This would have been posted yesterday but I stupidly spilt tea on my keyboard last night and promptly killed it. Oops. One trip to PC World later and I now have a gorgeous flat aluminium keyboard that's quieter and easier on my hands and most importantly, not full of tea!
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I've started drawing again. Since the start of the year it's been an on/off kind of thing but I've drawn so much in the last three days that I ran out of my preferred heavy duty cartridge paper and had to switch to a lighter weight pad. I went to the art shop but they'd run out too, so I had to order it online. I didn't come away empty-handed though; I was delighted to discover that Derwent has expanded its range of my beloved Inktense pencils so I bought five new ones to try out and two pads of other paper because being low on paper makes me feel antsy. Of course, I have a drawer full of paper but that was all the wrong size or type. Ha, never underestimate the ability of artists to justify spending money on materials...
I'm still in a bad place with my health so I haven't managed to work in my studio but I have been lying in bed drawing and sitting at the computer listening to podcasts while I work on the embroidery piece. Like many artists, I have an almost mystical attachment to the idea of 'the studio' and I have to keep reminding myself that it doesn't matter where I make art as long as I get it done.
This is why I don't have a studio outside my home. I feel bad that I don't spend enough time in my studio when it's just up the stairs, imagine how guilty I'd feel if I was paying for the privilege of never getting to the studio. Some artists need the routine of getting out of the house and going to a special place to make art. I understand and respect that but for me, art needs to be rooted in my domestic surroundings or it's just never going to happen.
Hey, if making art in bed was good enough for Frida Kahlo, it's good enough for me!
And on days when I can't make art at all, I can still take photos.
Kirsty Hall: Forget-Me-Nots, June 2008
Kirsty Hall: Clematis Seedhead, June 2008
Kirsty Hall: Garden Visitor, June 2008
iHanna
Amazing photos!
iHanna
Amazing photos!
@KatyaRobin
thanks for posting this, it would never have occurred to me that you have health / fatigue issues, I am in awe of how much you get done.
long term ME/CFS, + other health problems, caring etc have limited my opportunities to maintain my practice, but after years of struggling it's becoming possible again, with many adjustments.
The upside of having an art desk in your bedroom, is that if you need to rest frequently, or work in small chunks it's possible.
I'm not into mis art, for the sake of perpetuating the myth of tortured artist, or mental anguish as muse. However to deny a large part of one daily existence in one's artwork, is surely ignoring the elephant in the room?
I've done some drawings of headaches, but don't see them as art therapy. It's just another way of seeing, experiencing, a drawing exercise akin to drawing with left hand, or eyes shut in response to feeling etc.
I'm uploading my work to flickr and gradually adding descriptions, tags as you so helpfully suggest on your flickr guide.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katyarobin/
@KatyaRobin
thanks for posting this, it would never have occurred to me that you have health / fatigue issues, I am in awe of how much you get done.
long term ME/CFS, + other health problems, caring etc have limited my opportunities to maintain my practice, but after years of struggling it's becoming possible again, with many adjustments.
The upside of having an art desk in your bedroom, is that if you need to rest frequently, or work in small chunks it's possible.
I'm not into mis art, for the sake of perpetuating the myth of tortured artist, or mental anguish as muse. However to deny a large part of one daily existence in one's artwork, is surely ignoring the elephant in the room?
I've done some drawings of headaches, but don't see them as art therapy. It's just another way of seeing, experiencing, a drawing exercise akin to drawing with left hand, or eyes shut in response to feeling etc.
I'm uploading my work to flickr and gradually adding descriptions, tags as you so helpfully suggest on your flickr guide.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katyarobin/
Kirsty Hall
Hi Katya, it's sweet of you to say that but I don't feel that I get nearly enough done. Today I sewed sequins for an hour but then had to go to bed for several hours. It's all so incredibly s-l-o-w.
But part of the reason that I work in the way that I do is that I can accommodate it with my illness. It sounds a little crazy to do the sort of intensive longterm projects I do but in actual fact, I can pick up and put down a repetitive project and just keep working on it for as long as it takes. A lot of art needs to be made all at one time, whereas mine doesn't.
So sorry to hear that you also have struggles with your health, it is an absolute nuisance, isn't it. If you've not already seen it, I also wrote about how to adjust to being an ill artist here: https://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2009/03/the-art-of-i...
kirstymhall
Post authorHi Katya, it's sweet of you to say that but I don't feel that I get nearly enough done. Today I sewed sequins for an hour but then had to go to bed for several hours. It's all so incredibly s-l-o-w.
But part of the reason that I work in the way that I do is that I can accommodate it with my illness. It sounds a little crazy to do the sort of intensive longterm projects I do but in actual fact, I can pick up and put down a repetitive project and just keep working on it for as long as it takes. A lot of art needs to be made all at one time, whereas mine doesn't.
So sorry to hear that you also have struggles with your health, it is an absolute nuisance, isn't it. If you've not already seen it, I also wrote about how to adjust to being an ill artist here: https://kirstyhall.co.uk/blog/2009/03/the-art-of-i...