Celebration tea party and a time for thank-yous

Friday was the last day of my six month Artist residency and it was a time to celebrate and to say thank you to the fantastic Gravesend people that I have met along the way. 

Denis and Joan unveiled their daguerreotype portraits and received copies of the book which contains their wonderful stories and pictures. A copy shall remain on display in the Mayor's Parlor for future visitors to discover. 

I was really happy that all the people who have made the project possible were able to come and join us for a cup of tea and some cake. Dennis Bex, the Market Manager, who inspired me to make the book and introduced me to Denis Llewellyn. Geoff Baker, who encouraged me to pursue my daguerreotype idea and his Mum Hazel who introduced me to Joan Enfield. Christoph Bull and the Whole Community Works team, John Bennet, Maxine Bullen and Jennie Scott, who have all been so supportive throughout. My Mum Linda, Dennis's family and Joan's friends all joined in to make the afternoon a memorable event.

Thank you to everyone and particularly to Denis and Joan, who have been incredibly kind and generous. It has been a privilege to spend time with them and hear their inspiring stories. 

  

Many thanks, Lucy 

Artisans working away

Had a really good conversation with the bookbinders today. All the printing is complete and the case binding is underway. They are such skilled artisans and it is a traditional craft that would be familiar to the Victorians who once waited in the Parlour Room. The books are going to look amazing with case bound spines, buckskin covers, gold embossed lettering and thick satin paper. Soon people will be able to while away the time in the Parlour with stories a plenty to lead them back in time.


Brenton is well ahead with the daguerreotypes now, so the project is on program to complete by the end of September as planned.  I'm really looking forward to seeing the subtle silvery portraits of Dennis and Joan and catch my own reflection in the mirrored surface as I search for their faces.


Lucy 

Learning about the River from Gravesend lives.

There was news of a fatality in a tug accident on the Thames on Friday. A teenage crew member of the tug Chieftain was drowned when it capsized off Greenwich Pier in south London. I was in Gravesend on Friday and Saturday talking to Joan and Dennis, both of whose lives have been affected by accidents on the Thames. Even though I am a Londoner I have never really thought about the river as being a dangerous place. But having learnt from their experiences I now see it in a different light and read the report of the accident with a new found sympathy.


I am in the final stages of finalizing my artwork for the Old Town Hall and have started the production of each of the elements. It has been good to have such positive and helpful feedback from people and I am looking forward to installing the work in September.

Creative frenzy

Have just had a extremely full on but satisfying week of working on my art project. 
Saturday - 

• Writing up stories from the DL archive

Sunday - 

• More writing and image editing.

Monday - 

• More writing and interviewing Joan and Jean in Gravesend. Preparing photograph/image concepts.

Tuesday - 

• Visiting Brenton in Oxfordshire to find out about the Daguerreotype process. More writing.

Wednesday - 

• Visiting experienced HLF artist's collective for mentoring advice on project development. Transcribing the interview with Joan.

Thursday - 

• Researching Joan's stories in Gravesend library. Designing the framing and setting for the installation. Researching hanging options. 

Friday - 

• Designing the art book and setting up an Indesign template.

Saturday - 

• Working through the graphics for the book in photoshop and inputting text and images into the Indesign template.

Sunday - 

• Composing the contents of the art book, researching artisan printer/binders and sending out quotation requests. 

Going well! 
Lucy 

The Big Day Out

So glad it didn't rain on the Big Day. Nice atmosphere down on the prom.

A lovely day in the rain

Torrential down pour in Gravesend today for the start of the Big Seven festival at the Fort Garden's bandstand. The impressively stoic dance school pupils went through their routines in the lashing rain to celebrate the coronation of the Summer Queen, who braved the elements and still kept smiling.

I went to meet Keith Wyncoll who was incredibly helpful and positive. He has lots of experience in producing books that capture local history stories and I learnt about everything from balancing written content and imagery, to the best locations of daguerreotype collections, so that I can study the masters of the medium. He then whisked me up to the Gurdwara and introduced me to lots of friendly and welcoming people, including the new Mayor. We then popped round to meet Satinder Pujji, who is the son of the late Squadron Leader Mahinder Singh Pujji the renowned WW2 RAF fighter pilot and I am looking forward to reading the biography of his life.


Gravesend really is such an impressive place. Even in the pouring rain.


Lucy 

Gravesend celebration

I met up with Jay Edwins for a coffee in Gravesend this morning and straight off he told me a cool Town Hall fact that I didn’t know. One of the telephone boxes appeared on the album cover to The Jam’s 1980 LP ‘Sound Affects’.

Jay’s take on Gravesend is all round positive. He has lived here all his life and still goes to Sunday night pub quizzes with five mates he knew at primary school. “People stay here because they want to”, he says, “some people just don’t get it, but it’s a great place to be from.”


The town has Beacon Status for race relations, meaning that it is recognised nationally “as a safe place for new comers.” Jay explains, “it always has been, it must have originally been something to do with being on the river. It’s an accepting place to be.”


I asked him what he thought the theme of my project should be and without any hesitation he replied “celebration - it is what connects everyone together, the regattas, carnivals and parades.” Jay can even count a regatta champion among his ancestors, with a greasy-pole competition winning Great Grandfather.


Back in the 70’s the Sikh community joined in the Northfleet Parade with their own float and he remembers it as the start of something good. He has loaned me a video of the 2002 TV documentary ‘Sikh Street’, which features footage from the parade. Jay thinks it would be great if in the future the newer Polish, Slovak and Romanian communities could take leading roles in the town’s celebrations too.


The Big Seven Festival started today and Jay recommends the Big Day gig that happens on the promenade next Saturday. Our conversation reminds me of the enthusiastic gathering at St. Thomas’ Almshouses last weekend. Lots of laughter about dancing to the Gravesend Band playing on the Fort Gardens bandstand, hanging out along the prom, going to the Shrimper’s Regatta and playing as children down by the water’s edge, in some cases 80 or more years ago. I went down to the Library, trawled through the archives and found so many evocative images of Gravesend's vibrant culture of celebration along the river’s edge.


Lucy