Ruskin Studio Visit

I popped into Soar works today to pay a bill that we had somehow missed at the end of our tenancy.  It was great to see the cafe open and the building working really well.  All the artists studios were full including the big one on the end where we ran the summer school.  Staff were really pleased and there were people in all the offices it was a real hive of industry.  It's the first time I've been back since we left this was deliberate as we worked on Parson Cross for about 3 years and it was a long time and we were ready for something new. I did feel a bit sad that it was no longer our studio , not that I wanted to keep it but there was something about having the space that made me feel situated  - maybe somewhere it made me feel like an artist - having a studio even though we didn't really make  art objects there.

I had arranged to meet Paul who looked as young as ever but he had a long grizzly Adams type beard that suited him so I joked that he had just been holed up there since we left.  He was working on a large drawing -

Things seem to be working out for the studio although Paul is the named responsible adult they are running the studio as a co-operative - currently Steve Anwar, Charlie Hill ,Hannah Roast, and Ian are in there.  I was pleased that it was still working for everybody - As all the other units were let It felt like there was a lot of art going on - I peered through Eddy Dreadnaughts window to get my aesthetic art fix and wondered if I would end up doing quality shuffling of materials things at some point - then quickly rejected the lure of formalism.

It was great to see Paul, we had a good chat about work and art and research and film.  I told him I was proud of the fact the studio was still there and that it felt like a legacy of our project that was tangible and had made a difference but that the best thing was that it was now independent of us or our project or any external funding.

Steve Anwars had had a delivery of his OM coat hooks delivered they looked great and I thought how important it was that he had got to make them - how they seem to symbolise a return to an ambition.  It made me think about how important it is to have small opportunities and self belief - I'm not sure what will come out of it but I felt emotional about the story behind them and the fact he had gone out there put himself on the line and that they got made.  So it was a good trip - to see so many things just about working out for people and been part of helping to make it happen but not feeling responsible or not having to claim it as art.  In a way it goes back to this blog when I came up with my new theory of art that I knew wasn't really new but it suited the time to be able to think that something could be new.

The purpose of art is to become more of life
the purpose of life is to become more artful

or something like that.