Paintings from my " A Delicate Balance" series at the Dalkeith Palace
Another work from my series "A Delicate Balance" in situ for Inception at the Dalkeith Palace
I love the juxtaposition of modern art lining the walls of this gorgeous stately manor. I am pleased to be back at Inception for a second time at the Dalkeith Palace and this time with my fellow Abstractionistas! We have a gorgeous room on the main floor just before the grand stairs and we are excited to share our works with you.
There is so much art to see, experience, enjoy, and purchase in such a beautiful setting.
Please note: If you are coming to say hello to me specifically, on Friday, I will step away from my art from 11-12:30 for a union meeting via Zoom that I can't miss. But I will be on the premises and available for the duration of the exhibition all three days otherwise. I would love to see you.
Congratulations to the organisers and all our fellow participating artists! I am really looking forward to all the spirited and intimate conversations about art over this long weekend. Please do come and say hello!
In other news:
If you missed it here's the Tuesday Studio Video Visit: Here
And here's the Arkansas local's sale information: Here
I am watching pink blossoms and their greenery dance in the breeze outside along the window sill. Theo, my cat, sits on the other side of the window stretched out on my desk while soaking up the sun. I am resting on the sofa across the room with a wee knee injury (nothing serious - just got a bit overzealous with my fitness last week).
Earlier today, I had my third session of training in the Fair Work Rep series through the Scottish Artists Union. I am learning a lot in these sessions and really enjoying getting to know the other artists that are participating. I even dug out my union badge and have been wearing it with pride.
If you are an artist in Scotland, please consider joining your union. We are stronger together and the benefits are immense. Become a member.
In other art-related news this week, the Abstractionistas took our exhibition down at Detour Espresso yesterday. Thank you to everyone who enjoyed "Awakenings" at Detour. It was a lovely and friendly venue and we enjoyed sharing our work with you.
We have also been getting ready for our next exhibition as part of Inception at Dalkeith Palace. Signing our contracts, sending in our label information, and getting all our ducks in a row.
I will have 6 larger pieces in the exhibition in the palace as well as 9 canvas smaller framed works and 9 small raw canvas mounted works in the pop-up shop space depending. Showcasing a range of my work to suit most budgets and tastes. I know Susan Wilson and Judith Shaylor and all the other brilliant artists and organisers are working hard to bring you the very best!
After cleaning my studio up last week, I have also begun the process of moving some of my paintings and materials that had migrated to my home during the pandemic back to the studio. Hopefully, we will get my pal settled into the space for the start of May and maybe I will start painting again.
This next bit is for those in Arkansas and specifically my hometown of Fayetteville. I am in the early stages of organising an online sale of some of my works that are actually all still there in Fayetteville looking for good homes. Stay tuned, locals! (the two pieces of art in the post are just two examples).
Royal Botanic Gardens
In other non-art related news, I have really been enjoying the spring in Edinburgh, the sunshine has been divine. The flowers are blooming like mad and the trees are just starting to leaf out. Such joy for this time of year to come around again. I made it a point to visit my favourite graveyard, the botanic gardens, and a favourite park this past week along with a few other choice walks and suntraps. I even walked through The Meadows blooming on the way to take down the show at Detour.
And here I am on the sofa with a sore knee, but I will be back amongst the flowers soon enough.
Stand up for yourselves. Stop working for free. Stop underselling your work and yourself. Challenge the way the art world functions and who it is set up to benefit. Set boundaries. Exposure doesn't pay the bills. We must support and encourage each other. We are in the same fight. We are not in competition. Share your secrets and let's reach our goals together as a unified front. Get organised.
Don't forget to rest and to allow yourself time for joy. Remember what you wanted to express in the first place - you probably won't find it on Instagram but you might find it in your heart, your mind's eye, or in the pit of your stomach. Let it out. We can take it.
Love, Megan
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Want to leave me £3 ($3.91) in exchange for my work (words, art, videos, and photographs)? It's easy and it feels good to be a supporter!
My head is spinning from everything I have learned in the past 3 weeks with the Scottish Artists Union. I took a 12-hour course called, "Let's get organised! A 101 for Organising the Arts" The title doesn't do the course justice - there was so much more to it than that. It was deep and personal, it gave me a new framework to see my past, present, and future - and I am grateful.
I am not sure if I can even begin to express how I feel about it yet. It solidified a lot of ideas that have been kicking around in my head for decades and gave me the words to understand many of my beliefs on a new level. The additional resources provided during the course excited and overwhelmed me. I am eager to learn more and it also seems like I could never learn enough!
I had been thinking of how I would miss the course when it concluded on Thursday. However, I am delighted that I was asked if I would be interested in participating in a pilot scheme for a Fair Work Representative development training course starting next week. "The training will cover the role of reps; an overview of Fair Work; Advocacy and Organising; and Equalities." I am really looking forward to this further training and what the future may hold for me within the union.
Since the pandemic, thanks to more of the learning programs being offered online, I have been able to access some brilliant content provided by the SAU. It's not just about paying your dues and getting your liability insurance, the union offers so much more! I am really thankful.
So, that's where I am coming from just now and you can rest assured there will be more specific and deeper insights shared in future posts.
In other news, I wasn't out and about quite as much as the week before, but I was invited to a lovely home-cooked dinner with two good friends. We sat around a big wooden table enjoying our steaming bowls of noodles as we shared information, worries, and laughs, and for a couple of hours, I forgot about the pandemic. Magic!
