My first opportunity this week to get into the studio, and it’s not too cold today!
I’m commissioned to make a garden mirror. With much foresight, when I was cutting down several large bushes in the garden, I stripped them and labelled them, thinking I might use them eventually. The frame I’ll make for the mirror will use the Hibiscus that had failed because it was crowded out in a border. So it will live on – in a different form.
While waiting for the mirror I returned to some small preparatory painting/drawings I work on intermittently. Painting is the one activity where I can lose myself completely – and do not have an expectation of a certain outcome. These small works are building into an interesting series.
It seems a long time since that holiday in Croatia: I’ve settled in to a routine in my studio, but will probably have to move into the house for the winter. That will be a challenge – I’ll probably find myself working digitally again which will be interesting. I like this constant movement across art forms.
BUT I do have ideas for painting which will need cold hours in the studio.
C’est la vie.
Have been looking through photos and video of Croatia – the usual disappointments and surprises when some work and some don’t!
Split is the site of an amazingly well preserved 4th century walled Roman city: inside is the Roman emperor Diocletian’s palace, and his mausoleum, which was converted into a Christian cathedral in the 7th century. When you see the size of the bulding blocks you really understand how ambitious and determined the Romans were, and why the archeology has survived. The tiny cathedral, crammed with Catholic artifacts, has the feeling of being only a temporary installation within the sturdy and beautiful Roman architecture. Sadly my photographs don’t to it justice.
There was a great contemporary art gallery in Split too – lots to see!
The tiny town of Korcula is not without its archeological gems: we spent many hours wandering through the narrow streets, discovering medieval architecture that has been subsumed into the buildings, or left to enjoy its own faded magnificence behind a boarded up doorway.
At the other end of the island we visited the cave of Vela Spila, where archeologists have criss-crossed their excavation pits with lines and markers – their finds are neatly arranged in the local museum, and testify to visits from the Greeks, Romans and many other wandering peoples thousands of years ago.
It strikes me now how very predictable my holiday behaviour is: I swim (I love snorkeling) and sunbathe, explore archeological sites and hunt down galleries. Eat, drink, think – and it’s sufficient.
Lucky me.
Strange how this summer has zipped by, all sorts of things already forgotten because of the pace of our lives…
Went on a very late holiday to Croatia, a beautiful and varied country of which we could only see a tiny bit in our two weeks, but enough to whet our appetite for more. Fantastic and well-preserved Greek and Roman remains, blue blue Adriatic, amazing storms that lasted hours! We discovered a Croatian modernist (see pic) who emigrated to America and became a successful portraitist (his early work was most interesting), a huge cave that has been a habitat and meeting point for 10,000 years, and amazing artwork held in little churches everywhere. I’m just beginning to sort my photos and videos and already looking forward to returning.
This weekend I opened my studio, to show friends and neighbours where I’m working now, and what I do. Open studios take a lot of time and energy, but it’s really good to have the luxury of talking about individual pieces of work, and work in general, in that relaxed way.
More importantly for me, it was a key marker – I’m here and I’m settled, and now I’m ready to set off on the next big adventure. Which for me is more research and development.
It has made such a difference, too, to be accepted for a national exhibition (Fabric of the Land, Aberdeen Aug-Sept) Opportunities like this are important: they give confidence and help to focus.
Eariler in the week the harvest was brought in – I get so excited this time of year, when I hear the combine enter the field. I had been debating whether I had time to video the event, but as soon as the machine drove past the end of my garden I was hooked again. The next few hours were spent filming! Hope to get editing soon.
