As Jack Bauer would say..... I'm going dark

Right.

About to switch the computer off.

And not come back to it for a whole week. (apart from the one necessary EBay exploration!) Or the television for that matter....

Wish me luck, and see you on the other side, hopefully with lots of nice photos of all the creative things I have done in the week!

Studio Upstairs review...

...took place this Thursday.
I really loved it! It was amazing to see so much of my work on the wall all in one place, its not often that I get to examine everything (well, a large chunk of stuff anyways!) and see all the links, occasional differences, themes and the way it all slots together. It was quite a process sorting out what was going up and what didn't make it, and I needed help with this to make sure I didn't just put in polished, finished pieces but included some less finished and often, more interesting ones. At first, when I was putting the work up with the help of the other volunteer, we were being really particualr about placement of work..... after three hours of this, we soon got to the stage of just slapping things up where there was space!! And then I had to speak about my work. I felt surprisingly relaxed about this, not nervous at all really, which I think is testament to the supportiveness of the studio environment as much as anything else. I was worried nobody would engage with me or ask questions, but they did. Other peoples responses, reactions and questions at times made me view my work in a different light, and it was great to talk about it and feel really proud of what I do. I managed to speak for nearly an hour and a half with all the audience participaton that came my way, which really surprised me!

It was a great experience, and a fitting way to round off my time at the Studio.

One more week to go......





>

look what happens when you make a little bit of time.....

I have never made of of these before!

Making time

I often feel that I wish I had more time for things I enjoy, and not just work, chores etc. It feels like I never have enough time. However, when I really examine what I do with my spare time, a great deal of it is wasted. I have a bit of an internet addiction, but its never for anything exciting. I work mainly all day on a computer, then I get home and often spend half the evening on the internet, looking at Facebook, ebay and a chat forum I am part of. Its such a waste of time and I end up feeling guilty, but it has become an addiction, it is an easy way to fill up my hours and fill up my brain. But it is like fast food..... easy, instantly gratifying, but ultimately bad for you and fills you with bad stuff.

So, I am going to tackle this head on and do something I have been meaning to do for a while...... I am going to have a media fast.

THE RULES

For one week, starting from Monday 26th January....

1. I will not use the internet or the computer AT ALL when I return from work. (necessity means I HAVE to use a computer at work, but this period of my day does not count, only my spare time.)
2. I will not watch television of any kind, including DVD's.
3. I will make sure my mobile phone is on silent in the evening, and I will check it only once. (this will not prove hard, I am not really a mobile phone kind of girl, and I tend to do this anyway)
4. I will not read any magazines or newspapers.
5. I will visit the library at least once.
6. Books are allowed
7. Music is allowed
8. Talking on the telephone (not mobile though!) is allowed, as long as I am calling up old friends for a chat.

There will be one small concession to this which I will own up to, I will be checking my eBay account on Tuesday as I have a load of sales coming to an end! I did consider not starting the media fast until the week after because of this, but I feel if I don't do it while I am thinking about it, I will lose momentum again. (and it will be a nice surprise to see how much things sell for, rather than my usual thing of checking it half a dozen times every day!)

I am hoping to do this more often, maybe having one week a month with no media, or one night a week. We will see how it goes. I am already thinking about what I am going to do, and I am going to start with doing some of the creativity exercises from this book by Keri Smith. I love this book and always read it when I feel the need to be inspried. It has loads of creative exercises which I would love to do but then tell myself I have no time for. So next week, I will be making time.

Randomly, I also like the idea of setting up our small tent in the lounge and camping out in it one evening.

Wish me luck with all of this! Even more randomly, I am off to make an origami crane before I go to bed. Always wanted to learn how to do this, but never found the time.......

