Glisk: noun, Scots - the glimmer of sunlight through darkening clouds

I’ve been inhabiting my new studio in Burntisland for a few months now, firstly while the two adjoining shops were being fiercely renovated. For the first few months we took lots of layers out, discovering hidden secrets and beauty and history. With each new discovery I considered it carefully, and decided whether to retain or, if the space needed something else, to mark its passing, cover over or remove. This took a few months, then, just as the space was beginning to come together, the full wave of coronavirus lockdown happened.

Luckily the space has its own entrance (2, actually) and soon I was able to begin using it on my own as an actual studio space. I designed it to fit my working practices perfectly, and to accommodate my visual difficulties in particular. It proved to be a good space to work in. I made lots of sculptural vessels, with textured surfaces and paint, ink, crayon and string and thread. They were tactile, they were comforting and reassuring to make. I didn’t manage to really paint, but that’s fine. I know many artists who didn’t make their usual thing during this crisis, and I think that’s healthy. Some were concentrating on life itself, families, worries, worldwide things. I know the saying goes that when life gets tough that’s when artists get working, but I wonder if that work is immediate? I wonder if the work they are doing isn’t actually going on underground, somewhere deep inside. Some artists had a crazy creative period, digging deeper into their practice. Perhaps they were already doing work which addressed what we are collectively feeling, or perhaps that’s just the way they cope. I think either way is fine.

The good news is that the gallery space adjacent to the studio is also nearly complete, and the venture is called Glisk Studios and Gallery Space. I’m gradually gathering the work of artists I find has some connection to my own, and to each other. I like abstraction, curiosity, being surprised and delighted, opening up. The work I’m currently inviting falls into these categories. in future I want to be surprised by new things being shown to me. Then I’ll combine them with my work and with each other and i’m hoping to be delighted again.

I’m going to treat it as an atelier/boutique for a while, opening one day a week, probably a Friday, for ‘open studio’ days. From 11am - 5pm you’re welcome to come in (current restrictions apply) for a browse and a chat. Hopefully soon some local artisans will be coming in to the gallery space on regular Saturday afternoons to set up as a pop-up shop.