Diary
For regular updates have a look at - www.jennysoep.blogspot.com
Saturday, 26th April 2008
Well it's been a hectic old time since I moved to the big smoke, and here I am, Jenny Soep in Glasgow, a goldfish no longer in it's bowl, but in a big fat pond. I've been surprised how small it is though - I keep meeting people I know in tiny little places that are apparently little hot spots for creative inspiring minds and music. And the amount of people I've met that know my parents/sister/brother!...I think the Soep Siblings's could quite happily co-exist in Glasgow, or take it over...(Cackle Cackle!)
I've just done a big poster 'stick up' in the west end and the amount of people I met who were either extremely interested in what I do, or had seen my stuff before, and then there was the one guy who absolutely adamantly didn't even want to look at my poster because no way in hell was he putting it up. Which is fair enough I suppose if you've got a fascist boss, but not to even want to look at it! It's a nice poster don't you think? Apparently Fopp are only allowed their 3 posters up because they 'pay' them 8 cds a week. So it's a hard place to get into huh? Well, I like a challenge...
I've got a VERY nice hip and trendy eaterie interested in my work, and incidentally the food is excellent there. But I will divulge all only if a satisfactory plan works out with my pictures.
So this is now. I have meanwhile been resident artist at the Arches Theatre Festival (check out my blog!) for 2 weeks, plus selling prints to various lovely people, drawing houses, people, teaching some workshops, and general drawing madness. I FINALLY bought myself a camera and oh the difference it's made to my 'taking a picture and sticking it online'! The SPEED! C'est brilliant!
Right getting lost now. Got Triptych to draw this weekend. Cannae wait!
Monday, 25th February 2008
Blast from the Past and Into the New - Dunstaffnage Music Festival 2006, but animated!
Exciting stuff people! An animation of my wee illustrations done by Manimator of the Moment, Garry Whitton - Check it out!
Thursday, 14 February 2008
Projectorfest, by the way...
It's come to my attention, that a couple of press articles may have been directing 'Projector' traffic to look at this site - "Ye Gads! Be Gone!" Where you actually want to go is http://www.projectorfest.blogspot.com which is where you'll fine oodles of doodles, links, photos, banter and tasty factoids all in one attractive online package. All it needs is some music really.
Sunday, 13 January 2008
Projector - Dundee Animation Festival
Projector', the animation festival in Dundee - it's going to be good people, some great ol' workshops, animations, animatorey type people there - if you want to do ANYTHING to do with animation/story boarding/drawing/the moving image/etc/etc you must be there. It will provide, quite possibly, a life altering experience for you.
And guess who's going to be artist in residence?! It's a looong, wiiiinding and splendidly interesting story how I got the 'job', but that's for another day....
Friday, 14 December 2007
Bit of a Newsletter/Connect/Expo/Big Draw
Big Draw in Schools, organised by CAST, October 22nd – November 9th 2007
What an amazing experience this was. Organised by CAST (Creative Arts in Schools Team), I got to travel around 14 very different primary schools in Argyll, my home county, and do drawing workshops with them!! Perfect job! I got to play about with loads of like-minded beings, command the games, and do loads of drawings to music; all inspired by my own live drawing practice!! And what a stunning part of the world I live in, really! There were so many highlights (as well as the low ones!) but one particular memorable experience was working with two excluded boys who were more artistic than they thought they were. Here’s something that I’d really like to pursue, however I need to make sure I’m successful as an independent artist though – I can’t help anyone if I’m a hypocrite.
