I’m an artist and maker who recently realised I’m also a decent storyteller.
I write about people, relationships, homes, creativity, and the strange and often funny experiences that came from running an residency in France for nine years.
Accidental Drunkenness at an Artist Residency
The stories you are about to read are true. Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty. (an excerpt) ... At the table next to us was a raucous group of drama students, out celebrating their Christmas break. ‘I’m going to ask them for a cigarette,’ she said...
The Romance of France Isn’t on Your Phone
True stories of Grindr, ghosting and unexpected romance at our artist residency. (an excerpt) ... I couldn’t help but feel frustrated recently when we’d offered to take two residents out for a day trip. We were driving through lush green hills, past stunning châteaux,...
Hospitalfield Residency
A short story about heartbreak, homelessness and how an artist residency helped me find my feet again. I want to tell you about an Artist Residency. A residency in a remarkable mansion house in Arbroath, Scotland. But first I’ll have to take you back a little, so you...
Was Moving to France a Delusional Leap?
From scraping by in Scotland to owning a creative residency in France How did we change from thinking that being able to afford a fried egg sandwich in a café on the East Coast of Scotland was ‘Living the Dream’ … to realising that living in a mansion in the South of...
Close-Knit reviewed on Kirkus
19 February 2014 'Scottish artist Douglas finds a home—and a vast canvas—in the Highlands. ...Some of the installations are breathtakingly simple in their conception: an arrangement of flowers in the ruins of a croft, for example. Others, made with the help of the...
Close-Knit, a digital book for the iPad
28th December 2013. 'A fresh view of Scottish social history through the eyes of a contemporary artist.' Close-Knit is a 50 page digital book for the iPad (a book as an App) published by Coffee Table for those with an interest in contemporary art, Scottish social...
Christina Baldwin – Close Knit publication
17 November 2010. Christina Baldwin said of 'Close-Knit' by Julia Douglas 'I love it and I guarantee so will you.’ 'Having spent the last couple of years researching Badbea and perhaps getting a bit bogged down in the details, I opened a brown paper parcel in my mail...