Saturday 30 November 2013

Costume at the Acorn

We had to use another venue this week and found ourselves happily back at our other old home The Acorn. With quite a few of us away we still had a good time, Daniela led a warm up, we did some "wintry" improvisations and after lunch we had fun making costumes.
Faced with a shortened art session and not wanting to make a mess, and inspired by Zoe's love of fashion, i revisited the old favourite - in our family - of newsprint, bin liners and masking tape!
..some of the results are below created in less than 40 mins!

Toby dressed by Daniela and Sam

making a hat for Sam

Zoe, Demelza and Zo dressed Katie


Skye dressed by Arron

Toby, Katie, Anis dressed by Anna and Jewel dressed by Tallula

 Andrew Lanyon exhibition has started at Falmouth Art Gallery and Eddie Callis ( Shallal 2) and dad Tony Minnion are in Open Studios this weekend at Krowji.


Friday 29 November 2013

Tina's new website!

Tina Cockett,
is one of the best dance movement psychotherapists I have met. She regularly supports us in the main company. Tina has really helped members of the company by warming up with them and through her skill and experience extending their movement range and confidence. She also performed with Skye and Tina through 2iis, they made a good trio.
Tina ran a training session for Shallal facilitators and associate artists which we all enjoyed and learnt a lot from, I highly recommend her.

You can find out more on her new website:
http://www.movingwithbodyandsoul.co.uk

I found these rehearsal photos by Zoe while tidying up this morning.

Skye leaving the frame, Tina C and Tina B

and others: Karen joined in....
Joseph and Karen (visiting)

Zo, Kerry, Star and Jo


Sunday 24 November 2013

Thank you from the Small Picture Show

Big thank you to everyone: artistic contributors, helpers, musicians, bakers, ticket sellers
and audience, buyers and anonymous doners and all those who donated fabulous prizes for the raffle, and to Terry and Diana who helped get the raffle in motion.

A cheery set up team, Colin just popped home, so not in photo..new trustee Sue with tea pot...
Jo L, The Mackay clan: Jewel, Jem, Skye and trustee Anne, Anna, Sue and Toby.

A good crowd through the afternoon of old and new friends and supporters,
 over 21 works of art sold for approx £400!
and a £500 anonymous donation-- thank you to everyone involved.
Kerry was able to be with us, she has had 3 weeks in pain however thanks to Dominique's physio
 ( http://www.chpz.co.uk/) she is able to move around now

Skye's debut for Shallal already known as strong performer, she is a really good singer songwriter and I would like some of the dancers to create work to her newest song!
Thank you to Jem for open mic set up and to all performers and compare! I could write a lot about it, we should do it again, as again a wide range of people involved the youngest was Dylan on ukulele - thank you to them all.

It was a good event "a lovely day..... - one of my best Saturdays for ages."

Despite being in Newlyn, where it's hard to find parking, we had a lot of visitors - retrospectively i should have counted but I was too busy with nice chats and selling pictures. A wide range of work sold which was also satisfying from: main co members, 9yr old, to a painting brought in late and sold within 15 mins!

We will look at the format but would like to do it again and are looking at ways to keep the art side visible. Recently the art/production afternoons have increased in numbers so that is exciting to see the work grow. Joseph had an order to paint another cow on red background.

Also to survive and to keep the momentum of what is successful: a sponsored dance followed by AGM in the winter and a picture show in the summer, seem viable and importantly creative, accessible and fun.

Today I am off to meet lovely Lou Brett to see what we can brew with bids for the Shallal Studio artists and friends.

Thursday 21 November 2013

Final reminder for The Small Picture Show!

Let them eat cake!
cakes about to be baked in anticipation of Saturday and a feast of art, open mic, tea and cake and festive cheer.......

Tomorrow Saturday 23rd November is Shallal's fundraiser 
The Small Picture Show.

Please tell family and friends and we hope you can drop into 
St Peter's Hall, Newlyn, between 2pm and 6pm 
for a pleasant event and relaxing Christmas shopping.

Original art work for sale!

drop in for tea and cake, view the wide range of art work to buy, hear some nice tunes in the open mic! 
buy a ticket and you may get lucky on the Grand Raffle - draw at 5pm, lots of prizes 

Hope to see you there.

love and best wishes 
from Jo and all at Shallal 

More work still coming in from artist friends of Shallal as well as work from Shallal Studio artists, and company members.

