Wednesday - Last Day

Well we have finally made it to the end of a a 'two week' Artist in Residency stint. I never felt like quitting at any stage and the only dips came after about 10 days when a feeling of weariness came over me in the afternoon.  This in part was because of tiredness caused by poor sleep patterns - my mind buzzing with the events of the day stopped me from getting off to sleep and there were a few 3am toilet calls which coincided with the local cockerel waking up.  There were the hourly church clock chimes and my natural summer waking time of about 6am which also made its contribution?  Of course,  there was also the greenhouse effect of working in a westerly facing summerhouse in a sunny August so that from about 2:30 onwards it could get stifling hot.

It has been a positive experience meeting and talking with so many interesting people - we all have our own tale to tell and even though it may seem boring and common place to you it can be fascinating to an outsider. It also gave me opportunity to have a two week concentration on making art, which is primarily what I wanted.  I am pleased I went with a plan of what I wanted to do and had everything prepared for that, yet it also allowed for flexibility. It was not related to Burton Agnes Hall nor was not about producing finished pieces but it was something and nothing that I could get on with, it provided learning opportunities but nothing of such importance that it would suffer from distraction. I now have several boards on which to work towards a finish.

The flat was clean and tidy by 9am, a time I had set myself so I could take out the bags to the car before the kitchen team arrived. I had fewer bags than when I arrived, having managed to sent somethings back home with my husband and having consumed, reduced and generally finished off and disposed of  most of my supplies. It seemed a little early to go down to the summerhouse so I stayed in the flat where I did have internet connection. It was a good decision for there were a couple of heavy showers that were best looked at through the kitchen window.

When I did move I drove the car to the summerhouse where I could load up much of my painting gear, already packed away on Tuesday afternoon. This meant I was left with very little by way Art material - a pad of water colour paper and a box of paints so I could make a pretence at painting. In fact, I intended to make notes from articles I had on my tablet via photosnaps or other WiFi free sources.

Thus, the day passed slowly and in three hours we had three and a half sets of visitors (the half being a German gentleman with little English who hovered near the entrance). It was a slow warm day and although the cafe seemed busy we could see few visitors in the grounds and so by 2:30 we decided to call it a day and started the final clear out. I was in the car heading for home via the Beverley by 3:15pm.

Goodbye, Burton Agnes Hall and the Artist In Residence Experience. Will I repeat it  - never say never - it was a good, enjoyable two weeks but I would have to think seriously about the accommodation in the future. The surrounding were beautiful and the staff we encountered delightful and so help. I am left with lots of positive experiences and emotions.