http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:55:22 +0000 a-n rss generator a-n The Artists Information Company and contributors edit@a-n.co.uk technical@a-n.co.uk http://www.a-n.co.uk/img/logo.gif http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 A constant fascination with the industry in my home town, & how this has shaped the familiar landscape, has been dominating my art practice in recent months.  Yet I feel my work has been merely observational - sketches, collages, sculptural drawings with unusual media in large format - I feel I've been merely scratching the surface at something much deeper lying within.   Since the end of 2nd year BA (Hons) Fine Art in June '09 I've been soul searching to question my inspirational sources in order to reveal the true identity of my artistic practice.  I want to begin my final degree year with confidence that my practice has 100% integrity with just what it is that drives me to be creative. A time for pondering then I think ! ...    But it's no good sitting & thinking for too long & these last few weeks have also been a time for frenetic researching & networking!  My practice & exhibition work last year generated lots of opportunities & I've been excitedly following these up over the summer holidays so they can give me a good basis for my final year practice.  I've been invited to visit & gain an insight into the industries that have been fascinating me & I've made several visits to a chemical plant, a working mine & an open pan salt brine works with the offer of help & resources from really supportive folks.  I consider myself so lucky to have made a lot of contacts with people keen to help, gathered lots of site specific materials, photos, video & sound footage & made loads of sketches & ideas for concepts & themes. So no rest for the wicked, but it's been a real adventure so far - I'm getting used to my standard dress as an on-site artist being a hard hat & hi-viz jacket.  One day I'm 600ft down a mine & the next I'm high in the air on a chemical plant (where the view's fantastic!).   I suppose the rest of the final degree year will be all ups & downs too, so I'm fastening my seat belt for a real roller coaster ride.  I never seem to opt for an easy life.  One or two friends ask me why I didn't continue with my cross-stitching as a safer pastime, but those friends who know me better respect the passions involved.  Ya gotta do what ya gotta do!  It's the Sagittarius in me ...  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Drafting an artist's statement today to consolidate my inspirations.  Feeling like all my initial site research has been fruitful. During my visits I've absorbed the places completely and not been influenced by fixed notions of what I'll do back in the studio.  Simply taken it all in and seen everything just as it is.  Then I've let underlying concepts float to the surface, and now I feel it's time to see how those concepts amalgamate and form connections.  I suppose this is an example of how I work best by doing 'divergent thinking' first and then working back to 'convergent thinking' before I can settle to pinning down my true focus so that I can spell it out simply and clearly.  I always go all around the houses first, but once I get there I'm happy.  I suppose it would drive some people crazy, but it works for me every time.  I'll put the draft away now for a day or two and see how it feels when I read it again - I'll go with my instincts.  I feel it's worth spending time labouring over this initial statement because it will be the thing that keeps me on track when I feel I've lost the plot !... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Degree show countdown begins in just 1 short week.  The last 2 years have shot past and now everything counts all of a sudden.  I'm very aware that it's all just been a dress rehearsal up to now, although I didn't fully appreciate that at the time, and this coming year is what it's all about.   So what's the best thing to do when feeling under pressure?  Start cleaning!  Or perhaps that should read, procrastinating?  Whatever you call it, I have spent 3 full days clearing and sorting out my studio at home so that I can see the floor and have some clear surfaces on which to work.  Lots of trips to the skip and Oxfam.  Many spiders are now seeking new homes and the kitten is exploring corners that she never knew existed.  The dog has never seen such activity, and even the hens have popped in to marvel at the spectacle and catch a fleeing spider.  I feel much better now and a clear space is good for the soul.  I'll need a clear head to focus on what I'll be doing.  Don't panic - it's all under control! That artist's statement I wrote over a week ago is still awaiting a second look.  It's not that I'm putting it off -  it's just that I like some elapsed time in order to think it over properly (well that's my story and I'm sticking to it!).  I've a sneaky feeling that I'll be tearing it up and starting again, so I'm delaying the moment until the cleaning is declared complete.   The frenetic site research I've been doing all summer has generated a mass of notes and photos, so I'm sorting through them and making some order from the chaos.  When relative calm has resumed I will feel strong enough to pull out that statement and see if it still feels like a true reflection of what I'm proposing.  Whilst I enjoy the writing process of honing and crystallising my proposal into clear succinct prose, sometimes it encourages unhealthy, over-laboured navel-gazing that makes writing feel like wading through treacle.   My thinking process takes me off in all directions.  It's like I drop into a cosmic 'worm' hole where I suddenly whizz along with ideas rushing past only to pop out somewhere strange and exciting.  While it's good to be unconstrained, its not good to shoot off at multiple, concurrent tangents.  It's quite a challenge to keep things reined in and just keep it simple.  Thoughts are sometimes like a distillation process, they take time to settle down.   As a reality check and break from thinking and writing (and cleaning!) I checked out some Liverpool shows.  There are some top venues here in Liverpool and it's buzzing with contemporary art - visited Wolstenholme Projects, Novas Contemporary Urban Centre & 'A' Foundation in Greenland Street.  So many galleries here and private views it's not possible to fit everything in.  Liverpool's the art place to be!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Absolute artist’s heaven today - received a phone call inviting me to crawl about in a  builder’s skip to scavenge for decayed wood.  Obviously an offer I couldn’t refuse so I shot over to the site within the hour.  After a quick site safety briefing and again donning a hard hat and hi-viz vest I greedily creamed off the best of the treasure trove and made off with it grinning all the way home.  Can you believe it?  Just can't contain my excitement.  I'm planning to use these pieces of wood to create a site specific sculptural installation.  I'm finding that things seem to be oddly falling into place with my practice at the moment.  Opportunities seem to be arising just as they are needed - it's rather spooky.  It was only yesterday that I was wondering if I could lay my hands on salvaged timber, and today I have exactly what I need.  If only the rest of my life would flow as easily!   I've decided the best thing is not to question my good fortune but to seize the moment and go with the flow while the going's good.   Revisited my artist's statement again.  After I'd trawled all through my notes to check I'd not missed any precious gems I was happy that I'd included everything in my description.  All that remains is to jiggle it into a format that will be my proposal of work.  Feeling very excited about this coming year :) Sketched out some designs for work so that I can use them to run by tutors and my business host contacts.  Experimented with some "found" materials with some degree of success - I'm using salt which has the peculiar characteristic of absorbing any moisture and then leaking it out again when you least expect it.  Searching for a glue to mix it with that doesn't become dehydrated, and a coating substance that traps the moisture in but doesn't dissolve it on application.  Can anyone out there make a suggestion?  I sometimes question why I work with such odd materials when I could just opt for a simpler life! Little session on the computer to update my web site, blog, evaluative record and print digital photos.  I like to keep my documentation looking good - a doddle with an Apple Mac. I'm finding that everyone is very interested in what I'm doing and asking me for pictures, photos and website blogs.  It's a bit daunting and is forcing me to talk about ideas that are at a very early stage, but it is increasing my confidence as my inhibitions fall away and I get the chance to receive some valuable early feedback from all sorts of people.  I've found that it doesn't do to be too secretive about what you're doing - it's best to just go for it.  And having to put vague ideas into words always helps me to understand concepts better myself.  I realise I've been far too precious about things in the past - need to just do it.      ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Great news!  The curator at the Salt Museum has accepted ‘Vale Royal’ into the permanent collection.  I know that this is the right location for the piece and I’m looking forward to seeing it in it’s new home.  I just hope it fits through the door - at 8ft square it may be a tight squeeze! Excited about my treasure trove of salvaged wood, so quickly made a start on a maquette to visualise how the pieces will fit together.  Probably going to need a great deal of hinges - better look for that Screwfix catalogue!  Also going to need a deep container to stand the wood in so that it can soak.  I’ve made some enquiries and found some oil drums at the chemical plant that might be suitable.  I’ve set up a sample experiment with the wood soaking to see how long it will take to get the right effect. Still labouring over final the wording of my work proposal - it's more a case of what to take out, rather than what to put it.  I'm trying to be careful not to set too much in stone so that the plan can retain some flexibility.  It's easy to get carried away with those first ideas, but the proposal has to be resistant to the change that will inevitably happen when I find my plans need to be adjusted.  It reminds me of a story someone once told me about Mark Twain the author - he apologised for writing such a long letter, because he hadn't had time to write a short one.  It's true, I do write at length at first and then later I'm able to cut it down to something shorter that makes more sense! Wondering if there's anyone out there who has any experience of working with sound? Swept up a hat-trick in the Village Show Art & Craft section with three Firsts, one Second and three Thirds.  If I win anything else I’ll be obliged to become an honorary member of the WI !    Wonderful day with tea and raffle prizes and lots of laughter.  Who needs the Turner Prize when you can win a place in the heart of the community?      ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 With my written proposal finished, I've begun experimental making based on my investigations into the industrial landscape and the salt industry.  I'm happy with my maquette using salvaged wood.  Been searching for fixings that will join them together into curved "sanctuaries" that will incorporate salt crusting.  I'm sad that hinges are usually only sold in pairs because I'm going to need loads of them, and it would be nice to buy them by the pound like you do with screws and nails!  Might visit the fencing supplier instead.   I've been experimenting with the properties of the dust from the Mine as a kind of reservoir to use as a structural base to hold and release water into the wood.  I'm also looking into how I can use the patterns I found in the Mine from the cutting equipment and plan to experiment with gum arabic.   The amount of power that is used to extract salt from the earth is tremendous, yet because of the cubic crystal structure the mineral is extremely strong.  In spite of this strength, it dissolves easily, yet it's hard to destroy salt altogether.  Particles hang in the air and are revealed on my photographs taken in complete darkness.  I find the strange absorbent "decohydrante" qualities of crusted salt intriguing and plan to investigate this further. This part of our degree programme sees us beginning to research the context of our own practice within wider contemporary practice, and to present this position to our peer group for debate and feedback.  It's daunting at this stage to position my work when it still feels very fluid.  Yet it's odd to look back over the years and see clear trends emerging that didn't feel like trends at the time.  Even when I've been "wandering in the wilderness" clear themes kept recurring that are often more obvious to observers than to me.  Sometimes I feel it's good to have feedback from people who know nothing about what I've been doing so that I know that their response will be completely detached - and so I welcome this.  Recently I feel I've intentionally thrown the baby out with the bath water and started again from scratch - but deep down the same themes have surfaced, so that the exercise has really been one of validating rather than eliminating and starting afresh. I'm looking at contemporary artists that I could possibly compare my practice to, at least in terms of materials or processes.  One possibility is Roger Hiorns in that he is using scientific materials and processes to produce art, and there is some similarity there with crystals and foam.  Yet I'm feeling that I am drawn to textural found materials, and also I'm aware that strong emotive concepts have emerged from my research that I want to embed into my work.  For this reason perhaps Anselm Kiefer would be a parallel in this respect.  More thought is needed here I feel!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Collaborative site specific team working forms an element of my programme, and I see this this complementing my main body of work.  My team has been asked to respond to the inspiring site of St Luke's, Bold Street, Liverpool - locally known as 'the Bombed-Out Church'.  This is an exciting location that already inspires contemporary art groups, and I'm excited to be able to explore it as part of my work.   This exercise will focus on team working skills to present a proposal in a fairly short timescale.  Clear thinking and action are key words then I think.  Site visits, photos and yet more research is again on the agenda!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 86 hinges and 430 screws later .... I can report that I have put together 43 pieces of my salvaged wood into eight 8' high curved structures - not that I'm counting of course, but it helps to pass the time on a Sunday afternoon.  Thankfully it all folds up and flat packs into my little car for transportation.  Have taken it over to the college studio so that it can be in a dry environment ready for growing a crusty surface.  Will have to be patient and let it do it's own thing while I get on with the next project.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Began another piece using salvaged wood.  Arranged hinged boards vertically hanging from a horizontal.  At 7ft the wallmounted piece looks quite striking as it is, but it was my original intention to use the distressed boards as a support for the addition of a hessian drape and attached rocks of salt.  The boards look great as they are and I'm loathe to spoil the unity of them with the wrong materials.  So I've been experimenting with different ways to attach the rocks - embroidering them to a hessian backing, tying them to rusty pins with hessian fibres, drilling them and attaching them like beads and glueing them directly to the wood.  I've settled on wiring them to rusty pins and am experimenting with distressing different types of wire to see how they patinate when exposed to brine. I've also been adding more coats of brine to my curved structures so the distressed wood is slowly beginning to form a frosting of salt crystals, and the hinges have rusted beautifully.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 If Damien Hirst pitched his easel in my front garden I would be too busy to notice. Deadlines are looming so fast that it's hard to keep on top of everything that needs to be done.  Seminars, gallery visits, proposals - the heat is on!  Most of the pressure is just psychological - simply knowing it's there is enough to induce gloom.  Much of my internet research of art news has been cut back - it's a bit like still having all last weeks Sunday papers in an unopened pile by Friday - but then something has to give in this pressurised schedule.  Spent the half term week with a bad cold, so nothing done at all that week. Plus I've picked up a couple of commissions along the way just to add to the list of commitments.   Been experimenting with the found sounds and images I captured from my visit to the mine. Teaching myself the Apple Mac software for this which is very easy to learn, and I'm piecing together material to form short films.  Also looking at using primitive print making to exploit some of the markings I found in the mine. Had a great week in London doing some very focussed personal research visiting galleries.  