06/12/2010 by James.

From December 2010 I will no longer be adding to this blog but will be blogging from a new site at -

www.jamesaldridge-artist/blog

You can continue to visit here for information on past projects, but please update your bookmarks or sign up for email updates to keep up to date with my new blog.

Both my website addresses will remain the same -

http://www.jamesaldridge-artist.co.uk

http://www.creative-ecology.co.uk

Posted in Art & Disabiltiy, other art, Museums & Galleries, Learning/Teaching, College Lake Residency, events, environmental issues, Blogroll, 5x5x5=creativity, me & my work, projects, Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

17/11/2010 by James.

Yesterday saw the launch of the four installations at College lake, and a great morning it was too. Lovely to be able to share our finished work after beavering away on it these past few months.

I thought I’d add some images of the other three artists’ work here now that I’ve had a chance to see it first hand. Before I start, here’s a nice photo of the four of us outside one of the hides -

First up is Martin Prothero -

‘Martin Prothero is an artist exploring our human relationship with the natural world. He does this by totally immersing himself in a place: living in one location to fully experience it as an integral part of the natural ecology, not as a human visitor’

These slightly blurry images don’t really do the work justice, but hopefully give an idea of what Martin has installed in his hides - glass plates which have been covered in carbon and then left for animals to walk across and leave their marks - beautiful.

This one is patterned with hundreds of little mouse prints

Insect and Badger Prints

Lynda Cornwell’s work (www.lyndacornwell.co.uk) at College Lake explores the way that birds see, using paintings of ultraviolet markings to show details that are not normally visible to the human eye, and prismatic film on the hide’s windows that illuminate these markings with rainbows.

The rainbows also followed me out of the hide and onto the nettles outside when I  opened the door - I think Lynda’s research and the resulting installation is a really interesting example of art/science crossover.

And the last of the other three artists is Stu McLellan (www.stumclellan.co.uk) -

“I’m a painter, illustrator and creative workshop leader, with a whole lot of other experience in between, including therapeutic horticulture, stints in offices and warehouses, on an organic farm, volunteering in an ecohome and sitting in a toll booth between England and Wales - some of which were opportunities for doodling on an unprecedented scale. “

Stu’s installation uses hand drawn imagery in a graphic novel style to explore the past, present and future of the reserve, adding detail, visual interest and humour to the inside and outside of the hide.

Outside… and inside

 I love these little details

And then there is me, I’ve put plenty of images of my work in progress as the project went along, but here’s some of it in situ and being interacted with by everyone at the launch event.

I’m sure you’ve got the message by now, its a lovely mix of work, responding to the same environment in very different ways.

And apparently its not going to stop there either. Alistair from Outdoor Culture, who put the project together, is going to be working with a photographer and a poet to create a publication from their creative response to the reserve, so keep an eye out for that too - www.outdoorculture.com

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29/10/2010 by James.

Here’s few photos of my artwork in progress for the College Lake bird-hide installation.

These photos show the display-case constructions that I’ve made from vintage luggage, using imagery of the reserve’s industrial past alongside illustrations and objects relating to the species that live there now.

I’m installing these four adapted suitcases and two large map-based ieces in a couple of weeks, so more pics to come of the complete installation - exciting!

The four artists installations are going to be launched on the 16th November, and will be open to the public from then on, so not long to wait to see everything up and running.

The other three artists, with links to their own websites are - Martin Prothero, Linda Cornwell and Stu McLellan.

Here’s a bit more information via Alistair from Outdoor Culture -

Our artists and two hundred children have transformed the interiors of four bird hides into works of art that reflect and enhance their setting and purpose.  This is functioning environmental art re-imagined for the 2010s..

James Aldridge brings together found objects, historical data, vintage luggage and manipulated maps to explore bird migration and industrial heritage.

Martin Prothero creates new work by enabling the plants and animals of the reserve to draw directly in the soil and represent themselves as art.

Lynda Cornwell illuminates the ultraviolet markings of local birds and insects with shifting rainbows of white light reflected from the sun.

Stu McLellan plays with the format of the graphic novel to portray his hide as a portal to a surreal and surprising universe.

Posted in College Lake Residency, Museums & Galleries, other art, environmental issues, me & my work | Print | No Comments »

07/09/2010 by James.

A few thoughts today about living-art, art/horticulture, and the old chestnut, what makes ‘art’ art anyway?

Its part of a continuing focus for me, at what point does an artist (me) working in another context become something else? Because I am working for someone else and fulfilling their agenda, does that mean I lose my identity as an artist? When does socially engaged practice in education become teaching? When does ecological art become horticulture, forestry or environmental science?

It seems to me that a lot of the most exciting artwork runs the risk of being mis-identified and ignored by the art community, and that we as artists run the risk of limiting ourselves by worrying about going too far away from whats accepted as art and so losing acceptance or visibility. So artists scuttle back to the art world after a foray into education, ecology, etc, often failing to embed their practice within these sectors to promote permanent positive change.

When I’m talking about all this by the way, I’m including myself in it, and am exploring thoughts or ideas rather than making judgements.

I’m really interested in how artists can, and whether they need to, remain ‘artists’ whilst working within the social realm, and if they do, whether this re-inforces the idea of art being somehow separate from society, in a bubble of slight uselessness, optional and easy to put away again when funding gets tight. Or (and this is my preferred option), if it promotes and celebrates the idea of artists as positively fuctioning members of society with a key role to play within it.

I made some jam a couple of days ago, for the first time ever. I felt really excited to have gone for a walk, picked some damsons from a hedge (remaining trees from vanished orchards that used to cover the fields at the base of the downs), brought them home, and made jam.