If you would like a little insight into what I did with the different schools, you can take a look at an example on http://www.pcps.ik.org/p_Jenny_Soep.ikml, which is a link to a page dedicated to my visit by Port Charlotte Primary on Islay. I was really blown away by how up-to-date, innovative, enthusiastic, well organised and technologically ‘in touch’ this school was. You can check it out on - http://www.pcps.ik.org. You can also email me on info@jennysoep.com if you’re interested to know more, or would like me to come your school. I’ll be most happy to supply you with references.
http://www.drawingpower.org.uk
Open Mike/Open Draw October 13th
The day after was a bit of an experiment as part of the Big Draw – a nationwide drawing event launched in October up until November – look it up under http://www.drawingpower.org.uk for some drawing inspiration! You too can hold a drawing event next year! Anyhoo, I organised an Open Mic/Open Draw as part of my exhibition, with Garry again providing some VJing support for young and old artists alike. We also had ‘Sound’ support from Stevo and Louie from the grand old Oban open mike nights that Garry and I have been providing a bit of visual entertainment for! Thanks guys!!
We had solid live music from various different wonderful musicians from mid-day till 4pm with the Sorren MacLean band and friends, my lovely friends/blues band ‘Bluescaster’, the wonderful and enigmatic Matt Goodwin from the smiley U.S. of A, and complete troopers The Lemmings who traipsed up all the way from Glasgae to play a stomping set – Stu on the Rose Tin Drum and Key Chain Plimpsole, as well as Ben Fitzgerald doing an excellent Lap Tapping session. We were also very privileged to have Liz Lochhead there to recite a couple of her raunchiest and sweetest poems. My own dear Nana even hobbled up on her crutches – recent hip operation – to give us ‘The Old Violin’. You could have heard a pin drop!
Thanks MAJORIS to everyone who gave us help and support – very much appreciated, especially to our sponsors, to Maria my mum – world porridge making champion 2007!! - for helping out with the canapés and other morsels of marvellousness, the Sinclair family for all their help and support, Andrew Sinclair for his belief, help, support, gallery etc etc –
Andy Stuart for his interjection of assistance the night before while I Chicken-headed around, and lastly Kim – superb sister of mine who was The Best event organiser/designer, artiste liaison, and canapé creator I’ve ever had. Can definitely recommend her although, I’d hate to lose her…
http://www.myspace.com/redwinesoep - Kim, Event Organiser
www.myspace.com/jennysoepsexpo - for details on the expo
www.resipolestudios.co.uk - Great Exhibition/Music Venue
Solo Show, Resipole Studios, Ardnamurchan, October 12-28th
October came round with my exhibition which opened on the 12th with the fabulous Sorren MacLean band who filled in for Popup who’d got lost on the way to the Ardnamurchan via Ardrishaig from Glasgow…Better send them proper directions next time. Martin Hay from the Yellow Bentines entertained the audience with his one-man band replacing his normal entourage of drummer, two trumpeters, a guitarist and bassist. The boy did well until after the after show party when he got lost in his own caravan…Garry Whitton, leading local animator was on hand with his cunning animations/filming/time-lapsing/VJ-ing wizardry of my drawings and the live happenings.
www.myspace.com/jennysoepsexpo
Connect Festival, August 31-Sept 2nd 2007.
A great first experience for a ‘Wee Boutique’ festival that used lots of great local services/foods/drinks/location and a fantastic array of international and home-grown music talent. Great shows, onsite alternative entertainment, late night partying… Will just state though, that camping was pretty sketchy, particularly in the rain, and I heard a few people got fleeced by a gang of head-torch donned ‘tea leaves’. Don’t be a wally and leave valuables in your tent!!
Highlights – drawing Bjork, Areogramme, King Creosote, Bat for Lashes, The Beastie Boys, LCD Soundsystem, Seasick Steve and quite a few others! A very memorable weekend. Getting to hang out in the Press Pit while the photographers got moved on (guess the security felt sorry my slow ass!) and finish my pictures was really quite exciting. My brother Ben capitalised on being my ‘gopher’ boy and running round the back of the stages after each performance to chat to the musicians while I tidied up my materials. Think I’ve got that the wrong way round…
Scottish Night and Ballads of the Book at The Hague, Oh Yes, The Hague.
