Working in a studio collective

Developing my work in isolation is, well, isolating. It is great to be back at the art collective in my home town, AHH, Art Happens Here. When I lived in the Pyrenees my studio was in a large barn joining my house, a lot of space, but I worked alone... oddly there were many other contemporary artists working in neighbouring villages, performance and installation artists, and we collaborated often, so I never felt alone. On moving back to the UK I returned to Oxford as I had some contacts and there were quite a few artists' collectives I could join. I had a studio at Magdalen Road Studios and was a member of OVADA, being part of a community had a strong impact on my work, I had the time and space to strengthen my vision and found the many collaborations enriching for my practice. Leaving Oxford for North Yorkshire was a tough decision. I had hoped to join a studio nearby, perhaps York, but the contemporary art scene seems more bubbling than boiling. Last year I was fortunate to spend some time on a residency at AHH, an oasis for exciting, challenging artists; it was a great experience and now I am working in a studio there until the summer. I am at the stage of my exploration into my blood series that I need to experiment with video. Hopefully these videos will fuel some drawings, I'm thinking charcoal, made up of visceral, expressive marks.