My main interest was the inspiring Arte Povera wing at Tate Modern, in particular Janis Kounellis and Miroslaw Balka.  Also Anselm Kiefer at Cube, Turner Prize, Jerwood Drawing Prize, Photographers Gallery & Anish Kapoor at RA.  Came away with a list of 22 specific ideas for work based on the inspiration from the gallery visits - of course, this may not all be realised and fully resolved in time for the first assessment point, unless I can get an extension to 2012. This is the first time my gallery visiting trip to London has been so focussed on my own practice - normally I'm chasing around trying to look at everything - this targeted focus has been a great help to underline where I am with my own practice which is a welcome and comforting feeling at this frantic, turbulent time of the course.  The emphasis of this part of our training is to try to position our own practice within the contemporary art world, and it is very good to be asked to do this at this stage otherwise I would continue in that familiar pattern of non-commitant flitting about. Mid term tutorial with personal tutor went very well - I seem to give people the impression that everything's under control and moving along well.  Somewhere in my years of art training I must have picked up this vital skill of illusion!  I do have the ability to remain extremely calm under pressure - the more pressure, the more calm I become.  It's fortunate that I never get so stressed that I sleep like a baby - waking up every hour screaming!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Not many words this time ... just some updated photos of where I'm up to with the salvaged timbers and salt mine materials.  A couple of weeks to go before assessment point and still lots to do.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 I've been looking at the work of Miroslaw Balka, particularly his piece 'Oasis' which is displayed at the moment at the Tate Modern.  I think I can draw some comparisons with my own practice and learn some lessons from the way he works.  I like the fact that Art Povera artists use minimal means to make their statement.  I often over egg the pudding and add unnecessary decorative elements, so it is helpful for me to remind myself of this.  I often use rough, found materials just as Balka has used old timbers salvaged from his childhood home that are steeped in memories of living and dying.  The timbers that I have chosen to use in my work are steeped in the industrial heritage of the salt industry, and the process I am using in soaking them with brine is triggering the beautiful decohydrante effect of salt crystals to grow spontaneously on the surface of the timber.  I feel I can also learn lessons from Balka in the way he uses space - highlighting the difference between occupying space and merely filling it and having the confidence to use the spaces and the silences between marks.  Balka selects materials that have a resonance with traces of history and stories.  I feel that by deepening my site specific research over recent months I have been able to get access to very specific materials that come ready charged with the energy of industrial heritage that is the main focus of my work.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Wall Piece: An iconic symbol inspired by finding a single hessian drape in the silent darkness of a long deserted rock salt mine 600 ft below ground. Held by the earth in grounded security, this is a reminder of the spirituality of that special place. Floor Piece: Using timbers salvaged from a heritage restoration project of the salt works, these curved structures celebrate organic growth of salt crystals and the reverence felt in the sanctuary of the caverns in the rock salt mine. Video Piece: The angle of respose forms when single grains of salt are in continual flow.  Over time, a conical shape is formed.  Gravity pulls the outer layers to the ground.  Solidity is created and causes the form to grow.  I see this as a comparison of the ability of human beings to thrive post-trauma.  The video can be viewed as a podcast at www.carolynshepherd.co.uk... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Balancing act now!  The next few months are all about degree show preparation and consolidating ideas about "What is my Work About?" as well as more practical issues involved in actually making the stuff.  But in addition to that there's my Site Specific Option (20% of the degree) gnawing away at time too involving three proposals for work plus one more finished piece that I think I'll try and resolve fully to include in the degree show (self imposed extra work).  And then there's also a 3000 word document to write concerning my chosen area of personal study which I have yet to decide upon.  So not many things in the air really.  Add to this general chaos of regular life - six inches of snow, burst pipes, a dead hen, mangled car, van that won't start, flooded studio, dwindling finances ... and things start to get unmanageable!  Keep calm, don't panic!  I remember years ago my wonderfully calm ceramics teacher Chris Mallins at London Road Studios giving advice to us on Day 1 of Foundation.  We were all reeling from overload and didn't know where to begin.  It has become a really helpful mantra that I always bring to mind when I have overload inertia .... Chris would say, "Just Do Something!".  It works every time!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Can anyone recommend a "Help! My Tutors Don't Understand Me" Self-help Group, please? I've been carefully trying to take on board feedback comments from tutors. Normally I try not to be too influenced and to go my own way, but this time I thought I might try to absorb some good advice.  I wish I hadn't! Sometimes the comments conflict, and it's very hard to maintain continuity.   The assessment process is very transparent and fair and yet sometimes feedback is confusing.  Could it be that tutors are extremely busy and its easy to jump to conclusions? Surely not? Could it be that they are so concerned with getting everyone on board that some are overlooked?  Again surely not?  My delusions are obviously beginning to set in again due to a fast approaching deadline!  Does anyone else have the same kind of delusions? ... postscript .... I've since had lots of contact from other a-n bloggers who confess that they are sometimes exasperated by conflicting feedback comments.  It's good to hear that everyone feels the same! I try to remind myself that it's good preparation for reaction out in the real world, where comments from viewers of our work will vary radically!   ... another postscript ... I'm still getting interesting emails from people about their reaction to critique feedback - how important it is, how it is given, received and the impact it has on evolving our practice.  It's certainly sparked debate, in fact it really needs it's own blog. Perhaps someone can pick this up and carry it on so that it gets a life of it's own?  Feedback is after all a key reason why we enrol on degree programmes and it is central to our development as well as our sanity!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Eek !  125 days to the degree show.  Don't panic !... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Spending time working on paid commissions this week.  Also dealing with potential customers for after the degree show is all over - gallery spaces, submissions and project opportunities. All necessary stuff because I have to earn a living from this straight away after graduation - it's been a long three years on a vastly reduced income.  It does take time out from routine coursework, but I find it helps sometimes to keep things in perspective and keep the real world in sight - after all I'll be working in it after June 11th this year. Does anyone else find that it necessary to balance degree work with planning for work after graduation?   ... gosh I've just realised that I've been dreaming!  Reality is that I'm snowed under with coursework and deadlines fast approaching - still it's good to dream!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Exploring the concept of continuity and working with the decohydrante effect of salt crystals using salvaged timber from salt works.  Plan to combine this with a loop of digital sounds recorded at the salt mine.   Worked off some calories sawing wood with a blunt saw. Must make the small investment in a new one soon, although it is very good exercise.   Also been burning wood to experiment with charred surfaces.  Excellent weather for bonfire, keeping fingers and toes warm, sometimes a bit too warm as I have one or two skinned fingers.  Burnt wood is resistant to further decay and I plan to combine it with salt crystals.  I have several ideas for sculptural arrangements but I suffer from the dilemma of too many ideas, too little DIY skills and highly developed tendency to deviate and procrastinate.  Staying productive is easier said than done! While I'm taking a rest from blunt sawing and burning, I've been researching for an assignment concerning my personal area of study which could possibly also be called a dissertation.  It's tricky enough pinning down succinct words to describe my practice, and doubly tricky isolating an area for focussed study, but to then research and expand this out to write another 3000 words seems like a tall order. I'd seriously consider climbing Everest as an easier option, but it has to be done and as it's the last written assignment of the entire degree programme it must be worth flinging heart and soul into.  I'll do my best if only for the sake of my poor long-suffering tutor who appears increasingly exasperated with the twists and turns of my creative endeavours.  Ever onward, the end is in sight.  June 11th (private view night) is firmly imprinted in my mind as the start of the rest of my life, when no doubt the real work of surviving as an artist will actually begin!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Rushing about with a mop & bucket this week to spruce up my studio space prior to an assessment point for my Site Specific Option module (about 20% of the whole). Working with messy materials (salty water and burnt sticks) makes for more mess than most but it scrubs up quite nicely.  I still have quite a bit to pull together on the documentation side but I'm sure I can work a small miracle during the forthcoming week. It's also in the back of my mind that we need to work together as a group to get our Degree Show publicity material sorted out so we don't end up doing it in a mad panic sometime in the middle of May. Everyone is so immersed in their own work that perhaps we all hope that someone else is going to do it!   Some of the group have gone on a trip to Berlin, but as I have the mortgage providers quite interested in when they are going to get paid I have had to miss out on the fun.  I have quite literally put my life on hold until June 11th by which time I could be hungry and homeless. I'm still exploring and experimenting with salt and burnt wood.  I now realise that all the research I did back in the summer has generated enough ideas and techniques to last me a lifetime, not just the 12 months of my final degree year! I can see myself continuing with this for a long time into the future to realise all my ideas and fully resolve all the pieces I'd like to make. Sometimes my ideas exceed my capacity and my skill level to produce, so I have to try hard to rein in and be realistic so that I don't end up with too many half finished would-be masterpieces!  What I could really do with right now is a small team of joiners and labourers so that I can display my prowess in delegation as a creative director and project manager!  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166   Spending time finding salvaiging wood so I can burnt it to produce a textured charred surface.  I do wish I had a small van rather than a small hatchback!  I have shifted a full car load of unwanted timber from my local forest park today and another car load of cast aside offcuts from the local timber merchants.  I’ve left it in there overnight so no doubt the car will be inhabited by spiders for weeks to come!  I’m mastering the burning technique and have got into a little system so that I don’t put myself in too much danger.  I’m using shorter lengths and an incinerator to get the right effect.  The neighbours are being quite polite about it considering they must be tired of scheduling the hanging out of their washing with my pyrotechnics. Have to be quite careful not to burn treated timber as this gives off a toxic gas.  I'd hate anyone to die an early death while getting dressed in the morning because they've inhaled the scent of their freshly laundered clothes! I can see the headline now "Neighbour Gassed by Clean Shirt", or perhaps it my even make the tabloids with "Phew Wot A Scorcher".  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166   Very exciting day slaving over a hot bonfire creating burnt wood that will form raw materials that I plan to join together to form a walk in curve containing sounds captured in the salt mine combined to form music.  I will soak some of the wood in brine to create salt crystals.  The growth of the crystals, the continuous sound of industrial mining and the altered state of the wood into a preserved carbon condition supports the concept of continuity that I want to explore. Also been eyeing up premises that may one day become an artist's project space. No time to pursue this properly at the moment, but it's definitely one to come back to once the dust has settled on the degree show. An email from someone admiring my work has made me remember that there are exhibitions to be entered.  I'd almost forgotten about the annual round of local events. Goodness knows what I have ready for showing - most of my work at the moment is either part of a woodpile or soaking in a barrel of salty water.  I must make the effort and find something in a suitable state for public view!  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Beautiful bright frosty morning today so I decided to give the neighbours a reprieve from my pyrotechnics so they can dry their laundry, and instead work on a clay maquette for my Site Specific Option.  I'd left some terracotta slabs in the studio to leather overnight but it's been frosty and they've frozen. Good job it's sunny as I've been able to lay them out in the warm to defrost!  I'm leaving the clay unfired and hope that it will harden off well in the warmth. It's lovely weather to be fettling and I'm sitting in the sun with my little sponge and ceramics tools making the clay smooth.   This piece is specific to the site where the brickworks used to be.  The brickworks were owned by the same family that owned the salt brine works and the two businesses were complementary in that terracotta clay excavated for pits was reused to produce decorative ornamental bricks.  I'm using the decorative shapes in an abstracted sculpture that could be made from the original terracotta and installed (fictionally) on the original brickworks site which is now a country park.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 I really shouldn't be enjoying myself with art, you know.  The mortgage company have sent me a very useful leaflet on repossession and homelessness, I've forgotten to feed the dog, the wardrobe has collapsed for the second time and my clothes are in a heap on the floor, the cat has shredded the carpet and one of the hens has a nasty cough.  Add to this the burst pipe in the studio, the hoover that is not working, the broken window that needs fixing and you will see that really there are other more urgent priorities.  There again I'm quite relaxed about things at the moment as actually this is a good period of my life, last year it was really terrible! I should be more grateful.  I sometimes wonder if total immersion in art making is an escape from reality or a obsessional desire to perpetuate chaos in my personal life?  Roll on June ! ...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Presented my outline Personal Study proposal (3000 word essay) to my tutorial group in an informal seminar format which was also attended by one of our Fellows.  My area of interest concerns Spirituality and how this interacts with Art & Science. Feedback was generally good, although I probably ought to have reined in a little as usual and not tried to include 'life the universe and everything' in the scope of work!  Everything I do seems to shoot off into infinity.   I'm interested in the possibility that we are overloaded with complexity, with sophisticated imagery and distorted reality and we perhaps seek simplicity in art making by adopting a meditative practice, materials that resonate with vibrational energy or a making process that is almost a ritualistic cleansing. The three artists I'm looking at in this capacity are Wolfgang Laib, Miroslaw Balka and David Nash. ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Absolutely worn out !!   Assessment point next Tuesday for Site Specific Option (20% of whole) so I'm running around with a screwdriver getting things put together and ready to go onto the walls. Still a pile yet to complete in order to pull all the documentation together but I'm still hopeful that if I work like a maniac I can have a night out on Sunday with a clear conscience and put my feet up on Monday.