Sundries - sketch

Sketch of cover for proposed publication 'Sundries'.

Described as following:



Sundries by Florence Wild

Sundries
Various items not important enough to be mentioned individually.
Extras in cricket.

Sundries as an idea came to me from some pieces of advice my father gave me, via facebook chat, after I asked him if it were better to take the path of job as job, or career as lifestyle? Work to pay the bills and devote your free time to your interests, or make your interests into your career? 

The initial reply

“Follow your dreams and be true to yourself.”

-        -  That’s not actually that helpful

“Oh.”

But he expanded on this cliché, and I realised that I should listen to my father more often.

“yeah it is a hard question. You dont want to feel that you are treading water or sinking in to hole that you cannot climb out of. Exploit all of the things you do to find a direction or added value, like writing about travel for instance - change the creative direction to find a new edge.”

And

“Even writing about Sweden and publishing in NZ, or the otherway around, just sharing ideas with others and giving with sincerity not just for commercial gain.”

The two main points which struck me were to 'exploit all things you do to find a direction or added value – change the creative direction to find a new edge; sharing ideas with others and giving with sincerity not just for commercial gain. 

One idea for a physical manifestation of all of my different thoughts has been to create ‘environments’ for want of a better word – spaces with furniture, artworks and patterns I have created residing harmoniously together. Sundries is a two-dimensional manifestation of the same concept – juxtaposing texts, photographs and sketches into cohesive thought patterns over a series of pages. 

All of my areas of interest collide at one point – myself – as the generator of these ideas. I strive to create connections and patterns between these separate things. Exploit all of the things you do to find direction. Sundries offers a gateway into my thought process and enables a reader to create their own links through the words and images included. 

A series of essays or short texts primarily on my life in Sweden and thoughts around art. Texts I have written to accompany shows, and pieces from The Tally Ho. Failed proposals.  

How does that sound??









 



Making things




     



































I am working on things. The library gets in the way. 9-5 drudgery which drags on as I tell students where the photocopy rooms are and how to return books correctly. I spend time meant to be working doodling ideas on post-it's, which are then ferried home and drawn up on proper paper to I can take a step back and have a look at them. It all feels so insular, isolated though. Perhaps I actually need to verbalise these ideas instead of just writing them down. But these sketches are going to turn into actual physical things: I am going to build my first piece of self designed furniture, print my first fabric design, I have some grandiose plans for something I have named 'The Rocky Road' doorstop. (you'll get it when you see it - it's a pun).

I type this lying in bed with a throat that feels a grazed knee, unable to do a hell of a lot except read books and eat grapes. But it feels good to know that I have a vague idea of what I want to do with my life. I want to make things.

Untitled (press)






[click images to enlarge]

images of a recent and unfinished 'work on paper' I have been focusing on, drawing over a photograph of a tray of letter press type on newsprint. rather interested in the incorporation of printing methods in the process, and newsprint was important as the material used, as was the current state this particular piece of newsprint is in - quite dishevelled. would be interested in any feedback - without my usual critique cronies around it is difficult to get any constructive criticism on my work.

Hercule Poirot's Windowsill in Sweden


sketch of Hercule Poirot's windowsill in his hypothetical Swedish apartment. a fanatic of 'order and method', forever straightening curios on mantlepieces, he would definitely arrange his pot plants in height order.
working on a proposal for my first show in sweden and the relationship between pot plants and criminal activity still preys on my mind.

on second thoughts, perhaps Poirot would have topiary bushes or succulents on his windowsills instead of the usual leafy fare. or plastic ones to avoid all possibility of the mess of nature.

Starch


sketch for 'giant folded napkin' sculpture, reminscent of that feeling that if you unfold it, you will never be capable of putting back together again, just so. there can be no going back.

Bond on Bond



A drawing of five Bonds back to back. Found on the Facebook page 'Museum of Poor Art'.
Illustrated artwork not attributed to, titled or dated in source.
Brilliant.

Defence hedges

One thing I have noticed since arriving in Malmö is the abundance of indoor foliage, and I don't mean the hydroponic sort grown in people's wardrobes. In apartments potted plants are in every room, and to me, all seem to be of the same variety and with a sheen similar to those plastic plants found in Wendy's Dominion Rd or various other places that have now slipped my mind. Swedes seem to think a window sill's sole function is to house small sized plants with large leaves, and every time i look up or across at rows of apartment windows in front of me, all I see are barricades of flora. I find all these leafy curtains rather thrilling, and I strain my eyes trying to peer into the rooms. Kris tells me that people put plants in their windows as a means to deter thieves by obscuring their view of the rest of their possessions, and I thought that a clever and aesthetically pleasing security measure.


Sketches of potted plants on a window sill



Today I spent some time drawing, filling a page in a new sketch book with an assortment of potted plants, real and imaginary. I would like to do some sort of installation with this fake looking greenery, standing guard at every window. A maze, or thick leafy wall. Stories tell us there is always something better on the other side.