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Hey, what the hell happened to February? I know it's a short month but how is it possible that I'm going back to London to take down the Pin show this week? It only seems like five minutes since I put it up.

I've been meaning to blog about the exhibition opening at Prick Your Finger since it happened but for some reason I was finding this blog post very difficult to complete. It's only just occurred to me today that it's because I've been having a CFS crash since London. I've been exhausted, unmotivated, dizzy, getting frequent headaches and crucially, having immense trouble concentrating on words. But because it's not quite as dramatic as it used to be, it's become far easier for me to miss when I'm crashing. Ah, the joys of having a chronic condition - it's a constant education!

Anyway, the opening was pretty successful. Sadly Rachael from Prick Your Finger was ill and couldn't be there but Louise and Rosemary from the shop were wonderfully supportive and we had a lovely afternoon tea party with cake, biscuits and fine company.

Lots of people came, including some people I knew well (thank you, Dave and Daniel for your support) and several people whom I knew online but hadn't met before. I was particularly delighted to meet Felix from The Domestic Soundscape, whose work I greatly admire. I didn't know she was going to be there, so that was an exciting surprise. It was also fantastic to meet Katherine from Making A Mark and Mornington, whom I know from the wonderful LSG group on Ravelry.

Isn't this a fabulous drawing. It's by Johanna, whom I know from the Cafe Kino knitting group. I hadn't seen Johanna for a little while, so it was great to catch up and I was pleased to discover that she'd done a drawing of the event. I always love it when my work gets other people's creative juices flowing and there was a fair bit going on during the opening - as you can see from the drawing, at one point I was surrounded by crocheters.

The show also got some write-ups:
Abi from Craftycrafty.tv is a friend of Dave's. Dave is the best networker I know, his contact list is legendary and he's very generous at introducing people. I met Abi and her friend, Clare at Dave's book launch on the Thursday night and they were both kind enough to come along to the opening. Abi then wrote about the show.

Amelia's Magazine also did a fantastic write-up about the show. And my friend Camilla was kind enough to blog about it even though she couldn't come along. And Katherine mentioned the show in one of her weekly round-up posts.

If anyone else feels like passing on the word about the show, I'd be grateful because obviously I'd like as many people as possible to see it and it finishes this Saturday so it's your last chance to get along to see it.

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Ah, the dreaded tax return... thankfully, the problem I mentioned with my password was not a permanent one and I got my taxes in on time. I managed to do it in the early hours of last Friday morning; it turns out that if you wait until after midnight then the Inland Revenue website works just fine. Apparently my password wasn't a problem at all, the website had simply fallen down from exhaustion earlier that day. And really, who can blame it? I know from past experience that I am certainly not the only person who does my taxes right at the last minute.

According to the Inland Revenue's own figures, they hit peak numbers on Friday 30th January with 390,000 of us filing our taxes only a day before the deadline. It's a bad habit and I plan to be more organised about it next time around... but then I always say that and I bet those other 389,999 people do as well!

Seriously though, my current accounts are a bit of a shambles and I need to get my art assistant, The Wonderful Zoë, to sort me out. She's been self-employed for years and rolls her eyes at the organised chaos of my accounting 'system'.

I do keep all my receipts (ordered by month in small plastic folders) and all my bank statements (ordered by tax year) but I don't do two things that I should - I don't have a separate bank account for my art business (which makes doing my incomings an absolute nightmare) and I don't keep an accounts book. Both those things have always seemed like just too much of a bother when I rarely make any money at my art but I have decided that this year, it's time to tackle them for three reasons. Firstly, if I start making money in the future then it will be vital to have solid accounting practices already in place. Secondly, if I'm ever investigated by the Inland Revenue, my current practices might look suspicious when really it's just incompetence! And thirdly, it will make doing my taxes a whole lot easier and anything that stops me having a nervous breakdown at tax time is obviously A Very Good Thing: I know that my long-suffering family would certainly be grateful!

The current plan is that Zoë is going to bring one of her account books over for me to have a look at and then talk me through it and then I'm going to open a new bank account, move everything to where it should be and buy and start using an accounts book. Simple, no? My deadline for this is April, so that I can start the next tax year properly with all my new systems in place.

What sort of state are your accounts in? Do you do everything you 'should'? Finances can be a difficult and emotionally tense area for a lot of people and although I believe that artists are generally far more practical and grounded than most people give us credit for, we're certainly not immune to Head-In-The-Sand Syndrome when it comes to our accounts.

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Like much of Britain, I had a snow day yesterday.

Kirsty Hall, photograph of a bench in the snow
Kirsty Hall: Winter Bench, Feb 2009

In actual fact, I was already taking the day off because it was my partner's birthday, so the snow was just a magical addition to an already special day rather than an excuse to bunk off.

Snow Day 03
Kirsty Hall: Winter Sky, Feb 2009

Having grown up in Yorkshire and Scotland I tend to scoff at the south of England's propensity to fall into utter disarray when it snows but I am still like a child when confronted with the beauty of a sudden snowfall. Living somewhere that gets very little snow makes it even more special.

