Friday 29 May 2015

Muddle Brain

It has been another mad week that began with a birthday. Son number two, Sam has reached the grand age of 30, so we celebrated with a meal out in Cambridge. The more astute among you will have worked out that this means I have two sons in their thirties... I don't feel old enough... How can I be when in my head I'm only thirty... But I am... Old enough that is!

I have also been in and out of London busy with the exhibition as I was day manager for a couple of days. On Wednesday I had to lock up the gallery and then return to unlock the following morning. I was terrified I had left things switched on or had not locked it up properly but it was all fine on my watch... Except for the one piece of work that fell off the wall in the breeze... And for the young chap who came in wondering would the group like to collaborate with him in his ceramics. We were enthusiastic until he mentioned he was working on a line of ceramic sex toys... What? It's like that in Hoxton you know!


As a group Prism have been exhibiting together for 16 years, the past fifteen in the Mall Galleries. The Mall is a lovely big airy space, but it is very conservative, very safe and very expensive. The move to Hoxton Arches this year was made for various reasons, largely practical considerations such as availability and cost, but also as a way of reaching an audience new to textile art. And it appears to have been successful. Our usual textile audience seem to have found us in the new location but there have also been local gallery owners, artists, and young East End hipsters who have wandered in to take a look... And the occasional sex toy manufacturer of course! The exhibition is open for another couple of days before we're back again on Sunday evening to take it all down. You can read an interesting perspective of the exhibition here on Katharine's blog.
 

This morning has been a slow start to the day. I've ideas for new art and want to work in my sketchbooks yet I also need to think about a couple of teaching weekends coming up, as well as planning for Open Studios which are only just over a month away, not to mention attending to the numerous emails that are screaming for my attention but my head doesn't feel clear enough to do anything much. It's a muddle! I keep jumping from one task to another without achieving anything very much at all. I also have an overwhelming desire to clear up and de clutter as if clearing my physical space will clear my head! But I'm tired... So I've not done that either. I've written a rambling blog post instead! I would go out and potter about in the garden but it's a bit wet today... So I'll carry on pottering about here inside my muddled head, not achieving very much and maybe spring back into action tomorrow... Or next week, who knows.
 

I hope your weekend is good... And not too wet... or muddled! And if you get to  Hoxton to see the exhibition, I hope you enjoy it. Do let me know.

18 comments:

  1. Hi Gina,

    I do hope the exhibition has been a success. You all put so much work into it. I think the young man was talking about quite a different type of exhibition:-)

    Isn't it odd when your children become older than you. My eldest is 27 which is hard to understand as I am still only 25 myself, well in my head maybe the mirror isn't quite so kind when I look into it of a morning.

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  2. Hi Gina, I really enjoyed the Prism Exhibition on Wednesday and sorry I did not stop to chat but you looked very busy. Now I know why! What a responsibility, but glad it went without a hitch. It is so great to see such a wide range of textiles up close and personal and Hoxton Arches is a wonderful exhibition space. My friend had never been to a textiles exhibition before and was fascinated, so much so he is taking his partner back there this weekend - another convert - success! Have a good weekend and hope you find some time to relax.

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  3. Well, I think you must have been a child bride.
    The exhibition was fab, loved the new venue and your work was absolutely stunning - but it should have had a more prominent place in the front space, in my opinion.
    Oh, and the young man of whom you spoke - does he have a website.............?

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  4. Happy Birthday to Sam. My baby will be 40 this weekend and her siblings are all in their 50s. We have grandchildren in their 30s! Now that is scary. I'm sure the exhibition has been a great success. Nice to bring it to a new area and a new audience too. Your garden looks beautiful even in the rain. Don't work too hard.

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  5. I'm glad the exhibition is going well. As for being muddled- I often flit from one task to another, especially on the allotment, and then feel I have achieved nothing. Oh well, there's always tomorrow!

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  6. Goodness Gina, I do hope that wasn't a missed opportunity!!!! ;)
    Glad all went well with your exhibition, wishing you a restful weekend and happy birthday to your boy!
    V x

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  7. busy....
    I do hope the exhibition goes well.
    xxx

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  8. Well you don't get propositions like that every day do you! Yhe exhibition looks wonderful, I'm so sorry I couldn't get to it. Hope you're pottering clears your head.

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  9. I wish I could have seen the exhibition it looks fantastic.

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  10. So glad that the exhibition has been going so well! Happy Birthday to your son. I guess that means that if anyone asks you your age you say 21 plus my child!! Hope you have a good weekend and close to the exhibition. xx

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  11. I'd blame the weather and exhaustion if I were you - getting ready for an exhibition is always tiring, it takes a lot out of you mentally - and settle down with a good book until you feel better :)

    I was another child bride - well I was 21 - and my honeymoon baby boy and his sister have both had their 30th birthdays now ... It's scary.

    So glad the exhibition has gone well Gina :)

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  12. Your exhibition looks wonderful and I do love your graffiti pieces! In fact, every day when I take the dogs to the country park and see the huge colourful pieces of graffiti on an enormous old Victorian brick wall I think of you!!

    I know the muddled head thing. Sometimes there's so much in there everything grinds to a halt but it passes and you'll soon be back where you need to be.

    Hope you have a lovely weekend, celebrating with your family :)

    xx

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  13. Gina, please do pass along Happy Birthday wishes to Sam! Having met you, I will tell you that learning which birthday Sam's celebrated did make me wonder...how can that be/ Bravo to you and to him.

    I'd guess that the decision you all made to move the Prism exhibit east was a good one. It give you all, and those who visit the show lots of cross pollination possibilities. It would be grand if the folks who came to the show at the former location traveled over to Hoxton, and got to meet lots of folks who were first-time Prism visitors. I'm sure that your work was appreciated in both venus.

    How grand to have some time now to sit in that setting in the final photograph and relax and contemplate all the percolation that's gone on this week. The green in the picture relaxes me all the way over here in NYC. xo

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  14. My oldest reaches here thirties next year, so not long to go for me either. It doesn't seem that long ago since they were little kids. Hope your muddled brain de-clutters, but I do sympathise, as I'm the same, although I did get to potter in the garden.

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  15. What a busy time you have had! When I am in a muddle with too many tasks on hand, I ask myself which task is bothering me most, it might be something tiny, or something big, but whichever it is, I tackle that first, then the rest seems less overwhelming. X

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  16. Have a bit of a rest I think! Glad you enjoyed your walk, lucky with the weather!

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  17. My daughter says that she is 42, but that is impossible - I am only 18!

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  18. Well clearly, I've finally met another person who became a mum at age 10! ;-P This muddle brain of which you speak is how we know we're not thirty anymore. When we were thirty we could whip out that de-clutter AND enjoy the garden AND write a blog post in not time. Now we're muddled and think about it all a lot. And Happy Happy for a successful exhibition!

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