So long, Cow House studios

So the Cow House Residency is over now and I am profoundly sad to be leaving. I saw it a something of a risk bringing four strangers together to live and work so closely and intensely, but it worked and I have found friends in Laurie, Marisol and Gail. Frank and Rosie in their generosity and made it work. When I first got there, I was worried that I wasn’t making enough work or that I wasn’t doing the right things, but Frank told me it wasn’t a production residency. We weren’t there to just churn stuff out. Sometimes those moments of conversation can have a huge impact on ones thinking and this set me up for the rest of the residency. I used the time to analyse what I had been doing before, and how I should approach things after. My work and my studio practice have changed a lot in the past two and a half months and my mind is busy with new ideas and approaches. I found my experience there totally inspiring and I think that Cow House will find its way into my work for years to come.

These are a few photos from the last week or so of the residency. We were completely snowed in for a few days and getting back home was a bit of an adventure. Also, I intend to keep this blog running, I have a show with Gail at the Wexford Arts Centre in June, and maybe a few other things that relate to the residency, so I will try and make some regular posts.

Snow Screen

Laurie was able to respond to the snow very quickly and directly. She filmed various things around the farm such as the cows moving across a snow covered field and then created a projection screen by throwing and scraping snow onto the former chicken shed next to the studio. She worked the natural properties of the snow very sensitively and naturally, then held a screening of her videos. We stood outside, wrapped up warm with hot toddies, even the dogs got involved.

Doggies!

I can’t write a blog about my residency at Cow House studios without a special mention of the dogs at the farm. Chester, Lola and Elsa all were an important part of life there. They are noisy, dumb and very entertaining. A special mention though, has to go to a small Tibetan spaniel named Rupert. I absolutely fell in love with him, he liked to be chased around and I liked to chase him. He is very photogenic, especially in the snow, but he knows when you are trying to take a photo of him and will deliberately turn or run away. I will miss him a lot.