Cerbyd, an In-Tents Journey (Sorry!)

( I`m so sick of Chinese spam comments.)
Following a non equilibrium growth process, I`ve temporarily moved my blog to another site. To see it click ,Here.
Science- Crochet may continue here, but maybe not.
As the Portugese say,
` Talvez, Talvez nau. Quem sabe?` - ` Maybe , Maybe not , who knows?`

Hyperspherical Hyperbolical Hype

Hypersphere.

This photo is one of a series of romantic and beautiful studies by"Enid " on flickr. The series carefully and intellegently investigates domestic objects, as seen through the lens of a microscope. The concept and results reminded me of bits of my own investigation (great minds think alike ...) and brought to mind the quote from Blaise Pascal, `Nature is an infinite sphere of which the centre is everywhere and the circumference nowhere`.

He has many recorded quotes, i particularly liked `Meeting you was fate. Becoming your friend was a choice, falling in love with you I had no control over.`

Circling something in black, makes an interesting visual captive cage . Somehow, the boundaries don`t decrease or detract from the effect of the circles contents, illustrating the Pascal quote. Although it gives limitations within the boundaries, to the immediate dimensions of the image. More More circular work Here. I find circular shapes enchanting . Smooth, graceful ,perfect, optimistic, mysterious, silent, generous . There is a completeness and entity about the shape .

The simple circle is drawn in two dimensions, one of the first geometric shapes we understand as infants. Three dimensions and we have the glorious bouncing sphere. Animated and planetary. Above that in four or more dimensions the shape is called a hypersphere. As the dimensions in mathematical terms increase, my understanding decreases. Except the understanding of hyperbolic crochet that increases on a non Euclidean plane, in multi dimensions. The two dimensional circle and three dimensional sphere operate efficiently within the boundaries of Newtonian mechanics. To investigate the realms of the sphere within the supergalactic or subatomic, it becomes necessary to apply the laws of quantum, and to consider the application of further dimensions. Click the bar at the bottom to see a film.

... To Make Our Dreams Come True

Happy Solstice everyone. Lets have a long, hot, happy and joy filled summer, shall we?

The great power that opperates the balance scales has been very kind to me today. I received a phone call this morning offering me a place on a project I really wanted to be involved with.

Its called Cerbyd, which is Welsh for bus.

The plan is this... ten artists on a bus, zig zagging around Wales . We will be stopping at a different location every day, including amoungst others, meeting steam railway enthusiasts, Appalation dancers, a group of George Formby enthusiasts, the National Botanical Gardens of Wales, the National Eisteddfod and , best of all ,The Institue of Physics, Wales.

Oh my word, real scientists. YYYYYIIIIIIPPPPPEEEEEEEE. Real, live, in the flesh scientists. Heheheheheheheheh!!!!

The idea is to inspire new projects and possible collaborations between artists from different parts of Wales, and to introduce artists to other strange obsessive groups of people. Well, the second bit may not be high on the list, but its an interesting aspect of the project.

I spent many years living in trucks and buses, travelling around England and Europe. Its a nice moment of `past-meeting-the-future-glitch-in-linear-time` for me.

Just like Cliff Richard and Una Stubbs. Click here for a sing song.

Seems Like a Little Bit of History Repeating...

John Cale4, originally uploaded by birdlouise.

The Queens official birthday today. Have a nice one your Maj. In her honours list we have two well deserved awards.

First Professor Brian Cox- (super fox). If science is the new religion, Coxy is our begotten saviour, big time. Handsome, genius and media omnipresent. He received an OBE. He should be made king. Of the world, no, the Universe. He has done more to advance the public education in science matters than anything else ever. He has wonderful clarity of thought and a loyalty to his craft that is admirable. And he is breath- stoppingly gorgeous.

