Happy Birthday blog.
Blog is one! It’s been a very exciting and progressive year, which I have to credit in part to ‘Getting Paid’. This is mainly because it forced a change in the way I approach my career/practice. I think the blog has been particularly responsible for making me analyse what it is I do with my time and what skills I have, which in turn has made me see new ways I can apply those skills. I started writing down things such as achievements and aims – something that I often think about but never do and this made me realise how hard I was working. These are things that we all know about ourselves, but often just have floating about our brains in a grey woolly confusion. The blog has also raised my profile and led to a few opportunities (directly and probably indirectly too) including: talking at an AIR event in Manchester, Talking at Chapter in Cardiff, writing news items for a-n, not to mention the fact that my increased presence on the blogs has meant ongoing conversations with lots of fellow bloggers and artists.
So good developments in 2009 include:
Finding out in January that I had got the Feiweles Bursary at Yorkshire Sculpture Park and starting that in September.
More work doing talks/lecturing rather than minimum wage work
Being commissioned by Artland in April
Being nominated by Liverpool Biennial for the Linz residency (and being chosen by Linz of course!)
Getting three stockists for my artists’ books
Being offered more opportunities and work than I applied for (just!)
Being commissioned by the Grundy in Blackpool to do their January exhibtion.
Transforming from a ¾ time artist with a part time job, to a full-time artist with a lot more options for making a living.
To look forward to in 2010.
Finishing YSP with a book and closing event
Teaching a drawing course in Cape Cod in the summer
Showreel project in Milan
Going back to Linz to launch the new book I am making
Solo Show prep for YSP in 2011
And………????
Aims and objectives for Emily this year
Less guilt.
More regular (and more efficient!) accounting and admin.
Curating one exhibition/event (and no more).
More writing and research
An ambitious new body of work well underway
More books and drawing
Less compromising.
Kittens & good times in the new house.
A long (i.e. more than a week) holiday with my husband.
Right, I’m off for some cake. Or to Liverpool to move house. Or both.
