As I sit in my cozy studio, surrounded by half-finished work and paint-splattered easels, I feel that the quiet winter months have been a time of introspection, contemplation, and experimentation. The quietness of the past few months has been worrying at times, but I can now see it has also allowed me to reflect on my work, experiment with new techniques, and nurture ideas that had been simmering away for years. My home studio is next to my husband's workshop, so I've been scampering in there making a huge noise with some of his power tools. The band saw has become my friend, and the close proximity to this dangerous equipment has allowed me to turn ideas into 3D real-world 'things' with no delay. Of course, some of these will never see the light, and there are lots of mistakes and piles of 'to be revisiteds.' But also lots of potential and some definite seeds have been sown. So to be completely honest, the beginning of this winter was full of doubts, fears of forgotten talent, and lost inspiration, but that has passed, for now anyway...
With summer's arrival, the world seems to be waking up. My heart beats a little faster, anticipating the chaos that comes to Raglan with the warmer months. This year, I believe every small business in our little town is ready to embrace that, more than ever before.
As an artist I too have had to have my business head on, making smaller works and diversifying to make ends meet. And now, I feel excited about where this has taken me.
As I prepare for the influx of art enthusiasts, collectors, and fellow creatives that come with the Raglan Arts Weekend, being held on Labour Weekend this year, my studio will hopefully be brimming with finished pieces, rather than the plethora of unfinished work at present. I shall be setting up a gallery space with two other artists this year underneath my old studio at 58 Wallis Street. I shall keep you posted on that in my next blog.
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