I felt so inspired that I had followed a process that combined walking in and learning about landscape and nature, that I had done something practical and physical, that I had made use of a free and sustainable resource, and that at the end of the day I had ended up with a very tasty end product.

Now that combines most of my interests and passions, and I’m sure would make a great creative learning / foraging / cooking project, but is it art? Does it matter?

I guess it matters because I need to know where to talk about it, who might fund it, who else is doing similar work. Growing plants, foraging for wild food, and following fruit/vegetables from field to plate is a really valuable learning experience, and one that many people never experience.

I’ve planted trees with people, gone for walks with people, had conversations and danced with people, and that’s all been part of my art, so why not cooking, foraging, gardening and eating?

I guess what I’m looking for is a balance. I want to embed art within ecosystems and communities, but I want to hang on to an identity of being slightly separate. I want time to wander, make and think, to step outside of systems and then sneak back in again.

I guess I want to have my art and eat it (sometimes).

A couple of interesting links on artists & organisations working in the areas of art / horticulture / food…

EastFeast - http://www.eastfeast.co.uk

Avant Gardening - http://www.avantgardening.org

Any more you’d recommend having a look at? please add them as comments, thanks.

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18/02/2010 by James.

A few images of wrapped and bound objects that I’ve been gathering together for inspiration, as I return to work that combines found objects and materials as evidence of place, and of a multi-layered, multi-sensory experience of the world.

(left to right - Gail Rieke, Craig Roper, Chris Drury and Diana Cooper)

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15/10/2009 by James.

I’m doing some teaching as a visiting lecturer on this course. Its ideal for anyone looking to get into working in a participatory way in the arts. Here’s some more info from UWE and a link to the course pages…

 Graduate Certificate in Participatory Arts and Media Professional Practice

Earlier this year UWE launched new accredited continuing professional development courses aimed at arts graduates or those working in any art form with groups in education, healthcare or the community sectors.

Apply now! For the second module in Participatory Arts: Methods and Approaches -
Open for applications on the 19th October and closing on the 20th November 2009.

Each twelve week course is designed to fit around the practitioners’ lives and work, participants can take three modules in any order over the three years to obtain the Certificate, or take just one or two of the modules for their own personal development.

We’ve even found a way for you to get up to 50% off the price this year!
find out more at -

http://www.uwe.ac.uk/sca/courses/community_cpd.shtml?mxmroi=14861901/2237193/false

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03/09/2009 by James.

Here’s some information for your diaries on the Dia de los Muertos exhibition and auction; raising funds for the charity from the sale of artwork made by a group of invited artists, and based on the Mexican ‘Day of the Dead’ festival.

As you can see from the list of artists involved, mine will probably be a little more affordable than the rest.

Exhibition dates - 27th October to the 1st November 11.00 a.m to 5.00 p.m at The Proud Gallery, Camden

Artwork available to buy via the Mencap website, from the exhibition or by auction at Bonhams, Knightsbridge on 11th November

Other artists exhibiting include -  Craigie Aitchison, Tracey Emin, Gillian Ayres OBE, Martin Parr, David Birkin, Matthew Williamson, John Keane, Hilary Simon, Roberto Gonzalez Fernandez (RGF + DDT), Carlos Diez Bustos, David Trullo and Stephen Wright

Should be a wide range of interpretations on the theme, so worth a look even if you can’t afford to buy…

More info nearer the time on the Mencap website

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28/08/2009 by James.

Just framed my work for this exhibition. For more/larger information and directions, see the link below…

http://www.bathartistsstudios.co.uk/gallery.html

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27/08/2009 by James.

I went to see Kurt Jackson’s exhibition at The Victoria Art Gallery yesterday. I love the immediacy and energy of his work, the mixture of quick pencil text, paint and the odd found piece of rubbish mixed in. The exhibition documents the flow of the River Avon from Bath to Avonmouth, with Jackson’s paintings capturing snapshots of his time at each place. Its definitely worth a look if you are near.

 www.kurtjackson.co.uk

It made me think again about whether I want to use my work to document specific places in a more direct way too. I used to focus a lot more directly on particular places, for example by creating a book documenting a particular walk. Some pieces still draw directly from my relationship with areas such as Savernake Forest, Salisbury Plain etc, but generally I like to allow my experiences of those different places to mix and merge in my work as they do in life.

After all, when you go home to your garden, watch tv or walk the dog in the evening, you don’t build a wall between those experiences ones at work, you make connections between one experience and the next.

I want that sense of interconnection to pervade my artwork as it does my research within learning, creativity and ecology. ‘Nature’ is everywhere, and is everything, and as a part of that, I want to keep blurring boundaries and fusing materials and imagery, reaching through to an interconnected reality rather than representing some kind of distant ‘other’.

I suppose I feel torn between a need for my work to go beyond the specifics of place in communicating a sense of the bigger picture, and wanting to express the wonder of feeling a part of a place and setting up a dialogue with it through making. Maybe I don’t need to choose, maybe the way I think will always determine how I relate to the world around me, and will come out in my work anyway, whatever form that takes.

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06/04/2009 by James.

Just opened - an exhibition of PAWS community arts projects in Wiltshire and work by the artists who run them, including images of artwork by me and the participants on the Recycled Sculpture projects that I have run over the years through the PAWS scheme (set up and funded through the four Wilts District Councils).

1st April to 25th April 2009 - Arcadia Lounge, Arc Theatre, College Road, Trowbridge, Wilts. (Open during performances - phone box office 0845 299 0476)
www.arctheatre.org.uk

Also touring to The Pound Arts Centre in Corsham, Wilts from 1st May 2009.
poundarts.blogspot.com

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