3D Art room by 12 years old at BKO Academy – Feb 2017

I recently realised that it’s almost seven months since I saw an airplane from the inside. That’s indeed the time I am into my long-term sabbatical as Petervan Productions. It also means I am about halfway: another seven months indeed between now and end 2017. If you are interested in my developing story, my Jan 2017 and March 2017 updates are still available.

A quick update:

March-April felt like a period of soul-searching and reflection. I constantly had the impression I was not doing much and progressing very little, but writing this update gave me some comfort: there still is some advancement towards my goal and that of Petervan Productions.

I feel less restless than in the first couple of months, and can accept that a day goes by without any concrete deliverable. I also made some minor changes to my daily schedule, which is now more in synch with nature. For example, when the weather is great, I go outside for a bike ride or some gardening, and that’s why I already got a nice pre-summer tan 😉 And when it rains, it’s time for desk work. As there is enough rain in Belgium, there is enough time for desk work.

Artschool

Artschool continued at +/- 9 hours per week practice in the art studio of the art academy. Got a challenging color-study from my coach, which also led into a remake of “The Drama”. I also started liking the use of many very transparent layers.

Two completely different works
Both acryl on cotton canvas stitched on wooden board
122 x 82 cm

Performance

• I had many 1-1 conversations with friends and relatives to collect feedback on the performance “Tin Drum Is Back”. Thank you so much for the very valuable feedback!
• Did some site visits to find the ideal location for the performance. Nothing came really close for the final show: some spaces were great, but the acoustics awful. And for some good news I got commitment from two sponsors to use their space for the dry run and Avant-premiere.
• I also received some first proposals for the visual identity of the show there is much more, but this would be the main theme:

First mood board for “Tin Drum” performance

Events

Nothing special here. As you know from previous updates, I am not in active prospection mode, and every request is measured against my existing priorities:

• There are 1-2 interesting speaking engagements that allow me to test some of the performance and/or structural change concepts.
• One promising lead for an immersive learning expedition with artistic performances.
• Little progress on the retreat-style event.

Other

I visited some great art exhibitions and had some very pleasant conversations with art curators.

Inspiring also were the visits to the new site of Axel Vervoordt along the canal in Wijnegem (Antwerp) and the visit to ceramist Piet Stockmans in Genk, and the premiere of the film about Dries Van Noten in Bozar.

Piet Stockmans – Blue plate

Extract from film Dries Van Noten

And I also started experimenting with some poems, some out of the blue, others in relation to some of my artwork. A first collection via this link.

So, what’s next?

During May – June 2017, the plan is to work on:

• My daughter’s communion is on 14 May 2017. We plan to keep things simple, invite some close family in our garden with a back-up tent in case of rain, and some quality food and drinks brought in by a local caterer.
• Creating an installation for the June 2017 year end exposition of my art school; the installation will be called “TOKOMA”
• A visit to a research facility in Germany that integrates artists in industrial research project work
• The production aspects of the performance
• Continue the research on structural Deep change – Good Change – Bad Change with some excellent feedback from my social media community.

This year’s summer promises to be different as well. We decided to move houses to be closer to the Flemish Primitives. Emptying the old house, refurbishing the new one, boxing and un-boxing will keep us busy most of the summer. The new house was previously a doctor’s practice, and the plan is to organise one space as an artist’s atelier/production studio where I plan to study, paint, write poems, compose music, and produce experiences.

Detail from Atelier Michael Landy

That’s about it for this edition. If there is something worth reporting, next update is for July 2017. Looking forward to hearing from your latest adventures as well.

Rebelliously yours,

I am in the business of cultivating high quality connections and flows to create immersive learning experiences and structural change. Check out: https://petervanproductions.com/