Although I wasn't working yesterday, I couldn't resist dancing gleefully around the garden taking snowy photos in the dark. Fortunately this made my partner laugh with delight at me (always try to find a partner who finds your artiness endearing rather than annoying!)

This shot is technically terrible but I feel it captures the magic, silent 'otherness' of the snow.

Snow Day 02
Kirsty Hall: Snow at Night, Feb 2009

Oh, and I will finish writing up my London reviews shortly but I have a belated birthday cake to make first. As you can see, I'm still working on that life/art balance...

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Actually, I got back home on Monday evening but needed a couple of days to a) recover from London, b) catch up with everything at home and c) do my dratted tax return.

The later isn't going so well, I've done all the maths but the website won't recognise my password so I can't file it. Needless to say, I am not too happy about this since the deadline is on Saturday. And yes, I know I should have done it before now but since I can't do anything to fix the problem this evening, I've been sorting out my pictures from the show.

Here's Quiver hanging in the window of the shop.
Kirsty Hall, photograph of Quiver pin sculpture at Prick Your Finger in London
Kirsty Hall: Quiver at Prick Your Finger, Jan 09

The inside of the shop is very colourful and busy...
Prick Your Finger

...so my calm, white corner is quite a contrast.
Kirsty Hall, photograph of installation of art made from pins at Prick Your Finger in London
Kirsty Hall: Pin Installation at Prick Your Finger, Jan 09

This was a comfortable chair to pin on - just the right height - and Pin Ritual looks lovely draped over it.
Kirsty Hall, photograph of Pin Ritual sculpture at Prick Your Finger in London
Kirsty Hall: Pin Ritual at Prick Your Finger, Jan 09

The wide window ledge is a perfect place for the Pin Stories folder, my bowl of pins, the comments book and the little leather and pin Touch Objects.
Installation at PYF 02

These pin drawings are two of my personal favourites...
Pin drawings at PYF

...but these two monoprints with their pin, needle and thread imagery also proved popular.
Pin monoprints at PYF

That's it for now. If I can sort out the tax thing without having a nervous breakdown, I'll be back tomorrow with a proper update of some of my London adventures.

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Wow, London is hectic and exhausting. I am always amazed that anyone manages to live here but I know loads of people who absolutely thrive on it. Just traveling around tires me out but I expect if you live here, you get used to it. And I suspect that I always try to pack far too much in when I'm here: since Wednesday I've installed a show, meet up with several different friends, visited four art exhibitions and gone to a book launch party!

I arrived safely on Wednesday lunchtime and managed, with some difficulty, to drag my suitcase and a long and unwieldy art tube across London on the tube. I had planned to send the exhibition by courier but in the end, I decided that didn't feel safe to me and so I packed it all up and carried it. It wasn't too bad but I was very thankful to arrive at the space and be fed a sandwich and a much-needed cup of tea.

After I'd revived, I hung the show. I finished it all on the Wednesday afternoon just before my friend, Alice arrived to take me out for a cup of tea and a chat.

The show is installed in the window and the adjacent corner of the shop and I'm very pleased with how it looks. Quiver looks lovely in the window, really intriguing and mysterious from outside and all glittery and enticing once you get inside and can touch it.

I went back today to do my first session of pinning. I enjoyed sitting next to the window, partly concealed by Quiver and pinning away while the world went by. We had a few visitors but it was fairly quiet. It felt like a respite after several busy days. The shop is a delightful place to sit and pin - the walls are a riot of colour and texture with mostly British yarns from small producers and wonderful art yarns jostling with books, equipment and crazy kits for things like pink knitted beards! And Rachael, Louise and Rosemary who run the space couldn't be lovelier; the three of them have a genuine passion for art and textiles that I'm really enjoying.

Right, I'm off for a cup of herbal tea and an early night because tomorrow is probably going to be hectic.

Just a reminder: if you're in the London area, I shall be pinning at Prick Your Finger from 2 - 6pm tomorrow and I'd love to see you.

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I am delighted to announce that my first ever London show will take place this month at Prick Your Finger, which is a haberdashers crossed with an art space - an inspired combination, if you ask me.

I emailed the lovely folks at Prick Your Finger in late December to see if they were interested in showing my work. I was aware of the performances and knitting activism of one of the founders, Rachael Matthews from the Cast Off knitting club. I'd also been following their blog after discovering a link to it when I was researching artists who use darning.

Not only did they instantly email me back to say that they loved my work but they asked me if I could do an exhibition in January and February because they had an unexpected gap in their schedule. I immediately said yes.

I'm going to be showing some of my pin work, which I'm very excited about because several of the pin pieces - including Quiver - have only been shown once before. Plus it's been an age since I did my beloved Pin Ritual performance.

Pin Ritual 02
Kirsty Hall: Pin Ritual Performance, Dec 2001

Prick Your Finger is at 260 Globe Road, Bethnal Green, E2 OJD and the opening hours are Tuesday to Friday from 12 - 6pm and Saturday 11am - 6pm. The show opens on Friday 23rd January and runs until Saturday 28th February. If you're in London, I hope you'll get along to see it.

