The Shows Must Go On

2024 has been a strange year, it started ok, then went to bad, then worse and now is becoming positive again. The shift in tempo I'm currently experiencing is making me grateful, so very grateful. When life feels incredibly rubbish meditation practice is important, friends, consistency and love. These factors stop the ship from totally sinking. I also like to look at whats gone well to challenge my own negative narrative. Despite the difficult things I have managed a vipassana serve at the start of the year where I met awesome people. I have kept up my daily vipassana meditation practice (with a few small wobbles). I also quit drinking alcohol with the view of trying sober life for a year and seeing if I want to keep it as a lifestyle. I have managed this so far and might do it for a second year to see if it feels easier as time goes on. I have found a summer of not drinking very hard work.

Earlier this year I was offered a really good job and the offer was retracted, I more recently gained a new job offer, which is more local and better for me in a lot of ways. I am nervous about the change, but excited and grateful. Sometimes things disappear to give way for even better adventures.

Within my current job, last year was hard, and my health was not great, however this year has seen improvements with relationships and personal health is now good. However when I was not doing good, I did not feel supported so I am taking my dedication and skills somewhere else. It is good to leave on a positive note though, and I'm grateful for having worked with some lovely, skillful, and thoughtful people.

Surrounding all of this, my studio practice has been good. I would like to be in the studio more, however when I am there I'm focused and purposeful (Although I often fall asleep in the armchair). As a result I have had 3 exhibitions in real time and 2 online exhibitions. I also displayed my work in the spike island corridor space, which in a way was another exhibition and there is always the open studios which gets a lot of foot fall on top of this. Each year I worry about getting shows and yet they always come. This year has been fruitful. I have some good photographs of my work in situ which is always helpful for gaining further opportunities.

I am nearly 44 and I'm not enjoying my 40s so far. I'm better at things and more confident but everything also seems kind of boring. I can understand where midlife crisis comes from and even have some symptoms myself. Maybe I need to re-evaluate a few things and change the paradigm to maximise my life enjoyment.

Anyway, here is a link to an online show: Inside Out | Omi Art Gallery

Due to being with family more and doing lots of hospital visits to see my dad, I decided to do a couple of online shows and also more rug tufting as I can do it anywhere. This has been my main output over the last few months.