I’m in glasgow. The week started with a rejection for an animation project I was pitching for. I’ve been subscribing to a website for about 3 years that hooks you up with labels wanting music videos. Of the many rejections in that 3 years this is the first time ever where the client has actually taken a second to write an email saying my work was good but just not right for the project. which was nice. The rejections don’t hurt in the music video industry. It’s entirely based on whether they like your work or not. It’s more emotionally complicated in arts funding where it’s a bit box ticky. But getting an email really helps and makes you (me) feel like an actual person.
I’m in glasgow to visit tim who is working here and my friend joel who lives here. My MP3 player is making me happy. I’m walking around the city listening to music and because I haven’t been able to do that for a while. it forms connections that I had forgotten about. I’m listening to Horace silver, and early Handsome family records. All their stuff is good but I like the early stuff. the cathedral in cologne looks like a spaceship. The last time I came to glasgow was to work on a film with Phil collins. One night he took me out drinking and got me some chips and 2 deep fried mars-bars and we watched people sing 99 red balloons in a karaoke bar. The next day he got me breakfast then left in a taxi to get a flight to Cologne. He stopped, got out of the taxi and came back into the cafe to tell me again how much he liked my work. Some people are very nice and inspire you to be the same. The time before I came here David and Beryl rescued me from a meltdown during my first term at university, they invited me to stay with them on Jura. I had to stop overnight in a youth hostel in glasgow and I woke up in the morning with a man’s balls hanging over my head from the bunk above. David and Beryl were 2 of the small group of adults from our church who recognised me as tender little ponce and told me it was a okay to be an artist and let me stay at their houses and listen to musicals and I’m sorry I haven’t a clue.
I went to Kelvingrove and tried to find some John Byrne paintings but only found some on postcards in the gift shop. But I bought a very good one of billy connolly. I didn’t learn this but I was reminded - looking at art and museums makes me happy and reminds me (why) I am also an artist and people like looking at art. Happiness levels are doing well this week.