Artist Dates

There’s something delicious in a secret date. Even if it’s with yourself.

Last week I took a full day off work to have an artist date with myself. I didn’t even tell my husband I was taking the day off, I wished him a cheery bye bye at the door as he left while pretending to log into my work computer. Then when he’d safely turned a corner, I scooted upstairs and got myself ready.

Sometimes it’s nice just to take yourself off for a while and do something you wouldn’t normally do. Replenish the cup, fill up the soul, have a bit of craic

In Julia Cameron’s book ‘The Artists Way’ she prescribes an artist date as a kind of medicine to help you fill up your creative well. She suggests doing it regularly and I admit I’ve tried doing it weekly for a while but Netflix got in the way and that was that. Priorities. Still, I do think it’s a fantastic way to get a fresh perspective on things. As artists there are a million brain insects munching away up there and pooing out potential creative ideas, but it gets a bit smelly when there is too much of it. So was time for a clear out.

The People Watching

First stop – sit outside a coffee shop with a croissant, a coffee, and a pair of nosey eyeballs. I like to people watch but I don’t like when they catch me (should have brought sunglasses). Stared very intently at a nice doorway in front of the coffee shop. Thought very deep artistic thoughts like ‘the decay of society is visible by the stain on that stone’ and took photos. Put extra jam on my croissant.

The Exhibition

Next stop – the Crawford Art Gallery which is a fantastic place to lose yourself for an afternoon. The main exhibition I was interested in was called ‘Meat and Potatoes’. I love both meat and potatoes so thought it would be a good match. I had a thoroughly good time wandering through a real mix of works by historic and contemporary artists with food being the focal point. There were not only meat and potatoes but also cattle insemination straws (Maria McKinney), biscuits (Ella Hawkins), oranges (John Bratby ‘Jean in Bed with Jaundice’) and peas (‘Shelling peas in Moore Street by Jack B Yeats).

The Bookshop

I’m divil for buying art books. And when I don’t read them, they make great yoga blocks, so all in all they are very useful. I really wanted a book by Jack B Yeats because I had seen his painting in the Crawford. I couldn’t find anything in the art section of Vibes and Scribe bookshop but when I got to the counter with an armful of other art books, the kind man behind the counter like a magician pulled out his book wand and presented me with ‘Painting and Memory’ which is a stunner and I have already had a good read of it so will not be used for yoga.

The Missed Opportunity

The Sternview Gallery in Nash 19 restaurant was showing works by Tom Climent so was a great excuse for a fancy lunch. However, with the excitement of a not raining day in Cork I decided to sit outside on Princes Street enjoying the hustle and bustle. As soon as I’d taken my order I realised – the paintings are inside Aoife – the whole point of this was to look at the paintings – which are inside. I will return.

The Exit

I normally walk home from the city but with my huge santa sack of art books I decided to take the bus which was hugely exciting. And it was double decker which was even more thrilling. Although in the end I pressed the button a few stops too early by accident (what with all the excitement) and was too embarrassed to not get off the bus after pressing the button because everyone moved to give me way to get out - so had a bit of a workout towards the end. But still. Thrilling.

So there you have it – a big fat art day out in Cork city. By the time I got home I was properly exhausted, my wallet was empty from all the books and I was happy as larry. I’m already trying to come up with ideas for my next one – if you have any suggestions I’d love to hear from you below!