It’s never good to start a blog entry with 10 minutes to go till school pick up but here goes with an attempt to fill in the gaps on my last day in Glasgow. This turned out to be Edinburgh really as on a few peoples recommendation I hot footed it to the Botanic Gardens there where Karla Black had a show. It wasn’t so much hot footed as numb footed by the time I got there. The streets in Edinburgh are sooooo much further apart than Glasgow so what I thought would just be a short hike from the station turned out to be a rather long (and bitterly cold one).
When I got there though I planted my bum on a radiator and just sat there, breathing in the quietness of the room, the stillness of the work and the frozen gardens outside, all bathed in sunshine. It should have been – and was actually – a lovely moment, althought the museum staff clearly didn’t trust me not to scuff the delicately placed powder on the floor and kept popping in and out or hovering in the corner to remind me I was being watched. I felt I was not safe to be left alone with the work and that wasn’t nice.
On the way back I spoke to a curator at another gallery, something I hate doing but I did have a mutual contact with them so I thought I’d give it a go. Everyone in Scotland has been so welcoming and interested in discussing my work with me I have really enjoyed the visit. All these initial contacts will need following up but so far it’s been encouraging and not at all the ordeal I thought it would be.
Once back we had the first meeting of our fledgling crit group in a little tea room equidistant from everyone , just to voice where we are in our work and what a group could offer. After taking literally months to come to an agreed date it was such a treat to finally meet and chat with other artists in the area. As soon as the new year starts we’ll look into taking it further but I’m just so pleased it has finally happened.
Right, just made it, off to school pick up.
