Well, no one ended up sleeping at House of Haynes although it has been a very long day of installing work. The exhibition is looking great but we will all be up early tomorrow morning to finish before the opening.
At the start of today I think most of us were apprehensive about the tight schedule for installing work but actually the process has been much the same as with any other exhibition, debate over space, compromise, anxiety and the pressure of a looming deadline. With this exhibition though, we have the advantage of knowing the space really well and that is a real luxury.

with a certain degree of trepidation

It is very early on Sunday morning and I am just about to set off for House of Haynes...to create some work.

Due to the nature of my practice, I generally rely on creating spontaneous pieces of sculpture in the exhibition space. This puts a certain amount of pressure on today, especially as everyone else has to pop in at some point to install their work, and we may end up clambering over each other and getting stressed. I think it is quite likely that I will have to sleep at House of Haynes tonight if no magic happens early on.

Anyway, here goes....

ye of little faith- restored!

In the last few days I've been working on a piece thats taking longer than expected. Tonight we met to clean the costume shop, ingesting bleach, peanuts and fig rolls we found lost things (it seems Nina's been searching for!-) a kilt, superman's leggins and a dusty wonderwoman.

The space looks good, its been freed up, we're able to imagine how our work may be in amongst everything, my faith restored after my momentary panic this morning.

I feel excited.. the combination of our six ways of working will be great to see!

(Image: Dovestone Resevoir, taken where my film to be shown in the exhibition was made.)

Introducing the artists...

Nina Chua studied Embroidery at Manchester Metropolitan University graduating in 2002. Since 2004 she has worked as a freelance artist, exhibiting and teaching artist workshops, for Urbis, Manchester Art Gallery, Chinese Arts Centre and many others.

Her work is predominately textile based. Recent exhibitions include Boutique a group show at the Chinese Arts Centre in Manchester and Black and White, Love and Hate a solo textile installation and live art event at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle.

She is based in Manchester and has worked part time at House of Haynes since 2001.


Rachael Kelly’s degree was in Interactive Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University, finishing in 2002. Since then she has created and worked on her own accessory design/making company named The Millionaires Club.

Her practice is very fashion influenced and is mainly concerned with the personal projected 'image', using photographic performance and site specific installation.

She has worked at House of Hayes for 3 years.


Jo Lewington graduated from BA Embroidery in 2007. She is currently working on a commission for CN4M (community network for Manchester) considering social networks, specifically employment and local economy. Her practice is focused upon an understanding of movement and our relationship to the space we inhabit. Whilst studying in Norway in 2006, she produced installations exploring time through the connotation of making knots, and her work has been closely linked to the sea and water.

Jo Lewington now works predominantly with film and drawing. She is based at Bankley Studios, Levenshulme and has worked at House of Haynes since November 2007.


Jessica Longmore completed a degree in Textile Design in 2002. Since then her work moved away from textiles, towards sculpture. She graduated from an MA in Fine art at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2007 and has recently exhibited in School of Art at Galleria FAFA, Helsinki and Transition at Holden Gallery, Manchester.

Jessica’s work involves spontaneous sculptural responses to the environment she finds herself in. The work often has psychological references, reflected through the interaction of contrasting forms. She is currently based in AWOL studios in Ancoats.

Jessica first started to work for House of Haynes in 2001 and has worked there on and off ever since.


Oli Stanion graduated from a degree in Fashion at Salford University this Summer. His final collection is entiled Sunday Best and takes its inspiration from the English Countryside. Oli will be showing illustrations relating to his fashion collection as part of the exhibition.


Mandy Tolley. After studying Embroidery at Manchester Metropolitan University from ’99-2002, Mandy Tolley became Artist in Residence at City College, Manchester on the Arts Council’s Setting Up Scheme.

During this time her textile work has developed combining digital print with screen print and computerised embroidery to translate ideas drawn from sketchbooks, photographs and found imagery, concentrating on bright colours, bold images and kitsch qualities. These fabric pieces are often worked into by hand using stitch, quilting and embellishment, producing three-dimensional characters as well as textile art pieces. Each art piece depicts an individual story; an insight into an experience, memory or fictional feeling.