There will be an official opening on Saturday 24th January from 2-6pm. If you're in the area please do come along and meet me. I will be performing Pin Ritual and I believe there are plans for tea and cakes.

There will also be additional pin performances on the following days:

Friday 23rd January from 1-3pm
Friday 27th February 1-3pm
Saturday 28th February, again 1-3pm

If you visit when I'm not performing, there will be a book of pin stories to read and you'll have the opportunity to leave your own pin story.

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I spotted this incredible work on the Dear Ada blog.


Günther Uecker: Tanzender Stern, 2000

I'm not entirely sure how Günther Uecker makes his work but I strongly suspect that it's embossing made with a printing press. However it's done, I absolutely adore it. I would love one of his exquisite white works - not an accolade I give out lightly because I'm fussy about the art on my walls. However, since he has work in the Tate, it's probably fair to say that he's a little out of my price range!

The top picture is definitely my favourite but this image of scattered nails, reminiscent of my beloved pins, comes a very close second. In fact, I just like everything of his that I've seen.


Günther Uecker: Strömung I

Isn't it fantastic when you see art that just makes your heart swell with happiness - I'm doing the Snoopy Dance here.

You can see more of Uecker's work at the Zimmermann & Heitmann gallery.

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Hail Janus! God of gateways, doors, ending and beginnings.


Roman Coin Showing Janus

The last post looked backwards at 2008. This one is about looking forward to 2009, with a bit of reflection thrown in for good measure.

Drifting aimlessly is something of a natural condition for me and I can do it for quite disturbingly long periods of time. This can be a good thing; the ability to daydream is one of the sources of my art. However, it's not good for me to stay in that space for too long, so I've always used external deadlines and self-imposed goals to combat that tendency towards feyness.

Last year, I had great difficult setting goals - a reflection of how overwhelmed and burnt out I was. Although I clearly needed the time off, I found I struggled without the structure that goals give me. About halfway through the year, I started making a monthly list of the tasks in addition to my usual weekly lists. However, I discovered that unless things were obviously urgent, they had a tendency to fall off the bottom of my lists and never get done.

I realised that I was mostly being reactive rather than proactive and that's something I'd like to change this year. Thankfully, I've found a new tool that may help. Eliza from the Backyard blog recently plurked enthusiastically about Toodledo, an online task organiser. I tried to resist her siren call because I'm an absolute sucker for organisational systems and I can easily get sucked into endlessly re-organising my lists instead of actually doing any of the things on them!

I've tried lots of organisational tools over the years but they often fall by the wayside. I either find that they simply don't work for me or I start using them with great enthusiasm and then abandon them as being far too much trouble. It's early days yet but I think that Toodledo may be different - in less than a week, it's completely embedded itself into my life. I like the fact that it plots things on a calendar and you can easily assign folders, importance and deadlines to tasks plus it's quick and easy to alter things. It's nice and visible on my bookmark toolbar (I'm both visually orientated and forgetful - if I can't see something, it may as well not exist), opens instantly and most crucially, it's very intuitive. So thanks for that one, Eliza.

Anyway, on to my goal list...

2009 GOALS

1) Finish or frog three unfinished cardigans
I have already started working on one of these - I'm teaching myself how to crochet properly so that I can finish a cardigan that just needs a crocheted border. Two of the three cardigans have been nearly complete for at least two years now so I am determined NOT to have this unfinished knitting still lurking around at the end of this year.

2) Finish decluttering the house
Decluttering became unexpectedly important in the second half of 2008 and it still feels very vital and satisfying.

3) Visit Red in Amsterdam
Another repeat from last year: the current plan is for this to happen sometime in the spring.

4) Get my son through his GCSE exams
I'm clearing my calendar between April to June for this one!

5) Plant a vegetable garden
I've made a barter arrangement with a friend to share the produce in exchange for some help with the physical labour. So if I get too sick to garden, it'll still get done and we'll have home-grown vegetables - I'm very excited about this.

6) Get chickens
Having 'get chickens' as a New Year's Resolution makes me laugh. Regular readers may recall that chickens were mentioned last year. Well, my family have come round to my way of thinking, so Project Chicken Is Go!

7) Continue to do daily stretches
I'd like to do more regular cardiovascular exercise in 2009 but I haven't listed it as a goal because it felt too prescriptive. I'm more concerned with maintaining the successful stretching habit that I established in 2008.

8) Do 30 things from my 101 list
I've got three things in progress already.

9) Successfully grow things from seeds
I got a fantastic book for Christmas called The Thrifty Gardener. It's encouraged me to believe that I can grow things from seeds, even though my past attempts have not met with much success.

10) Start the linen series
Ah, an art thing at last. The linen series has been brewing for a while now and if all goes according to plan, it should be 2009's major art project.

It was good to re-read what I wrote last January about letting go of 'shoulds' when setting goals. Unconsciously, I replicated that attitude when deciding on my 2009 goals - all ten things on the list feel positive to me rather than restrictive or guilt-ridden.