Soul searching – Page 6 – THE SCULPTOR'S WIFE

Love and other drugs.

Sunday saw the start of yet another bug in our household, a really nasty one that has my eldest and I still suffering on the sofa. So, it was nice to see this piece ‘Patience’ back home though restored after the fire and looking highly polished and reflective, looking very different to before. Patience, so needed when you are poorly. Especially as it was the start to the holidays and I had lots of things planned to do with the boys.

'Patience restored' — ‘Patience restored’

This week’s illness has really taught me to be much more patient and gentle with my eldest soon who is ever so often fighting off illness. It has really taught me how to be a bit more ‘motherly’ in my care towards him. I am quite a believer in the body’s ability to naturally fight infection and also that it is our bodies way of purifying. Not in a negligent way. I give the children calpol but when the doctor insist there isn’t anything stronger needed, I don’t really push for it. Although, I am starting to get a bit concerned about how frequently we get poorly in our household. When it come to being poorly I am all for the love and homeopathic approach. Perhaps also because it’s not long since that due to lengthy nursing and two pregnancies i couldn’t take strong medication. However, I have indulged in a Lemsip and a few adol (paracetamol) and that seems enough for me.

My sister-in-law in Egypt who is a pharmacist, really noticed the different approach when she was here in December sent me a message. She sent me a message asking how we all were, so I gave her our weeks account of our illnesses. She wrote to me, ” oh you poor girl, take one of the antibiotics’ I brought you and a pill for flu and an adol pill and you will be fine in an hour, you amaze me you English people with your patience about sickness!!! Move off the sofa and take meds now! I had to laugh I now understood my Husband’s lack of sympathy. He had told me to take medication. If there is a simple solution to a problem then that is the obvious solution. I can understand it, when you see your child particularly suffering you want to just get them better quick. In Egypt they can’t stand illness and suffering and pharmacies are a business where most sold items are medicines not cosmetics. My sister in Law thinks it will require 50 years or more till the medical system is one like here, “Souls are not yet so valuable”.

So I did a little research and here is why we don’t dish out drugs easily here….. “Studies from around the world have shown that between 40 and over 90% of antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary. In many parts of Africa, where antibiotics are commonly available from unsanctioned providers, it will be worth educating the general populace about the consequences of irrational antibiotic resistance.” ‘Antibiotic Resistance in Africa’ (Iruka N. Okeke* and Anibal Sosa†)

The Department of Health in the UK advocates that;

Antibiotics are losing their effectiveness at a rate that is both alarming and irreversible – similar to global warming.

Urge patients and prescribers to think about the drugs they are requesting and dispensing.

Bacteria are adapting and finding ways to survive the effects of antibiotics, ultimately becoming resistant so they no longer work. And the more you use an antibiotic, the more bacteria become resistant to it.”

Antibiotic resistance is not new, but more action is needed now to tackle this global problem if we are to keep pace with its development.” (Professor Dame Sally Davies)

The UK is leading the way in responding to EU calls for action, with the development of a new cross-Government Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy and Action plan, which will be published by the Department of Health next year.
The strategy will champion responsible use of antibiotics, and build on ongoing work to:

slow down the development of antibiotic resistance
maintain the efficacy of existing antibiotics
develop new antibiotics and alternative treatments
investigate the link between antibiotic use in animals and the food chain, and the spread of resistance in people
minimise antibiotics entering the environment in other ways

So I do believe it has reason to exercise patience when poorly, strengthen our natural defences and immune systems but most importantly in educating and developing an understanding into the problems with using antibiotics. Sometimes the quick fix isn’t the best long-term solution. So despite the best laid plans for this weeks holiday and my initial frustration with having to stay put, I also learnt that some times laughter, lemsips and love are the best kind of drugs!

Transmission

Finally after several months of making and writing I can publicise the maquette for the FIRST@108 PUBLIC ART AWARD under the theme of transmission. Last night saw the preview and opening of a three-month exhibition for the five finalist. This is my husband’s piece titled; ‘Evolution’

Description of concept

This sculpture is under the name of ‘Evolution’, showing the development of the changes to our body caused by the powerful effect of life’s energy transmission inside us. My idea is presented by 7 individual sculptures, each piece representing a minimalistic shape of the human figure in seven different stages of life.

