Welcome to October 2009

So... this is my "Artist's Journal".

It's basically a diary of what's going on in my professional life, as I adapt to working freelance. I've been advised by pretty much everyone to keep a working blog, in order to help me reflect back on my own experiences as an artist, and to perhaps allow anyone, who's interested, the chance to see how I go about my professional work.

Currently, I am working on four big pieces:

1. My first paid commission, for a well-known company. I'm keeping it under wraps for the sake of it being a private matter, but I will let you know how I'm getting on with the project. At the moment it's still in the planning stages, but I'm doing a lot of research in my own time in order to give my client more than what he initially asked. I believe giving more than your best is always a good thing. Who's going to say to you "That work is too good and you've done too much of it"? It's better to do too much than too little.

2. I'm working on a project (a Graphic Novel basically) that defies all the basic rules of a horror movie, but is still able to be classed under the title of "Horror". So that means no blood, death, scares, monsters, etc. Sounds hard, doesn't it? Well it certainly is. Still in the planning stages of this one.

3. My third piece of work is based around the story of the Collyer Brothers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collyer_brothers). At the moment I'm experimenting with ideas because, although initially it's going to be a Graphic Novel short, I would also like to fiddle with the idea of an interactive piece that will get people thinking about the subject in different ways. For example, if they're empathetic towards the Collyer Brothers, perhaps a set designed after one of their cluttered bedrooms will have the viewer reeling back in disgust. Maybe that sounds too ambitious, but as I said earlier, it's always best to do too much rather than too little.

4. I am also working on a article that explores this quote from Maurice Merleau-Ponty, a 20th century philosopher:

"The body is much more than an instrument or a means... it is our expression in the world."

As an artist I feature mainly human characters in my work, as I have a great interest in our physical body and it's language. The quote gives me an excellent opportunity to explore my theory of the human body as art, whilst also dispelling myths about beauty and pornography. I will post my article when it is complete, and am open to any feedback.

As well as these larger projects I am also working on improving my portfolio with some side-projects, including a tattoo porfolio, which I am hoping will land me a job as a tattooist's apprentice in a year or two; a series of greeting card designs, featuring 'cute' Manga-style characters. I hope to personalise these for different clients to make some extra money and get my work out there; I have a few short films in the planning stages with my partner, including a documentary on body modification in November; I am also hoping to work with my partner on some album artwork for his band, and will be entering this years Welsh Libraries Arts Competition (http://library.wales.org/express-yourself/), as well as participating in Liverpool's Big Draw (http://culture.org.uk/News.aspx?newsId=98).

So I'm frantically busy!

Until next time,

Jem