Lizzie sent me 4 of her artworks. One is the amazing lady with musical hair. Two are A4 or close and can be mounted on a wall. The last is a amoeba shape cut out of folded newspaper. This last one scared me a bit. I’m feeling reverence for the work and I was terrified of tearing it. I thought about leaving it folded and making another installation for the tiny gallery but eventually I took a deep breath and opened it out.
It is hanging on the kitchen door, looking out onto the garden. The shapes on the inside look like sunlight dappling through and creating leafy shadows. It brings outside inside and it creates little windows too.
I have taken down one of my pictures – it was a 1920’s illustration of some orange flowers and put up 2 pieces by Lizzie Donegan instead.
I’d like to change the spacing around but getting any fixings in my walls generally results in the whole wall falling down so I’m making do with what is there.
Having someones work around the place is making me feel more mindful of the space I inhabit. It’s like having a visitor and I feel like I should be reverent, and on my best behaviour. I should probably also tidy up a bit.
The stairs in my house go across and through the middle of the house. That makes a thin tall area where I have shelves for books and beautiful things. It gets messy. I’m not good at putting things away.
This morning I made a tiny oasis for the artwork by Lizzie Donegan. I polished the bookcase, removed dead leaves and made a plinth from a spare bit of timber.
The colours are rich and gorgeous. The oak shelf gleams and the background blue recedes to give more space and depth to the work.
Despite the surroundings being very messy, Lizzies work stands out. Maybe because the surroundings are very messy it stands out. I’ve been looking critically at my home and trying to find clear spaces to exhibit but actually, I may just need to carve out tiny calm spots.
