Linda Mcburney
interview with a vaulter
April 2020
Good morning, good people!
It is time for another INTERVIEW WITH A VAULTER.
How’s it going, Linda?
I must admit I have my good days and bad days. I was working for the first few weeks of lock-down, but I have now been furloughed until the end of May (so far). Work kept me focused, I had a purpose, but now that I have more time on my hands it's not so easy. I believe that having a good daily routine, getting exercise and keeping in touch with friends and family will get me through this madness. I did think I would succumb to binge watching TV and Netflix, but I haven’t so far, although I have like most people been doing DIY jobs about the house that I have put off for months, even years. I have cleaned, baked, painted (rooms that is), and gardened. I spent two days last week clearing filing cabinets and yesterday I did an audit of what food I had left in my fridge/freezer!
I have made a lovely space for myself at home to work on my prints, but so far, I have been procrastinating a lot and I don’t know why! I’m usually so organised and have everything planned within an inch of its life, but for some reason I’m misbehaving myself and getting waylaid by other things. I have found though that isolation at home all day with hubbie isn’t actually too bad. We do work really well together, and I am enjoying this down time. I am teaching David to cook and he’s actually quite good. He thinks he’s “A” level standard but he’s more GCSE!
My number one priority right now is my family. My mum and dad are high risk; dad was due to go to Dublin on Easter Tuesday for an operation; and his assessment appointment was going ahead right up until the night before. Now everything is on hold. My parents have been in isolation two weeks longer than anyone else. My mum suffers with depression and had a bit of a wobble recently as she cares for my dad and cannot bear to see him in pain. I do daily facetime calls with her as she has hearing difficulties, training her on the iPad has been a challenge, but now she loves it. The daily shopping list is the thing that holds us all together! I am so proud of my mum. My sister Pauline is a cardiac nurse at Antrim Area Hospital, and I fear for her safety every day.
What is your living situation? Do you have outside space or are you living in an underground bunker?
I live with my husband David in a semi-detached house in a beautiful village outside Belfast. I have been torturing him to move back to Belfast for years, but I am now so very grateful that I live here. The local community here is amazing, for example, the village shop makes daily food parcels for volunteers to deliver to the elderly and vulnerable. l discovered that I actually like gardening and am thankful that I have a small back garden. The garden backs onto a farmer’s field so it is very private and peaceful. I have never had time to enjoy it until now as I am always working but mornings sitting having a coffee in my garden is a joy. I have also discovered that I am good at growing stuff. I was always good with house plants. Now I am considering getting some vegetable beds going as I love my veggies. I walk every day and it's glorious. I am now up to 5 miles every day. I listen to music while I walk, and I take lots of photographs of the local landscape and wildlife which I hope I can use in my work. Last week I managed to photograph a beautiful peacock. I also bring back bits of foraged plant matter for my collagraph prints.
How has the pandemic affected your arts practice?
I am a printmaker and not having my studio and access to a printing press is almost unbearable. I have a small xcut press at home which I have managed to create a few monoprints but it’s just not the same as being in a printmaking studio. I have dusted off my paints and brushes and I am going to get cracking on work for my first solo exhibition at the Flax Gallery in October which will consist of a mix of drawings, mixed media, painting and print.
I am also working on my SIAP project at home. The Arts Council awarded me funding for materials for a project to research alternative non-toxic methods of printmaking. Although I do not have a large printing press at home this does not stop me creating plates. I have already started work on some collagraphs and I managed to grab my dremel before the studio closed so I can do some drypoint etchings. When the lock-down is lifted I want to be ready to hit the ground running.
How are you coping with the temporary closing of the Vault?
I love the VAULT and the amazing community of people who I encounter there every week. I miss the buzz of the place; it feels like home when you enter those front gates. Seeing Laura’s pictures of the community garden on Facebook brought joy to my soul this week.
I reduced my working hours at the MAC from full-time to part-time so I could concentrate on my artistic practice and make better use of my studio at the VAULT. I had a plan and it was all going really well till the pandemic hit. My studio at the VAULT is my haven, I love it. I have my own printing press and Neal Campbell made me a fabulous bespoke unit in birch ply for safely storing my printing plates and fine art paper, it also provides me with additional work surface at the perfect working height for me. Sadly, the day I took possession of the unit we temporarily closed the VAULT. My studio is set up for me to be able to run some printmaking workshops, but this is now on hold until it's safe again, which is not going to be anytime soon.
What do you appreciate during lockdown?
My family
Virtual drinks with friends on Zoom
Hugs
My garden
The Tool Library – I need a sander and a hedge cutter right now!
Walking and music
YouTube tutorials
How do you imagine the future after lockdown? For yourself and the wider art world in general.
This is a difficult question. Things will not be the same after lockdown – they can’t be.
I am not the same and how I view the world has changed. I am living each day as it comes and grateful that my family and I are still alive. I would like to have a future, but that future is uncertain as we all struggle to survive after this pandemic. Ideally, I would like to see our current political system turned on its head and that we have a fairer society where people are first over the economy - it must be about family, friends and community.
Where can people find you online?
I am rubbish at social media, but I am on Facebook, Instagram plus the Belfast Print Workshops website. I have been working on my own website for 2 years now, perhaps this is the time I actually finished it!
https://www.instagram.com/lindamcburney/