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Totally shattered again ... 10hr day with a screwdriver and paintbrush and I'm ready for my bed.  With a deadline of next Tuesday I'm still determined to have Monday with my feet up and Sunday night out partying.  I don't want this blissful illusion to become contingency time instead so I'm working as hard as I can!   What's puzzling me is why there still seems so much to do?  I'm one of those irritatingly organised people that always gets off to an early start, plans to perfection, works steadily throughout and has project management skills honed to military precision. Something must go wrong somewhere in the creative mix because there seems heaps to do and too little time to spare.  No wonder the Great Masters had so many apprentices!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 My mantra for today has been to just keep running towards the finishing line. Tuesday's deadline draws ever nearer.   Working on the finishing touches to two maquettes (one for a Brickworks proposal, one for St Lukes Church proposal), working magic tricks in Photoshop to create presentation display boards, and sitting in the warm sun with a coffee for a little while as a treat. Near mishap when the cat jumped onto the board where all my ceramic pieces were laid out, but a disaster was averted.  Haven't got time to remake anything at this late stage! ... some hours later ... I don't believe it!  The end is in sight.  Unless it's a mirage I do declare that my Sunday night wild party and Monday morning lie in is beginning to look more like a reality.  Ask me again tomorrow!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Slaving away over a hot computer today to get photographs and display material ready for assessment of Site Specific Art module on Tuesday. It seems a never ending task. It's the old 80/20 rule, the last 20% of the task takes up 80% of the time. Never underestimate the time you can waste at a computer doing the last minute fiddly bits. ps. I'm still getting interesting emails from people about their reaction to critique feedback - how important it is, how it is given, received and the impact it has on evolving our practice.  It's certainly sparked debate, in fact it really needs it's own blog. Perhaps someone can pick this up and carry it on so that it gets a life of it's own?  Feedback is after all a key reason why we enrol on degree programmes and it is central to our development as well as our sanity!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Did I say the end was in sight?  It was a mirage.  I'm still busy at the guillotine slicing title cards.  My "little helper" here is holding up proceedings a bit but I love her.  She may be asking for a saucer of milk which reminds me I haven't walked the dog and the sink is full of dishes from the last three days ... I often sympathise with other students that have families to support, juggling family routines with studies is challenging. On the other hand, it's nice to have the moral support of families, even if that doesn't quite translate into them making their own tea while Mum finishes her dissertation. If that were me I'd have a husband filing for divorce and the social services interested in my child care practice.  As it is, my dog isn't likely to leave home and my cat has become quite adept at self catering, I have the remains of her latest prey in my shower cubicle as we speak. Not yet trained them to put the dishwasher on though or run round with the hoover.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 At last it's all on the wall and ready for assessment. Site Specific Option being 20% of the total has been about a balance of time ... not spending too much time on it at the expense of the main part of the degree assessment. And yet, by spending more time it could have been much better. On balance, I like the ideas and concepts and feel I've presented them effectively. These two photos are from the group collaborative part of the module with Phillip Niccolls and Lauren J Piercy. I managed to have my Sunday night out and stayed over in Bristol with friends.  I really felt like cancelling it, but on reflection I realise that it was better to take time out to chill and see things objectively, rather than getting obsessed at the last minute.  Managed to use Monday afternoon to put everything on the wall in probably a much more chilled state than if I'd laboured into the wee small hours the night before. I just need to take some time out from it to now to deal with the amassed paperwork, laundry and washing up that has accumulated recently.  I feel like I need to mentally 'clear the decks' with a cleaning session again before I can tackle the next task which is the writing of a 3000 word personal study, and then return to my "core work" which makes up the main part of the degree assessment which I have been working on since January.  It will be luxurious to focus on it completely - well, almost, there is still a lot of work involved in putting together various documentation. I remember some of the early bloggers back in August had an initial cleaning obsession, and was wondering if we're all sweeping and mopping again?... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 While "site specific option" work is being assessed and marked I've ruled a line under that deadline and moved on.   I'm now at home making a start on my 3000 word "personal study" essay. I've already had a tutorial group seminar to talk about the scope of the work, and decided that it's OK to proceed.   My area of interest concerns Spirituality and how this interacts with Art & Science. I'm interested in the possibility that we are overloaded with complexity, sophisticated imagery and distorted reality and we perhaps seek simplicity in art making by adopting a meditative practice, materials that resonate with vibrational energy or a making process that is almost a ritualistic cleansing. The three artists I'm looking at in this capacity are Wolfgang Laib, Miroslaw Balka and David Nash. At the moment I'm gathering information about these three artists, quotations, images and approaches to their working practice that supports my area of study.   Deadline for completion of this is the middle of May so I must get cracking because there's heaps to do yet on my practical work for the degree show, and more heaps to do on documentation, evaluative diary, professional development file, critical commentary on gallery visits and so forth.  Not many weeks left now, but plenty to do.   ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 First day of spring today with beautiful weather. Just what I need because I'm aiming to do most of my construction work out in the open. As it will be officially a college Easter break I'm going to be working at home on this.  I've got lot's of space lined up with easy access to the tools I'll need, plus a bonfire area nearby so that I can create extra burnt wood as I need it. Most importantly it's all near a kettle too so I can have regular coffee breaks!  Let the building begin!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Today has finally been a day of "carefree making" as my ex ceramics lecturer, Chris Mallins, used to say (London Road Studios Foundation Course).   With my essay moving along OK, and the last deadline past and gone, I've turned my attention to "carefree making" and been cutting and burning wood again.   Popped into college to check that everything in my studio space looked OK and hadn't fallen off the wall, because the external assessor is due to look around. Found two chairs had been placed in the centre of my gallery area and in front of my main wall piece - presumably by some fellow students using my gallery space for their lunchtime chat! Removed these in case the external assessor was forced to make sense of them as part of my installation!  It's always a good idea to check and recheck things isn't it?! I've made some boxes with wood from the salt works and coated them in salt to form a crystal coating.  I've burnt some rotten wood and found that it leaves an interesting texture that complements the other types of wood very well.   I've ordered half a ton of salt (not as much as it sounds) from the friendly folk at British Salt who have been very supportive of my work, so that I can begin experimenting with a hard crystal crust for the base.  A sample that has been growing nicely in a bowl on my kitchen window sill is very exciting, but how well it will scale up is quite another matter. Mentioning Foundation Course before reminds me that there is an article about this in March's issue of A-N, and how the Foundation experience is now being rolled up into a 4 year degree course.  Personally I found my Foundation in a dedicated art school to be a life changing experience in a wonderfully rich environment with excellent facilities and fabulous teaching staff.  I was wondering what other people thought about the concept of a 4 year programme? Is it an improvement on the Foundation in an independent art school?... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Gathering more wood today. Raided the scrap bin at college and the skip outside. Asking everyone I meet to donate unwanted wood. Friends are collecting bits for me too.   Amassing quite a good pile ready for burning but today it's started raining after weeks of dry weather, so I'm hoping for some dry weather at the weekend so I can get some productive bonfire time underway. Some of the wood I burned earlier has been left outside now for some weeks and has been washed clean.  I like the way the texture looks when it has been outside for a while, and the way that it is resilient to the elements, especially as I will be working on it out of doors and leaving it out in the open most of the time.   Researched some MA programmes, studied some funding guidelines and began putting together an exhibition proposal for a gallery. Gathering together details for the creation of a mailing list database to complement some publicity that I plan to begin once the course has finished - all entrepreneurial stuff! It makes a break from labouring over my essay!!  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Hammering today. Fixing together sections of wood gathered yesterday to create irregular constructions before burning and salt crusting them. This should create some interesting forms due to the joints and differences in the type of wood.   Getting organised in my new outdoor space - moving barrels of brine so they are within easy reach (extremely heavy) and lining up wood in various stages of construction. It's nice to be able to use some of my dad's old woodworking tools - among them a beautifully hand crafted plane and use some old nails that he has carefully sorted and organised into old tobacco tins.  I wish I had inherited my dad's tidyiness too - I'm too impatient to be as tidy as he was!   Have stopped to make toast because my thumb is throbbing - I keep hitting it with the hammer. ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Quite an exciting day today. Got an interview for a position with an established artist to help out with studio, gallery and teaching workshops.  Applied and got invited for interview straight away, and as this is the first opportunity I've applied for I'm quite excited. I'm glad I've got plenty of photos of my work already so that I can take them along - I think it's good to have some reliable documentation, it's easy to overlook.  It all sounds fun so fingers crossed :)... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Into the college studio today to remove all my site specific module work which has now been assessed. I've set out my space with my 'core' work and swept the floor which always makes me feel on top of things again. Picked up more salvaged wood.  At Wirral Met we're quite lucky because there's a building and plumbing section here where they teach people how to build houses. It is possible to access these facilities if need be. This also means the chance of leftover wood. Our lovely 3D technician and the building dept tutor have kindly saved me a big bin full of bits and today I collected it and squeezed into my small car (I really need a van) and drove very carefully home with it.  I also called in at friend Paul's house and emptied his dustbin of old floorboards that he'd thrown out. Wonderful characterful pieces with knocks and chips representing years of lives lived. So having spent the day rummaging in dustbins, I think I now have enough raw materials to keep me busy over the Easter break with bonfires and hammering and working on the essay when I'm tired and need to sit down for a while. Another kind friend Mike has volunteered to help me out with the heavy work by holding the pieces for me while I put them together. It really is a two person job, but I'm really reluctant to work with anyone else because I much prefer to concentrate and ponder alone even if it means struggling. This structure is likely to be heavy though, and until it is stable I will be glad of his muscle power, so I've hired him as a temporary artist's assistant in return for some very good coffee and the odd cream cake. He doesn't yet realise though that this is an art project, not a IKEA flatpack - there aren't any printed instructions and he will have to obey the creative director's orders! Poor chap doesn't know what he's let himself in for. It'll probably all end in tears !!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 A bit tired today from hammering and ready for a hot bath to get rid of ingrained charcoal dust.  This morning I called at artist friend Colin's for a motivational natter.  We did two years together at art school on Foundation and I value his viewpoint.  He's popping in next week to have a look at my structure and perhaps hold a bit of wood while I hammer. Over a coffee and a flapjack I know he'll give me his honest opinion too which will come from an artistic angle rather than a DIY one, which is just what I could do with! Spent the afternoon emptying the car of yesterday's salvaged wood trips and organising them into piles. Then did some test pieces and pondered how the structure will stay upright, be safe in the gallery, remain modular, not be too heavy and large for transportation and still look like a flowing sculptural piece looking great from all angles and exactly supporting my concept of continuity. A bit of woodworking is required and then I'm ready to motor on a bit with the making and spend a bit of time with the digital sound which will be contained in the structure, and begin the crystal growing process. So absolutely worn out I'm heading off for a night of jiving to a rock and roll band.  Will be fit for nothing in the morning!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Working quietly in the sunshine selecting pieces of wood and joining them into sections. The early stage of the structure is not yet fully self supporting, but I think it's going in the right direction.  I'm fed up with the drill I'm using and am going to rummage through dad's old tools for the good Bosch one that I know is in there somewhere.  It's quite nice using his old stuff, but I imagine he's watching me and telling me I'm doing it all wrong!  Lot's of decision making needed so that I avoid the piece looking like a burnt fence and instead retain the sculptural authenticity I'm aiming for.  When I'm happy that the making process is working OK, I'll be able to delegate some of the drilling to my volunteer assistant and take on the role of creative director for a little while instead! Artist friend Alison popped in to see how the construction was going.  As a ceramicist, she's puzzled at my fascination for dirty old scrap - but I always find her conservative nature and approach to design and build useful because it is in direct contrast to my very experimental style that can often be over ambitious. We complement each other well!   Artist friend June has lent me a book on carpentry. It makes a fascinating read but I don't think my attempts fall into the same category of skill. I wish I'd done woodworking at school. June has a real 'can do' self-motivating approach to making in wood or metal, and restores my faith in my ability - at least for the short term. Offered to help a fellow student who's been hurt in an accident.  What a time to be injured with only a few weeks to go? She may be able to delegate a bit of sewing which will be a welcome change for me from all this hammering!  Drama in the closing stages may be becoming a trend here at Wirral Met - one student last year in the final few weeks fell and knocked herself out.  A bit of concussion is not what I need right now a so I'll try and tread carefully! Pulled apart some of yesterday's work. The framework isn't strong enough to support itself safely, and needs some of the heavier wood to be burnt before I can go any further. Hoping for good weather so I can make a bonfire.   Tried to resolve the structural stability by putting together some unburnt pieces with the intention of burning them after they'd been assembled, but the process didn't feel right - I'd prefer to select the pieces after they've been burnt because they each have an individual feel and undergo such unpredictable change during the burning process that affects their weight and strength.  The surface texture is wonderful to work with, some of it is velvety smooth, some of it shines with a high sheen, and some of it has a crazed mosaic pattern with deep black crevasses.   