Artist in Residence Manchester College

Thursday, 8 January 2015

I'm fascinated with the action of scrolling, tapping, and pressing on contemporary tablets. This has made me think about the old tablets I am exploring; their size, how they fit into the palm of the hand, how they are not too dissimilar to the size of a mobile phone, and the actions used by the scriber to create records of ownership (receipts and tabs).

Omnitouch / Projector touch screen interface, found on the internet

I have taken some instructions, found on the internet, for using tablets and mobile phones such as how to scroll, tap and zoom and used these to instruct actions I make using my hands over a surface. This has got me thinking about by Art By Instruction and the do it exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery in 2013.

For example

Vertical Scrolling

For browsing through your list of Android applications, and to read content on websites.

Instructions Scrolling Downwards

· Gently place your finger on the Android tablet's screen and glide it upward slowly.

· As you move your finger, the page or list will scroll down.

· To scroll down very fast, glide your finger upward quickly and release it from the screen.

Instructions Scrolling Upwards

· Glide your finger downward to vertically scroll upward

7th January 2015

Today I have been to my studio at Rogue to prepare for my forthcoming live performance I'll be giving at Toast next week. Please come along and see it (details below).

Pictures below show me marking out a grid on a 1m 80 x 1m 80 piece of plastic. Within these marked spaces I paint my 'picture-language' using a mixture of white acrylic and PVA. I'm using sketches I made in 2008 of an invented 'picture language' inspired by looking at the movement of people, as a reference for the marks I paint on the plastic. This activity is about me deciding on the scale, method and process I will use for my performance as well as taking into consideration aesthetics and my feelings about all these elements that make up the piece.

I am publishing these 'behind the scene' pictures because I am hoping that students find seeing what an artist does in order to workout a method of working useful. They really are the first few steps I have taken to prepare for my performance. Like beginning any new piece of work, it is a bit daunting to make those first few marks on a clean space - the whiteness of a canvas or cartridge paper, but it is only once you begin that you can start making decisions you couldn't possibly make without trying it out in practice.

17th December

I've not posted any pictures of the 'studio' wall at Manchester College recently, so here's some shots.

A new ink drawing based on the 2008 drawing of my invented picture-language made today.

Another new ink drawing made soon after the above drawing. This one attempts to develop some new 'characters' based on technicians moving objects in and out of the studio and people sitting at the computers.

My studio wall

Photocopy taken from Semitic Writing from Pictographic to Alphabet, G.R. Driver.

Wednesday, 19 November 2014

19th November

Exploring the studio 307

Found object made by student.

Hello and welcome

My name is Sarah Sanders, I am an artist based in Manchester. I specialise in drawing and performance, and most known for using text in my work. For the residency at Manchester College I will be developing some ideas based in pictographic signs I began exploring in 2008.

Sarah Sanders, Untitled, ink on paper, 2008

Previous work.

Sarah Sanders, I used to, durational performance. Photograph by Nick Leyland.

Short video of me talking about 'I used to' filmed at Summerhall, Edinburgh, 2013.

You can see more of my work on my website www.sarahsanders.co.uk

And come and say hello and see what I'm up to at Manchester College, Northenden Campus, Room 307 on Wednesdays.