I managed four hours in my studio last Friday, playing with print making and my mangle, working out some processes and the best order with which to layer up different print making techniques for developing future pieces. These sessions, especially after a lengthy absence from the studio are important for re-establishing a working routine.
Routine? That’s a bit of a joke this year, because since my solo show at Easter, I have hardly made any work! I try to remind myself that that’s the way it goes sometimes, and that since I started on my journey back to being “an artist” just over eighteen months ago, I have made pretty good progress. Do other artists have to constantly give themselves this pep talk? I expect so.
I heard Alex Katz on the radio the other morning saying that if you want to be a painter you should be painting at least 6 hours a day, 6 days a week. Fat chance. I found myself feeling quite edgy and insecure for a while after hearing those words. And then I imagined that he probably had someone to cook his meals, clean his house, etc. etc. Am I letting my domestic life come before my artistic one? At the moment, yes and two more people close to me are going to need my support in the coming months. People are more important than paintings, frustrating as that is when trying to develop art works.
On a more optimistic note, I have filled another sketchbook and prepared a new one for working in with a variety of media on a gessoed base. I love the chalky texture of gesso or even ordinary decorator’s emulsion paint for working on with a variety of media. So, while I am distracted by builders at home, friends and family who need me and my duties as chair of Ryedale ArtWorks, I shall cling to the odd hours that come my way and make work in my books.
I am sticking to my guns about where to show my work; I am not prepared to compromise the work by placing it in tiny cluttered gallery come shop come cafe spaces. I think it deserves to be shown in a good space, so I need to get on with my research and start contacting some. I am not feeling too pressured about this though because I think my main priority is to make more work in the coming twelve months so that I have a larger number of pieces to select from.
I submitted a proposal for a really interesting local residency some months ago but my sources tell me that the whole project has ground to a halt due to lack of funding. It took me quite a long time to write the proposal, so I was expecting to be informed by the party leading the project about progress but this has not been the case. This seems to me to be rather disrespectful but I am beginning to realise that it is not unusual. I am quite discriminating about what I apply for and yet still get caught up in the unprofessionalism of others. I resent the time it takes to fill in all these applications, especially when the leaders of the projects don’t bother to reply. This reinforces my resolve to concentrate on making work in the coming months and not to be distracted by what else is going on outside my studio.
One way I could find more time to concentrate wholly on my work is to do an artists’ residency; the idea of being given a space a fair distance away from home or studio in which to experiment and develop some further work is very, very appealing.
