Joshua Raffell Art

Walking home with Dave we were talking about the amazing things we have done and how they become forgotten or fragmented how yesterday becomes confused or infused with a day last week and last week could easily have been a month etc... So I want to create a diary or a few memories as detailed or fluid as appropriate for as long as I can... Woke up early with breakfast in bed Smoked salmon, Scrambled eggs and Mushrooms on toast a Green tea with Ginseng and Honey. Lovingly made by Dave. Had my shower and got ready to go and meet Rosanna for a pre drink, and then a talk at Opinion makers http://www.alisn.org/The-Opinion-Makers-2
Received a Text message from my mum to say she was still in hospital her Fiscuia had stopped working, that they were trying to fix it and had put her on a temporary line but it would not work, The Doctors have said that her potassium was way to high and has not been right for some time. I had recently phoned her to discuss coming to stay but both my nan and sister Kerry had said she really was not well enough to visit. We decided that once the show 'Young Gods had finised then Dave and I would go and visit her.
Dave and I discussed meeting up at two and the walking home from Brick lane, We discussed that I had still not been paid from Middlsex University where I have been doing life Modelling and that I would need to put money onto my travel card, Dave gave me his credit card to be able to do this we talked about needing £80 pounds for the van to collect my work and take it to CHARLIE SMITH LONDON on Tuesday ready for second opening of 'Young Gods' Originally I was going to put in two pieces but Zavier Ellis had spoken about just showing one piece in the back room of CHARLIE SMITH Gallery and putting a spot light on the work, I'm really excited to see this as I think it will look great. Zavier had also said they I did not need to source the spot lights as they would use the lighting in the space.
I left the house around 10:30 and was heading up the road to Leytonstone tube station but only got as far as Leytonstone High Road Overground station having decided to top up my card and then go and catch the W15 to Hackney Town hall and then a 48 bus to the end of Redchurch street.The Guard at the Overground reminded me that there were no trains from this station today, I thanked him and said I had already made plans rot use the bus. Dave and I had also had the conversation about the Central line that although it was a limited service it was going from Leytonstone station to Bethnal Green and then a walk from there to Bricklane. We had already worked out the the W15 was a alternative solution to the tube as we had been out yesterday to Louise Gee 40th Birthday and we were meeting at Vertigo a Champagne bar on the 42 floor in a tall building near Liverpool Street.
I had just missed a bus and waited around 12 minutes for another so decided to pop into the the show and withdraw money and have a double decker while I was waiting. With only a 3 minute wait for the connecting bus I was running a little late and so texted Rosanna to say I would be 5-10 minutes late. I walked down red church street and noticed a coffee house / clothes shop which was empty but conveniently situated to where the Opinion Makers Show was. I decided to carry on and go to the normally busy coffee shop on the corner of Redchurch street, It was very busy and a que for both the inside and takeaway, I decided that I did not want to wait for long and so headed back along Redchurch Street to the cafe that was quite as I walked in a crowd followed and the previously quite cafe became a hive of excitement other people came in quickly filling up the once derelict space where only the staff of three stood around bored and chatting.
I ordered a Nutta and Capachino and went to sit in the chairs at the front of the cafe. the opinion makers remained closed and as I sat there Robin Sier walked past I was going to shout to him but decided not to I received a message from Rosanna to say she was also running late and would join me in the next 15 mins the time was now 11:35 and so I offered to get her a drink in and save time. Robin walked past the window and at the last moment looked in and caught my eye he came into the cafe and we chatted for a little while. He had just arrived back from Switzerland and was going to spend the day sorting out his room he said he might try and get to the talk. When He left I ordered a Soya flat white for Rosanna and another Capacino for myself. Rosanna arrived just after the coffee and we had a quick catchup before heading to the talk. We had a a quick walk around the exhibition and met Janettte Parris & Karl English people started to gather at the door and Richard Ducker was there I introduced Rosanna something I'm normally crap at and had a chat with him about hoes he is not curating so much and concentrating on his own practice more with one show a year. as organising is quite time consuming, He said he had seen that i was in Young gods through FB and seen other photos from my time at Chelsea doing a MA in the previous year. Someone had gestured for everyone to go to the Owl and the Pussy Cat for the talk. So we dutifully followed. A group of around 20 people gathered in the pub and the talk began with the organiser of the Opinion makers kicking off he said it was more of a discussion and time for networking than a talk and felt slightly odd that we were not talking in the exhibition space about the work or curation of the work It did feel more like a event where it is in the funding process where one has to create events to get the funding to do an exhibition. Althopugh saying that there were a few people I knew and it was interesting from that point of view. Mostly Curators talked about there up and coming events. A rather loud and perplexed Landlady showed concern at the possible videoing in the bar and that there was such a large number there without prior organisation but unperturbed the talk went on another slightly awkward moment was when one of the curators prompted the artist he was showing to talk about something she was working on and the process of showing her work to which she said well all I can say really is that I will be losing my studio and where I live if anyone knows of anything going let me know! Another lady suggested a venue that would make an interesting place to show work in crouch end and it would encourage a large audience who would be interested if only to see the Building. I do wonder what and where these people come from. It was encouraged that everyone there should write down there email and then for information to be sent around the interested parties, It will be interesting to see what comes from this transaction. Rosanna started talking to Paula Macarthur who is a painter artist/ curator from Rye, she has a MA but took time out for children and is now looking to circulate and show work. She was also with another lady who's name I forget.
Another lady joined us and started talking about missing the talk but she had graduated from Chamberwell I asked if she knew Sharon Reeves and she said she did our chat was cut short as we were informed that the show would need to be taken down, so Rosanna and I headed into the exhibition to have a look around. Keran was taking down his work and Rosanna and I helped him another guy was there and I recognised him has John Summers, I asked him if it was and said that we had met at a show in studio1.1 he asked when and then said he had no recollection of ever meeting me I made a joke of it by saying its nice to know I'm so memorable. We went on to talk about shows and I said how I have this idea to create a show and invite artist to show work to then smash there work and leave my own work intact. Jon seemed quite shocked by this and Rosanna and I laughed she thought it was a great Idea and said be ware if I ever ask them to be in a show. we also talked about human natural urge is to be aggressive and Rosanne talked about the more we fight these natural urges the more they will manifest themselves. I thought this was interesting and reflected on the recent Shootings of 12 people in Paris @ Jes we Charlie How the Muslim faith is such a peace flu faith yet these extremist groups are intent on causing such violence and disruption in the name of there religion. Jon walked off and Keran joined us we said we thought we had scared Jon off but when he returned Keran asked hims nd he replied that he also thought it was a cool idea. We helped to take down Keran's work and took it over to studio1.1. We left after a few minutes at around 3:45 we went to meet Dave in a pub on the corner of Bricklane. I had a bitter lemon and we had a nice chat about IT and art. Rosanna left us and dave and I walked down Bethnal High Street Dave said that while he was waiting for us to join him he dad seen Homi and Keran and had a few weird conversations with people in the bar.we decided to go and have a sausage and egg sandwich in a cafe on the way home we had decided to walk home we walked through Meath Gardens we walked along Lichfield Road turning right into Coborn Road past the Morgan Arms where we had a met for Kodies Birthday a few years back and then shortly after met Jan savage at the same pub. We turned left down Coborn Street past Malmesbury Primary school where our friend Cathy used to work. Getting on to Bow Road and walking through Stratford along Grove Cres rd through Maryland point up Leytonstone High Road and home It took us 1:30min the quickest yet