November 2007
‘Scottish Night’/Ballads of the Book Crossing Borders Festival, 23rd November 2007
http://www.crossingborder.nl/programma_en.php
Well the events and experiences just keep getting better. Got to ‘slum it’ with some excellent musicians and authors from Bohnny Schottland at the prestigious Crossing Borders festival in The Hague, Holland. Got some great drawing done if I do say so myself, though really need some sort of lighting for my watercolour tray – Emma Pollock turned out green and purple, when I tried for yellow and pink!!
Got to work with a great Dutch illustrator called Matthijs Sluiter who produced some stunning drawings from the same event, damn him!! Lovely bloke – he gave me what I never knew I always wanted!! A little Dutch soup cup with SOEP in lovely letters on the outside!! That’s got to be THE best gift I’ve had this year. Dank U Wel Matthijs! (Check me out thanking everyone like I’m a big fat Hollywood queen or something!) Anyway, check out his lovely drawings on www.msluiter.nl.
Got to meet Norman Blake and slagged him off in a round about way accidently after mistaking him for someone else…I had drawn him at the Ballads of the Book event at the Tramway back in April, but he only played 2 songs before buggering off and I exclaimed how rubbish I’d thought that was, thinking it was Mike Heron I’d drawn…I later realised my mistake and told him that ‘actually, it wasn’t Mike Heron I should have been slagging off, it was YOU!’ He duly took it on the chin, and said I was quite right, but that he’d had to rush off to another gig. Very nice bloke – I unfortunately missed his stories of touring with Nirvana in his band Teenage Fanclub by being ‘sensible’ and having an early night. Dammit.
I did get to meet and shake the hand of Hugh Cornwell (writer/voice behind ‘Golden Brown/The Strangler’s main man who has toured without them for 17 years, and they without him – someone I know recently went to see them play in Campbeltown and stated they were sh**e – bet Hugh can chuckle with ease at that!). Got to stand beside Patti Smith in the hotel foyer thinking of all the million dumb things I shouldn’t say to her, and later at Schipol Airport preparing for departure, thinking of a million great things I could’ve said!
As for the Literati, I got to listen to the unexpected musical tones of John Burnside, as well as his claim to go out on the streets at night LOOKING for a fight; I had a good listen to the great loping Gaelic utterances of Rody Gorman (who did a great tambourine jam with Jenny Reeve/Strike the Colours during soundchecks, though I was most disappointed to see he didn’t have it for the main event). I was stunned into a prolonged silence (mentally) by the intense and addictive writings of Laura Hird; enjoyed the humour and sassiness of Louise Welsh’s readings (Louise had tried unsuccessfully to be Alasdair Grey’s assistance into Holland, since he lost his passport in the taxi to the airport!!), and then there was Alan Bissett’s unashamed loveable antics, patter and biting performance, all under the influence of what must have been a big fat dooby. The Holland audience clearly fell in love with his affable charm, after he got them all to shout simultaneously ‘Hello Alan’s Mum’ so he could record it on his mobile!! What a wee pet!
I was also quite captivated by Michel Faber’s very insightful and cutting wit in his interviews, and as a splendid MC for the night. For a ‘recluse’, he’s very switched on.
Then there were the musicians. Strike the Colours /Jenny Reeve and her band of merry men headlined – Jenny is a terrific musician and a real lovely girl too. Definitely very clear about what she wants – quite an inspiration; quirky dress sense – she cut a dramatic line in her flowing black dress that made her look tres statuesque with her funny wee red leather pumps and ‘red jewel’ choker. She was great to draw, and really genuine – one of her most endearing comments to the audience was “Some people say I ruin my mystique when I talk – ‘giggle’ – as if I have any mystique!”
Stevie Jones, ‘session musician extraordinaire’, was working extra hard that night playing with Jenny, Lord Cut Glass and Malcolm Middleton. I was pleasantly surprised at Alan Woodward/aka Lord Cut Glass – very funny guy and his music has an attraction that I want to invest more time in listening to.
