Working Outside The Box

Love these dropper bottles. Inky medicine.

Love these dropper bottles. Inky medicine.

 I met two really nice artists last night Ali Spechler and Mair Cook, the former from Florida and Mair from Suffolk but soon returning to Falmouth Uni. I was at the final exhibition of a residency they had undertaken in Manchester. Both took up their spaces for different reasons which was in a modern terraced house with living and studio areas. Not a particularly charming area, and slightly out of the way it got me thinking about where you find the difference between inspiration and distraction, and the benefits of entering a different space to work in. Sometimes you need to lock yourself away to get on with a project, other times the input of your environment is vital in your work. 

dropper bottles.jpg

Selecting what you will take with you if you are working somewhere else can also be liberating. We are lucky enough to have access to so many mediums and ways to be creative, but it can actually drown us in possibilities, and hamper productivity.  

Studio space of artist in residence Mair Cook

Studio space of artist in residence Mair Cook

If you're having difficulties concentrating, maybe you need to organise your space. The satisfaction alone is a great boost and often you will discover things (both physically and mentally) during the process: such as the "good" scissors you'd lost, or the final touch on a piece you were struggling with.

I'm definitely due a tidy up and plan to edit in my studio space this weekend, especially as the Open Studios where you can meet me and see my space and my work is only a week away!!! Details HERE.