I must try to make better progress with this construction otherwise I won't have sufficient time to get the crystal growing activity finished and I can't concentrate on the digital sound piece until I know that I'm home and dry with the building bit.  My respect for the skill of joinery is increasing every day and I'm learning fast - it's mostly common sense, but then common sense isn't always that common, is it? A bit tired today from all the reeling and rocking last night, so I'm pottering gently and probably drinking too much coffee. Tonight I'll pull together some images for a slide show ready for that interview in the morning.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Today's 2hr interview was a fascinating educational visit - a real insight into how an entrepreneurial artist has made a commercial venture from skills and resources.  We had an interesting discussion about how far degree programmes should go with regards to introducing students to the hard commercial aspects of selling and surviving post graduation - there are pros and cons as to how well the two complement or compromise one another. I will definitely be back there again on one or two of the studio workshop classes to learn some interesting skills, and it was nice to make a connection with an artist working so close by. So, a morning well spent. Cold and rainy weather.  Doesn't make me feel like going outside to carry on with my wood construction.  Probably a good day to get some essay writing completed, or to do a little bit of work on my digital soundtrack. I've downloaded the sounds I recorded at the salt mine and have converted the file formats so they are compatible with the software I am using. I've imported them into separate streams of sound so that I can make selections, cut and paste into a musical format and add extra tracks to the composition. I also need to decide on the equipment I want to play the sound through, try it out (possibly in the gallery) and get the necessary PAT test done for health and safety compliance for a public exhibition. There are not many weeks left, and so much yet to do.  I also have several other pieces I want to finish to form part of my overall body of work that will not necessarily be shown in the degree show, so I'm finding I'm multi-tasking a bit and scheduling things around the weather.  Grappled with some digital images to get them the right resolution for some editorial in a-n.  My image files seem to take on a life of their own once I try to attach them to an email. My attachments seem to struggle and fight then shrink and grow of their own free will like something out of an Alice in Wonderland story.  Still, they've gone now and I've had confirmation that they are in the right resolution, so will have to wait till May to see how they look in printed form. Trouble is with doing desk based work that I've eaten most of a packet of chocolate hobnobs and I'm onto my third mug of coffee.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Good days work today. Artist friend 'Conceptual Colin' popped in to see what was happening with all the burnt wood I'd been telling him about. I love chats with Conceptual Colin because he and I share the same diversity of idea generation - it can start with a simple notion, and then in seconds it's "gone cosmic" with no effort whatsoever!  However, today things were a bit more feet on the ground as I was worried about how to make the structure more stable. Over a packet of hobnobs we talked over various ways of going about making the construction that might make life a bit easier.   Conceptual Colin also showed me a slideshow of a collaborative public commission he's just completing with my other artist friend '3D June' and some of my ex-fellow students from London Road Studios. It's beautiful, and includes wood, ceramics, slumped glass and copper.  It refreshes my desire to find premises to start an artist collective when the degree is over.  I introduced him to the idea of blogging on A-N which he is very enthusiastic about, so if you see a 'Conceptual Colin' blog in the future you know where it came from! This afternoon I've been burning more wood. Cold, damp weather meant that nobody had their washing out or their windows open, so I was able to get a few hours quality time with the bonfire. Carried on in spite of a hailstorm and got quite a bit of burnt wood ready in a stock pile. Confirmed with 'Motorbike Mike' that he's coming over to help with the drilling next week, and 'Conceptual Colin' is looking forward to stoking the bonfire for me and giving me the benefit of his cosmic thinking when things get a bit fraught. Better stock up on biscuits though as we seem to get through them at a fast pace. Off out dancing tonight so Im looking forward to a nice bath - my face is black with soot and I ache all over.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Really excited today!  My little film 'Angle of Repose' has been selected to be screened at an event 'A Small Cinema'. Probably just a modest achievement, but since it's my first attempt at making a film I'm more than pleased.  You can have a look at the little film if you like, it's on You Tube, and it's also on my website - and of course if you are able to visit 'A Small Cinema' in Widnes over the Easter weekend then you can watch it with an audience and some popcorn!   Sleet today so I've moved indoors and I'm working on something else - cutting salvaged wood into pieces to form a hinged book.  The wood is from the heritage restoration of the Lion Salt Works in Northwich and so is infused with history and traces of the salt that was made in the building itself.  I'm hoping that by encouraging the salt crystals to form on the surface the piece will become a history book. Applied for a small bursary for some critical writing.  Not done this before so it's good experience and I'd like to learn more about how funding processes work. The damp weather has got into my bones so am spending the afternoon indoors doing a bit more on my essay which is still at a very sketchy stage and needs an injection of inspired effort.  Have finished off a tub of bite sized flapjacks and have resolved to stop this sudden sugar binge otherwise I will soon be the size of a house. Spent some time reading through some A-N blogs - there are some very inspiring projects going on. It's interesting to read about other universities courses too.  I'm a bit envious of some students opportunities to have tutorials with visiting artists and lots of group critiques.  I do find that I'm not too au fait with fellow students work, especially if all our making is done off site. It's so helpful to have group updates into how everyone's projects are progressing during the whole module from January to June, rather than just waiting to see finished results. Speaking to an artist blacksmith yesterday who was bitterly complaining that in his experience the art & design higher education system creates students who can't make anything and break all his tools, because the university technicians do all the making for them!  Great idea, why didn't I think of that earlier!!  Think our technician would have kittens if I asked him to finish off my burnt fence.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Forgive me if I've said this before, but I think a breakthrough has been made today ... the framework is still upright in spite of wild winds and sleet.  Between hailstorms I managed to complete a whole modular piece on my own without anyone needed to hold things in place.  This was due to my ingenious staking arrangement that made good use of some handy soft molehills - something there's plenty of in my garden. Ran out of screws of the right length and I'd been trying to compromise but finally gave in and made the trip out to the DIY shop. Bought some longer thinner ones that have made a huge difference and made it much easier to get more pieces in place.   Feeling a bit more confident now that this isn't going to end up a complete disaster. And I managed to get a bit done on my essay last night so it isn't as sparse as it was. As long as I don't stop working till June I think I'll be OK. Anyone would think I'm building the Eiffel Tower, it's only a modest sculpture. One friend asked me why I'm always outside hammering in the rain, was I building an ark? ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Film premiere today !!  My little film 'Angle of Repose' was screened at 'A Small Cinema' event along with a selection of other short films.  This was a wonderful event that recreated an old style cinema in an empty shop, complete with projectionist, usherette, little paper tickets, ice cream and popcorn.  Fun and really well put together by Liverpool based Sam Meech. I'll certainly be looking out for his next event.  I was really impressed at the quality of my film - the eerie sound track was thunderous!  I'd previously only heard it through small speakers, so to see it on a large screen with big speakers was great. So now I'm inspired to do more research into sound mixing and try out more work. This will have to be after the degree show however, as I've only a few weeks left to go. Also popped over to Liverpool to the Elevator Gallery at Arena Studios to look at 'Collusion' (Rich White & Brychan Tudor) because I was interested in how they were using multiple projections to make a site specific intervention that responded to the architectural features of the building.  The installation inspired me to consider how I could use projection in my work.  The low-tech nature of the piece appealed to me, and I liked the complexity that the layered projections created against the architecturally altered space.  Again, something I will be looking at after the degree show is out of my hair.   It's nice to be able to see how I will continue working after the degree show.  I read so many blog entries that warn me of the feeling of anti climax when all the hullabaloo has died down.  I'm sure my enthusiasm will continue, and I know that I did enough research last summer to last me well into the future to generate ideas for work.  I'm hoping I can be more productive too when the academic parts are no longer needed - essays, diaries etc - and I can concentrate better on just making work and improving my technique and presentation. There are a lot of people reading my blog - I can tell this from the click through rates. It would be interesting to know what readers get from my blog, is it insightful, is it comforting that we all share the same ups and downs?  I've enjoyed making contact with a few other blog regulars and it has been beneficial to me to extend my student group to include those 'cyber peers' in the 'blogosphere'.  I was really worried at the outset about whether or not to blog at all, and whether I could keep it going for the duration of the year.  It takes some courage to reveal a running account of anxieties and failures, mistakes and mishaps culminating in what one hopes to be a body of work and a successful public exhibition. I've found it a useful experience and would recommend it as a complement (but not a replacement) to the regular journal/evaluative record type of diary that is required for academic assessment.   ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Beautiful weather so worked outside all day in the sunshine.  Mainly sawing lengths of salvaged wood into the right size based on it's weight and whereabouts in the construction I was planning to use it - heavier ones to the bottom and lighter to the top to maintain balance. Found another stash of wood and so now I think I have enough to be going on with. More may be available from college when I go back in after Easter if the staff will let me take it off site. Staked out three more modular pieces ready for building. Friend Motorbike Mike has offered to come over tomorrow and help out a bit with the labouring in return for some nice homemade food. Need another burning session to create smaller pieces - most of my stock is larger and heavier pieces - but will have to wait until Tuesday when neighbours are less likely to be enjoying their gardens.  Am going to make a frame cover for the bonfire so I can prepare smaller pieces without actually putting them in the fire. This will allow me to fish them out more safely when they are burned to my satisfaction. I'm using smaller pieces as joints between the larger ones. Began the salt crystal process to some of the timbers.  Hopefully this will have a chance to start growing overnight before we get too much more rain. It's very hit and miss but that is all part of the process. Hoping to get another good day's work in tomorrow in reasonable weather, fingers crossed. I'm aware that I've done quite a bit of work on this without any input from the teaching staff. I'm not sure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.  I must make it a priority to find one of the tutors to give them an update on what I'm doing just in case they want to steer me into a different direction.  I did show them drawings and talk through my ideas, but that was a long time ago. I do prefer to work pretty quietly and very independently. I always take on board every feedback comment and try to take from it all I can, following up suggestions for artist research and techniques to try. But at the end of the day I always go my own way and, as my tutor often reminds me, that often involves choosing the hard way.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Another day of wonderful weather so worked outside all day.  Friend Motorbike Mike, bless him, sacrificed a day at the bike show to come and do some labouring for me.  With two workers on board I've been able to make some good progress.  Gave him an induction briefing (!) and considering he has absolutely no interest in the arts he accepted my designs surprising politely and without any question at all.  He looked at all my drawings and maquettes and got the gist of what I wanted, in fact I think he quite enjoyed himself. Between us we managed to have two quick bonfire sessions (but had to stop while next-door-but-one had an easter egg hunt in their garden) and got a good variety of wood sizes burnt and stockpiled.  We also cut all the lengths ready for a cabinet-style niche piece that will have some shelves, and also cut ready some wood pages for another two books. We stopped for homemade scones now and then just to keep morale high.  We're having another day tomorrow so hopefully will have good progress if the nice weather holds out. Should be going out dancing tonight but I'm worn out so having an early night instead.  All this fresh air and sunshine must be doing me some good.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Dry weather again so Motorbike Mike & I put in a full day's work outside in the fresh air. Finished off the niche cabinet ready for wall mounting. Finished off two books.  Made three modular pieces stable and took away the holding stakes to see how well it stayed up in a very strong wind. Another small bonfire session, but had to stop because neighbours wanted to hang out washing. I may ask my friendly park ranger if I can use their bonfire area so I can get the last lot done all in one go and thereby preserve my good neighbourly relations.   Feeling a bit more confident that everything is reasonably under control and progressing well. Can't get much more labouring done in the next few days as i have to do some paid work to keep the wolf from the door, but will probably have some evenings slaving over my essay. I have to say Motorbike Mike has been great to work with and I couldn't have managed without his help.  He's been very enthusiastic and patient.  Will be calling upon his assistance again next week for the two-person job to get some more modular pieces stable so that I can then crack on with the easier building work myself. Tired and sooty I'm off for a hot bath.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Doing paid work today so nothing to report except that the framework is still standing in spite of overnight gales.   Also got an email reply regarding the artist's collective so perhaps will have something to report about that soon.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Day off today to catch up with a few things. May grab a bit of time to look at my essay again.  Need to stop looking at it though and get some serious writing done. Been browsing through other's blogs and comments - I'm impressed by reports of gallery proposals and work approaching completion. Everyone sounds so organised and professional. Getting involved in a dialogue with Natalie via her blog which is inextricably linked to her artwork - I feel I'm becoming part of it! Made a useful telephone call about forming an artist's collective - hopefully something can emerge from these initial probings.   Goodness me I've just noticed that I've made the front page news yet again on   A-N's Degrees Unedited. I didn't realise when I began this humble blog all those months ago that my final year would be quite so publicly visible.  I hope that this naive diary revealing my progress in 'real time' and my profile interview will inspire next year's students to take the initially daunting step into Degrees Unedited.  I hope anyone reading these accounts will appreciate that I've been open and honest about my final year experience, and I've gained a lot of confidence from making contact with other students from across the country.