Tuesday 7 June 2011

The last day in the studio at Farfield Mill

Sunday 29 May was our last day in the residency studio at Farfield Mill and it was incredibly busy with visits from the businesses in Sedbergh that we have been working with and a display of our work to be put up before we could tidy and clear away.

Our first task however was to spend time planning the next steps of the project which will culminate in our exhibition at Farfield in the autumn. We managed to come up with a rather scary amount of stuff that needs doing plus a whole set of deadlines and meetings for our diaries. My head was spinning by the end but I think it will help both of us keep the momentum of the project going once we have returned to our respective home studios. It's been great having the chance to work alongside Stella, discussing ideas, getting technical help and seeing my work through her eyes and I will miss the intensity of the residency.

Stella chats to some of our guests
We'd barely finished our meeting when the first of our invited visitors arrived. It was great being able to show them the samples we have come up with inspired by their work premises, showing them how even ordinary things can become interesting when looked at by an artist. I'm pleased to say that everyone seemed really delighted with what we'd been working on and are keen to host some of the finished pieces during August as part of our planned Art Path through Sedbergh and on to the mill. The delicious fairy cakes from the Weavers Cafe were quickly consumed and we left our various guests exploring the mill while we then got on with putting up our little display in the Level 4 exhibition area.

Stella and I had at first thought we'd just show examples of our MA work but in the end we felt we also needed to show photos of our residency samples and inspiration along with some explanation of the concept behind the project. After all, this will be the end point of the Art Path we are planning. Sara from the mill gave us a lovely little set of display panels and Stella and I were happy with the result although a bit of tweaking will be needed to get it looking a bit more corporate! Thus a long day came to an end along with a month of wonderful opportunities.

We are very grateful to Farfield Mill for allowing us to use the Bainside Studio free of charge and of course to the National Lottery through Arts Council England for the grant that has allowed us to expand the project to include the various businesses in Sedbergh.

Stella and I will continue to update this blog over the summer, posting photos of our work as we progress and discussing the concepts as they develop. We'll also post details of the Art Path as soon as we can. Until then...

Karen

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