Setting up 18 studios, Long Eaton, Nottingham

Seven artists are showing work at Platforms@art-thina. Everything has to be packed in a suitcase along with tools, info and portfolios. Oh and clothes and a toothebrush. 3 of us are flying with Ryanair where there is zero tolerance for excess baggage and extra inches..so it all requires some thought. We have a couple of portable DVD players for Maggy and Chris’s video/sound pieces. Even these are heavier than I imagined. Sookyoung Huh and David Manley are exhibiting digital prints which will travel in tubes. Chris Wright’s wall piece fits in a plastic food container. Maggy Milner’s installation, ‘Something’s eating my daffodils’ is made of plastic and polycarbonate tubing. We still have to find a way of protecting and packing it safely. Kerri Pratt and Alison are travelling so will be carrying their own paintings. I have made a series of copies of miniature oil paintings on board which are currently drying. From past experience board is a good option as it requires minimal wrapping. Today, I have been sorting out labels and statements/biogs of all the artists. Nearly there. Paul Warren’s show is due to come down whilst I’m away so I’ve had to make arrangements for someone to coordinate with Paul so he isn’t left high and dry. Thankfully, this wasn’t a problem and someone has come forward to help. I am seeing Carole Hawthorne on Friday about her show of recent paintings which is due to be installed on my return.

A little update…. It’s been 18 months since the last post and life has settled down after a bumpy ride. The good news is the cost of the service charge has been reduced and it is finally being administered in accordance with the lease. We have a working relationship with the Directors, not exactly best buddies, more a respectful understanding. Jem was seriously ill for several months last year and it was difficult to focus on my practice. So professionally 2013 was a quiet year – though I was awarded the Exhibition Prize for my sketchbook at the Rabley SKETCH 2013. http://www.rableydrawingcentre.com/sketch-2013.htm… This year has been crazy though. In February I participated in ‘Supermarket’ , Stockholm, Sweden by invitation of Mary Ellen of Art on Armitage, Chicago. Me and Alison Whitmore plus 5 artists from Chicago had a wonderful time. We also caught up with GoCart Gallery artists and reminisced about our exchange a few years ago. Through Mary Ellen we made connections with the organiser of an artist-led event in Athens and subsequently we applied for a booth at Platforms@Art-Athina. HMS were selected and I am curating a show of 7 HMS artists. 3 of us fly to Athens In 10 days time. All done on a shoestring. We are also excited to be catching up with Mary Ellen who is also taking part. http://www.art-athina.gr/parallel-programme-2014/p… Last night was the opening of my exhibition ‘Perfume and Savage’ at the Angear Centre, Lakeside, Nottingham. Late in the day I decided to make 4 canvases approx 4 x 6 ft. Then one of the paintings was longlisted for the John Moores which made a tight deadline a bit more stressful. I was of course hoping it would make the final selection, but it didn’t. I still had to make another just in case… There was room for a fifth on a wall where I was due to make a drawing in June. It was decided a temporary wall will be built to accommodate the large scale drawing nearer the time. http://www.lakesidearts.org.uk/Exhibitions/ViewEve… and see David Manley’s blog for a review http://davidmanley.wordpress.com/2014/05/03/is-god…

We have won! The judge has awarded costs in our favour. 75% – so not the total bill, but a solid result nevertheless. We have to go through every bit of correspondence to determine our costs as litigants in person. The process will ignite horrible feelings about the case : the anniversaries, the birthdays, the holidays, the Christmases clouded by writing letters, researching the law and responding to the Company. But it is over. Do I feel like celebrating? I have kept my feelings in check for so long now that neutral is a good place to be. I am sure it will sink in eventually. I was shortlisted for the grand prize at the Castle Open earlier this month for the second year in a row. I have to say it has been v difficult to keep my practice going so this achievement felt enormous. Although I was bridesmaid again it felt good to be in the running. A cheque for

After 3 gruelling days in court the Judge has managed to make sense of a badly drafted lease. He has also accepted the Factory Company have been charging for items which cannot be recovered through the service charge. This includes upgrading the landlords own properties, legal fees and anything to do with letting properties. This means our legal liability to pay the service charge has decreased dramatically. We didn’t win every point as we had argued that the Company lost the right to recover the service charge if an estimate was not produced as in 2007. As we had benefitted from the services I can see the point. ( Though our alternative position was we only had to pay what was legally due.) Confusing I know. The Judge also selected correspondence from the other side which demonstrated that the Company secretary and the chairman knew that the service charge needed to accounted for in a different way to the way it was being administrated in 2007. It’s a shame that the only way to challenge the service charge was through the courts which is costly in terms of money, time and emotional termoil. A costs hearing will be held in the next couple of months. So it isn’t over yet. And the worry still continues… Where does it leave us? Well the Counterclaim which threatened to close the studios was put to bed before it went to Court. The issue of planning was discontinued and consent for licences to alter and licences for the artists was agreed. We now have a service charge which relates to the true cost of providing the services. This blog was used as evidence to demonstrate that the Directors had seen the newly erected partitions and had been happy with the work.( www.a-n.co.uk/p/394956/2007.) They raised no objections to the studios until 2 years later through the Counterclaim. The use of the blog as evidence also made me feel more self conscious and cautious. Whilst we selected an entry to support our case, the flip side is that loose words can cost. I think it is time to wrap up now. I hope it hasn’t put anyone off setting up artist’s studios because despite everything I am proud of the achievement. I have to thank all the HMS artists who have been supportive…. They didn’t buy into all this. I can’t express how wonderful they have been. Also I would like to thank NFASP, Jonathon Harvey from Acme studios and David Manley from HMS who provided a statement to support our case. Also Susan Jones from AN who has been supportive. A BIG BIG THANK YOU !