Mandy has worked on and off at House of Haynes for over four years.

Can't get to the fridge...

Bang..Wack...Crash...Zap...

Booking tags

One of House of Haynes' organisational systems

Discomfort zones and anchors adrift!

No, it wasn’t that bad really. It went far better than expected as I was lucky enough to have a water birth and only took form 2.30am til 9.07am from beginning to .. Beginning! I did manage to get some work done too in-between contractions whilst I was at home, its good to do something absorbing to take your mind off things and more interesting than a tens machine. The midwife who was with us thought so and is hopefully bringing her artist son to see the exhibition. Hope to get the piece finished in time for the private view. How is everyone else getting on, I wonder?

...Serafina appeared!

Congratulations to Jackie and Andrea, Serafina was born at 9.07 yesterday morning! She weighed 7lb 12oz and Mother and baby are said to be doing well!

I can't believe Jackie was blogging only hours before giving birth!

Comfort Zones and Anchors

Comfort Zone.
Since a business advisor came to give my business the once over two years ago, he indicated that I should come out from my comfort zone, that is from behind my sewing machine, and concentrate on other areas of my business which are equally as important as the designing and making - which I can do like water off a duck’s back .i.e.marketing, presentation and other things which need doing but don’t appeal as much. He was right of course.
This made me realize how comfort zones play a big part in life and how you interact. On a scale of 1 to 10, if 1 indicates someone with a very small area in which they are prepared to maneuver and 10 for someone prepared to go to any lengths to do anything, I realize that with my work, I have, over the last 15 years, shrunk mine right down from 10, when I would make anything for anyone, to maybe 2, where I only make what I am prepared to make strictly on my own terms. So, no, I won’t make you a wedding dress, get lost, make your own and no, I won’t make you a foundation garment to disguise your hairy arms because you want to dress like a ‘lady’. Take your misogyny elsewhere. No I don’t do alterations and I will not even pick up my scissors for less than £30. I mean all this nicely, of course. On the other hand, you can hire an individually designed and made fancy dress costume, not available anywhere else anywhere nearby for a mere £30 and you even get a wig! If you have your own fancy dress shop outside the Manchester area, you can pick a costume from my Double-Take Costumes range, no minimum order, and I will make up it specially for you.
Anchors.
Around the same time, I found myself being psychoanalyzed to make sure I was of sound mind for TV Show, Project Catwalk. This sort of self-searching doesn’t usually interest me but nevertheless, it made me realize that in times of duress, it is natural to cling to your anchors to get you through, your anchors being the everyday things within your comfort zone.
With all this in mind, I thought I’d come up with a piece for the exhibition which could be placed directly in my comfort zone, whilst clinging to my anchors during the time of duress that is labour pain, if I can get the timing right! My due date was on May 15th.

bear gorilla zebra

Today I took some photographs sat on the floor exploring down there. From just the bottom of the costumes I know what they are- we all would. But this is our collective experience of the shop. This space exists in our minds as we work there. Nina and Jess have both discussed how our experiences of the shop may be very different. Customers will have perceptions and to some people the space wil not exist at all if they have never been- it is a dead space- empty.

When I began to work in the costume shop I made whole lists of every costume and where it was positioned- a dictionnary/catalogue of everything. Perhaps this was partly through compulsive nature- trying to be accurate, or informed. Or not to leave myself in a position where I have no answer.

turning point

I sat on the windowsill in House of Haynes yesterday, thinking. Sometimes it is easy to become trapped by your own ideas. Nina recalled just having seen work of artist Julie Del Hopital on the Arttranspennine08 project website. Her starting point begins from 'the obsession of two animals, the cow and the whale.' http://atp08.blogspot.com/2008/01/julie-del-hopital.html Nina quoted: '[my] art practice is not meant to elude answers, the work is restless.' It pulled somewhere inside me. An acceptance of whatever comes to you, that which may/ or may not be consciously decided. The way we have to work depends largely on trust in yourself and allowing the strange puzzle of pulls that arise to develop.

