Diary of Work on SoGG

SoGG schedule (notes to self)

I wish to document the progress and development of this new suite and am even considering starting a new blog for this purpose. In the meantime, the following is an attempt to trace some of the footprints of work on Songs of Garden Guitars:

Begun Fri April 1st with inspiration of reworked title and reinvention of CD cover (from British Library's 'Songs of Garden Birds').

1st movie templates made: Guitar Birds Songs 1 to 4. Blackbirdstarter folder made of actual blackbird song for ref (mainly length of phrases and gaps between).

Sat 2/4/11 First recording session

Sun 3/4/11 First Sons made ('B' Sons for Guitar Birds Songs 1)

Mon 4/4/11 Work on interactive templates; work on Guitar Birds Songs 1 & 2

Tue 5/4/11 New bird silhouette graphic for player 2

Wed 6/4/11 (University School day) Notes on train for ideas regarding presentation, concept and performance rules

(Q -- when did I work on Guitar Birds Songs 3?)

Thur 7/4/11 Scanned written notes

Fri 8/4/11 More visual ideas for gtr/bird graphic, general layout of design. Recording session.

Sat 9/4/11 Spoken notes made (as mp3s), online research on birdsong (including this article on vocal development in birds: http://stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Vocal_Development.html); recording session; making of Sons

Sun 10/4/11 'Second wing Guitar Birds Song 4' - recording; making of Sons

Mon 11/4/11 More spoken notes made; Recording session (went very well)

Tue 12/4/11 Making of Sons (selection, adjusting, naming)

Wed 13/4/11 Integrating of Sons and new Nets for Guitar Birds Songs 4

Thur-Fri 14-15/4/11 More work on GBS4 - selection and recategorising of Sons; development of more Net ideas including 'solos' as x4 repeats

SoGG

Today has been the first day this year when a coat has not been needed when venturing outside... so what better time to begin blogging again after a Winter of cold and blank spaces.

And, I have also begun working on a new piece of PMusic: Songs of Garden Guitars and will document its development here.

PMusic EP007

2010 (9th September):
Have now launched a new, free PMusic SINGLE entitled 'A Walk Away From You (Keeping Quiet)' in collaboration with artist/composer/vocalist Carla J. Patterson (AKA Carla Cryptic) - have a listen at: www.chameleonlectra.co.uk/AWalkAwayFromYou/AWalkAwayFromYou.html

feedback welcome ;-)

Floriography

You know how you just come across something one day and it can be the seed of future work...


I was reading Saturday's 'Guide' (published by the Grauniad newpaper), and in the exhibitions section there was a review of Nick Fox's Phantasieblume - 'a series of paintings inspired by the Victorian cultural phenomenon of Floriography'...
This does look like a terrific show but my interest was really captured by that word 'Floriography' - the combination of nature and science, and the echoes of my previous research areas - Phonography, Graphophone, Sonograph etc.

Writing with flowers - writing with fruit?

And so I came to thinking about some new words to inform my ideas for painting and made a sketchBook entry.

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And speaking of coded flowers, the Lib Dems and the Conservatives are now in coalition -with the media thrown by this new situation and often trying to outdo each other in pointless, trivial banalities (BBC News 24 had some 'expert' reading Cameron's and Clegg's respective body language as they both went into No. 10). The truth is no one knows how this will turn out.

Field Majority

Ah well. Good news and indeterminate news, as indicated by this photo.

The good news is that the 2009 Field Report arrived Wednesday morning and here you can see me using it as a shield to protect me from the news that arrived Friday morning - the loss of the Labour Party vote and the arrival of a hung parliament. I don't often comment on mainstream politics given the remit of this blog but these are unsettled times politically and I hope have the seeds of positive change in them. The Liberal Democrats, fronted by Nick Clegg, appeared to have a surge of interest which would help develop a three-way rather than two-way form of politics. We are left wondering if this is ever possible now.

And talking of seeds of positive change, the latest Field Report is as creatively rich and enjoyable as ever. As has become my ritual, I sat down to digest it in one sitting, although I have saved looking through the appended material, attached to the back cover, for a later time. I note with interest that rather like the footnotes in Flann O'Brien's 'The Third Policeman' - this extra material is heading to become larger than the main text i.e. the book. I wonder if the future editions of the Report will take a different shape?


Appropriately enough, the cover contains a reworked image of Paul Strand's 'Wall Street' from 1915:

Paul Strand 1915

David Dellafiora 2009

The insides of this collective bookwork are as eclectic as ever and it's difficult to resist the urge to scan the whole book to show you (though I won't be doing this today! ;-) so here are just a few snapshot examples:






I especially like this piece by Peter and Sven de Ru:

www.kunstenko.com

More power to the Field to continue to spoil its ballot paper...

Flexion Quadrat

This painting was made on the surface of a glossy calender and although it hasn't quite worked, it has opened up some more pathways. It's reminiscent of an old map and the texture is like that of the skin of a baked potato.

The 'paint' is strawberry with salt, overlaid with patches of strawberry, salt and bicarbonate of soda. Pieces/slices of strawberry were also added, giving textural 'features'.

X marks the spot.