Also an MBE for the legend that is John Cale. The man behind the viola drone and most of the arranging on the Velvet Underground`s seminal album. Sometimes referred to as the `Banana`album. Real life living legend, experimental musician and superstar, he caused much opinion and conversation with his installation ` Dark Days`, in the Welsh pavilion ,at the Venice Biennale last year. His biography `Whats Welsh for Zen?` was an astonishing read.

Music and science. One and the same thing, inextricably linked. Scales, systems, maths and movement. The legend that was, or may have been, the pre-Socratic mystic and scientist, Pythagoras, had many beautiful theories about the links between what was then perceived as the Cosmos, and the mathematics that described music and the motions of planetary ellipses. After a vision from the God Thoth, he conceived `The Harmony of the Spheres`.

Johannes Kepler's 1619 treatise , `Harmonica Mundi `,was inspired by Pythagoras writings, you can hear a contenporary musical interpretation , click the link.

Kepler was one of the greatest mathematicians of that time. He wrote `Eponymous Laws for planetary motion `, which in turn informed (Sir) Issac Newtons laws on gravitational force.

So, a job traditionally filled by legends , is now safely being filled by my favorite public science figure. (Note I didn't use the term celebrity). Just so happens that Professor Brian Cox was also a pop star, before he became a scientist for a living.

The links between art and science.

I would love to discuss the origins of the universe with John Cale.

Nemesis Rising

Louise Bourgeois died yesterday.

More tears for the dead. She was 98, and died of a heart attack. Watch out angels, Nemesis is on her way. Of course I never met her, but we all new her. She was all of us. She new us.

Thank you Louise, from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU.

Basic Systemic Mathematical Prosesses

Richard Sweeney, check his paper work.

Creating mass from a basic mathematical system

Division of the Euclidean plain.

Singing `Say its only a paper boat...`

In the inevitable Welsh rain, The Oriel Myrddin gallery, Carmarthen, in wet south west damp Wales, carried on regardless and held an outdoor beach party to celebrate the opening of the current exhibition.

Because every one loves the gallery, and it is the best place ever to work, we had fun. But, even though I appreciate the chaotic principles behind the weather, and despite the application for divine intervention , it could have not rained for just one more day.

Mary our genius education officer and most wonderful person made some origami boats . I love the mathematics behind childhood craft practices. Division and multiplication with out even considering the Euclidean plain. Paper folding , perfect division. An every day occurrence, performed without premeditation by people every where. Ancient spiritual art as well. I think its this kind of banal but essential ritual that keeps our thought processes as alert and any deep study. Playing is essential even for the very grown up.

Druid`s Cord, Saint Asaph`s Loop

A measurement of spacetime

For more `Druid`s Cord Saint Asaph`s Loop` Flickr pictures click. here

For short documentary films about past installations click here

or here

In its fullest form,the installation is a mixed media installation with performance.

I was very pleased to be selected for the Bath Arts Fringe exhibition. It will be my first show out side of Wales. Initially, I was to have a large dark space for one of my installations that have a DVD projection. Sadly, this was not to be, and after weeks of curatorial indecision and suspense - through no fault of the lovely curator Fiona Cassidy, I was allocated a space in a small room with six other artists. Hence the mightily pared down version of Druid`s Cord.

It works well in its condensed form. The spiritual and physical relationship between the looped DVD , and the eleven feet of crocheted fishing line is still evident. Although it has lost the feeling of envelopement and entity.

There is a moment in the DVD that I find particularly interesting. The screen is empty of the mechanical ,vertiginous image. The lens of the camera reacts with the bright sun on the very clear blue sky, and causes a lens flare that is almost off the top of the screen. That moment, to me , suggests a brief spiritual epiphany that is just within the reach of human endeavour. A tiny glimpse of the pure and ecstatic nature of enlightenment.

Sometimes when I am crocheting and thinking , I experience that feeling... An excitment that cannot be explained or planned. The briefest flicker, a gargantuan vision in a tiny moment. Then it dissappears. I consider myself at these times, very blessed.

On the DVD it lasts only a moment, and then the repetition begins to loop again.