Oxford

After a busy autumn and Christmas season making and selling work for my ever supportive galleries, pop-up shops and also our co-oporative shop, Paper Plane, I decided that I needed a bit of time to gather my thoughts and make plans for some new work.  So a working retreat was arranged - nothing formal; just me and a week away from my usual surroundings and family commitments.  I decided to take 4 days in Oxford to draw and take stock.

The time in Oxford was completely refreshing.  Though I worked long days, drawing solidly, the space to make plans and follow inspiration without any of the usual distractions or time restraints was just what I needed.

I had the whole beautiful city at my fingertips, and although I did spend one day concentrating on cityscapes I found I wanted to spend most of my time holed up at the wonderful Pitt Rivers museum and the Natural History Museum, getting obsessed with collections and everyday curiosities. 

The drawings that I produced during this week were not in themselves master pieces, but looking back at them now they are treasure troves to me, full of new ideas about subject matter and a different approach to my work that has set me up for the rest of the year ahead.   I found it to be a most restoratorive and productive start to the year and something that I would like to think could and should be an annual event.