Hey ho, Let's go!

Letters and Etsy orders prepare to fly

Hello Dear Readers,

Let's see... what happened this week? Well, I know one thing, it went by too fast! These days need to get a little slower because I still have plenty I want to do and see here.

The art market on Saturday was great for meeting other artists and making connections and just spending the day in the drill hall and chatting with nice people. It didn't yield me any sales but that is sometimes besides the point. However, later I was rewarded with a spate of sales on Etsy and friend requests on Twitter and Facebook. That is how this business works. Exhausted from the experience, we watched the film, Oz the great and powerful and really enjoyed it. I am only mentioning the film because I think some of my readers would also enjoy it.

Speaking of films, on Sunday, we went and saw a film "Constructors." It is showing as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival. A bit like if Jim Jarmusch met Alex Cox in Kazakhstan and made a film. Great black and white atmospheric tale with little dialogue and with great musical interludes. Check it out if you like either of the directors I just mentioned.

As Monday approached I started the week off with an ambitious to do list and was able to focus and get a lot done which is always a good thing. This week there was a lot of time spent thinking about envelopes, stationary, postage, millimeters and just the nuts and bolts of the business.

This week I also got the sad news that my cat Evie was dying and then the final news that she had died on Wednesday morning. I dealt with it by working in my studio and turning towards my work. I looked at photographs of her (and even slept with one under my pillow the night she was dying) and I thought of her and I tried to be part of the process as much as I could from 4,000 miles away. I will miss her. 19 years is a long time to have a pet.

As, I mentioned I did turn to my work and had a good day in the studio finishing up 10 new 5x7" Atlas pieces for my Etsy shop and 98% finished 10 small works that will be patron rewards for folks who donated to my project. I only have 12 more small works to paint for the patrons and then all the perks for the project will be completed. I am so grateful for everyone's support in this process. For me to feel part of something bigger and have a community behind me that believe in what I do and want to be part of it all is the greatest gift.

On Thursday, I met a friend and we went to the National Portrait Gallery to check out the Annie Lennox exhibition. It was a good show and a great chat with my friend in the cafe. I am so lucky to know the people I do here, a lovely bunch of artists, writers, photographers, just fascinating and inspiring people.

Today was again focused on patron gifts and getting all the letters and photos organized and mailed off. I also packed and shipped all my recent Etsy orders. It was a busy full tilt day and the end to a productive week.

On Monday I head to the Highlands to Campbell country for a day trip. I can't wait. I better clear the memory card on my camera and make sure all my batteries are charged. I am going to take photographs galore.

Thanks for tuning in this week. I am glad you are on my team. Until next week, keep fighting.

Enjoy my newly restocked Etsy shop and don't forget to use coupon code Thanks10 for 10% off anything in my shop.

Love,

Megan

Making, Doing, Seeing, Feeling...

Well Hello Friday Readers!

Friday...already!?!

Let's see, it has been a week with an upswing and a plan. Ordering of materials and an action plan created. Getting together contacts and asking for assistance in showing my work around Edinburgh and time spent working in my studio too. I even created 15 new small works for my Etsy shop. I was able to get to both of my yoga classes this week and that was fantastic. It feels good to feel better.

Tomorrow I am going to be sharing a booth with Stewart at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall's Art Market event. I had some of my small works on paper at the last one too, but this time I will have 14 new small works there (one sold in the night!) and help Stewart man the booth. I am looking forward to chatting with a bunch of a lovely people in the process. Sales would be nice as well! We will see...

I am trying hard to focus on the now and not get caught up in the fact that my project is half way over and that I will be leaving in September. I have anxiety dreams about leaving. I look around at the buildings when I am on the bus and start to feel sad that I won't be seeing them everyday. I helped a tourist today get on the right bus and tell them their stop and cringed when they still walked right passed their desired destination. It is obvious I am feeling at home here. I have sat on the sidewalk in a back alley and read a magazine. I have sat upstairs on the bus by myself. I have walked home alone with a gentle buzz from an lunchtime beer and walked at the speed of the locals. I don't want to leave. I have created a nice little life here and made some brilliant friends and am getting to know them better all the time. I like who I am here and am getting to know myself better all the time too.

I have a lot more to do and I have a lot more time to do it in. I just have to focus on the now and enjoy every minute. Now is all we have anyway...

For now, I'll leave you with my new works: (My Etsy shop will be closed tomorrow while I am at Art Market. So if you have your eye on something- jump on it now and use coupon code Thanks10 to get 10% off anything in my shop! Enjoy!

Studio time, a sore throat and a dare.

A charm a dear friend gave me sits on the windowsill as the clouds roll by.  

