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I'm not dead ... I'm in Herne Bay

If you'd asked me 20 years ago when I graduated from University with my Creative Arts Honours Degree, "Where do you see yourself in 20 years?" I would not have had a clue. If you'd asked me "Where do see yourself next week?" the answer would have been the same. The summer of 1993 was a very chaotic time for me, my Dad died of cancer and I certainly didn't feel like applying to do a PGCE or even considering my future. I did know that I had made some good friends and that art / creativity would always be the main focus of my life. As with all arty types and quite a number of my fellow graduates making a living off your artistic talents is rather a challenge so at some point teaching comes to each of us or depression and poverty!

I am lucky enough to still see some of my dear friends from University and without question, our children have inherited our arty ways or didn't really have a choice. Actually all children are naturally creative with little minds full of crazy ideas and its mainly life that crushes these. Just ask Josie whether she would rather study maths in preparation for her Kent Test or spend the day in Herne Bay creating Dada inspired photographs, making an art bike out of junk and defacing reproductions of famous paintings.

Even better that I should be able to get together with a fellow creative artist from yesteryear and her beautiful girls and head off to The Beach Creative for some Dadaist photography with toys, Dolly does Dada.

The lovely organiser Karen from Shore is a load of rubbish gave us a bike from her collection in a spray painted (correctly identified by Charlie who is practically an expert after trying it a couple of years ago) lock up. And off we set to our the next stage of our Duchampian adventure, creating an art bike with random bits of precious junk from around Leanne's garden, very much in the spirit of an honours project.

 

 

Heels are an essential part of the process

As are lollipops

And broken umbrellas, smashed up pink plastic chairs, piñatas especially if it was your 5th birthday the day before, vest flags with 40th birthday banners and fake fox tails as well as numerous stickers and assorted sparkly tat.

 

How we found time to deface postcards of famous paintings in the Pier Gallery and eat chips on the steps of the clock tower will no doubt astound all our friends and family.

Just a small selection of the contempt and disrespect we showed the great artists.

So if you are in Herne Bay over the next week or know people who will be, don't forget to check out our Art Bike which is next to the massive anchor and rather large rocks with a danger notice which is clearly there simply to dare children to climb on them. And remember these children are now incredibly famous, the title of their master piece is "This is not a bike it is a piece of French art" and I wouldn't be surprised if Herne Bay didn't became the centre of the universe seeing as Marcel Duchamp's time spent there in August 1913 has rescued Josie from fractions, percentages and algebra for just enough time to join this explosion of talent.

 

 

 

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