Tag Archives: paisley

Creative adventures

Posted on by vgemmell

After what felt like a slow start to the year, Spring has raced forward at light speed (with some lovely sunshine along the way).

The past couple of months have been very busy for me as I’ve been working on final book edits, cover design chat, and more proofreads.

I also took part in the Paisley Book Festival Schools programme in April. This meant a lot to me as I lived in Paisley for many years and I wrote lots when I lived in the town. A couple of my flash fiction pieces were inspired by observations around town and I used to love sitting in cafes writing notes and reading and going wanders taking photographs of some of the beautiful buildings. I also wrote my first two books when I lived in Paisley.

Delivering creative writing workshops to a range of S1-S3 pupils was fun and I always love seeing what story ideas they come up with. As part of my sessions I had given the groups real-life news headlines for inspiration and the most popular one by far was ‘Girl finds criminal living in her attic.’ I really wanted to read the finished stories for that prompt!

School Workshop in action

After my workshops were over my husband and I headed across to the Isle of Arran, one of our favourite places to visit. We lucked out with the weather and it was so relaxing going walks along the beach and sitting outdoors for meals/drinks. I always think there is a real sense of calm on the Island and could happily spend weeks there writing and doing creative things (but sadly had to return home to my day job!!). Sometimes I dream about being successful enough to be a full-time writer and if it meant being able to spend more time hiding away on islands like this that would be the biggest motivator for me!

Beautiful Arran

Later this week I’m going to be doing a Cover Reveal for Young Blood, my new young adult crossover thriller and posting the trailer for this.

It’s always nerve-wracking releasing work out into the world but also exciting to see a project ‘come to life’ and now I can’t wait for the book to be published and story to be read.

Finding Beauty

Posted on by vgemmell
Painting by Rory Farquhar Thomson

Today’s prompt: Take a notebook to a gallery or museum to write about something you see there

This afternoon after meeting a friend for lunch in my old hometown of Paisley, I took a wander round the Big Art Show which is a fantastic exhibition run by Outspoken Arts Scotland & Art Paisley Ltd. Hundreds of artists (both professional and amateur), submit their work to be exhibited within the Art Department in the Paisley Shopping Centre. It’s a great way to transform empty units within the centre into a creative hub of talent.

I didn’t have long to browse this afternoon before it shut, so I didn’t sit down with a notebook to write when I was there, but there were a couple of pieces that made me think fondly of the beauty that’s often forgotten in this town; a beauty I always tried to appreciate (and capture in photos) when I lived there.

The painting at the top of my post is titled Paisley Abbey in snowstorm by Rory Farquhar Thomson (This image of the painting is a screenshot from the online gallery of the Big Art Show which you can view here. It displays all of the stunning artwork that was on show in the exhibition.)

I love the atmosphere of this painting and the dream-like, ghostly quality that the artist has created with his brushstrokes. It makes the iconic building look as if it is shrouded in mystery. Back in 2013 when I was living in Paisley I wrote a post on my old blog where I had taken 10 photos and written about the places within the town. The photo below is one I took inside the Abbey. It’s such a beautiful building and I have great memories of attending the Abbey during a Medieval festival, a history of the Witches re-enactment, a friend’s graduation service, art fairs, as well as just having a wander around the beautiful building with friends and browsing the little gift shop.

The day after I got married I dropped off our legal paperwork at the Paisley registry office, and on my walk past the Abbey the sun was reflecting off the windows and I remember feeling this sense of a past part of my life smiling down on me as I walked into a new chapter.

My photo of Paisley Abbey

Another image below from the exhibition is by my artist and designer friend Rebecca Johnstone (a.k.a Dainty Dora. You can find some Paisley inspired prints at her online shop here ) Rebecca pairs her unique and eye-catching patterns with photographic imagery of iconic and familiar scenes around Paisley town centre. I love the vibrancy of the layers. This particular image won the ‘Love Local, Love Paisley’ prize at the exhibition, and it’s great to see the town coming alive through a different kind of lens.

Photographic Print – Rebecca Johnstone

I’ve been to some memorable events in the Town Hall over the years too, such as gigs and a beer festival (even although I don’t like beer that much – sampling many a variety confirmed this that day!). The Town Hall has just undergone a massive transformation and I’m hoping this might mean it will host some interesting future events

When I think back to the variety of unique events, tours, art classes, shows and buildings I have visited across Paisley it will always feel like a special place to me which inspires my creativity.