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 64 Days 21 Hours 11 Minutes 32 Seconds   Degree Show  Countdown Don't Panic !!   Group Hug Needed  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Yesterday and today I've taken a bit more time out for paid work to help pay the bills, and to have a bit of time for fun. Not had much time for fun with all this college stuff going on so I've managed to schedule a bit in. Plenty time for fun after June 11th.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Beautiful weather for working outside on the construction but instead nothing done at all due to receiving a phone call from estate agent - (an offer from a cash buyer to complete conveyancing by the end of April) - so general euphoria all round. So everything is on hold for the time being while I run round instructing solicitors etc etc and worry about how I'm going to complete the sale by the end of April. Why does everything have to happen at once? ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Gorgeous weather yet again so carried on assembling in the sunshine.  Getting quite a nice tan from all this working outdoors. Feeling a bit stiff from too much wild dancing last night and overdoing it recently with the hammer and screwdriver. Have now used up all my stock of prepared wood so will need another session in the flames before I can complete much more. Have scheduled my assistant for two days this week so should be able to have the rest of the armature part assembled by the end of the week.  It's almost beginning to look do-able given the very short time now that is left before the degree show. I'm getting better with the drill and screwdriver and this is helping me to speed up a bit and to worry a bit less. I love working with the textural material and with each piece that I select I'm remembering how I chose that piece of wood, how it altered when it was put into the flames and how it's current state is changed but is now preserved. The material has undergone a certain amount of transformation due to the harsh treatment but it is now in a stronger state. Even the structure itself has now become stable now that all the smaller parts are being joined together.  This is all entirely consistent with my original concept so I'm feeling hopeful that I am working towards a successful outcome. I'm looking forward to getting the rest of the framework together so I can start to get an idea of how to make the piece work sculpturally.  I need to check the overall shape and flow.  I need to decide how to arrange each of the modules in relation to one another and in relation to the gallery space.  I like the spaces between and would like to think about how to light these effectively.  I can also begin to think more realistically about how the sound installation will work and where to apply the salt crystallisation.  I'm feeling that it's getting a bit more real, but I do wish that I had more time !!  Trouble is, the more time I have, the more time I use.  I can guarantee to you now that I will be working up to the last minute. Ready for first day back at college tomorrow I have loaded up the car with the constructed cabinet, one of the wooden hinged books and some of the rough wood boxes so that I can take them into my college studio space.  I'm planning to leave these in the dry atmosphere so salt crystals will grow easily.  I also hope to get a few minutes with my personal tutor so that he can catch up with where I'm at and give me the benefit of some feedback. Mind you, if he's been reading all this blogging business I expect he's got a very good idea what I've been getting up to.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Grabbed some time - quite a bit of time really - with my personal tutor today. I confessed that although I thought the work was progressing as intended, would look good in the degree show and fulfilled my intentions very well, I'd had a sudden feeling that it just wasn't 'great'. Just not ground breaking.  But then, as he commented, does all art have to be ground breaking? A matter for debate perhaps? We agreed that I was probably just having a sudden moment of doubt and nothing major to worry about. So I described my activities with the burnt wood and the construction that I've been making all over Easter. Ran him through where I'm up to with the dozen or so pieces that make up my 'body of work' from which my selection can be made on what to include in the degree show. He reminded me to stay focussed on the message, select which pieces best support my overall intention and to consider how these will be shown together to form a coherent whole that won't introduce any ambiguity for the viewer on how they are read. He was generally supportive of the work so far and offered some suggestions on how to develop things in line with my statement of intent. I value his comments as he has a very wide understanding of art history and contemporary practice and can easily draw upon examples of artists and works to illustrate his explanations. I appreciate his feedback because he's more of a 'guide on the side' rather than a 'sage on the stage' and doesn't feed me with too many of his own influences that I feel I have to try and take on board. So after that feedback I'm comfortable that I can continue with my plans whilst bearing in mind some of his observations.  It's an 80 mile round trip to get to college so although I haven't used the day to create any work I have visited the library, had an excellent lunch with one of my student friends and generally organised my space. I like to try and leave a representative sample of work there at all times as I think it's helpful for people to see what I'm doing even if I'm working off-site. Reluctantly joined the Facebook group for Degrees Unedited because I've been told that I have been quoted there and my photo uploaded - not quite sure if I want to return to Facebook as I had deactivated my account - not a big fan of it at all.  I prefer the filtered audience on the A-N site itself, but we'll see how it goes.   Looking forward to tuning into the programme on TV tonight about Goldsmiths masters degree show preparation .... will probably be able to identify with most of it!! ... postscript ... having watched the Goldsmith's masters show I'm comforted by the familiarity of it all. I think I could have written the script!      ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Thought you might be tickled to hear some of my feedback received over the last few months.  This is what I am hearing from a variety of folks (all shall remain nameless, of course!) and all comments go into the melting pot. Please feel free to add a few more to the mix. All feedback is extremely welcome. Comments go some way towards influencing my decisions - some comments I ignore completely, some I take heed of, some I just have to laugh at and some I let go into one ear and out of the other! When read together as a list it does sound quite funny. Here's a little sample.  >>>>> "Whenever I talk to you, you don't seem to know what your work's about." "You obviously know exactly what you're doing." "You're not bringing that thing in here." "Why does everything you do have to be enormous?" "If that's going to be your body of work then that's fantastic." "You have the knack of making something look good even when it's not." "That blog and your website is just self promotion. What's it got to do with your work." "Your blog reads really well. It's so funny. You've obviously got a lot to say. You're work looks fantastic." "Well you're obviously good on the computer." "You take great photographs." "You work really hard but I'm always disappointed with your work." "You lead me to believe it's going to be great and then it's not." "Your journal is exemplary." "One minute you talk about spirituality, then continuity, then lifecycle. You are giving out mixed messages. Just focus on one." "Isn't spirituality about God and religion?" "What do you mean about spirituality?" "What's all this got to do with a salt mine? Is it about industrial landscape, or is it about the salt crystals?" "What's this got to do with the lifecycle? Isn't everything part of a lifecycle?" "Why salt?" "Why don't you just put a pile of salt on the floor?" "Why don't you just put a pile of burnt ash on the floor?" "Why don't you just put a pile of burnt sticks on the floor?" "It looks like a bonfire." "It doesn't work sculpturally." "So is it just going to be a pile of old boxes?" "Why do you think burning the wood will make people think of continuity - they'll just see burnt wood as death and decay."  "Can I throw this away or is it an artwork?" "Why do you have to do everything the hard way?" "Why don't you make it easy for yourself?" "You have to consider how viewers will read it." "Don't be influenced by how viewers will read it. Everyone brings their own experience to the act of viewing art." "What do you mean you're making music? They're just noises from the salt mine?" "Your film is not art." "Your film should just be put at the back of your journal as supporting evidence of a visit down a salt mine." "Your film is very slick, but you're very good at making something out of nothing." "Your film is very enigmatic." "Your film soundtrack is spooky and awesome. It draws you in." "Your film is so poignant and insightful." "My wife and I love the images of your work on your website. Could we buy a print?"... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Today has been a battle of wills. Don't laugh! Both Motorbike Mike and Conceptual Colin were helping out.  I can see the funny side now, but today it's been one long struggle to prevent Motorbike Mike from taking over the sculpture and finishing it to IKEA flatpack standards. I just knew this could happen! Perhaps it was an alpha male power struggle because Conceptual Colin was there too and Motorbike Mike felt he needed to assert his skills with the power tools at such a fast pace that I could hardly make decisions fast enough before he'd taken them for me. Whatever the root cause was it left me no alternative but to resort to ordering him about like a slave which is not something I wanted to do at all. I'm not used to working with helpers so I suppose it's all good practice. I feel like an old bossy boots, but it was absolutely necessary in order to retain control of the proceedings. It's left me absolutely worn out and frazzled. Good job Conceptual Colin has a calming influence on me or I may have chopped up Motorbike Mike and fed him to the flames. For the sake of the neighbours, I'm doing the bonfires after dusk.  So under cover of darkness I spent until 10.30 last night at the bonfire, and again tonight. Decided to make the circle a bit larger so I need to make more modular pieces. This means I've probably got about half of the armature constructed now and quite a bit of the main section finished.  It's stable, it's looking good and it's beginning to take shape. I'm still going to be rushing to finish though I can feel it in my bones.  Also managed to make a few more books with wooden pages and hinged backs and prepared some wood squares as a mount for some glass pieces. At the back of my mind I'm worrying about the house sale and hoping that everything goes through without a hitch. I'm amazed at how many forms there are to fill in now before you can begin to sell a house. I'm worrying that I'll forget to provide some vital piece of information and the sale will be delayed or fall through. Fingers crossed for an easy ride. I don't really do stress, but I must admit I'm a bit apprehensive when it comes to selling property.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Today has to be given over to running around after the solicitor gathering information to enable a slick hitch-free house sale. It also has to be given over to doing some paid work so that I have enough money to pay the solicitor to sell the house! Lots of driving round will give me a chance to quietly reflect and muse over where I'm up to with my work and get it back into perspective after yesterdays frazzling day.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Long suffering Motorbike Mike has worked hard this morning. I feel quite ashamed for being so growly with him the other day and have successfully managed to be patient all morning so far. We've finished ten modular pieces of armature which should be sufficient for me to carry on with the building on my own as it's all just sculptural from here on in. We've also got some more books put together and hinged ready for application of salt crystals. I think all the purely manual labour is now done and everything is under control.  Only 7 weeks left. Waiting in the wings is a mammoth task required to pull together all the written work, sketches, diary, essay, career file into a tidy format, but I'm not taking my eyes off the making of work just yet until it's looking a bit more complete. Really could do without trying to organise a fast-track house conveyancing, but there you go, that's life.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Tackling the essay in the sunshine outside. Need to get cracking with this. Just 3000 words to explain universal energy and spirituality with a quick dip into quantum mechanics and how this all relates to the work of Wolfgang Laib, Miroslaw Balka and David Nash. As artists are we possibly overloaded with the immediacy of image making? - Facebook, iPhones, mobile phones - the judging panel of 2009 New Contemporaries remarked that there was no real risk taking among the entrants - perhaps we are seeking a simpler art making? ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Laid out the ten armatures and partially built frames in a rough circle in the garden to get an idea of what the size of final configuration will look like. I'm absolutely in love with it. Neighbour popped her head over the hedge and admired the sculpture. Very glad she knew immediately it was an artwork and not something to do with the landscaping. Will leave it today and just look at it from time to time to see what ideas emerge. It looked quite spooky this morning looming out of the early morning mist. Sitting in garden today to finalise a draft of the essay. Gorgeous sunshine is not so good for looking at laptop screen. By way of acute procrastination, just been reading the A-N review of the Art School publication (http://www.a-n.co.uk/interface/reviews/single/6205...). I'm promising myself that I'll read the full document after the degree show as I'm fascinated by everyone's different experiences and views on what it is to have (or to teach) an art education.  It'll also be good to watch the other episode of 'Goldsmith's: But is it Art' which is on TV again tomorrow night. Packed up the car for a run into college tomorrow - 3 more hinged wooden books, 5 prepared wood panels and a barrel of brine. Need to use the brine in my college studio space to give my rough wooden music boxes another coat over the salt crystals. Also need a run to the glass company to order some glass tiles so that I can create some sandwiches with brine crystals between in the manner of microscope slides so these can be mounted onto the wood panels. Unlike the other pieces I tackle, this should be fairly easy to achieve. I often scold myself for doing large work that I find complicated and challenging, instead of sticking to something small and simple that makes my point just as well. But that's just the way it is. I'm a bit tired of trying very hard to be diplomatic at the moment and I'm trying not to lapse into being bitter and twisted! So I'm really hoping that a certain person doesn't say what he often says, ie. "whenever I talk to you, you don't seem to know what you're work is about", otherwise I may just hit him over the head with something heavy. I've been writing about this body of work since June 2009 - the evidence abounds ... evaluative record, journal, statement for assessment, learning plan, blog, website, magazine interview, presentations, personal study document, contextualisation essay, seminars, tutorials and group critiques. I consider myself a good communicator, but if there is still a person out there that sincerely believes I don't know what my work is about then you have my deepest apologies but I have to move on with my life.