Juicy Yummy Watercolour

It's sad today as all but one of the other artists is leaving. It's cold and grey outside as I hide in my studio playing with yummy watercolours.

The community

Last night there was a fund raising supper at Ragdale and I opened my studio to show supporters from south Chicago my work and how I used my studio space. i was a little reluctant as the new work is still a bit raw. It turned out to be much more enjoyable (in fact painless) than I had expected and I got to meet some really interesting people including local poets, editors, composers and other visual artists

Today I showed my nettle knitting to Maja an artist from Berlin and we began to toss around some ideas about placing the work in the landscape. Within one hour Maja was also knitting and we are now working on a collaborative installation. We now have to get permission to leave the installation to biodegrade in the prairie. It's a very exciting project and we are both sad that we will not be able to observe and document the decay.

Tonight after dinner we listened to four of the writers in residence read from their works. Each read a piece which had never been read to an audience or published before and it was so good to hear the voice of the writers as they spoke their own words.

It's Monday night and after a warm and overcast day it's raining again.

A storm in Illinois

Utopia

Last night as I wandered back to my studio bedroom in the cold crisp spring I thought about artists communities. I had just had dinner and sat around the fire sharing conversation with half a dozen writers and artists from different backgrounds and aged from mid 20s to mid 70s. The atmosphere was open and accepting and everyone talked freely without fear of rebuke or censure. That is not to say that ideas were not challenged.

The magic of an artists residence is not only that it gives you the opportunity to work but that it also gives you the chance to meet with others for a short period of time and share ideas. The magic is in the immersion, for a short time, in an environment of trust and safety and, before any competitiveness, bitchiness or dependencies can develop you are back home. I know that may sound cynical but for the moment I am enjoying this remarkable opportunity. Ragdale is a very special place.

18 Degrees and Sunny

Spring is back so here are todays garden obs. I thought that you might also like to see the new amber beads which I bought at Ragdale market the other night. They go some way to compensating for all the jewelry I lost when our house was burgled last week.

Studies for new work.

Here's one of the small studies I've been working on in my first week at Ragdale. To see more check out my other blog.

Weather, Life etc

As you might notice weather observation have crept onto this blog. It seems easier to record everything here rather than separate weather images for a separate blog.When I get more images of the work I am making I will decide whether they should be here or on pink squadron.