Ian MicNicol
THE BALLINGLEN FELLOWSHIP
May 14 – June 9 2022
“I made the conscious decision to approach the residency as a restorative and reflective opportunity”
Initially scheduled for November 2019, Ian’s visit to Ireland and subsequent month long residency at The Ballinglen Arts Foundation had to be postponed due to the Covid pandemic, “which knocked everyone’s world sideways and was to result in a debilitating (and tragic), 2 year hiatus across all areas of existence.“
Ian took the time to do some exploring of the area and get a feel for the new surroundings and used the Ballinglen fellowship as a “chance to refresh and to revisit my drawing practice and to experiment with colour using quick watercolour sketching, and pastel studies.
Days were spent cycling in the surrounding landscape visiting and observing sites and coastlines with sketchbook and camera with the first few evenings spent quietly processing and working on small colour studies in pastel and watercolour. “
“Although there was no pressure to produce any body of finished work I was surprised and delighted at the realisation that I had approximately 40 ish studies in various media,built up over the time spent in Ballycastle.
The plan now will be to reflect on the initial ideas developing and reworking them, with a view to creating a small new body of work of 4-8 specific pieces and present this as a Featured show with Glasgow print Studio early 2024.”