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Quick chat with tutor. Confirmed with him that all the body of work that I've been doing since the module began in January will be included in assessment, not just the piece that will be going in the degree show. I feel I have done a huge amount of work and will have some good finished pieces, together with masses of drawings and supplementary material and I really hope all this will be taken into consideration. I'd like to include a piece that consists simply of a pyramid of black carbon and a pyramid of white salt. I even wondered whether it should be the only piece I put into the degree show, and have only photographic records of the rest of my work. There is something to be said for this as it would support my statement of intent very well and focus viewers attention on the conceptual message. However, I know that this radically minimalist approach would not be well received by all of the tutors, and although I'd love the piece as a simple statement I'm not sure that I'd want all my hard work on the other pieces of work to simply be presented as photographs. I have to admit it's very tempting though and I'll give it some serious pondering. Chat with another tutor about where to put my work in the gallery. The circular construction is probably going to measure about 12 foot by 6 foot high and doesn't want to be squashed in a corner. Lots of centrally placed radiators and ventilation units restrict my choice. Another student has now introduced audio into her plans, but intends visitors to use headphones so this ought not to clash with my sound piece. Collected some terracotta tiles from the kiln room. I have to admit that I've not decided how I'm going to use these as yet. I have ideas for a mosaic but these are fairly fluid at the moment. Worked a good deal of the day on my essay. It's slowly taking shape. I've decided to try and finish it so that I can send my tutor a draft for review. As a group, we have someone coming in again next week about the degree show catalogue. We were originally wanting him to take "action shots" of us working but I'm worried that it's getting a bit late now so I got a friend to take my shots just as a back up plan. It's now frighteningly close to our deadline and we have no posters or private view invitations. I think we have agreed not to have a name for the show and have decided not to advertise in A-N. Its a kind of low key illusion of what is really happening in the run up to the show. Really beginning to dream about what life will be like after June 11th.  Can't wait to finish so that I can continue working with my practice without the burden of written assignments and all the academic paraphernalia. It's so close now I can almost touch it!  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Today is set aside for finishing draft of essay. I'm also excited to be going for lunch at my 'old art school' Cheshire School of Art with a bunch of folks I did my Foundation with who are still there working on a site specific commission. I always find it very inspiring there because there is so much going on - it's packed with art being made in an exciting and dynamic environment. It's great to see the 16-86yr olds being encouraged to experiment and produce, there is a mass of tuition on hand, fabulous workshop facilities and tutors and technicians with unflagging enthusiasm. Even one of the retired technicians came back on a Foundation course. The final show is usually bursting at the seams with talent and definitely worth a visit in June. It's no wonder that students move on to get places at top universities and many stay on to do additional courses each year to prolong their exposure to such an inspiring life-enriching experience.  (No they aren't paying me to say this!). I did three years full time and numerous years part time and I'm looking forward to September when I can rejoin the life class for pure relaxation.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Working in the sunshine again. Slow progress though, very tired. Work on the circular construction is just a question of slogging away at it now and shaping the sculptural form as it gets larger and takes shape. Conceptual Colin came over to help hold wood while I drilled holes and tightened screws, and he offered his creative support which was just what I needed. Thought through some logistics of how to get all the degree show work into the van and the help I would be requiring in lifting and carrying during the set up week in June. Made plans for another piece of work involving a simple pyramid of salt and ash. Beginning to think about lighting and smaller practical issues of how to protect the gallery floor and how the pieces will be placed in relation to one another. It's getting more and more real each day. Still a fair bit to do to get my essay ship shape. Getting very physically tired now and it's harder to concentrate. Jobs are piling up too - lots of housework and gardening, as well as worrying about the house conveyancing. Possible opportunity for some paid work with projects for schools which I hope materialises into something exciting. It's great to be able to think of working out in the real world without the commitment of academia. On the other hand I've been looking at Masters programmes longingly and wondering if I should or I shouldn't. I'd love to put the finishing touches to my artist training with an MA, but I'm worried that I'm flagging a bit after 6 consecutive years of academic activity. Perhaps I'd feel differently after a summer break? Maybe I should just go out there, do it and get on with it? Need to make this decision when the degree show is out of the way.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Doing paid work today unfortunately. Would rather be doing the labour of love that is my sculpture outside in the fresh air.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Can anyone help, please? I'd love to watch a film again that I saw in the Turner Prize show last year. Zarina Bhimji 'Waiting' about the sisal rope factory with an awesome sound track. Can't seem to find a link to actually watch it online? It's a shame that photographic images are so readily available, but films aren't. Many thanks :)... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Yesterday was an interesting day of confusion. Invited as an 'artist in residence' to be present at an event exploring spirituality in the workplace. It was discussing why only 2% of folks now go to Christian church and how churches ought to reach out to the other 98% in the course of their everyday lives instead of just on Sunday mornings. I found myself contrasting this with a 3 day event I attended several years ago led by the Dalai Lama, and another event I attended at a Spiritualist church. I'm fascinated at the misunderstandings that can occur when people discuss what they believe to be spirituality. Words have different meanings to different people and everything is based on personal experience and learned knowledge. Often they say the words and think they are being understood by everyone listening - but each person holds a different viewpoint and so the meaning is diffused without anyone really realising it. Anyway - an interesting day of confusion! Today I'm grappling again with my essay. It is making me remember a book I read many years ago by a chap named Gower on the subject of Plain English. He mentioned something about poor communication being either muddy thoughts expressed clearly, or clear thoughts expressed muddily. Mine is still at the muddy stage for both reasons I think, but I'm filtering it and it's gradually becoming clearer. I'm a little tired after plenty of wild dancing about last night, so am happy to be quietly engaged in word processing. Today it is raining. It is washing my sculpture in the garden, accentuating the blackness and making it feel more grounded and complete.    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Long day at college today. Chat with tutor about draft of essay.  Will need further work on this as he is still not convinced that I've sufficiently demonstrated the connection between science and spirituality and I need to explain the science a bit more.  I'm a bit sad that I need to do more work on the content as I'd really like to move on mentally from this and devote all my time to finishing work for the show and tying up the documentation. Never mind, it has to be done. Also picked up another car load of salvaged wood.  This is perhaps the last load now, so I'm beginning to look ahead to the end of the tunnel, even though it's not quite in sight yet. We had a meeting at college about the degree show catalogue and have made a date with the photographer to come in and do a photo shoot on May 12th. ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Working in sunshine again assembling the circular enclosure for sound.  Got the overall shape working now and just adding to the sculptural form. Thinking all the while about whether to include a seat within the auditorium, where to position the speakers, whether I should include a music stand, whether to utilise the obstacles that are in the gallery space and use them as my seats, or bring in other seats, whether to modify the floor and wondering how the cast shadows will work in the gallery setting. Also wondering whether to take tutors advice on how to modify my essay so that he gets to read what he wants to read and will thereby understand it better and be more likely to award a good mark!, or whether to battle on with the point I am trying to make in the full knowledge that my tutor will probably never agree with my point of view and will be more likely to be critical and award a lower mark. Do I take the easy route and sell my soul, or do I take the harder route? It's tempting at this late stage to take the easy route for the first time in 3 years, but there again I'm not sure I can break the habits of a lifetime!  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Doing paid work today. It has to be done.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Gorgeous warm evening last night, birds singing, sun setting and perfect for a 3hr wood burning session. Felt quite shamanistic quietly burning the wood to the perfect state and then pulling it from the flames. Prepared quite a lot of raw materials and have today used most of it in the sculpture. It's at the stage now where I feel like I am drawing with the wood more freely and can enjoy the process of selecting pieces to work with. It's quite therapeutic working outside in peaceful surroundings with only the animals quietly present.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Bit of research today into particle physics. Don't ask!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Visited the gallery with a tape measure today to see if my work will fit in the proposed location. Loads of room. Should look good. Will have a chat with tutor next week to confirm which pieces I'm putting in the show and where they will be placed. Worried about other practicalities like lighting, and sound systems, and floor coverings ... but I'm sure it'll work out, just don't panic!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 I've worked outside all day today adding charred timber to my 12ft x 6ft piece which is a circular enclosure for sound. I'm beginning to think it is approaching completion and I'm now planning to do some more work on the sounds which I recorded in the salt mine, and mixing these to form music to be played in the circular enclosure. 5 weeks from now I will be hiring a van and driving all my work to the Williamson Gallery in Birkenhead to install them for the degree show with the private view on 11th June. Can't believe it's only 5 weeks away. Pleased to see some great photos of my work together with an excerpt from my profile interview published in the Degrees 2010 'Best of the Degree Shows' A-N Publication.  The article called "It's an Adventure" is on page 8 or at this link http://www.a-n.co.uk/publications.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 It feels like a good day for replanning what needs to be done in the next 5 weeks in the run up to the degree show. Need to allow plenty of time to sort out my documentation as it will probably take me several days to type up the bibliography alone. We are being assessed on all work since January 2010 so that amounts to quite a lot of reading, drawing, gallery visits, photographs and evaluative notes as well as about 15 pieces of finished work and an essay. It feels a bit like spinning plates - keeping one thing going while I turn my attention to something else. Although all this supporting material is vital for the degree assessment and is an interesting record of the creative process, at the end of the day it is the work in the gallery that people will be looking at. No good having a fabulous artist's journal if the sculpture isn't quite fully resolved. Have replenished my supplies of charred wood following a good 3 hour burning last night, and as the weather is good again today I will be outside adding more pieces to the circular enclosure. I think I need only one more burning session now to create sufficient sculptural material. At last! Conceptual Colin is coming over today, and over a nice lunch will offer me his motivational creative input which I value greatly. I also want to run past him some ideas I have for the artist's collective and ideas for a show later in the year. Have taken a video of the sculpture so I can take it into college to show my tutor. Working off site has the disadvantage of being 'out of sight, out of mind' and they don't get to see what I'm doing on a daily basis. I'm hoping this won't be to the detriment of my assessment and that a video will give them the best opportunity to see what the work is like. The blog of course, is also another good way to keep up with progress, but I'm not sure they would officially want to include that in the assessment.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Tutorial today. Hard work for both of us. Have gone for a lie down to recover.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Need to do paid work today, but grabbing a couple of hours this morning with a cup of coffee to pick over the feedback from yesterdays tutorial and make it work for me in order to have a positive practical influence in the development of my work. Serious analytical stuff then!. It would be easy to throw feedback comments aside and pretend to be doing my own thing regardless, but I've paid £9000 over 3 years for this so I like to search for the wise nuggets of gold that I know are in there and use them where I can. Meanwhile, back in the realm of real life I have a house sale conveyance to make happen in spite of paying estate agents and solicitors to do this for me. Hoping to exchange contracts any day now providing the Bank of Scotland can wake up and do their stuff. I don't normally do stress, but I really could do without all this going on while I'm trying to prepare for a degree show!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Gloomy weather so I'm indoors hibernating and attending to the alterations to my essay. Long spells of retrospection regarding exactly what to include in the centre of my circled enclosure for sound. Should it be meditation cushions, should it be a small bowl of salt and carbon, small seedling growing? Should there be grass growing and if so where? Would grass indicate overgrown neglect rather than rebirth and regrowth? How much salt crystal crusting should I include? How many visual clues (signs and codes as my tutor calls them) should I include to achieve a nice balance between intrigue and outright transparency of message? Should I leave no clues except for the title card? If I include the items as clues how much will these items detract from the enclosure itself and the energy being exuded from the carbonised wood and the response generated from the continuous mysterious sound piece? Should the containers be glass or of the wood itself? Decisions, decisions! I'm hoping this soup of ideas will settle and clarify once I know that there are no impediments to me exchanging contracts on my house and I've boxed off the essay this weekend. The mind can only cope with so many uncertainties at any one time before going into a spin. Normal service will be resumed shortly. That reminds me of those neon pieces.  I think I'll pin up a sign saying "Everything will be Alright".... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Today's highlight is a demonstration of how to use the plagiarism checker on the computer. This should be interesting. It sounds like it could be a good way of generating an automatic bibliography! Spent yesterday revising my essay. Not in readiness for the plagiarism checker, but decided to alter it around completely so that it flows better. Also decided to retype rather than cut and paste. Retyping makes me focus on each word.  I find when I'm creating an initial outline that I type scraps of ideas and phrases that I intend to expand or rewrite later. Sometimes these can be left in the text and I overlook them until suddenly they stand out like a sore thumb. Retyping at some critical stage of the drafting process somehow highlights these lurking snippets and sorts them out into meaningful text. Also popping back to the gallery to measure up again following a chat with tutor over what work to include and where it should go, and to talk with the curator on what to do about protecting the parquet floor from my sculpture. ... some time later ... Survived the plagiarism software demonstration (tutor deserves a medal for putting up with us all asking questions at once) but had the embarrassment of mine being the one used as an example - a good example fortunately but just as embarrassing.   Completely forgot to call in at the gallery and took the dog for a run on the beach instead - not sure how that happened, must have been a brain storm.  I'm getting a few of those lately. High tension still exists thanks to conveyancing process - I do hope it all gets signed and sealed by mid May so I can clear the part of my brain that is in Legal Mode and free it up for Degree Show Mode. Having a wild weekend to release some of this tension with rock and roll partying so no blog till Monday.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Thought for the day... 'The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.  It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and science'.   Einstein's words in 1930 that could equally inspire artist, scientist or spiritualist of the 21st century. The image is the energy of a star being born courtesy of Herschel observatory's latest pictures from space.   ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Beware the green eyed monster that doth mock the meat it feeds on. (from Shakespeare's Othello). Freedom from the 'Three Fires' of delusion, greed and hatred. (from the Buddhist scriptures). I was once fortunate enough to attend a teaching by the Dalai Lama.  Many of his words stayed with me. Judgementation can be avoided by recognising the common denominator between people is that all beings seek freedom from suffering.  Final adjustments to essay are quite relaxing in spite of the fact the deadline is fast approaching. Perhaps its because I'm writing about a therapeutic subject that includes finding peace in a turbulent world. I'm enjoying looking at the meditative work of Wolfgang Laib, but I've found that in writing the essay I'm getting more out of his work by finding the words to describe it in writing.  It's interesting really, because often when I'm making work I think that it transcends verbal description, and yet I'm enhancing my awareness of Laib's work by searching for words.  It's as though they are both complementing one another. Goodness, I've just realised I'm an octogenarian - eighty blog posts. ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Very tiring day. Professional photographer hired to take studio shots of our work for degree show catalogue, so lots of comings and goings. Also a group visit to the gallery to review the plan of what goes where. All of our work is going to look fabulous, but we're all feeling the strain a bit and will be glad to see everything finished and on display. Meanwhile, in the real world ... mayhem and madness on the house sale front - piles of queries from the solicitor to wade through and return as fast as possible for the sale to proceed. The timing of this is crazy! Worked late last night to get my essay the way I want it. Got the thumbs up from tutor on my second draft so I'm ready to do final checks (sounds like a plane preparing for taking off!), double check the references, printing, binding, handing in and opening the champagne. Still loads of work left to do yet on documentation, not to mention lots of finishing off to do on pieces of artwork.  I seem to have an inbuilt tendency, that I can't seem to avoid, in wanting to work on several things at once. This is great for keeping busy and making progress, but it increases to a critical peak the risk of nothing being finished. Looking at the calendar there aren't many available working days left because I have to fit in some paid work too.  It's hectic, but achievable! ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 House conveyancing is still dominating the proceedings. Timing of this is priceless! Walk on the beach to get mind into stable state to cope with pressure overload. Roll on June 11th. Isn't it incredible how some references at the back of an essay can take longer to type than the quotation itself, especially if they are derived from an online source with gibberish URLs? Essay finished.  Beer opened.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 A day of running about is needed. I've had a list of bits that need to be bought for weeks now - glass, fixings, speakers etc. Must get this done - practical but critical. Emailed the catalogue text across to the design company this morning, so that's one more little task ticked off the list.   I'd much rather be making work as I feel my mind needs to be bathed in creativity in order to stay afloat in the sea of uncertainties that is my life at the moment.   .... later .... the feeling of euphoria is indescribable - essay is printed and bound and has passed through the plagiarism checking software with a healthy result. Another beer opened.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Another gorgeous day yesterday, so worked outside all day. With Motorbike's help to do the sawing, got three boxes and a stand made using the heritage timber so pleased that these are done and out of the way. Received an email from a gallery AV expert who I'm talking to before I buy anything for running my sound and video.  Today treated myself to a lie in - when the pressures really on it's always a good plan to take a nap.  Weather is good yet again so will probably attach the last of the burnt wood before having the final bonfire this evening with a chilled beer in hand. Some rock n roll jiving last night has left me a bit stiff and creaky, but there's nothing like it for blowing the cares away. The other critical task today is to book a holiday. Nursing a sick hen this afternoon and running to the wildlife hospital with an injured sparrow. I ought to open a zoo.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Essay safely handed in. Breathe a sigh of relief. Taken dog for run on beach to chill out a bit (me, not the dog). House conveyancing rambles on - I'm sure I'm answering 'enquiries' for the third time around. One day soon the house will be sold, I must not lose sight of that goal in spite of the lengthy legal procedures. Collected more wood, although this really is just spare material now as I think I've just about completed the structure. Could always use it for another project. Have asked everyone to stop saving wood for me now otherwise I'll have enough to build a whole house. Gorgeous day so will continue fixing the remaining wood to the structure and start trying to wrap things up a bit and tie up loose ends.  Not many days left till the exhibition and still so much left to be done, especially in the documentation. It's tempting when the pressure's on to work on the things that are most pleasant, but there comes a time when all the rotten bits have to be done too, and there's no more time to put them off. My least favourite bit is filling in the 'transferrable skills' section of the journal, and typing up the bibliography (which will be twice as laborious this time as we've just done a double module over 6 months).  I know these little jobs will take three times longer simply because I don't like doing them. Booked a holiday. Can't wait!  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Running about this morning collecting things - glass panels and glass tiles and a beautiful Tibetan singing bowl, kindly lent to me from Michael at the Northwich Buddhist Centre, that I hope to use in the main sculpture. Gorgeous weather but I have to do some paid work this afternoon so I can't carry on working outdoors unfortunately.  It's an absolute joy working outside in the sunshine. I wish the month of May could last a bit longer.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Have to do paid work today unfortunately. This means a full day of worrying about, rather than doing, degree show work. Sometimes worrying time can be fairly productive though, helps to think things through. I usually find that time spent in productive worrying is often useful. Some would call it planning I suppose.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Have finished the sculpture.  All the drawing with burnt wood is done and it is finished. Feels good to have it completed. Gorgeous weather. Moved the pieces around to find the perfect arrangement. Feeling incredibly tired. I think this is just because I know there is so much left to do in tying up loose ends and I'm really looking forward to getting to the other side of the degree show and enjoying a holiday. Not long now.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Began the morning gravedigging. My elderly hen drifted away quietly yesterday whilst sitting in the evening sunshine. Feels like a good day for clearing the decks with a good tidy up of paperwork before I begin the gradual descent, fasten seatbelts for landing, toward the degree show.  Must have spent more time than usual on making work during this module, and less time organising paperwork because I have a large heap that is supposed to be a career development file, and a book of scribbled writings that is an evaluative record. Normally my paperwork is immaculately typed, but this time I've put more effort into the making of work, which is better but leaves a lot of tidying up at the end. Thinking of the bibliography gives me a slight woozy feeling. A good couple of hours spent tidying up the studio at home so that I can carry on with the glass pieces that I'm making with brine markings. I've now got clear surfaces that I can work on - what a good feeling.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 In 27 days I will have a Bachelors Degree with Honours in Fine Art. I may also have a nervous twitch, insomnia and exhaustion. 92 degrees in the studio - so a bit warm for doing too much. Created some brine crystals on glass and mounted one up to test out the fixings.  Probably need another trip to the DIY shop. Soaking one of the wooden books to grow more brine crystals - growing well in the hot sun. Decided on the equipment needed for playing video and sound following a chat with an AV expert from a big gallery in Liverpool. Touched up some loose parts on the burnt wood circle and generally worried about things instead of doing something about them - I'm good at that, it can fill many a long hour.  I usually then amaze myself how quickly things can be resolved once I actually do something about it. Moved about slowly and dozed off occasionally. Cream Cake Chrissie cheered me up with a chat and arranged a cream cake meeting next week. Cream Cake Chrissie knows that I need motivation when I get within inches of the finishing line else I may just slow down and stop. Cream cakes are our way of creating the motivation needed. Not a moment to soon. Applied Alison popped round and said she'd read my profile interview with Richard Taylor on the A-N site and was incredibly impressed with how well I'd talked about my work. I shrugged and mumbled an appropriate response. She also admired the burnt wood sculpture that she'd had to negotiate in the dark when she came round to feed my hens last weekend while I was away. I think she preferred it in the daylight. Message from Conceptual Colin.  He's keeping in touch because he's worked with me before and knows that his role as cheer leader and a bit of motivational compassing will be much appreciated at this time. Jetlag Jackie has kindly arranged her international flights accordingly so she can help me out during set up week, but especially so she can come and hob nob at the private view. All helpers are very welcome. 3D June is sending motivational support electronically as she can't be with me at this vital time, but sends good vibes. Sadly Motorbike Mike is off to the Isle of Man TT during gallery set up week, so we'll have to do without his muscles, but he's sent me a bottle of champagne to celebrate with, which is the main thing after all.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Touching 90 degrees again in the studio (I always do Fahrenheit for weather, Celsius for roast potatoes, Litres for oil and Pints for milk having being educated on the cusp of decimalisation), so much too hot to be really busy. Nevertheless I've done quite a bit. Put together three glass pieces. But the salt crystalisation on the glass may be looking dangerously decorative so have had to curb it a bit. I was once advised that I have a 'decorate urge that needs to be restrained', so I've always kept it at the back of mind even when up to my ankles in dirty wood and ash.  It really doesn't do to be decorative. Applied Alison always takes pleasure in reminding me of this, because 'doing decorative' isn't considered to be a sinful urge on her Applied Arts course.  Before we began our degrees, me on Fine Arts and she on Applied Arts, we mused about what the essential differences might be. I've a very good idea now what the differences are and I'm glad I made what was for me the right choice to go for Fine Art. Alison's glad she chose Applied. Different as chalk and cheese. Feeling rebellious, I am decoratively urged to make one of my salt crystal pieces into a coaster to give to my tutor, only to enjoy the look of horror that will sweep across his face before he realises my teasing intention.  Better wait till I've finished the course before I let any decorative urge out of it's cage.      ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Real life gets in the way of deadlines. Solicitor wants coloured plans, car wants coil springs and it's only eleven o clock. Today I'm feeling that I need to start wrapping things up and pulling things together as it's fast approaching deadline time. I've fished my wood books out of their brine bath and they are drying out in the hot sunshine. I've touched up the burnt wood circle a little - something I could probably keep on doing for the next three years - and it's looking good. Cleared all my drawings and papers into a heap for sorting. Glad I tidied the studio the other day because now I have space in which to make a new mess. I've decided to tackle the bibliography. With 3 weeks to go before assessment I should be finished if I start it now! Better do it while I'm in the mood as it'll be a long time before I feel like typing a bibliography again. I could cheat and print out my library list of 'Everything I've Ever Read' - perhaps I could embroider it onto a quilt? - but instead I'm going about it the traditional way and typing it up from my meticulously handwritten list that I started in January this year.  Becoming excited that June 11th is getting nearer.  That's my personal milestone. It's only the private view, but for me it marks the end of the degree experience. It's not really the end - 14th-18th is when the work gets marked, and then viewed by the external assessor who will want to meet us to talk about our work. After that it's results, graduation ceremony, clearing away the show and emptying my college studio space.  However, none of this shows up on my radar, it's just June 11th that signals the beginning of the rest of my life - at about 6pm - to be celebrated with a glass of something sparkling.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Added more brine to the glass piece this morning. Pleased with how the crystals are forming but it is weather dependent and it's cooler and more humid today.   Must spend time today tidying up my Evaluative Record that forms part of my journal for assessment. It's more scattered than it usually is and needs shuffling into order. I've just read through what I've been writing about since last January and I'm sorely tempted to add it to my next bonfire and begin again. I really need to tighten it up a bit and edit it carefully. Still grounded without a car so I'm hoping than when I get into college all my plinths are still there. It's a bit late in the day to start making plinths again. In a way it's good not to be at college as there will be a lot of people getting stressed and I'm not sure I want to absorb anyone elses stress - I can create enough of my own. As other proctrastinators will recognise, I'm getting the urge to do those little jobs that normally get left to the bottom of the pile like clearing the grass from between the paving stones and scrubbing the patio furniture - strong indication that I'm faced with a more pressing task that I don't want to do - a bibliography. It makes me want to doze off just thinking about it.  I'm taken right back to the day when my Mum was keen to help me with my homework and explain what I'd missed in some maths classes whilst I'd been ill in hospital. I clearly remember the feeling - I was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of sleepiness at the mere mention of quadratic equations.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Helpful day today. Conceptual Colin and Cream Cake Chrissie popped by to help out with some moral support.   Long intellectual debate over the details. It's crunch time for the details and decisions have to be made. Revisited the concept. Do the details support the concept? It's hard work deciding the simplest of minute details. Sometimes the best decision can be to leave out everything altogether. My guiding principle is - does it meet the concept? - does it do what it says on the tin? Brutal perhaps, but it helps me from wandering off into infinity. Revisited and laboured over the decision on what symbolism to include in the circle. The contenders were salt, carbon ash, moss, grass, Tibetan singing bowl, meditation cushion and mat, glass bowl, wood box and all permutations of these items. Very grateful for the heated debate on this, we thrashed out in minute detail what it was I was trying to achieve and how well each supported it.  All excellent stuff, but it left us all exhausted and it still feels like a multiple choice test to which I've still not really decided which answer to choose. Blowtorched round the burnt circle to catch any missed bits. Fun and games doing this in a strong breeze. I've not been able to mow the lawn for a couple of months now but setting it on fire has been quite effective. Also a moment of panic when I caught the cat stepping gently into a bowl of specially prepared carbon ash, mistaking it for a new litter tray. Disaster averted in the nick of time. My burnt wood sculpture is going to be smelling strange enough without any help from the cat. Whilst we went indoors to enjoy the chocolate cream eclairs Chrissie had brought us, one of the wood struts continued burning and broke off. We had to rush out with the watering can to douse the smoke - no flames, just heat and smoke, it's sneaky stuff. Long debate about how the books should be presented. Again kept repeating my mantra about the concept and tried to do a mental rationalisation - is it or isn't it - does it or doesn't it. It seems quite a clinical approach, but it's a bit like a flow diagram - there's only one clear path through to the outcome. Dismayed with the large glass panel that is growing salt crystals - it refuses to play for some reason. Could be the increased humidity over the last couple of days so I've brought it indoors so it's drier and put it on a high shelf out of the way of the cat. ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 7.30 am.   This is an early post because I've slept like a baby - woken up every two hours screaming!  Cant get the unresolved decision out of my head - box of moss, box of salt, box of carbon ash - keeps going round and round so I must make a decision soon in order to preserve my sanity. Also really trying to decide how all the different pieces will work together as a whole and support the concept. I've been ruminating about it for ages, but now it's final decision time on what to put in and what to take out. The emphasis being on what to take out. later... tested new sound speakers - fiddling about with speaker cable is very frustrating - decided the continuity on one of the new cables is broken.  Finalised the van hire so I can take all my stuff from home direct to the gallery, and again to take it down after the exhibition is finished. As my stuff's big and bulky I've decided to do my own transport rather than go in the college Transit van. I've driven a Luton type van before so it's not a problem, just means extra cost. Working on editing Evaluative Record so that some of the rubbish is left out. Crazy phone calls to push along the house conveyancing which is still dragging on - I hope it goes away soon as I don't want it to encroach on my gallery set up week from 7th onwards. Working hard to avoid a small nervous breakdown over it, will be so glad when contracts are exchanged.  I have to say I'm normally pretty bomb proof but today I felt an attack of nerves - it's gone off now though so it's probably just a blip.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 It's been 'one of those days'.  Its taken three trips back and forwards to the electrical shop with the AV equipment for the gallery before deciding on a full refund. Fixed up with new set of kit from somewhere else - pick it up in the morning - costs vastly more. Flat tyre on the car - breakdown cover people have a new computer system that has lost my policy between the cracks - have to call out mate Dan instead who fixes it in a flash. Back at the ranch, exhausted and ready for food at 10pm - instead of popping pizza under grill for 11 minutes I've microwaved it on high instead. I'm going to bed in the hope that tomorrow is a better day.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Most of the day gone in exchanging audio visual equipment and setting up new kit.  Now working perfectly. Tested it with my film format and sound for the gallery.  Also tested it with some rock & roll and bopped about a bit. If nothing else I can have  really good house warming party.  I'm now a dab hand at whipping up stripped speaker cables.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Cutting a square of moss out of front garden to put in installation. Neighbours won't be at all surprised.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Watering the moss with some Miracle Grow. Worried that it doesn't look alive enough in order to support the idea of regrowth!  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Poorly today. This isn't scheduled in but life has a way of slowing you down. Also it's raining, which is good for the moss, but not so good for the salt crystals which absorb ambient moisture. Spending time on tidying documentation.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Painting wall boards at college today with everyone else in the sunshine. Also painting plinths and panicking generally - Monday we set up in the gallery. At home this evening taking stock of everything. Feeling a bit cross with it all and would like to pack it all into a skip and wander off into the sunset. Decided instead to have an early night and start a fresh day in the morning.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Have to do paid work today so nothing useful done towards degree show. It's frustrating because things are going round in my head but I can't do anything about it. ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Gorgeous weather again. Today is the last studio working day of the degree programme. Can't quite get used to the idea that we have actually finished. On Monday I hire a large van and drive my work to the gallery where we will spend the week installing the degree show. A friend is helping me to move my sculpture out of the garden, and although it isn't heavy, it will be a bit awkward for us to manage. We'll take it easy and stay motivated with cream cakes. Today I'm trying to tie up loose ends and carry on tidying up my documentation. Typing up my Evaluative Record from my daily handwritten notes that I've been keeping from January to June is a lengthy task.  I'm transforming barely legible mumbo jumbo into intelligible prose. Although keeping a regular diary can seem a chore, it's only when I read it back that I can see clear trends emerging quite early on even when I wasn't really aware of it at the time. In fact, if I think about it, those trends have been there for years and re-emerge every now and then. The notes do need to be tidied up though in order to be meaningful as there is a lot of detail covering a very long period of time and it becomes disjointed when read purely as a daily record.  I hope that this time spent improving the wording will help the assessors to grasp the progress of my different threads of activity. Reviewing all this will also help me write the Statement for Assessment that I have found I am unable to really do justice to until I have gone through this process. I'm making small changes to the details of the work, one of which is to plant the moss back into the front garden as it just doesn't like being part of my sculpture. Dead moss won't do. My mind has reached overload however, and simple tasks seem to be more difficult to accomplish. I keep making lists. I expect you'll recognise that symptom! I am so looking forward to giving my mind a nice long rest in which to recover.  When I've felt like this before I've always been amazed how beneficial just a few days break can be, even though I thought I'd take forever to recover. The so-called fast-track conveyancing is still rambling on without an exchange of contracts to indicate any real progress. Solicitors raising enquiries by the dozen is causing nerve-racking delay. One day it will be all over, let's just hope it doesn't clash too much with something quite important I'm doing in the next couple of weeks.  Looking back, I can easily see how much I have benefitted from the support of my personal tutor whose advice I have closely followed throughout, but not without some struggled debates en route. Although I've moved forward such a long way in the last 3 years, I now feel I'm ready to move into a new space. I'd also like to be influenced by new people and new experiences. ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Gorgeous day again for working outside. Continuing to tie up loose ends. More of them than there should be. In fact some parts are a bit frayed at the edges and I'd forgotten how much there was left tidy up. It's always the fiddly last things that take longer than they should. Whilst assembling the test tubes of pond water that are forming part of my other installation I find that there are some creatures living it. Although this is a wonderful evolution to support my concept of the continuation of the lifecycle, me being an animal lover I'm a bit concerned about their welfare. Should I return them to Applied Alison's pond where the water came from or should I notify the Performing Animal Society and bring them along to the show? Not sure if they need to paid up members of Equity? Being as the show runs for a fortnight though they may hatch out into frogs during that time - not sure how long this takes? This could be a problem - along with the other insects that have moved into my burnt wood sculpture whilst it's been in the garden since March.  I hope the wildlife doesn't steal the show!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Organising packing things into boxes, mending broken pieces, ticking off lists, making new lists. Tomorrow I set up in the gallery. Just hope it gets there in one piece as it's a 40 mile run there in a hire van. Will be taking a full toolkit with me just in case of disasters en route. Sorry no photos but the grass in the garden is so embarrassingly high now it is obscuring the sculpture! Will post photos when it is safely in situ.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Hot, tired and dirty. 2hrs to pack stuff up, 2hrs to load van, 1hr to drive van to gallery, 2hrs to unload van, 1 hr drive home. Up at 4.30am this morning so ready for a good sleep. Cream cake Chrissie deserves a Lifetime Achievement Award for putting up with me giving orders all day, but the fun we had erecting the loading trolley had us in tears laughing and will go down in history as the funniest moment of my whole degree experience! Stuff arrived with a few breakages but can be repaired in the gallery tomorrow. All under control. Ask me again on Friday morning!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Hot and dirty day again. Mending broken bits. Positioning. Repositioning. Biggest challenge is protecting the gallery wood parquet floor from charcoal dust and wood scratches, also avoiding floor sockets and making sure cable runs do not pose a hazard to visitors. A bit behind schedule but just have to keep slogging away. Conveyancing contracts due to exchange and complete this week - great news! It would be even better news if it was happening next week instead, but I'm just pleased to have the house sale finished.  This just means I have a bit of extra clearing and packing to do before I can hand over the keys.  I will have to find time for this somehow. Good job I believe in miracles.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Hot day in the gallery again. Gently sliding a 12ft by 6ft charcoal structure around on a delicate wood floor. And then gently sliding it back again. Delicate operation. I've a feeling I'll be doing it again tomorrow. Not happy with cabling arrangement but need to work within health and safety constraints. This will need more alteration tomorrow.  Not happy with two of my plinths, so again this needs sorting tomorrow. Video and soundtrack still need some adjustment too. Plenty of work still left to complete on Journal, and a Statement of Assessment to write.  All of this is slightly behind schedule, but I've been working flat out since January so I'm not sure where I could have tweaked the project plan to fit more in!  I've probably just done more work than I intended to do. I seem to remember writing a couple of months ago that it would be a tight squeeze in the final week. Dispelled some stress by testing out the sound system in the circle with some dance music. Might try this again tomorrow if the tension runs too high!    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Jiggling cable runs. Altering that plinth yet again. Burning movie DVD. Camped out in the gallery till 8.30 with an early start planned again for tomorrow.   No posting tomorrow as there is no internet connection from the gallery. Will probably snooze through the private view which begins at 6pm. ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Private View night last night was a huge success. The show is impressive. It's very special to me to see all our work together in a stunning cohesive whole. I really don't want to know our marks and gradings as it will spoil the very special memory of an awesome exhibition. More photographs to follow.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 Wirral Met Degree Show Carolyn Shepherd 'Continuity' The industrial landscape inspires me.  This body of five works is a response to the salt industry in Cheshire.  Salvaged timber and mine-working ironmongery, salt crystals, brine and found sound combine to express the concept of continuity. The cyclic process of salt sees it change its form in a lifecycle of perpetual renewal.  My influences include David Nash, Miroslaw Balka and Wolfgang Laib. Artist Statement and further photographs at www.carolynshepherd.co.uk... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 1. ʻA Space for Contemplation on the True Nature of Impermanenceʼ  A dramatic circular construction of charred salvaged industrial timber fixed together to become a sculptural form. The individual pieces used as drawing elements to become pointed spires, striking shapes and well defined negative spaces. The circle has an opening through which items placed upon the floor are visible. The opening invites viewers to enter the space. On the floor is a rectangular box made from timber salvaged from a salt works. The surface is encrusted with growing salt crystals, filled with wood ash and contains a small, living oak tree. Next to the box is a Tibetan singing bowl. Sound from an industrial process is audible as a subtle but powerful presence that dies away and then arises again in a continuous cycle. The title makes reference to the Buddhist philosophy that all things are subject to perpetual change. In meditation, a person concentrates on the rise and fall of their breath as a contemplation that all that arises passes away only to arise again in cyclic renewal. The piece contains symbols of life and death, and acknowledges death as an important part of the cycle of life. Salt crystals are in the process of growing on the wooden box and will eventually cover the box completely and grow across the floor and onto the carbon if left unchecked. The oak tree is growing from the ashes of burnt wood signifying new life, just as fresh growth springs up from burnt forestation. Found sound from the industrial process of salt production is mixed to form an audio experience that rises and falls, to die away and then arise again in a resurgent cycle. The Tibetan singing bowl is traditionally used by Buddhist monks at the start of meditation who strike it with the wooden baton to produce a beautiful ringing sound that fades very gradually to silence. It is used to help quieten the mind prior to meditation. The singing bowl is a philosophical symbol that invites the viewer to contemplate the cycle of destruction, death, rebirth and growth into new life. 2. ʻH20 - NaClʼ  A wall mounted, salt encrusted cabinet roughly constructed from timber salvaged from the roof of a salt works, stands ajar to reveal shelves with three rusted hinged wooden books and a terracotta salt pot. The salt pot is encrusted with crystals that are spreading from the pot to grow organically across the shelf itself. Below the cabinet is a desk on which is placed another rusted hinged wooden book. Pages are lying open inviting the viewer to read the surface of the wood which is ingrained with the historic residue of the salt making process and growing salt crystals. A pair of reading spectacles lies on the page as a trace of a readers human presence. A test tube rack containing 4 test tubes lies in front of the cabinet, two containing water and two containing brine. Although the liquids look the same, the pure water contains growing algae, whilst the brine is too strong to sustain life and contains a desiccated seed head. The title of the work ʻH2O - NaClʼ is the scientific chemical formula for water and salt.   3. ʻContinuityʼ  Video (1min 38)  This short film shot in darkness 600ft below ground in a salt mine features found sound mixed from explosions and snatched images of mineworkers and machinery. Text is overlaid which makes reference to the lifecycle of salt and its importance in giving and supporting life, saving life, taking and preserving life.   4. ʻCrystal Cutʼ   A crusting of salt crystals grown organically from liquid brine. The pattern of sweeping curves is taken from photographs of the marks made in salt rock caverns from rock cutting equipment. The underground rock caverns have a tremendous energy of cyclic existence that transcends human intervention.  These crystals grown from salt brine painted onto the glass from a tracing of a photograph of the marks in the rock. Left in hot sunshine, crystals have formed and continue to grow in response to moisture in the air. Trapped between glass, this ʻdecohydranteʼ lifecycle process is suspended.   5. ʻFormationʼ  Three square panels of two glass mounted on wood cut from salvaged timber from salt works. A crusting of salt crystals grows organically from liquid brine. The progression of the three begins with fragmented organic forms through to fully joined forms. This progression is a reflection of the organic growth of the salt crystals that continue to grow if left undisturbed. ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166 First Class Honours :)   Begun an MA Fine Art at Chester University with a new blog at this link  http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/prev...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/degrees_unedited/projects/single/557166