As I get older, I feel more and more, the importance of marking occasions. Creating a full-stop, an event that will become a memory. The chance to pause and take stock rather than ploughing on. And while my inner critic tells me to stop making a fuss, or blowing my own trumpet, my inner Pam (see this blog to find out who she is!) says that it is THESE moments that give value to life. I'm really pleased that I had a Private View for my solo exhibition “Everyday Magic”. It's not a prerequisite for an art show but I'm grabbing every chance to celebrate two quiet, steady years of manageable part-time work with both hands! It’s a bit of a landmark for me! I’m not burnt out, I haven’t had to pull any all-nighters to meet my deadline and I’m not crazily stressed out. That’s re-writing an old pattern for me- which means every step has felt slightly strange and uncomfortable.
I’m still evolving more paintings in this series, but the 9 “Spells” and 3 moth studies are finished and can speak for themselves now. It felt like time to reflect.
The paintings are my exploration the small wonders, drawing strength and meaning from nature, recovering a lost lexicon and feeling into the shady silence in the aftermath of generations of witch hunts and female persecution. They have really been my medicine over the last couple of years and I’m looking forward to seeing where the next series takes me.
Thank you so much to all of you who came out to the Private View and made it such a fun and special occasion. It was really nice to directly answer questions about the paintings and see people's responses to my work. So many people were surprised by the depth and luminosity of original paintings that you simply don't get with a reproduction. They respond to different light conditions too, so look different at different times of day.
I also had the privilege of being interviewed for two local publications! It was great to think through the chaos in my head and try to coherently express my creative process and the motivation behind my work. Click the images to read the full articles.
The exhibition will be up in Satyam Yoga Centre, just off Chesterton Road, Cambridge, UK until 22nd December, so if you have a chance, do go and see it in person and let me know what you think!
