Restarted

Well, ‘bouncing’ probably isn’t the right word, but I’ve got heaps more energy .

I recovered from my op really quickly and I was back on my feet ( literally) within 4 weeks and itching to get back into the world.

I’d like to say that I threw myself back into work and started planning for the new year, but only half of that was true.  After weeks of a semi solitary life, reading and watching tv, my priority was getting out and mixing with people again.

I got my social life back .

It’s easy to forget how important proper conversations are and how they seem to add a spark to your brain to get the thinking process going again.

It also helped getting back to walking . I felt human again.

In between eating out, Christmas marketing and a theatre trip, I’ve seen one exhibition : Conversations  I’m not sure it inspired me , but it got me thinking and it always helps to see what others are doing .

Photo one : Fire Brigade. Lubaina Himid

Photo two : Stitching Souls is an installation by British Trinidadian artist Karen McLean (born 1959). It comprises of 132 heads created with authentic African fabrics using traditional quilting techniques

I had an email off Elena Thomas the other day regarding comments on all of our blog posts.  Not realising they are there that is.  I hope that now that Elena has intervened and queried the problem, the matter will be sorted.

Anyway… it prompted me to log back into a-n as I’d been taking a break from it.
I don’t mean that I wasn’t interested in what people were talking about , I just had other things to occupy me.

By that , I mean that I’ve been in a lot of pain.  My hip joint has deteriorated.

I knew it was starting to fail last year, so I crammed in as many trips , exhibitions and social events as I could , while I knew I was able to.

I’ve been here before, so I know the stages, I know how long I’ve got left before I can’t walk even a short distance without doubling up in pain.

Don’t even get me started on what it feels like to go upstairs ( yes, I feel for you Elena!)

Because of that, I’ve  had to prioritise my activities. I’ve seen as many exhibitions as I physically could and I’ve met up with friends ….  while my own work has taken a back step .

I’ve cancelled workshops and taking part in group exhibitions. I wanted to take part, or at least visit friends who are exhibiting at Platforms project in Athens again , but I just can’t .  I know that I’ll be stuck inside for a bit so I can catch up later.

I’m sure if anyone is reading this, they won’t be interested in hospital procedures, so skip this bit if you want …

At the end of July I saw my GP, who promptly sent me for an X-ray , which confirmed severe osteoarthritis in my hip. Shortly afterwards I received a letter asking to choose a hospital for my treatment ( yep, it’s that quick here!)  I chose one that had the shortest referral time and had the highest rating .  I had an appointment at the said hospital and was told I was fit for surgery.
They gave me a date – 13th November and asked if I wanted to go on the cancellation list. I said yes. Consequently, my date was moved forward to 25th October.
My pre op assessment is this Friday . If all goes well – I don’t suddenly develop high blood pressure or have any other infections or whatever that I don’t know about , I’ll go in next week.

I want to work again, but my mind just isn’t in it. My aim at the moment is to just get through each day .

What’s Anish Kapoor got to do with my life you may think.
Nothing … and a lot actually.

I went to see his exhibition ‘Monadic Singularity’ at Liverpool Cathedral last week.  Consisting of several sculptures , 2 ‘paintings’ ( which I didn’t like) and the massive structure , which really only could have been shown in a building as large as the Cathedral. Absolutely fabulous to see it all .

While in the cathedral , I met a friend and fellow artist -Christine O’Reilly Wilson , who I hadn’t seen for such a long time . We had a really nice chat and it got me reminiscing over a few things.

We exhibited together in a group show (4 of us) is 2010. An incredible 14 years ago.
I blogged about it on here, but I hadn’t looked back on anything I’d written until this morning.

Fourteen years of blogging on here. Crikey.

I seemed so full of hope and enthusiasm in those early days .

I’ve ‘restarted’ so many times in those 14 years.  I’d start a blog, then life will take over and I won’t have time or the inclination to carry on.
Then I’d start again with another blog, new title , new optimism… rinse and repeat.
Sigh.

I think this week, I’ll re-read all of my blogs from the start and find out what the trigger point was for giving in and starting again.

Im pretty sure I’m not the only one after seeing all the ‘restart and new beginnings’ blogs on here.

I’ve just sent off a reminder to the museum about the invoice I sent to them on 26 June  for my workshop .

I have done several workshops for them before and have more in the pipeline, and as I haven’t had any payment problems before, my email was quite polite.

Two months wait though – that’s ridiculous isn’t it?

If anyone has had similar problems with payments or can offer any advice , please let me know.

Update.  The payment has now gone through . Phew. Panic over.