Each piece is represented in an individual shape, height and colour, enabling the viewer to separate every stage but still seeing the whole concept as one piece. As though it is a single wave depicting the energy within us, a wave of transmission.

The individual stages show the physically changes our body goes through in order to maintain or contain this energy. The 7 stages are: Infancy, Childhood, Teenage years, Adulthood, Maturity, Elderly and Death. These constructions will be made from steel, and by using high gloss colours makes the sculpture appear weightless but remains strong to withstand the elements.

This sculpture will have a minimalistic contemporary and an architectural appeal to connect with the viewer and allow them to see the message behind the concept. It has a child friendly appeal to encourage appreciation from a wide range of viewers.

This transmission within us doesn’t see culture, ethnicity, education, religion or any difference between us. It is within us regardless and we all share this mysterious transmission that is able to change us in a short period of time. Some of us are unaware of it; some of us take it for granted, some of us neglect it. This piece shows how powerful the energy which is transmitted through our life is and that our similarities are more inspiring than our differences.

For more pictures of the evening take a look at Sam Shendi Sculptor . Now we have to wait until March For the interview and to find out who wins the prize of making the maquette in full-scale for the forecourt at The Royal British Sculpture Society and a solo exhibition. Of course I am totally biased in believing my husband should win but his idea is inspiring and I believe art should be inspirational. There is a deep message behind the work yet it is playful and appealing. Our eldest son understands it, loves it and people of all ages want to know to think which stage they are in. Yet beyond all that is the mysterious transmission itself. The energy that keeps us living.

Snow ‘Sculpture’ Man

So the boys are either blessed or disadvantaged to have a father as a sculptor when it comes to making a snowman. However, I must say I have seen some amazing works of art posted on Facebook of what I presume must be parents constructions from the snow. The boys were given their little tasks or packing and tapping into shape. There was a little dispute over the hat choice. Wonder if you can guess who it was who chose this one, Father or Son? I think if we had been in a garden or field rather than a yard we may have had a more stunning result. It is also far too cold for the Egyptian though. This was impressive enough and is still standing. We did all ventured for a sledge afterwards and then warmed up with soup. Super.

Uncertainty

I am setting myself a little challenge. In 3 days time I will have been blogging for 2 years. It is amazing and confusing as to where those two years have gone. Swept up in the daily life of being a full-time mama and ‘Sculptors wife’! Not only that, I have three blogs to write to reach 100 blogs. So I am giving myself a bit of motivating to try to write every day, which isn’t something I usually can do, but must, in order to hit 100 blog posts on my 2 year blogging anniversary, if I can use that expression.

mmmm………..The uncertainty of it is finding the right images with writings and relevance and having the time to sit and write!

This piece, so aptly titled was one that was well and truly lost in the fire ,as unlike most of the other work it was made of recycled materials. I could create a competition to ‘Guess what the sculpture is made out of’ …The rest of the work is slowly being recovered and a busy schedule is starting to look promising for this year ahead.

This time of year can create the feelings of uncertainty. The year ahead lying before us unknown. Why it makes us more prone to renewal and rethinking I am unsure. For the first time the ‘New Year’ had no real meaning for me. I was in bed early and I didn’t have a feeling of expectation or disappointment. After all, it is just another day. The marker of time is not really that significant, it isn’t actually 2013 now, the world has been in existence for far longer. ‘Today’ is really all that we have, yesterday is gone and can no longer be changed and tomorrow. Well, we have to wait and see what unfolds.