Not a great deal is always needed to find the crux of what it is you are truelly looking to explore. I am trying to let go of what is not necessary. My initial idea for the exhibition seems too much now, it is too weighted. I will see in the next days if the film I wish to develop will work. What I am realising is I have been grasping my need to create in my clenched fist since I graduated- as soon as I turn my fist to the floor and release my fingers that creativity falls away. I would like to let ideas rest gently on the flat of my palm, not trapping them, and in turn they will not fall if I relax. We are always chasing things we cannot see.

Thought Universe

We are very excited to announce that Mark Pilkington from Thought Universe will be performing at our Exhibition Preview. The Preview will be from 3pm - 6pm on May 26th (Bank Holiday Monday) and Mark's set will begin at 5.30pm.

In response to 'Where Studio Meets Gallery'

In response to Jess' post 'Where Studio Meets Gallery':

When Jackie first suggested House of Haynes could be used as an exhibition space it was with some bewilderment that I acknowledged the possibility. Many months and two gallery exhibitions later it seemed not only plausible but logical and exciting; a challenge to make work for a space so far removed from that of a white cube gallery.
At this stage I had not noticed the similarity between House of Haynes and the space Mandy and I inhabit as our studio. The logic was less to do with this and more with the fact that six artists share a connection to this totally unique space. In fact, the realisation that our studio has the same characteristics as House of Haynes only occurred to me when handing my studio keys to Jess last week.

The chaos of our studio is not by design although subconsciously it appears to be linked to my practice - the idea of being covered in fabric manifests itself at my home, studio and workplace. Sometimes I am utterly frustrated by the lack of clear space in my life and I long for it. Mandy and I are about to embark on a long awaited spring clean of our studio and a reassessment of our storage needs!

Making work for House of Haynes is a real challenge although it does not strike me as being totally unnatural since I have always been drawn to the work of outsider artists and the idea of making work in none gallery spaces. When I first started showing work it was on the pavement outside my house.

The challenges for me are very similar to those that face Jess, firstly the total lack of space and secondly how to create work that is not 'swallowed up' by House of Haynes' unique character. I have given particular consideration to the second point because my work is predominately textile based and it would be very easy to make something that did not register as an artwork.

At the moment I am thoroughly enjoying this process of interaction and development, I am excited by the possibilities and how we six artists can steer this project.

Two By Two

Just three weeks to go until the exhibition opens. So far I have made a small start towards creating work but mostly I have been re-discovering this space that I am so familiar with.

Tomorrow I will really start to create work with a clear view of what I want to achieve.

Right from the start of the project I had an idea I wanted to work with, one that runs through much of my practice. This is simply the thought of being covered in fabric.
House of Haynes is a physical manifestation of this; a space dominated by fabric, not just the costumes but the ever growing bags of off-cuts, boxes of threads and the endless presence of fluff balls. Perhaps this explains my personal fascination with this space.

Some ways of producing work that have crossed my mind include:
Working with the bags of off-cuts and scraps (see image in previous post)
Only creating work in the space and not at all in my studio
Only using fabric used in House of Haynes

But at the moment I don't think I will stick to any of these.

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre
On Friday night I went to see Cloud Gate Dance Theatre perform at the Lowry Theatre. During their performance I had the peace, and time I needed for my thoughts to settle and become clear.

This performance was one of calm fluidity, Zen-like qualities. The dancers, men and women alike, wore white trousers, wide legged, wrapped round at the front and cut from a sheer, floaty silk-like material. There was beauty in the simplicity and purity in the lack of colour and fussiness. The body both concealed and revealed by a material fine and light. The dancers were neither decorated or enhanced; the opposite of fancy dress.

Since Friday I have been thinking about silk, whiteness and something very pure in a space like House of Haynes. I am happy just to let this idea sit quietly and later come to fruition.

