On happy accidents and oral hygiene

Some ideas arrive fully formed, others come with serious graft, late nights, sweat/tears and caffeine. Those which appear as blindingly obvious – unexpected revelations, usually materialise when I’m cleaning my teeth. I treasure the latter the most. There’s something special about that twilight part of the day – the time between being wide awake and bouncing about, and when you know you’re done for the day, (and maybe done in) and you’re sleepily not thinking about anything at all.

That’s when this badge-image popped into my head. I made it real using permanent ink pens, white Shrinkle paper, my really mucky oven, glue gun and a broach pin. Its full title is Yes/No I don’t want a 40th birthday party. Ostensibly, I made three of these badges for good friends who share the sentiment. But I’d also been monkey-wresting with a project that’s now called Shrinkles of Dissent – my facepalm moment was to change the tense and use a speech bubble shape and apply it to my Scouts/Bankers idea.

Finally, I can get on with making the Shrinkles of Dissent - a series of badges, a series of performances and an Urban Selkie publication.

You never know, I may even clean my oven so I can watch the Shrinkles shrinking properly – rather than squinting through the dirt-gloom. But that may be one miracle beyond actual existing [democracy] umm, reality.

Mischief. x

Bob-a-Job Bankers start apologising in Bath

Bob-a-Job Bankers: participatory performances in Bath

Eyebrow Dancing with #TheDelegates, just for fun…

The Delegates new show Bob-a-Job Bankers was warmly received by the feisty folk in Bath this weekend. We decided to take our ideas and new characters and test them out directly on the pavement – our ideas needed to live or become tarmac road kill. Instead of just living, our repenting bankers became characters who thrived – engaging, challenging, playing, dancing, confounding and, quite literally cleaned up the streets of Bath. We had a go at cleaning up the Banks by ironing a couple of cashpoints, feather dusting signage and  polishing the night safe. Our parole officer wouldn’t let us near Libor or the real money.

Performance photos and film clips by the brilliant Ella Woodcock will follow shortly.

Thank you David Cameron for giving us the Magic Money Tree gag – we had a great deal of fun at your expense.
[PS. You could call Quantitative Easing magic money, could you not?!] 

After such an exhilarating day, we wound down in The Bell, a gorgeous pub with superb beer and a DJ with eclectic taste. Exhausted but still hyper on performance adrenaline, we began Eyebrow Dancing…

Academic Matchmaking

As a freelancer I’m both skilled and passionate about bringing people together and making exciting, pioneering projects happen.

This week will see the blossoming of Open Research: Academic Matchmaking. A project I’ve been working on as project manager since last November.

Initiated by the brilliant Mel Jordan and funded by Loughborough University and the EPSRC, this event will bring together researchers and academics from Art, Design, Social Sciences, Geochemistry, Engineering, Mathematics, Optical Instrumentation, Research Development and Enterprise – all of whom wish to develop their interdisciplinary networks.

We’re thrilled that Christie Walker, Strategy and Development Manager for the AHRC will be our very special guest.

…and we have badges – speech act slogans to foreground the participation we’re seeking from the matchmaking process.

Phase 2

This event, with 36 5-minute-mini-meetings before lunch will be dynamic, lively and conversation-rich. But I’m really excited about getting my teeth into phases 2 and 3.

Publishing the Brain

Yup, proof…. that gazing out of the window uses very little brain power! In preparation for our next EPSRC Public Communications: Art, Technology and the Public Sphere workshop, Dr Darren Southee & I tested out the kit, processes and activities we’ll be taking the rest of the group through.

We also made a brutally rough, but quite pretty film of my brainwave activity whilst I visualised making a pot of fresh coffee. The sort of coffee you might find in an awkward kitchen.

Hurrah for exciting freelance projects.

Bob-a-Job Bankers dance the Charleston

I spent yesterday rehearsing with the 60% of The Delegates who were not snowed in. With rehearsal space supported by Déda Derby, we had a dance lesson and choreography session with Andrea Haley, and began work on Bob-a-Job Bankers – our new Delegates street theatre show for 2013.

Here’s a video teaser…