To fit the range of work available we have come up with a "creative" pricing scheme:
all to do with coloured dots!
BLUE: Price as seen—non negotiable 
YELLOW: Price is the retail cost 
but you can make us an offer 
(no reasonable offer refused - go on, haggle!!) 
GREEN: Anything Goes! 
we will accept whatever you feel this picture is worth. 
RED: SOLD (sorry you’ve missed your chance!!) 
 
Prizes to choose from if lucky in the Grand Raffle draw, a few tickets are still available.

Thank you to everyone for their support in creating this event and looking forward to tomorrow!


Saturday 16 November 2013

Mops and props! Sponsored dance


A Big Thank You to all the dancers, sponsors and supporters. The main feedback was a fun event and lets do it again, especially in winter when it's dark early and we need to move. Maybe it will become an annual event?
Over £500 raised so far and more on it's way!
The Sponsored Dance was followed by our AGM, we were a quiet and exhausted group and it was good to review the year together.

below just a few snaps......

Anna with Flo, nice to have Jessie and Flo with us.

Someone was always dancing and most people were most of the time! over 22 dancers took part.
Marjorie presented Genie with a bouquet of flowers to thank her for her help as a trustee for the last 6 years.


Steve Tanner and Zac came to join us in the afternoon, lovely to see them and have their support!
(there maybe some better photos on their way)
http://stevetanner.co.uk/
George came and played for an hour for us, beautiful soulful music, in the middle of the event- thank you.  Elaine and Marjorie came to, so good to see everyone and feel people can come in at their own pace and time. Lucy from FAD also dropped in.


Mops and props, Colin brought in an array of props to play with, the mops were very popular.
Don't forget The Small Picture Show on Saturday.

All art work for sale to us by Friday please, Saturday morning at St Peter's Hall at the latest.

Offers from professional artists still coming in, there should be something for everyone and we look forward to hearing hidden talents in the Open Mic session and tea and cake!


Shallal Christmas Party
at St Peter's Hall, Newlyn,
Friday 13th December 12pm - 3pm,
bring a dish for a shared lunch,
a chance to chat and Christmas Carols!
Friends and Family welcome.

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Zoe's Small Pictures, Toby's paintings and Eileen and Genie






Colourful and lovely paintings by Zoe Wilton for The Small Picture Show!
next Saturday don't miss it and see the hidden talents of Shallal members and friends in the open mic session.
And in true Shallal tradition lots of homemade cake!


Next we had a good meeting at the Studio with new friend Lou, and studio artists Zoe, Sam, Toby and Colin.
(Sadly we were unable to meet with Colin Carbis and we send him our love.)

I took the opportunity to photograph these lovely works of Toby's which were made for our first survival fundraiser Saved by the Bell some years ago....here we are back in a similar place but less scared and more prepared. Toby generously donated them to Shallal and I have wanted to make prints from them, but haven't had the funds, so want to show them here and may try to make postcards.


Lisa Mortensen stepped in to oversee this show as Luke was born !

part of Mind the Gap which was dedicated particularly to Eileen Herzberg
Including poetry, sculptures made from newspaper- she was a writer, journalist and sculptor - and a dance to her favourite piece of music. Sculptures made by the company with Lisa.
Eileen was cremated in the open air in Goa where she had unexpectedly died, and her ashes brought home to Cornwall, where they were scattered at Sennen beach- famous for surf and sunsets - and Fuzz Bleakley paddled out on his surfboard beyond the waves to scatter them in the sea, so Phosporesence was an appropriate title for Eileen and her sparkling life, which we are grateful to have been part of!


Eileen made the mask for MASK
Eileen is also much on my mind as she was the inspiration for Genie her close friend supporting us as a trustee for many years and she now leaves and we welcome Viv as new trustee. Big thank you to Genie and we wish her well.

our first fully funded ACE show with Danu Fox as development manager, bringing in film and more cross artforms

Anna has been watching some poetic solos on Youtube from Myway Dance Centre, Ukraine.

this is our favourite.


Sponsored dance

This Friday 10am till 2pm

Someone will always be dancing!

Sponsored dance at St Peter's Hall, Newlyn, our main company rehearsal space.

Come along and join in for fun or watch, and support Shallal. A wide variety of music and live music.

Shallal and friends are dancing for 4 hours to raise money to bridge a funding gap.


Followed by our AGM 2.30 - 4.30pm!


Saturday 9 November 2013

Skills sets, rehearsals and art and.......