End of an era

My thoughts at the moment are mainly focused on my last few weeks at Studio Upstairs, an artists community for people with mental health difficulties. I have been a volunteer artist at the studio now since October 2005, but my time there is coming to an end. I decided a while back that it was time to move on from the studio in order to devote more time and attention to my own studio at The Quarry. When people leave, they often have a review of their work up in order to see the development and focus on how the art has moved and changed during their time at the studio. So that it what I am preparing for, as my review is this Thursday! I am amazed at the sheer volume of work I have amassed, and my biggest headache is going to be how to condense it to give a good representation of my work. The space I have to hang in is pretty big, but then, so is a lot of my work! Its been interesting and surprisingly emotional getting out all of my old stuff.... there was so much I had forgotten about. I am feeling daunted, nervous, but also incredibly excited. I am planning on taking lots of photos of the review, so they will of course be up here soon!

I feel sad, as the studio has been a massive part of my life for so long and it will be a wrench to leave. I have met so many amazing, funny, interesting, courageous and inspiring people. My stereotypes of mental health have been challenged and broken down, and I am leaving behind lots of friends..... but I feel privileged to have been part of it, and its time for the future, and to focus on all the changes ahead in my year. Exciting times!!

No time like the present

I went up to my Weston studio tonight to drop some stuff up there, and ended up painting for over an hour as well! I have a few old canvasses that i don't really like, so I decided to splatt paint all over them, obliterating the old images and coming up with new. And guess what? On one of them, I used some oil paint!

I had some really cheap stuff, so i didn't mind using lots, and I just applied it thikcly with a pallette knife. I can describe it like learning a new language. I know what the words are, but I am still learning, so the grammar is still difficult and I don't quite know what I am doing....I'm a long way off being fluent! But I liked the textures that were created, and I have started....

On oil paint and facing my fears....

For a long time now, I have wanted to make the leap into using oil paints, but I have always found a reason not too, or have avoided the issue. I mainly work in acrylic, but I am not a 'techniquey' kind of girl. I am not a fine artist, I was never trained, so usually my way of working with a medium involves experimenting with it, rather than reading up on how to achieve effects. I also love experiementing with different ways of combining materials, such as painting acrylic over wet gloss paint of emulsion, combining the paint with textural elements such as material, wire, liquid latex..... hell, I have even been known to use washing up and bleach in a painting once, but I had had rather a lot of red wine at the time and was feeling more experiemental than normal! If truth be known, I know where I am with acrylic..... its safe, predictable and dependable. But sometimes, safe and predictable = boring.....

In all honesty, I find the thought of oils scary. Long drying times, having to use different thinning materials, not being able to mix them with water..... it feels very daunting. But whenever I see a painting in oil thatI like, I feel a real sense that I am missing out. The amazing textures that can be achieved and the vibrancy of the colours makes me feel so inspired. So I need to move out of my comfort zone. I need to start doing it. OK, so I will probably have to do something I hate and read up about some basic tips and techniques, but once I have a rough idea, my plan is to just go for it, and experiement in the way I normally do with paint. I'm scared, but I really need a change of direction!

My plan is for this all to begin in February. I'm leaving my volunteer artist role at Studio Upstairs at the end of the month, and don't feel I can focus on it until then. It will be a big wrench not being at the studio anymore as it has been a massive part of my life for over three years now, but the time has come to move on..... and the end of this period will hopefully mark the beginning of a new period of creativity. It's going to be hard, and my transition may be a painful one, but I am kind of excited too.

Bring on the turps and linseed oil!!

Gifts

I had a friend round last night for a girlie night in, and quite unexpectedly she brought me gifts!! They were all pregnancy related, but for ME rather than the baby. Lots of things to help me chill and look after myself during the next 5 and a bit months. (Am I that far along already??)

It was a really thoughtful thing to do, and has refocused me on my goals to take better care of myself in the next year.

(However, frankly, the disposable underwear was not the most pleasant gift I have ever received!! A happy mix of practical yet deeply terrifying.......)

Happy New Year!

We had a lovely New Year!

We spent it farm sitting at this beautiful spot near Perenporth in Cornwall with a couple of friends.....















It was quiet..... apart from this noisy pair!













Also, keeping us company were several of these....













A couple of these....













And a few of these!














It was a lovely, relaxed, quiet and chilled out start to the New Year, with good company and good food. A perfect start to what is going to be a much more introverted and "Karen" focused year!