What a great weekend.

Well, its now Monday evening, after what has felt like a very long weekend, and a totally needed day doing absolutely nothing today! Literally! Stayed in bed, only to get up for water and lunch . 

Coastival which included the Preview Evening of the Movement and Action of Worms exhibition, is finished, and by all accounts was the most popular and successful yet. Well done to everyone involved. 

 

My exhibition "The Movement and Action of Worms" is open again this Thur - Sun 23rd Feb 11.00am - 3.00pm, and after that by appointment until 14th March. I am now hoping to find a gallery further afield who will take the exhibition later in the year. I had some really encouraging comments in the visitors book, which included:

"Really impressed by the focussed intensity and interpretative nature of the show."  

"Inspired collection, each one distinctive and also unique." 

"Worms are great!"

Thank you to everyone who has come along so far, and made this a really enjoyable experience for me. It has made me realise what a good life I have made here for myself in Scarborough, and what inspirational and supportive people I have met. Thank you. Good times, and good friends are ahead, and there is so much great stuff to look forward to in the coming months - it certainly won't be quiet!

The exhibition made me realise just what a control freak I am! I was already very aware that i have compulsive tendancies - it is afterall how i create my work. Inspired by Darwin's study at Down house in Kent, i once described my own work as "Methodical experiments, repetition and obsessive compulsion, combined with a comfortable but ordered homliness." I think this still applies, but i hadn't really realised that my need for control extended into how the audience should view the work. It's obvious to anyone who knows me probably, but was drawn in stark focus for me this weekend.  When people came to the exhibition, i found myself feeling really anxious, if they came in and started looking at the work out of order - to the extent that i felt compelled to redirect them to Image no 1, hopefully explaining my reason for doing so. I don't think that any of my audience were offended, quite the opposite I think, and actually, once i had explained my preferences, i was very happy for them to 'do their own thing' anyway.

I will document my reasons for directing my audience at a later stage, but today I wanted to say how proud i am of myself. It was an enormous milestone, personally and professionally to get this work completed and exhibited. I hope that the work can now go on and build its own relationships with new audiences and feel less controlled and contained by Helen Birmingham.