So its the depths of deepest December and the dark nights are closing in early. So much has happened since my last post before my degree show. I recieved a 2:1 in the end, although fustratingly close to the First grade I really wanted (who doesn’t?). I was pleased, and in hindsight it was exactly what was deserved. I haven’t picked up a video camera since the show – not because I have been put off, I am letting my idea’s dictate my choice of mediums now.
Saying that; progress has been slow since finishing Uni – the decision to move home to live with my parents was a hard one (but my finances decided it for me) and I have missed being around fellow artists with whom to bounce ideas and thoughts off. Milton Keynes is not the complete cultural wasteland I previously thought, as there are a number of young and enthusiastic artists working here, but it is not the same as being in a studio every day, with the constant support of collegues and tutors.
None-the-less, my collegues have moved on – and it has been exciting to see the vast array of different ventures being explored by them over the past 3 months.
– Ad hoc exhibtions, residencies, internships, and perhaps most impressively the Birmingham Grad -Space which has been set up to provide studio spaces and a support network for new arts graduates.
Back in Milton Keynes I have found some part time work in MK Gallery, and some voluntary work with MK Arts for Health (an organisation based in the hospital here). Not perhaps as thrilling as some of my peers, but it is definatly a pace that is suiting me – and helping me to slowly unwravel what it is I actually would like to do! I do not feel under pressure, as I know some of my fellow graduates do, to get the best residencies/internships, and I feel I am perhaps happier for it. I am not sitting around waiting for opportunities to land at my feet, but I will not stress myself out over things that are completely beyond my control.
My advice to any new graduate would be to have the same attitude, because dissappointment is not probable..its a certainty! My motivation is that I want to find a role in which I will be happy and secure, and feel fulfilled -I am not interested in comparing myself to other people,
On that note – I’m off to trawl the jobs and opps section of this site. :-D
