So, another period of quiet, introspective thinking time followed by a burst of creative activity – there’s a pattern emerging, I’ve noticed. Obvious now I’ve spotted it, but it’s only when you stand back from your practice that you really get the chance to notice these things. I’d imagine it’s a pretty common feature of other artist’s lives – it must be hard, if not impossible, after all to sustain periods of constant making without suffering from some sort of burn-out – or it being at the expense of everything else.
I’ve felt relieved this past week to have regained my energy and enthusiasm for getting back into the studio – and better still, to have created a piece of new work! I’d been feeling quite restless up until the point I managed to produce it, tired of going round and round in circles, repeatedly talking about the creative work rather than just feeling able to get on with actually producing something. The premise of this blog springs to mind for the umpteenth time: Will I be able to maintain this blog at the same time as being creative in the studio? Will it help or hinder my practice as an artist?
Those questions form an ongoing debate in my head but for this week at least, it’s felt really exciting to be leaving the studio with new work to think about. I feel more light-hearted and upbeat than I have in a while – ironic in many ways because the piece of new work is quite visually intense and certainly, when I think about the concept behind it, is highly emotionally charged. I’ve completed and already photographed and submitted this recent piece for an Open call. Things seem to move quickly on the creating front, it seems, when you’re in the right mindset.
Life, creatively then, has been more busy than usual. Coming to a clear conclusion about ‘The Fabric of Life’ being pushed too hard and the realisation that I’d become quite stuck with this particular piece of work has had a positive impact. I’ve felt freed up as a result. Firmly packing it up in a box – thereby containing all its associated emotions – has allowed space for more work to be created.
I also coincidentally, had two exhibition preview nights inked firmly in my diary for this past week; I felt determined to make both. The launch nights included artists who have been inspirations to me – both for the actual physical work they produce and for their work ethics and consistent application; David Dipre, Aly Helyer and EJ Major in ‘A House of Many Windows’ and Emma Cousin in ‘Three Fields,’ curated by Lucy Day & Eliza Gluckman and Ben Street, respectively. The work is diverse; beautiful, intriguing and original – a joy to see and a timely reminder, too of how important it feels to me to stay curious about the contemporary art world at large – to keep an eye on the bigger picture and maintain an awareness of what’s happening ‘out there.’
My thoughts, in the meantime are turning closer towards home as I prepare for the This ‘Me’ of Mine exhibition in nearby Deptford. Jane Boyer, another artist/blogger on this forum is the show’s sole curator and has worked tirelessly to make it happen. But more about that next time, I’m sure …
To see more about the two shows in the meantime, please click on links below:
http://www.dayandgluckman.co.uk/projects/house_of_…
http://www.noformat.co.uk/#/three-fields/457405009…
