come around the corner at that moment, I reckon it would have landed on us, and some of the parts were very heavy! I now have a pile of rotten wood, just good enough to go on a fire AND a project!
I have also managed to do a little sight seeing. I visited the mosaics at the archeological park in Paphos last week and today visited the Tombs of the Kings. These remarkably well preserved tombs look more like underground Roman villas and walking around the site it's as if someone has pealed way the surface so that you can look down into history. I returned hot but inspired and I now know which direction my work is heading.

This just about sums up my news. So until the next time, keep well
Dx

Wednesday 19th September

Time is like water. It moves at its own pace, can't be held onto and is difficult to quantify.
I've been here 3 days but it could be a month or even a year. Such is the way of the world!
The College is situated on the outskirts of the little village of Lempa on the SE side of the island. It is no more than 15 minutes walk from the beach but has a commanding view of the coast from its lofty position on the hillside.
The studios and accommodation were originally abandoned buildings that historically belonged to Turkish families before they were rehoused up north as a result of the division. They are basic poorly maintained but hold a quaint charm of there own.
The studios that opened in the late 70s have hosted students and visiting artists from around the world, some famous ( eg Rachel Whiteread) most less so. All come for the culture and the chance to co- habit with like minded individuals.
It's taken all this time to begin to acclimatise. It's hot, there are mosquitoes, I have no car and we are a little off the beaten track. There very few of us here which has its advantages and disadvantages plus the facilities, tools, materials and technical expertise are non existent!
I am only just getting my head round making some work. At the moment my aim is to make a contribution to the Wall of Lempa, which surrounds the studios here and is now a listed building ( pictured)
For now though I'll sign off and look forward to updating you all next week
Much love Dx

3 Days to go

A year in the planning and suddenly it's 3 days to go!

I'm heading to The Cornaro Institute of Art / Cyprus School of Art, which is located just outside Paphos on the west side of the island of Cyprus. I have been awarded a residency there based on on a  cultural research proposal I submitted last November.
Cyprus has a fascinating history and it seems to have been occupied throughout most of it! At the moment it is a divided country with shared ownership between arch rivals, Turkey and Greece.
But its not just politically that rifts appear because Cyprus is divided in other ways.
Ownership of agricultural land works in a feudal system whereby the land is inherited and split equally between the children which can create issues. For example, a farmer may have  one hectare of land in one place and his next over a mile away! The logistics of farming is a nightmare. The upshot being  that each generation of the farming community is weaker economically and financially  poorer with no obvious foreseeable changes in sight.
Wealth also splits the country with those who live in the cities or near the sea being relatively comfortable while many of the rural population are below the poverty line. The under developed transport system is largely responsible for this and vehicles are expensive to buy and run which in turn leads to the difficulty of locally harvested foods reaching buyers.
How many other divides are there? Gender, age, locals v ExPat? Who knows but this is my initial ideas for inquiry.
I have to admit that I'm no writer so this will probably the longest written entry I'll make, however I will keep you informed of any interesting Cyprus info as I find it. For the most part though  the blog is a visual diary of the place I'm working in, the work I make and maybe initial ideas for future work.

In the mean time, it's all mad here. I'm running around like a headless chicken trying to sort out what I need to take to a remote spot in the Cypriot mountains!
I'm leaving my 3 beautiful boys to fend for themselves and bloody hell do I feel guilty (and boy are they rubbing it in.) Oscar has his 16th birthday while I'm away and I'm reminded of the fact on a daily basis! Am I really a shit mum?
This week has been a frenzy of goodbye coffees, dinners, drinks. My lovely friend Nicky put together a bag of essentials for my trip which I must share with you. Apart from a large selection of travel size toiletries, I had chocolates, a mini bottle of chardonnay. (she knows me too well), a female titillation novel which needs no intro and a travel hug. It's the hug that I love! In the coming weeks I'm sure I'll have fun, but right now I'm as nervous as hell and welcome your hugs and input who ever decides to read this blog in the future.


I aim to post once a week so Wednesday/Thursday will see me back again struggling to write a vaguely comprehensible blog. Wish me luck, I miss you all already
Dx