DEGREES UNEDITED

# 21 [7 May 2008]

Tears before dawn.

So the other day. What a day that was. Firstly the space I plan on using it full with crap... haha yes crap. :P 

So i go on the hunt for any other space not used in the building. It wasn't easy and i ended up looking and finding a corridor. Now, usually you would walk past this corridor and think... well think nothing because it's just a rubbish wee corridor. Unfortunately in the state of mind i was in i thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. haha. so yeah i then also have this 'inspired' moment when i think it would be a great idea to paint it red. oh yes. But not just any red, floor paint tile red. and it was just that.... floor paint. haha woops. i did however managed to paint about three 8 foot boards before realising what i was doing whilst talking to Jac haha it is kinda funny now looking back. 

Then i decided i should go make use of a bit of unclaimed space in the garage so I'm working away trying to get my work sorted for then exhibition when Tanya turns up.  all she does is ask how i'm doing or something and i burst into tears. eh?! 

In my defence i have had hardly any sleep and i'm still not over the 'break up' yet. 

I ended up talking with Tanya for about an hour but it could have been 4 hours or 5 minutes it simply felt like an hour. haha. This talk helped... now. At the time i just couldn't take it in or think about the words that flowed from her mouth. i simply heard 'You're crap and you need to get your finger out and stop making shit work.'  i was needless to say in tears after that talk too. It was too much to think about and it was mega hot too.

Hot + Tired + Crit + Break-Up = Pants.

I freaked out for about 3 hours after that. Not continuously. oh no.. just at random moments when i least expected it.

 I messed about making things after i composed myself again. i actually had great fun. it was nice to experiment again. Without really realising it, three of us were working away until 3.15am. wow... that is officially the latest i have been working in the studio. it shuts at 9pm. haha! 

The tears must have been in the air because there was another 3 or 4 people who also were complete wrecks by the time the crit came. there was only 7 of us in totally. That's a high percentage. haha 

www.garybolam.co.uk 

# 20 [5 May 2008]

ARGHHH>>>..........

 Some second year (you know who you are!) has, over the weekend, made a big installation in the space I am, sorry, I was going to use for my crit tomorrow. What a w**ker! Not only that but a fourth year has still not moved his work from last week.

 I'm raging. I'm trying to resist the temptation to sabotage their chairs or something equally unethical. Ohhh... I could cut a centimetre off one of the legs on their desk. That would be annoying. haha! Gerr...

Having said all that, I'm actually in a good mood. Summer or at least a day of it has hit Glasgow. It's actually sunny and their could even be talk of a BBQ. Yummy. 

www.garybolam.co.uk 

# 19 [2 May 2008]

Long day in the studio again...

my print has been printed and collected.

my glass ... is still glass.

wood for frame has been cut.

the frame itself looks cheap ikea-esq

my crit is still on tues.

ohhh on another (crappy) note I'm skint. I'm totally so so poor. I have £5 to do me till next friday. woohoo... beans on toast for a while. And of course when you have no money you always need to buy something. My underground pass has just ran out of rides, woohoo for walking. 40 minutes to the studio now. yass.... having said that I walked home last night and its actually really nice.

Righty well I am going to give my cheap handmade frame an overhaul. fingers crossed it looks better than a cheap ikea rip-off, and if it does... well I shall simply apply for a job in ikea. Sorted!

www.garybolam.co.uk 

# 18 [1 May 2008]

woohoo....

I'm still.... note still in the studio I have eaten both lunch and dinner here. The good news though is that I have updated loads of things online... note the new blog section on my website...

www.garybolam.co.uk/blog 

I am also a lot more engaged with the work that I'm making. It is taking shape. I think... haha I should really be a bit more confident in my thinking but oh well..

Anyway...  I'm going to head home now. haha and as if by magic the janitor walked in telling me to pack up.

www.garybolam.co.uk 

# 17 [1 May 2008]

hahaha...

