Free Space Gallery - Residency Begins!

Today I began my residency at the Free Space Gallery, attached to Kentish Town Health Centre in North London. The centre is amazingly well designed and equipped for attending to many aspects of personal and community help. They have the usual doctors surgery programme, but also extra services like breast screening and phlebotemy (blood tests that is by the way!). They also have arts therapy and therapeutic arts programmes which is of great interest to me, seeing as I want to one day be an art therapist! They also have a garden which is a major part of the centre. It is seen through the glass wall of the reception/waiting area which makes it really central to the overall atmosphere in the centre. In the garden are fruit trees, veg, groovy flowers, tables and chairs for having lunch or just chilling, and a few plants for natural dyeing. There is also the shed! My new studio!
THIS IS GONNA BE SUCH A TREAT!

Melissa, who runs the gallery is really sound and she came up with the idea of me working in garden shed when I mentioned i'd love the opportunity to work outside more.
So obviously I said YES PLEASE!
So this morning before work I went and started cleaning up the shed.
The window was painted so I removed the paint so there's more natural light in there, but mainly so that people know i'm there! I also wiped it down in there and sorted out what I need to kit it out a bit more.
Anyway - I shall now leave you with my notes from this morning. I sat in the armchair in the shed and just thought and made notes. It was so fresh and lovely.
Also, I had a few shed visitors...
5 year old Maximilian - we played hide and seek and had 'screaming competitions'.
And a really interesting kid who I didn't catch the name of, but we spoke for ages about the future of Kentish Town... in terms of renewable energy and air pollution levels! This kid as about 10. He was such a dude. He suggested I paint the inside of the shed to reflect the character i am inventing that resides there, Great minds!?

*ammendment!!: Papa AND Julian made the sheep shed workshop.

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Here are some links to the projects I mention in my notes that involve sheds and shed-like situations:

Charlie Sofo's residency in Andrea Zittel's Homestead Unit: http://livingunit.blogspot.co.uk/
Andrea Zittel's website: http://www.zittel.org. She resides in the Californian desert where she makes art and invites others to do so with her.

Turner Prize winner Laure Prouvost: Another artist who has created an imaginary cabin/shed space underneath which her imaginary (or grandfather) has been digging a tunnel, but has now disappeared leaving Grandma behind.
http://www.grizedale.org/projects/wantee

I couldn't find any articles or features specifically about the shed in Shotgun Lovesongs to which Lee retreats to write his hit album, but I found this brilliant piece about the book that describes the importance of music in the story. I think music has an ability to help us realise our desires, needs and dreams. And music is used to just such effect in this book.
http://www.picador.com/blog/march-2014/songs-about-our-place

Oh, and this movement in Australia called 'Men's Shed'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ6I_gwJx9M
... very groovy idea, and many of them attached to hospitals and other mental and physical health services. It is aimed at combatting the stigma that accompanies poor male health, particularly mental and emotional health.

There are some really lush textures and lines and shapes in this garden so prepared for lots of pictures of plants!

This is a really similar view to that of the flat I lived in in Norwood in Adelaide, South Australia. And i've done a painting of that view.... might start a theme.