To residency or not to – that was the question:
When first approached by Pangolin for this opportunity I was both excited and disappointed, and frankly quite confused.
On the one hand it seems perfect timing: following on from a 3 month residency from February to April 2010, I had realised that what I need is to consolidate the discoveries I made then and extended studio time, away from daily pressures of making a living, would be just what I meed to really develop as an artist.
I would get a great fully kitted out studio in Kings Cross to use for a year, some materials, technical support from the foundry, and if I can do the work to justify it – a solo show at the end of it, in an amazing gallery which would place my work in exactly the right context that I want it to be viewed.
On the other hand – I was pregnant, and already had a 3 year old. I had been thinking that 2011 would be mostly taken up with a maternity break whilst I cooed over a new born baby and made sure my son bonded well with his new sibling.
Should I try to persuade them to let me have the residency in another year or so, or was the risk of loosing the chance too great. Would I get more out of it in a year when I wasn’t giving birth – yes probably – but who knows – it might be harder to do it with a 2- and 5-year-old who can both talk and want to see more of me, than a new born and a 3 year old. And currently I have a great support network of family to help me with childcare which I can’t guarantee will last forever.
If I did it an could get what I hoped out of it, then I would be so much further ahead in my artistic development by the start of 2012, and I might be in a position to be taking on other even greater opportunities.
So, after a lot of soul searching and thinking and talking to various people – and, I’m so lucky for this, the encouragement of my husband and mother – I decided to put in a proposal to Pangolin London for the 2011 Sculpture Residency at Kings Place.