Hello Lovely Readers,

I hope you have had a good week. The start of my week looked promising with Monday being spent in the studio working away on ten new small paintings. I was pleased to have such a productive session. I also walked around 7 miles that evening and fell asleep with a sense of accomplishment and promise. The next morning I woke up with a sore throat and quickly realized that my body had other plans for me this week. I was disappointed  but when you are sick, you're sick. So mostly this week, I researched things on the Internet, watched netflix (free trial), drank hot tea and slept.

Today, I am feeling much better and should be good as new by this weekend I imagine. Which is a good thing, because even though I missed my studio time and both yoga classes this week, I really don't want to miss a pop up shop happening tomorrow on the Portobello beach front. A day to look at art, wander around a beautiful old place and see the sea sounds a bit like the perfect day to me.

We will see what happens... and next week it is back to the studio! That's a promise.

Thanks for dropping by. Until next week keep fighting!

Walking, sun, stuff and things

the lovely canal last Saturday

I am just going to keep this post short. This week I got to the studio once and I prepped paper so I can start on some new small paintings. I also spent one day researching at the National Archives of Scotland. Last weekend I spent time at the canal, the beach and then later the Meadows Festival out under bright blue skies. The meadows festival was lovely with flea market and vintage finds, bands and music, a beer garden and a carnival with rides. It was a great way to spend a Sunday.

tape is essential 

I spent a significant portion of the past week going through all my photos that I have taken while I have been here since March. Trying to cull them, organize them and put them places where people can enjoy them. It is a work in progress, my photography hobby seems to take more and more time. We have also been walking a lot, in fact I walked 32 miles this week.

So, I have divided my time between the studio, walking in parks and on paths, going to both my yoga classes, time researching, and time checking out the great outdoors and enjoying the sun as much as possible, so while there is not a lot to report in the art world, it was a good week spent living.

Soon, this space will be a hive of activity again, pretty photographs, stories, dreams, inspiration and art.

Stay tuned...and thanks for going along for the ride. Until next Friday, you know what to do...

paper just waiting

Two steps back...

I'll be honest, this week hasn't been easy. I have been filled with resistance towards going to my studio, starting new work, refocusing my energy and just getting to work. I know this is part of the process and I am no stranger to this behavior in myself but at the same time it is a bit frustrating. I am trying not to judge myself too harshly. I did spend all day there on Tuesday so that was a small victory.

It feels like things are speeding up all of the sudden. Tomorrow will be the first of June already. I have already been here two and a half months! I have so much I want to do and see. I want do it all but as I realize the time constraints, I stall. The pressure of a deadline is a good thing, it helped me create the first ten pieces in the series sooner than I probably would have, but also knowing that on September 12th I will be returning to Arkansas makes me freeze in my tracks. I remember thinking 6 months seemed like such a long time to just pick up and leave my life, my house, my things, my cat.

This time here is such a gift. I get to try on a city for a while, try on new habits, new friendships, basically a new life. I don't have a phone, a car or a clothes dryer. I have about a drawers worth of clothes and few possessions to call my own and I like this. I have been given permission to live this life for 6 months, make art and tell the world about my experience. It is such a rare treat. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by what a gift this is and so unbelievably happy that this is currently my life. Sometimes, I am just sad to know that it will end in September. This is a one off experience and because of this it is so important for me to stay in the now and enjoy each moment.

Everything has been up in the air for so long. Living outside of my comfort zone is essential but sometimes it is just unnerving in vague way.

Next week, I will begin again. I will have my supplies that I need and I will get back to work. Until then, I will sketch out an outline of what I still want from my time here. The basics I know: I will make more art, I will show more art, I will walk, I will do yoga, I will research and I will see art and visit new places. I will visit with friends and hang out in pubs. I will write and take photographs. I have plenty of time to do everything I want to do and it is okay if some days don't go according to plan. All of this is just a reminder that life is messy...

Fill the well

This week I have just been basking in last week's success as well as recovering from all the work that went into it. This week has been about returning to normalcy. I returned to my two yoga classes. I walked a few places and I caught up with friends and family on the computer space phone. I washed the dishes, dealt with laundry, bought some things I needed and bought groceries. I also looked for inspiration because soon I will be returning to the studio to begin again.

After an intense period of creating it is important to refill the well. The ways I like to do this are as follows:

1. Yoga.
2. Write and listen to music
3. Take photos
4. Look at other people's art.
5. Sleep
6. Take note of the good things and count them up. Look for evidence of the good works in your life.
7. Enjoy the bright green of spring, the sun and it's shadows and the flowers that float like snow through the air.

