So I was away in Ibiza for 3 weeks working on the new Cyberdog shop which was a great opportunity to reflect on my life and situation, as the island can have this magical effect on you (and i’m not talking about clubs and drugs)

I came back to France last week and for the first time in 4 months actually realised i was home, France isn’t an easy country to adjust to, especially coming from the heart of London and moving in to the countryside of south France, It’s conservative, quiet and the shops are shut half the time, but now i’m adjusting and seeing it for the beautiful place it is – just need to get to grips on the language so the locals don’t visibly cringe while i hack at their lovely idiom..

We got approval from the planning office to join the mains sewage.. too much information i hear you say! but believe me it’s important lol!! and after four days on adobe illustrator and photoshop, I have finally done the architectural plans for the modifications to the barn which were highly detailed to scale specs of what we are doing and it’s impact on the local environment. So fingers crossed we get approval from the planning office as what we are doing is gorgeous and i’m not changing it

Pixel by pixel.. stone by stone we will bring this thing to life and in the mean time as if i don’t have enough to do, i’m looking to exhibit some of my art locally and making some new sculptures in the spanking brand new art studio I just built in the garage.. watch this space

Spring is here and major work has started on building our house. My stone wall building is a bit rusty after 20 years, but the instinct is coming back quickly (it’s kind of like Tetris but with real blocks and more organic) there is something very primal about building things from the ground up.. Especially if it’s your own house.

Still feeling a little bit isolated in the countryside although it is absolutely stunning where we live. The salad and vegetables are mostly locally grown and still has the dirt on.. Still washing what i think is insect poo off the lettuce and still super paranoid about ingesting something I shouldn’t.. You can take the Londoner out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the Londoner. I can now definitely feel why we made such a radical decision to move abroad and completely change our lifestyle and it will be a year or two before we can relax a bit to enjoy the fruits of our labour.
‘Life is what we make it’ the mantra keeps telling us, but in the end it’s about belief in our own abilities and having the courage to realize dreams and ambitions.. One of the more endearing qualities of human nature that still makes me believe in the future of humanity

2012 looks like it’s going to be as interesting and volatile as 2011, but for me it’s really going to be different, in exactly one week I leave London for good for a new life in the south of France. Already boxed and bagged my London life ready to ship and already saying au revoir! to friends and colleagues. It’s so easy to take friendships for granted when you have access to them whenever you like, but close to leaving, I am reflecting and realise what amazing friends and relationships i do have with the people i care about, they can’t be bought or ego massaged.. there is an element of unconditional understanding, tolerance, forgiveness, love and laughter.. A history together! long term friendships grow without knowing it and then when they are not on tap 24/7 the importance of them kicks in.. I’m very lucky to have such strong and valuable friendships and I guess with this in mind no distance on the planet is going to change that.. I look forward to summer visits

I’ve been quiet for a few months as it’s time to deconstuct my old life, pack it in boxes for a year or two and get ready for a new life in europe, Plans for House Futur Fusion in the south of France are gaining momentum. New life, new ideas, new creative inspirations, its always very exciting to initiate change in one’s life, but this will be the biggest yet. I believe that if you want to realize grander ambitions, then of course you have to take bigger risks.. I’ve tried this before but with little success, not easy to be an artist who makes art isn’t exactly commercial, but in the end i love what i do and it feels right, so wouldn’t change what i do it for anything else.

Just when you think you’re on a set path and things flow from one situation to another.. CRASH! a metaphorical meteorite hits and everything changes. we go next month to look at some derelict barns and land in south of France, hopefully to find the perfect place to realise a dream of building a unique living space. Let’s be honest if I wait any longer to do it in London it’s never going to happen unless I win on the lottery. So a huge change in lifestyle, culture and language as we plan and are getting ready to relocate in march 2012.

I can’t wait! and really looking forward to getting my teeth in to a big project which is all our own, an artist retreat and gallery guesthouse in ultra modern style. Definitely a new chapter in our lives, and a new direction in being creative i think.. Watch this space!

I’ve spent the last few days recharging my batteries after an exhausting few months building and launching Futur Fusion, which was a huge success. i feel very proud of my colleagues and friends and what we achieved. Reviews coming online pronto.

Simon Bevis, a very talented videographer documented the event and really captured the vibe of FF which can be seen at  www.vimeo.com/25309432

And today Maxim from Prodigy came to our pad to collect the sculpture he bought, who is planning his own exhibition of his work in September, he does some very cool and detailed paintings of butterflies with samurai swords and hacking up insects mid flight, some very detailed layers and sub stories in his art (look out for his expo at I.N.C Space, Covent Garden) He’s a cool guy and very clued up, and like me wants to do the expo his way so very hands on.. great respect, as it’s not the easy road to go down.. but definitely the most satisfying check out his work at  www.mm-gallery.com

I absolutely need to chill the f*kc out now and get some rest, and ready to tackle the next leg of journey

Well, after months of planning, building, sweat, tears, tantrums and some truly amazing support from friends, we are on the last hurdle and bringing to fruition what was a great idea, but is now stunning physical reality. We are very proud of what we have been able to achieve with Futur Fusion. It’s an honest exhibition of hard work, love and determination on very limited finances, we pulled off an accomplished big show which we will install tomorrow and then it opens on Monday for a week. Then i guess we will see if people like it or not.. i hope so, either way we did what we could and is an amazing and enlightening experience no matter what.. bring it on!!

Like most artists,  I’m better creating things than I am organising them. I’m not a big fan of admin, but realise it makes society run more smoothly.. it just bores the pants off me. So very happy that I have a few days of uninterrupted time working on my sculptures for the exhibition. I adapted the ability to switch my art head on and off at will early on in life.. and grateful that i’ve had lots of practice as it’s a remarkable skill to have, which can be applied of course to other situations too.

I’m working on the DNA Helix robots, a 2.5m high piece that’s a bit of a beast but fun and looking forward to getting to know them like an intimate lover, I feel very connected to the pieces while i’m working on them, not in any  sexual way of course, but definitely sensual as i’m only human, working with the human form and being in a creative space does that to a mind, difficult to separate real and unreal in that magical head space that nearly all artist love so much while doing something new

Well we survived another Rapture, i’m still here and looks like god doesn’t want me.. or his followers unfortunately. I wait with anticipation for next years armageddon when the Mayan calendar stops, then i guess we’ll wait for another revelation from some fruitcake god squad amateur mathematician to get it wrong so we can all laugh at his miscalculations. Until then we carry on scrabbling in the dirt like talking monkeys wearing Gucci and AK 47′s, until we do actually see some light, revelation, heightened state of consciousness, or just good old fashioned Evolution.. my bets on the last one

This week has started with a bang, working like crazy on new pieces for the Futur Fusion expo, and working out again, with a bit of aerial training on the strops to get myself back in to fitness. Hoping to put together a PR team and have the first draft of the soundscape which will compliment the exhibition. Things are coming together slowly but feel there is movement, and of course I keep changing my mind about what pieces I want to make, ahh! So confused as all this energy is spiking out of me and have to find some way to channel it productively.. Some meditation is in order after training me thinks