What to do/write/say after such a long break, or rather, four very full weeks?
The most significant thing to note it that I finally have the template/profile that I need to make a ‘positive’ 3D form based on the shadow. Once I found the right person to work with the profile took less than half an hour to produce! It is hard not to resent the four weeks that passed while speaking with the wrong people at the wrong firm. Part of me settling into Stockholm is this process of finding the right people. The template, which I hope to test out next week, was relatively inexpensive to produce which means that if the process works I can experiment with other forms too. It feels like a real turning point!
Besides that an assignment for the artistic research course – a written assignment – got me thinking about, and looking at, my work in a different way. And although my ‘challenge’ to the requested text structure somewhat distracted the group criticism the exercise has been very useful. Previously I had focused on the objects that form and inform much of my work, however in writing about the form of the artwork itself the emphasis shifted towards talking about the encounter with the installation. I think that this aspect of the work had been lacking in my previous attempts to write about it.
In addition to the group discussion I had a one to one tutorial with a visiting guest speaker who pointed out that my writing is out of balance and does not serve the artwork well.
On Tuesday I will present my work to MA students on the Research Inquiry course at Konstfack. It has been a while since I have done something like this and I am both excited and a bit nervous. Last Sunday while out running I had so many brilliant ideas about how what to show and how to talk about it, how to open up a discussion about practice and research … I wondered if it might not be a good idea to have a dictaphone as ideas always seem flatter by the time I am back at the house and have pen and paper to hand.
However it is now time to head down to the glass workshop where I am learning about glass casting. Tomorrow I have my final Swedish written exam … jag hoppas allt ska vara bra och jag blir godkänd!