This week I went on a field trip with the Abstractionistas (Judith Shaylor and Susan Wilson) to the fabulous Dalkeith Palace to see the room we will be showing our work in for the Inception exhibition coming up in May. Besides this, the aforementioned union meetings punctuated the week, as well as an hour of mentoring a very talented artist. I had a few health-related tasks and appointments to take care of this week as well - reminding me again of the preciousness and value of Scotland's National Health Service. I will never take it for granted.
So while I am not creating art currently, I am participating in the art world within a social action context, along with working with the Abstractionistas on our future exhibition, and mentoring a fellow artist as she explores her process and personal goals.
I have also enjoyed some sunshine, nature, and a bit of culture this week - two television shows, Severance and Station 11both seem to tie in perfectly to what I am thinking about in regards to workers, work, capitalism and our ever-evolving world.
What a lovely weekend we all had at the Inception exhibition in the Dalkeith Palace at the Dalkeith Country Park! It was great to meet so many fellow artists, see friends and associates, and make new and renewed connections over art in such a wonderful setting. Congratulations to all involved and thanks to everyone for coming out in support. You can enjoy my complete ‘Echoes and Memory’ series on my website.
I was delighted to make it to my studio this week as well, here's my Tuesday Video Visit as proof!
In other news, I worked on fine-tuning my membership tiers over on my Ko-fi page. There are lots of lovely perks over there in exchange for your support. Check them out.
The Wall of Fame is just one of them...
Thanks to everyone who has supported me with a one-off tip or cup of coffee, a monthly donation, or has now joined one of my new membership tiers! Your support keeps me on the path and the lights on! Do you want to see your name on the wall of fame and receive other great perks? Please support my work through a one-off gift or a signing up for a monthly tier.
To round out the week, I saw my peers Judith Shaylor and Susan Wilson from the Abstractionistas during our collective meeting online. We are making future exhibition plans... stay tuned!
Until next week, keep fighting! The world needs you and the work you bring. Thank you.
Inception opens today Friday, September 10th from 10-6pm and will be open again on Saturday, September 11th and Sunday, September 12th from 10-5pm at the incredible Dalkeith Palace. If you haven't bought your tickets yet you still have time to snap some up and make a weekend of it!
I installed my work on Monday and the five paintings fit the space perfectly and the colours harmonised. It was a magical moment. You'll have to come and see it for yourself.
Participating artists: Frances Bell Kelly Anne Cairns Megan Chapman Christine Clark Walter Dalkeith Domenica de Ferranti Katy Eccles Ripley William Foyle Jonathan Freemantle Taisir Gibreel Claire Gillie Thompson Frippy Jameson Nancy Macdonald Hatti Pattisson Craig Rae Ferguson Elaine Speirs Christiana Spens Gill Walton Julia Trotter
I’ll have these five works on two walls on the first floor upstairs in what was once the palace nursery and I’ll have five smaller framed pieces available in the pop-up shop on the main floor. Looking forward to meeting all the artists and greeting the patrons!
I can't say that I am exactly ready for it. Time moves so quickly and I am not looking forward to the short, darker and wet days.
I have to borrow inspiration. I can feel that seasonal new beginning feeling around the edges of things if I close my eyes and try (like making a wish on a birthday cake). Like the best parts of a "back to school" montage from my youth. A time of reinvention. Every autumn I tried to be someone else - I believed it was as easy as changing your hair and makeup while trying to emulate a Benetton or Espirit advertisement from my Seventeen magazine. It never worked and the weird, old soul, new waver/art-punk kid emerged after a few weeks.
Wherever you go, there you are.
I am sort of ready to get clear on what that weird, old soul, new waver/art-punk now squarely middle-aged woman needs right now in her life, in her work and in her community. I am thinking the next 6 months may need to be radical and filled with hard work and deep truths.
I haven't been painting much lately - mainly because I feel that I have exhausted the home studio capabilities. I am ready to "fuck shit up" with paint and I can't do that in a rented house. Also, I have a perfectly good studio just waiting for me. It's so complicated. The studio costs money, getting to the studio costs money, covid is still out there (public transport). Making art costs money and I have a studio full of completed paintings just waiting to find homes. Art sales have slowed to a stop and it almost feels decadent to paint more things to store, document, and archive. I have been quite down about it. I wrestle with the whole point of this art thing. The market is saturated, everyone's work starts to look the same, and social media can feel like a cornucopia of shite.
However, regardless of my feelings, opportunities keep showing up and I am prepared for them and this is a good thing.
And a visit to Bannockburn House as a potential venue for the Abstractionistas collective. Enjoy the latest Tuesday Studio Video Visit if you missed it.
I am honoured to be a Ko-Fi ambassador and feel truly supported by the Ko-fi platform. I will be launching my membership tiers in the coming days with lots of wee treats and rewards for my ko-fi friends when you become a monthly supporter. I am excited to be getting that in order.
Don't forget I also sell my small works and prints exclusively through my Ko-fi Shop.
I am learning new skills, networking and trying to get clear.
I've been hitting the yoga mat more regularly again and soon, I will be out exploring on more walks (as I do walk more in the autumn and winter here in Scotland to make sure I get the light and nature I need).
I even have an idea for a future body of work so that is a good sign.
This is such a weird gig. Being a painter is like putting on ill-fitting clothes, all the seams are wrong and it's been cut strangely but you still love them, even though you can't lift your arms or sit.
This is my blog, my space, my truth and my feelings and there is nothing to fix.
Bring on the soup, the cosy jumpers, the long walks, the plans, the dreams, and especially the "fucked up" art.
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