Malcolm – classic – he’s jokingly put a bet on that his song ‘We’re all going to die’ to be Xmas number 1 and the odds have raced from 1000 – 1 to 20 – 1 in the space of a week!!! Go figure! Check out his website www.malcolmmiddleton.co.uk and check out his diary. He’s a funny man y’know…
Anyway, back to the other night - my drawing wasn’t as evocative of him as I think it could have been. I think I’ve been put off by the beautiful, bleak, evocative and poetic drawings on his website by that damned chap David Shrigley…who’s wit also features in Lord Cut Glass’s songs…
Emma Pollock – I think, after my 4th/5th attempt at drawing her, I’m starting to get there… I keep singing ‘Adrenalin’ in my head.
Have I forgotten anyone? Hmmm, oh yes – Norman Blake – loved his rendition of a couple of songs – very nice key changes (that’s as technical as I get!). Mike Heron and his daughter Georgia did some truly lovely songs. I really like his song on the Ballads album – Song for Irena.
Right, hope I haven’t bored you too much – you don’t have to read it all in one go you know, you can come back! Although, maybe I might not be here…
27th September
Drawing the Experience-Jenny Soep's Solo Show - 13th - 28th October 2007
Check out www.myspace.com/jennysoepsexpo for info on the exhibition
5th May - A bit about the Ballads (and Finally Finishing my Website!)
Well, Ballads of the Book came and went last Sunday and I had a really brilliant time. Prepared,worried and stressed way too long until I reminded myself I was about to do something I REALLY like, am pretty competent at, and as far as I know I’m the only one doing what I do - but the more I do it, increases the chances of bumping into my competition!
As it was, sitting there quite merrily drawing away, I was aware of all the photographers being instructed that they’d taken their last photo and that they had to bugger off by Security. I felt any moment now, they’re going to come and grab my pencils and tell me I’m done drawing!
The Expo upstairs at the Tramway went really well. I saw it more as a promotional exercise (jeepers that sounds so clinical, publicity stunt sounds better!) and was very pleased to see all the people checking it out. Most of them were actually punters who couldn’t get into stable 6 where the writers were doing their readings. It was well over capacity - infact the whole thing could have had twice as many people as it sold out earlier in the day. However, the small amount of people was enough to lend a really friendly relaxed atmosphere. Tramway was a brilliant
venue, there was a really great crowd and variety of acts to see and enjoy. An arts feast to cater for the wandering mind.
Thanks to my sister Kim and brother Ben for helping me do the unspeakable and arrive an hour and a half before the doors opened to the public and help me arrange such a professional looking get up! I was really very pleased with the way it looked, and getting to draw/write on the wall was pretty cool too. Infact I better write a letter to the people in charge of making the wall white again and thank them! Ben and Kim also curated the expo throughout the day, making the most of the free food and drink I was plying them from back stage, plus managed to take turns seeing the bands. They saw King Creosote and Sons and Daughters which I unfortunately didn’t manage, but once I’ve built my other self I’ll be able to catch more events!
Thanks to Chemical Underground for giving me the opportunity, D.John Ferguson, and Ross and Rodge of Burnt Island who plugged me during their gig - Bless their cotton socks!
Also great sounds from the above!
(Jeeze, I need some tissues or something for this spiel...)
If you want to see the pictures that I drew during the day which then added to my ‘one day growing expo’ plus photos, check out the Live Music Page and go to ‘Ballads of the Book’.
Also you’ll find another account of the day on my blog - www.jennysoep.blogspot.com
This is the last bit I had to do before sending to my very patient and hardworking Webmaster!
24th April
Come and Enjoy the 29th at the Triptych Festival Glasgow!!
Will fill you in on the latest a bit later as right now I’m preparing for my ‘one day’ Exhibition/Drawing Session at that most fabulous of events, Ballads of the Book, a full day of music, literature and art - in the shape of me and my bits of paper and pens!! Taking place at The Tramway, I have to say I’m pretty excited to be a part of BOTB, in that it’s involving poetry, the spoken word, top contemporary writers and musicians and an initiative to crossover the arts. Lovely!
If you fancy coming, check out the the following sites
http://www.chemikal.co.uk/ballads
www.triptychfestival.com