Where Studio Meets Gallery

As we are now in May, the countdown to the exhibition has well and truly begun. I keep getting messages from MAPS festival saying 'only 3 weeks to go' etc. Amongst the artists there is a flurry of activity, as everyone tries to get their individual pieces underway, whilst juggling jobs and other projects they are working on.

From my perspective, I have just embarked on the project Objects for a Studio for Artranspennine 08 and this itself has given me an insight into the exhibition As If By Magic.

Objects for a Studio involves me doing a series of 1 day residencies in artists' studios in and around Manchester. My first residency took place on Friday 2nd May, quite conveniently in the studio of Mandy Tolley and Nina Chua. As Nina handed over the keys, she jokingly said, 'this will be good practise for you when doing As If By Magic...' Until this point I hadn't fully appreciated the very different standpoints each artist is taking to As If By Magic... For me, an artist whose sculpture is generally stripped down to the minimum elements, who not only is used to creating work for a white cube gallery space, but works in a standard white cube studio space, I cannot help but respond to what on the surface appears to be an incredibly chaotic environment; to a venue, which already carries several distinct personalities; to a room that has virtually no empty space, and everything in that space is insistently vying for the attention of the viewer. For me the challenge is this unconventional environment, the motivation is the instinctive responses that working in that space and visiting that space inspires. But this, I feel is not the case for everyone.

In complete contrast to this must come the work of Mandy and Nina. The venue which I find an unnatural site to produce work, must for them seem entirely logical. Their studio shares a number of characteristics with that of House of Haynes, and from the perspective of an onlooker, may be seen as being born out of chaos. Perhaps their work feels more at home in this environment, than in a conventional gallery space. It would be interesting to hear a response from either artist, as to whether or not this is the case and how they feel House of Haynes as a venue will impact on their work.

It is a really exciting opportunity to be able to produce and exhibit work outside of the confines of the gallery establishment, and it will be interesting to see what results are produced.

It's all in the timing!

The application’s in! Have you heard? Nina has got the funding application in to The Arts Council for the proposed documentation of As If By Magic Exhibition.
Its a very important proposition when you consider the timing of it all; it’d be so good to have a hard copy of the event so it can be distributed, not deleted! From where I’m standing, this point in time signifies the mid flow of the main elements of the exhibition.
Exhibiting artists: everyone has their previous work, shows, exhibitions, studios, artist in residence and workshop experience behind them and so much more in front!
House of Haynes: there seems to be no letup in the demand for costumes. It still involves all ages and walks of life getting together and partying for all manner of reasons.
The Northern Quarter is in full swing after years of preparation, lobbying and perseverance by many individuals for the benefit of the city.
It’d be good to see the publication in bookshops, libraries- public and private and I really like the idea of putting a time capsule together with the publication and artists pieces of work. It could be buried in the foundations of one of the new-builds! Or something!

things are growing!

After many meetings in Nina and Mandy's studio, at the Chinese Arts Centre and at the costume shop the exhibition is starting to come together..

I've worked at House of Haynes since November 2007. For me the shop evokes many things; being a child, connotations of disguise, hiding oneself and questions about what can be perceived as reality. It reminds me of my mother making clothes, and growing up with my grandfather leading me to believe he was a magician. It seems I grew up with the concept that 'magic' is real and possible, and is there crackling just beneath the surface. As a child I remember really concentrating on the world I could see in the mirror, the reverse of what surrounded me. I wanted to find a way in and live there for a while. House of Haynes can feel very removed from Oldham Steet just down below. It poses strong questions of relating to space and interacting with people.

I graduated in 2007. Since December last year I have had a space at Bankley Studio, Levenshulme. When I first moved in I spent a lot of time looking out at the peak district hills from my third floor window. They stretch right across, panoramically. I wanted to go there- wanted to stand on the hills and look back. Finally in March I did. My intention for the exhibiton is based on this longing. Whether this connects to 'escape' in the literal sense I am uncertain. What I do know is that it inadvertantly recalls the strange layers of my childhood that float back, and a longing for 'the other' whatever that may be.