Part 8 Life after art college

So I was back on home turf, now what. After the initial shock I decided to try and set up some kind of business, I mean after all there I was with all those awards and all that talent surely a business would be possible. Same as I was doing in London and New York. It was lovely to be home. If your from a rural area in Northern Ireland or anywhere you know how bad the transport is. Many artists dont drive so getting around was a problem. Who do I contact to see about setting up a business?? was'nt there somewhere called LEDU? no one I know had ever been in contact with it so I looked it up in the phone book and tried to arrange a meeting. I was to go to the enterprise centre in Downpatrick the only time they wanted to give me was impossible to get to because of the bus schedual from Strangford and the lack of local buses in Downpatrick after much discussion I asked to go to Newtownards instead. The meeting was schedualed, one morning off I went on the boat to Portaferry to get the bus to Newtownards waited 45 mins and then had my meeting.

I kept asking them how could they help me, showed what I was doing and what I wanted to do. I kept on getting negative answers, no we dont help people doing what you are doing, no, no,no,no,no,no. How's that for support.

Needless to say I went home a bit depressed back on the bus and boat and thought what on earth am I going to do now?

It is an experience that rolled back in my head over and over on different occassions and the experience was to effect a number of things I got involved in at a future date.I still had contacts in London but Belfast did'nt really hold much promise as far as opportunitys went. After some time I got contacted by Caroline Salem who I had done the cosutmes in New York for offering me the opportunity to go to Spain, Zaragoza to design costumes for a Ballet she was working on. Needless to say I did'nt need much more to tempt me. After all there was not much holding me in Northern Ireland.

Not much opportunity for me here, even with all that talent and willingness to stay.