With children at school and the house quiet again I can see space to work. The studio is taking shape. The oil tank is relocated, the brick work down and I can now stand in the outline of what will be a permanent working studio.
Time to really get to grips with my work. Years ago, on a Bemis Center residency in Nebraska I chose to work out on the prairies at the Art Farm project. The intention was to sweep away all distractions and return to the core of my working practice. In reality I spent many hours overwhelmed by the vastness of the Nebraskan countryside and eventually retreated to the barn or to a clearing in the trees where I felt in some control of the space. While other artists did, I couldn't find a way to even begin to put my stamp on a landscape so immense and infintely changing.
With this project however, there is an intimacy I am happy to explore. The proposal funded by ACE will centre around the Experience of Women/Mothers and their Relationship with NIGHT. As I begin to gather stories and experiences already the boundaries of my original thinking are being stretched. Naturally, without asking, those I come in contact with have begun to offer me items, fabrics from their homes, well worn and washed out baby blankets, muslins and quilts. Nothing comes without a story. These are items of such intimacy, they seem impregnated with the humanity they have encountered.