Then & Now

So much is happening I haven’t had chance to write. Actually, I have had time to write I’ve been reading instead. No, it has been busy and is very busy. Last week, it was London again for the private view of ‘THEN & NOW’ which is currently showing at the Royal Opera Arcade Gallery. It always preoccupies me, that thought of when you are in a moment it is the ‘now’ and if you really savour the moment it can become an ingrained memory. Becoming the ‘Then’. When significant things or extraordinary things happen it is a little easy to do. For example, I can remember when I was in Japan stood on the balcony of the Leonard Cheshire Home where I was working and looking out at the trees and thinking, I may not be here again, I must remember this. I do remember that, although it seems like it was a different person then to the one sat here now. Now, this morning, I told myself must savour this day with my 5-year-old off school unwell. MMMmmm with a 2-year-old unable to have his afternoon nap it got a little chaotic to say the least. Not sure my mindfulness was in full focus as the day went on. May well not go down as one of those remembering days. Partly also because I got increasingly stressed trying to sort out ferry journeys for the next exhibition this week, Amsterdam. Here, I come….I wish. Perhaps, for me these exhibitions will be in the future, ‘then’.

Block

I am having a bit of a block, writers block, thinkers block, life block. Not really ‘a bit’ then is it, it’s a block. Full stop. I am mostly blaming the clocks going back this week. It’s a clock block. The darkness seems to have enveloped everything, not that I am wanting to sound depressing. I quite like the cosy cuddle up, stay warm inside, hibernating time. However, the clocks do seem to be playing tricks on me and my two boys. They are waking up ridiculously early and I feel like the time has been extended in the morning and then compressed at night, literally overnight. Which, to all intense and purposes is what ‘the clocks going back’ is all about. Anyway, I am not intending on talking about clocks and herein lies my problem. I feel I have lost my thread a little bit. I feel I am unsure about where my voice lies.

My husband has always said he doesn’t like visiting galleries, which can be a little frustrating but I am starting to understand. I didn’t think writers would feel the same as artists. Reading is inspirational. However, the more blogs I read the more I get a little bit bewildered as to where I am going with my own. I end up reading and not writing. I am also approaching the 2 year blog mark which is a scary thought, where has the time gone? I am back to the clocks again.

For me writing is way of having free-flowing speech, without interruption from within and outside. Sometimes I hinder myself by almost choking on my own words. When I do speak I feel they hover in speech bubbles hanging on for dear life, just outside of the corners of my mouth. Or they just don’t get out because it takes too long for me to get to the point succinctly and so the other person just carries on speaking. I am not complaining about that, I like listening. I am a better listener than a speaker, not going to be running for election in the near future. So writing has that gift of being able to go back, change, alter, pause, think and then in this case click. Publish.

Writing is a way of unlocking. I have captured some quiet time and just sitting and writing has unblocked me ‘a bit’. For all of my babbling about my own selfish pursuits. I do not mean to detract from the purpose behind these pieces titled. “Freedom of Speech”, we used this title on one of our joint paintings, ‘Freedom of Speech, blind to the truth’. These three pieces are three blocks. So very symbolic of where I am at the moment. A block with a lock, a bolt and a key (hole). Sometimes we can speak, talk, write but we are unaware of what we are seeing right in front of us, around us or globally. We have the gift of being able to sit and write and publish but others do not have a voice or a means of expression for whatever social, political, economic reason. We must take the time to think, to write, to express. We have the time.

Inside Out

‘Autumn days, when the grass is jewelled’ has been our anthem to this month. We have sung it nearly ever day and have been able to spend some time in lovely autumnal sun, exploring. The light in the early evening has given some beautiful wintry skies and the fresh crisp air has really blown away the summer blues. Having said all that we have had a lot of rain too, the ground is muddy and it is nice to feel snug indoors. Autumn has become my favourite season, and it has inspired me to do lots of sorting out like a spring clean.

As a sculptor, work can be outside or inside. As I write that I realise all art can but perhaps in some ways sculpture is more celebrated outdoors. My husband has two pieces outside but the rest all have ‘the will to grow’ to be in a public space. The image here is ‘The Nail’ which celebrates the nail making in the town it is situated in. I have been reading a book set in Neanderthal times and has really made me think about how we have progressed and developed in so many ways but in the process lost our connection with the earth. We have become indoor people (well some of us) but we have the comfort of our homes,when there would have been a time we spent all out time outside.

