And so arrives the professional photographer....

As I'm sure I mentioned earlier, I've done some photography for the Parrot Famshop. 

So voila.....

Lovely leaflets...

...bloody great big sign....

....and up inside the shop!

To say I'm chuffed is a MEGATRONIC understatement. I actually cried when I saw the leaflet (yes..I can be a massive girl sometimes). Yes the family who own it are my friends...but they didn't have to us my photos. And they've used them everywhere!!! This is probably the highlight of my year....so thank you Gotto family.

A hive of activity....

So the start of November means that the Sculpture Garden becomes a hive of activity. This is when we have three manic days where we ask most of the artists to come in and collect their work - either because it hasn't sold, it needs a bit of TLC over the winter, or they have another show.


This year, 90% decided to all come on one day, which meant that our gardener, our handyman, a local artist who helps us out, Hannah's housekeeper and myself were rushing about like loons trying to wrap stuff and organise a swarm of artists who had descended on our sleepy gallery.


The most...well I guess stressful would be the appropriate word...part was the fact that we were waiting for a lorry from France to collect a tonne (or two) of massive bronze trees. Thankfully we could dismantle these massive brutes (being 4 metres tall....) but they were still bloody heavy! But Lorraine (housekeeper) and I got the rest bubble wrapped (having wrapped the first lot precariously balanced on the top of a wobbly ladder). As it happened, this bloody lorry didn't turn up till half 4, so we proceeded to load in the pitch black with 2 Frenchmen who barely spoke a word of English. God knows what I signed when a sheet of paper was thrust in front of me.

 Tony Heywood's assistant 

The rest of my day consisted of wading about in the most vile smelling pond to help retreive some floating pieces, overseeing the manhandling off a beautiful marble torso, panicking watching 3/4 of a tonne's worth of oak being craned onto a lorry, and generally rushing about in my usual frantic manner.

The artist - Paul Vanstone standing on the left, with our helpers.

Most of the time, Paul uses a portable crane-frame, but this time he decided to be lazy! But surprisingly it worked very well.

Moving Walter Bailey's charred oak piece

But alas, excitement over till Spring (when we get a whole host of new pieces). Now I get to spend the winter twiddling my thumbs....

Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, my room is now a beautiful light greeny-blue...but I will be without furniture for a whole week! Bloody Ikea screwed up the delivery, so I am living off what ever I can find rooting about in the spare room/dining room.

I want to lick it.....

As you may or may not know...I am in the process of trying to decorate my bedroom. I say trying, because I have spent hour upon hour trawling through wallpaper samples, paint colours....gahhh I just don't know what to pick! I'm rather concerned that I'll pick something, and will hate it this time next year. 

(Incidentally, I'm decorating because there is no way in hell I can afford to move out for a good few years...I mean I could, but I still want to live round here and, lets face it, the Surrey Hills aren't exactly cheap....)

Saying that, I've lived with a lilac room for 10 years, and I barely see that colour anymore. And I Had a bright red room at uni (ah how I miss that room...)

BUT one thing I have decided on is that I want a funky feature wall (yes I've watched too many decorating programmes).


And I found this beauty:


Cupcake Wallpaper

Please Mummy....can I haves this one?

Yumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyum......

Oink

A fairly crap pig.

I like pigs. They're cool.

Health and safety....what a load of crock.....

Earlier this week I was excited to see that the new Unilever Series in the Turbine Hall exhibition had been opened - 100 million handmade porcelain sunflower seeds, each one unique and made by a factory team in China - that took 2 years to make them all. (Ai Waiwai's 'Sunflower Seeds') The whole point of this amazing installation, as with the best installations in the Turbine Hall, is the audience interaction. The piece was designed with the idea that the viewer would walk over the millions of seeds, feeling them shift beneath one's feet and able to bend down and feel them in one's hands - inspecting the craftsmanship of the seeds.


But no. This stupid nanny state that we live in has declared it a possible health risk. Apparently the dust might be harmful. Oh MAN UP!! So now, the seeds have been raked far away from where anyone could get within a "dangerous" distance, and instead a small sample are in a bowl for the viewer to touch.


The Telegraph - Tate Modern Turbine Hall Health and Safety


Seriously, what is the matter with people? I was chuckling at this Telegraph article..this isn't the first time health and safety have had issues with the Turbine Hall. Several people fell into the "crack" ('Shibboleth' by Doris Salcedo) (HA) and someone was injured walking into Miroslaw Balka's 'How It Is'....I mean seriously people, if you're stupid enough to fall into a MASSIVE crack which happens to be the core focus in a vast hall then you're probably too stupid to understand the artwork and shouldn't be there in the first place!


And this in the same week that Lord Young and David Cameron called to reform 'Health and Safety' - so that (in laymen's terms) it's not so bloody pathetic!!


Bloody ridiculous. End rant.

Just another day in the office...

The better part of my job involves speaking to various artists...with some degree of (fake) authority I might add. Today I had the pleasure of talking to Peter Randall-Page, who is pretty famous in the sculpture world. Call as follows:
"Good afternoon, the Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden?"
"Hello, is that Vikki?"
"Hello, yes it is indeed"
"Hi there, its Peter Randall-Page"
*squeak* *breath* "oooooooh hello"
yes...ever the professional.
He's very nice.

Oh, and I printed some rather dodgy business cards. I think there's a reason why even the most artistic people order them online....

Studio Space

Am being proactive and trying to find a studio space....

Does anyone know of any available in the East Surrey/West Sussex area? Don't really want to drive further than about 20 mins, which limits me rather...

HELP!