Monday, December 12, 2005

under seige in Marlay ??

I went to my studio on Saturday and felt like I was under seige. Entrance to my doorway was half blocked by the 'Farmers Market' stalls in the courtyard, so much so I couldn't even put out my sign. There were two 'Artists' selling paintings from stalls in the courtyard...something we were promised wouldn't happen, and were told was a "one-off" the last time it did... Why do I pay rent rates and insurance on an OPEN studio, when no-one can get access to it? Why do 'Artists' appear at the food market outside our studios come Christmas? (the only time we are likely to make any money) and why do our landlords, Dunloaghaire Rathdown County Council not give a damn? The same reason that our Courtyard is being let go to rack and ruin, no longer do we have a Cafe, now we just have rats brought in by waste from the food markets that is not cleaned up after. The yard is used as a car-park during the week, but it's O.K. there are no longer any Kids running around because there is no coffee shop for their Mums, and it's no longer a pleasant place to sit and chat while the kids can play in relative safety...too many cars and vans driving in and out. The flower tubs have been removed, to block off access to the park by the new car-park and not replaced. Most of the picnic tables have gone elsewhere so it's easier for the cars to get in and out. The Markets give an income while hiding the fact that the courtyard, once a pleasant place to be, is fast becoming an eyesore, unkempt and miserable by degrees. It is bad enough that I have a 'Tip' outside my back window, now the front windows (When you can see out of them due to the amount of muck thrown up by the traffic from the hardcore pot hole filling) are looking out on a dirty hardcore car-park or my door is hemmed in by Market Stalls. I haven't bothered returning since, I'm too annoyed.
I'm so angry I can't work. After my trip I was looking forward to starting with renewed vigor, that has gone now. I despair. I am seriously considering finding a new studio at this stage. The attitude to us is a disgrace: Like it or lump it, be grateful for what you get, you get too much anyway... I've been waiting 3 years to have my name added to the list of Units... the name up is 8 years out of date! We were promised work on the courtyard numerous times..we've given up waiting. We co-operated with a 'report' commissioned on the units and there condition, plus reccomendations as to the way forward in the courtyard this spring, were told we could see a copy of it..no chance!. It seems to have been buried or dis-appeared somewhere down the black hole of 'in the near future'. The near future never arrives..it's like tommorrow...it never comes.
....enough for now I'm getting depressed further while ranting.............

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