You hear some totally hilarious drunk banter on Byres Road at night. It makes me laugh. Some drunken guy was putting on a funny but bad Skouser accent trying to sing and have a conversation with what I assume to be a friend but could have equally been his foot. 

Glasgow you've got to love it!

www.garybolam.co.uk 

# 16 [1 May 2008]

Me, myself and I for a moment...

The last wee while has been a crazy one. Full of many ups and unfortunately a few downs. I am now single.. It's funny how stress attracts stress isn't it.

So moving swiftly on... 

I have a sheet of glass (75 cm squared) and an appointment to get a photograph made. I think I might use it for the big show but I have a crit next week and I was planning on using for then. 

I'm a bit more focused on the big show but I don't want to change the way I work for it. I am an intuitive maker and I like to be in the space to make something. (Oi, stop reading between the lines... I am in no way lazy nor do I leave everything to the last minute. hehe.)

It's kind of an exciting time don't you think? I love the feeling of uncertainty and excitement about the future after art school. 

ohhh... we had a pricing seminar today. Woohoo... or perhaps not. It started off as a bit of a history lesson and judging by the people who turned up I wasn't the only one to question where it was all going. Having said that there was the odd bit of helpful information thrown in.

The question now is...

Will anything sell?

*coughbuymyworkcough*

www.garybolam.co.uk 

# 15 [23 April 2008]

*** Notice-boards ***

What a fantastic idea. Lets make somewhere central that we can give you information on paper and then we'll email you to tell you we have put something new up so that you get into a routine.

Email... Notice-board... Email... Notice-board... 

Then... oh oh great idea we'll put up things with out telling you and you'll miss them because "... It WAS on the notice-board, didn't you see?" haha

They also become a beacon for the daydreamer.

You go. You stop. You stare. your mind suddenly empty and all intent forgotten or at least distracted.

You stare in the hope that something pops into your head that somehow makes the degree show date magically seem 20 weeks away instead of just 5. 

Then there is the note-taker. They know the board inside out. They have the measurements and proximity mapped out in their mind of how best to get there from any... ANY location in the studio not to mention the natural instinct to tell when there is some new addition. They need no email.   

Ohh and then there is the novice or extreme expert (I've not decided if the actions are calculated or mere 'accident')  who puts up  the poster for their show above the tutorial sign up list. These guys would be killed if they were ever caught in the act.

Notice-boards... they make me laugh.

www.garybolam.co.uk 

# 14 [23 April 2008]

Woohooo... Just got an email from Stephen Palmer with an attached image of the Degree Show cover... it also has my amazing image on it... hehe woo :D

I suddenly thought of the scene when you came home from school with a 'painting' that got put on the fridge to the words...

Me: "Look Mum look..." said whilst bouncing off the wall.

Mum: "... Yes.. it er... it's great son.. but what is it?" unsure to its orientation as she puts it onto the fridge with blue-tack.

Fantastic.

www.garybolam.co.uk 

# 13 [22 April 2008]

********WANTED********

the last week of my life... where the hell did it go? It's been a crazy one.  I've not stopped been mega stressed and had to deal with millions of bits of paper that need sorted and ordered into some kind of research...

I'm loving the stress in a kind of random way though. It's making me think loads about me and what I do.  How profound. haha. 

So this upcoming week will see me get a proposal in for my wee exhibition... what's it called again?

... oh yeah that's right the degree show.  

www.garybolam.co.uk'

# 12 [14 April 2008]

We are all destine.

Nothing else just destine.

I hate the smell of Mondays. They have an urgency of something yet to be fulfilled. A bitter stench of lateness and the need to catch up holds hand with this stench. It is like the weekend was a different year. A new hope that just as suddenly vanished.

We are all destine.

Destine to what I hear the cries. ‘Nothing!’ I answer sharply. I want this stench to fill my lungs. It’s good for you apparently… ‘That’s what they all say’ I think to myself. Oh for fuck sake. That neurosis ebbing into the physical yet again. Humm… I might go for a walk.

www.garybolam.co.uk'