Skills sets are an interesting subject, as someone who now works outside their skill sets when it comes to writing - as those of you who suffer my grammer and punctuation will know. I left a Psychology degree to work with Wolfgang, I left a post grad in Dance Therapy, as i was more interested in performance, and then i spent 20 ( happy ) years, self employed teaching in different venues. Working in non verbal communication and non verbal art forms, my preferred arts to work in are dance and visual arts.....but the work couldn't grow easily apart from Shallal which was always my favourite. In Shallal everyone wanted to be there, came committed and enjoying it without beaurocracy or institutions.
Also skills sets are interesting to me as it forms part of my hands on work:
what are peoples skills? that they know, that they often don't know, that you can help give confidence to, help develop.
So since not having a manager Shallal has been an interesting challenge for myself and some others as we learn the world of: written expression, persuasion, justification, forfiling criteria through funding applications.
You can have people who brook both skills sets but not all of us do! and not all of us can fund bid writers ....Big thank you to all who have and do help us...
Whether the side of you that can work alongside others is the right one to go in fighting for the next pot of money to keep going?

I have stamina and I have belief in the work which is proved to me when i talk deeply to those i have the honour to work with, but whether i can weather the insecurity is another question, not only insecurity and lack of or reduced income, but constantly putting oneself out there for others to evaluate through the written word..so much goes through the heart as well as the head, performance is all about experience, participation, atmosphere those things that even film can't capture...a live art.
An interesting question/discussion today on whether to film rehearsals, sessions:
will that help or hinder the moment, the creation, the performers?
Whose eye says what work goes out there? mine at the moment, in collaboration with the performers, that is what i provide and that is part of our relationship of trust and communication.

So pep talk time and here we go again, I am in for the long haul, i care about the voice of those i work with, they give so much and not only i feel that, many people watch us and say the same, and many of us have nowhere else to go ?!.....................
Sadly funding or lack of it, can make us measure value by other people, really good work when funded etc
however i love the challenge of it as proved by Remapping St Ives and 2iis - which gave us so much experience and real research and development opportunity.


And so from this slight droop i can say...

What amazing work yesterday, the co have really got the skills set/ style that Shallal 2 have been exploring and which we started looking at over 5 years ago!
and Glen's drumming working in sympathy along with Demelza's and  looking to increase the players, as more people can drum ...
Oh how exciting and oh if only one could follow the inspiration much like a painter and then say here is the body of work, come and see it!
We split the group in half 10 in each and watched each other, open improvisation with and without music.
And i think for possibly the first clear time the performers could see what i see:
 the whole working, the focus shifting never lost, the complicated and beautiful subtle spatial arrangements, the contrasts of texture, flow, character, timing, the sense of it, the beauty, balance and fun of it.

Structure, Freedom and Intent.
Answering the question of how to work large groups in freedom.

So glad i had a wonderful hands on work day as then news of 2 unsuccessful applications to come home to,
all the hours spent ....
is there a better way?

Interesting meeting with Paul Gittins and Richard this week, Paul's beautiful shadow screens. We hope to work together in the future.
 www.modernshadows.com



Old friend Sue Bleakley at the Newlyn Gallery,.
 www.newlynartgallery.co.uk/?Current+Exhibitions
Artists from the company went to see the interesting work being done at the gallery
and we hope interested artists from the group will visit every exhibition now we have enough support.
This gate is still one of those works i remember and can bring a smile!
Visit Sue's website at   www.susanbleakley.org.uk/painting


Toby and Colin started sorting art work and Toby filmed some of it.

Lots of work coming in for the Small Picture Show - Thanks to everyone supporting this. We are looking forward to it.





Saturday 2 November 2013

The Small Picture Show

Thank you to artistic friends of Shallal:
June Hicks www.trevescanstudio.com/home.htm
Paul Wadsworth www.newlynartschool.co.uk/tutors/paul-wadsworth
for donating work.
We hope to have more coming soon.

Shallal Studio artists are looking forward to visiting Colin Carbis and some of the artists from the John Daniel Centre on Monday 11th, with a new friend Lou Brett a painter and printmaker who works from her studio at home in Falmouth.

I have managed to find Elly's paintings which I love on www.fairspaintings.blogspot.co.uk

We hope to work in some way with Elly though we haven't managed to work chat yet as she is emerging from 3 beautiful young boys, so we will wait, as we are waiting for more spaces and funding and a space in Falmouth/Penryn area. 

Elly worked with old Shallal friend Lisa Mortensen on a wonderful project Annexe Arts which ran for years and held excellent exhibitions. 
I also saw Lisa recently, www.artcornwall.org/exhibition_more_july.htm - a piece of her work is here, " by a red line of umbilical thread was a miniature felt dress by Lisa Mortensen" and her work and influence is now as  Curriculum Area Manager for Art at Cornwall College.

Today Shallal Sketchbooks pilot goes to interview with Feast, so here's hoping!