The Keyhole Family who were standing in the window of the hair salon (see earlier post) have wandered across London to a menswear store Browns (Browns blog). Whilst my husband was there setting up the window display he casually looked at a t-shirt. “Good choice” said the sales assistant. “It’s Japanese”. It had a £2000 was the price tag. If we think about our survival, how we have journeyed through the ages, astronomical doesn’t even convey the expense. Meaning has lost all impact. Like the ‘arrow man’ we have lost our direction. Which way are we heading?

Some people spend ‘astronomical’ amounts of money on clothes and beauty without thinking about the need to beautify themselves from the inside. Others concentrate on beautifying themselves from the inside and forget that sometimes first impressions count. As with everything balance is so important. Like our bodies, our minds too has a need to be outside or inside, reflecting within ourselves or spending time with others. Sometimes we can’t quite express what we are thinking and feeling inside. I often wonder how well we can know others or how they can know us. We like to think we are individuals but we share so much of the same emotions. For some it’s all a bit ‘upside down’ for others a bit ‘inside out’, we are all trying to find direction.

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Thought I’d better sneak in a cheeky post just to bump up my August posts stats to 2. However, I still haven’t got a clear enough head to think about quite what to write about and which images to put up. We have just had some fabulous new pictures taken and some of the work I have already posted about is transformed by the higher quality of image.

Makes all the difference. It’s amazing how a different perspective, another view-point or angle can show you something you didn’t see before. Obviously, I am not only talking about a sculpture now. This summer has been busy and yet quite at the same time. The school holiday and the dynamics of having both boys at home everyday, a mix of weather from very hot to almost wintry and Ramadan has made for a quiet, reflective very home based holiday. With lots of thinking and still some to do so I can re start in september, like a new blogging year. I will leave you this to ponder on…

Balance

Life is about balance. I went away this weekend for the first time in a long time , just me, no boys. I went on an amazing hen weekend. Wake boarding! Not only did the break realign my balance, the active outdoor adventure and the stimulating conversation with other woman was a great re energiser.

Speaking with the other ‘girls’ made me realise how woman are always trying to balance all the different aspects of their lives. As my friend, bride to be was one of my rowing friends most of the woman there had some connection with rowing at Durham, Oxford and GB Rowing Olympiads. Some trying to still fit in rowing whilst others had parted ways and started new adventures. With the Olympics approaching and all the buzz around it, the athletes will be trying to find a balance to remain composed before they start the ‘big race’. Some use the race as an analogy for life, but in that sense we need to think about where we are heading. We need to stop and take stock, reflect in the moment and re address our balance.

Windows of antiquity

It’s interesting how shop windows are designed to pull people in where as in our homes we put up blinds and curtains to stop people looking in. Understandably of course, we don’t want to attract people to peering into our windows. It makes me reflect on the beautiful Japanese homes I visited where the garden would be in the centre of the house and the walls would slide to let you open out into it. I don’t recall windows. Almost like little boxes with moving window walls.

I have often thought about the expression ”our eyes are windows to the soul”. For a painter the eyes are symbolic of romance, passion, mystic. For a sculptor the eye is always dead, whatever the scale of the sculptor ‘s ability there is no way of creating it. Perhaps that is proof enough that our soul is visible through the eye.

To contrast from my last two blog entries, not so locally, in Kings Road London ‘Pregnant’ the piece by my husband has been positioned cleverly in the centre mirroring the geometric shapes in the painting behind (Andrew Burgess). Quite an impressive window display. Ralph Waldo Emerson so eloquently put that,” the eyes indicate the antiquity of the soul” this is so much more expressive. There is something, rich and fine about antique objects and to indicate the depth of soul in such away gives more meaning than simply a window.

The piece stands out within this antique setting as the modern colours are bold and vibrant against the classical soft browns and blues. With the universal rules of mathematical proportion but the quirky playful touch reminding us it is modern day.However, it is not lost here. Like some futuristic object that has found a home amongst fellow works of art, its antiquity resonates. A real masterpiece in the window. It stamps Egyptian style, drawing on the antiquities of the past.

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