This week I am inspired by these sites:

a great self help book for people like you
beautiful images, articles, creative manifestos, and yoga!?!?
and who doesn't love cameras
and who doesn't love typewriters

And that is all I have for you this week. Until next week, keep fighting.

And know that I am so very thankful for you.

Love,

Megan

Cross Street Arts steals my heart.

Dear Readers,

Sorry for my delay, I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to check in last Friday. I think we have a few things to catch up on and they are all exciting! This past week, all my new work was completed, varnished, given words and titles and then documented and packed up for the train journey to England. It was such a thrill to finish up the works and remove the tape around the edges of the paper and see them come alive. I couldn't be more pleased.

The journey by train was so beautiful and transporting the art was easily managed, my paper works in an old black zippered portfolio of Stewart's. His work was packed in one box and in a bag and it all fit into the luggage rack in the train not far from our seats.

If I could take a train to every exhibition I needed to attend, I would. I just loved watching the world go by, the sheep, the fields, the hills, the villages; all so very lovely and then before we knew it we arrived at our destination.

The director and curator of Cross Street Arts, Steven Heaton, picked us up at the station in his vintage, green Morris Minor. As luck would have it, we fit in his lovely car with all the work and our luggage and made the short drive to the Cross Street Arts studios and gallery in Standish. It was a beautiful drive as spring came to this part of England perhaps a little sooner than Edinburgh. The sun was shining, the flowers and trees were in full bloom and everything looked inviting.

We spent the rest of Thursday getting to know the gallery space, unveiling the art and getting things installed. We also met with a local press photographer for short interviews and lots of photos of us and our work. It was great to be back at Ok Studios/Cross Street Arts. We visited briefly last spring when I was over here as well and it was great to see several familiar artists and to meet new ones. Everyone was helpful and friendly, making us feel right at home and very much welcomed. It is a lovely setting for a gallery and studio space. It is infectious to be in such a creative space, walking through the open plan studio complex and seeing snippets of every one's work and getting that sense of community was very inspiring. I hope now that the fever of getting this body of work prepared and delivered for the exhibition is over that I will have time to meet some of my studio mates here in Edinburgh over at The Arts Complex.

The Cross Street Arts gallery is a lovely light filled space and fit both mine and Stewart's work perfectly. Thanks to prior planning over the Internet (Skype is a great thing!) everything went smoothly. I am pleased to report that Cross Street Arts is now a supporter and sponsor of my project "Ghosts of the Past Exposed." As soon as Cross Street Arts knew I had secured funding to return overseas, Director Steven Heaton asked if I would like to debut this new work in their gallery. Not only did they generously provide the space and the invitation to debut these works but they also covered all installation expenses and promotional costs of the exhibition. Many commercial galleries would do at least some of this, but Cross Street Arts is a non profit studio and gallery and they used money from their tight budget to help bring my project to light and to reach a larger audience and for that I will be forever grateful. It takes a lot to make these things happen, a lot of communication and working together and it was a true joy from start to finish (and it is not even done, the exhibition will remain on show at the gallery through June 14th).

The crowd on opening night was phenomenal, with an easy and gentle start to a sudden packed house. The folks in attendance were lovely, making sure to come up and introduce themselves and talk to us about our works. We had the old and young, a collection of artists, hipsters and even some movers and shakers from the Manchester and surrounding art worlds. Everyone seemed interested in the work and in us and we had great and involved conversations. It felt so perfect and I think I smiled all night long. Everyone was so genuine and so appreciative of the work and of us being there in their town. I honestly don't think the opening could have gone any better or been more enjoyable. It reminded me again of how lucky I am to be in this business and how it is the stories and interactions that always make it worth it. The art is hugely important and without it we wouldn't have any of this but it is the relationships and the exchange of ideas and the experiences that art brings me that fills my heart and keeps me going.

Thank you Steven Heaton and everyone at Cross Street Arts for providing this opportunity for us and for the community you serve through the arts. These are the things that make life bright and beautiful and make places like Standish special gems. Thanks to everyone who came to the opening and made Stewart and I feel so warmly welcomed, I will remember your faces and smiles for years to come.

Support the arts in Standish and the mission of Cross Street Arts. Go to their exhibitions, let the artists know that they are doing a great job and be a part of this vital community. I know there is space for you in the inclusive and impressive art world that they are creating. Like them on Facebook, Twitter and visit their website and even better, go visit them in their studios and at the gallery.

And of course please visit our exhibition:

Through time and distance
Megan Chapman
Stewart Bremner
17 May- 14 June
Thursday- Saturday 12-4pm
and by appointment