January 24th, 2008
An artist US Presidential Republican candidates won’t like
This weekend I’m chuffed to be heading off on a writer’s weekend. First a confession: I can’t decide if I’m more excited about the idea of writing or the thought of uninterrupted night-time sleep. Myself a a couple of other reluctant scribes are heading off together to do some mutual arse-kicking and get writing. This will mean ACTUAL writing and not sitting around drinking wine ’til the wee hours and talking about writing. We’re off to Leitrim, and if I get the chance I will be checking out this exhibition at The Dock in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Argentinian artist Judi Werthein’s project ‘Brinco’ (which means “to jump”) deals with a brand of trainers she came up with to help illegal immigrants hoping to cross the Mexican border into the US. The trainers include a map of the region (and various illegal routes to San Diego) printed on the sole - which is removable - a compass, a mini-flashlight, a secret pocket to hide money and an image of Santo Toribio Romo the official saint of the Mexican migrants. On the heel there is an embroidered Aztec eagle while there is an American eagle found on the toe. The Brinco trainers were given away for free in Tijuana to Mexicans heading for the border, and later sold for over $200 as a limited edition with proceeds going to a local shelter. Werthein had 1000 pairs of Brinco trainers manufactured in China, which in itself is another way of examining the role of cheap labour in manufacturing a mass-produced luxury product.
Curated by Irish London-based artist Neva Elliott, the show runs at The Dock until Saturday February 16th and admission is free.
January 24th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Leitrim is a lovely part of the world, often mocked but never by people who pay it a visit.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Sounds divine, and far more glamorous and productive than trying to stay awake at the computer on a Thursday afternoon. However, the thought of several people trying to write books at the same time does reawaken my concern that EVERYONE these days is writing a book, and my own endeavours will surely sink in the already saturated market.(Of course, if any of you have a publishing history or have publishing deals or agents already) that might be some encouragement. Or just fuel for further jealousy.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Joe, I love it down there, but some people think it’s a godforsaken wilderness.
Little Red, it started out as a random joke with us all daydreaming so for once - seeing as we procrastinate about the actually bloody writing - we organised this weekend.
I haven’t decided what I’m writing yet, but the other’s are all into very different things. And god no, none of us have deals/agents/publishing history - we daydream on that front too.
You’re writing yourself? How’s that going?
January 25th, 2008 at 4:14 am
Sinead, have a wonderfully productive weekend. There should be *some* time set aside for drinking wine, though.
Those shoes are brilliant and I hope they sell.
January 25th, 2008 at 9:37 am
165 pages through a second draft that’s still endingless - I know how it goes, I’m just struggling to get there. Maybe I need a weekend in the wilderness: phoneless, internetless, partnerless. Have not shown a single page to another sinner though, which is the scary part, as I’m most likely completely deluded. My best wishes for your productivity.
January 25th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Sinead- hope it’s productive. Nothing against Leitrim at all but I tried heading out west (on my own though, being of a less sociable nature) just to finish something off before Xmas and when I got safely back to Dublin everything I’d written seemed unduly bleak. Not the first time that happened either. Took a few weeks in the National Library to fix the tone of the thing. I’m sure good company will insulate you though- best of luck.
January 25th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Medbh, the trick is the get the balance right between writing and vino.
Little Red, wow! I take my hat off because I am THE worst procrastinator. Tons of ideas, just never get around to paring it down and figuring out what I want to focus on. It’s the distractions that do for me, and now with a baby it’s very hard to find time for a lot of things (blog posts are usually written at night after he’s in the leaba).
They say that showing your work to people is really important. Do you have any other friends who are interested in writing? Would you consider a writer’s group?
You’ve a lot done, so don’t give up now. Could you head off on your own somewhere for a few days.
Given my situation, this was a logistical nightmare that required three months notice/planning.
One of the girls I’m going away with had similar fears about showing work to us the first time. So much so, I got an email saying “At this stage, I’d rather show you my fanny”.
Colin, this weekend is slightly pipedreamish for me, and I have now got THE FEAR, not excitement. God help me. I will report back on how it goes.
How’s your book coming along?
January 25th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Thanks for the encouragement Sinead. And I hope your similarly self-conscious friend doesn’t actually break out her down belows, especially after having just watched your kindly (!) posted trailer for Teeth. Shudder. And I’m a lady.
Enjoy the weekend off from maternal responsibilities!
January 25th, 2008 at 11:33 am
I’m sure the fear will dry up once you get there. I’m just about done, some bits to be tightened and some historical stuff to be checked once more but pretty much all there now. I had a few people look at it between August and November last which was terrifying but very useful so will look to do something with it soon before moving on. Happier with it than I thought I would, be but in the words of Ed Wood: My next one will be better.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:47 am
That sounds great, I hope it’s productive! I have to get my teen novel in by the end of April, and I am more than 10,000 words short so far. Maybe I need to head off to the countryside for a while and just put the head down and get it finished…or maybe I could just lift a few more chunks from my diaries circa 1990…