In this ‘wood for the trees’ time I am building in as many mini goals as I can to get me stretching myself. I have felt very frustrated and ‘full of woe’ as I am coming to terms (slowly!) with the fact that I won’t be able to do a postgraduate course for some years (it looks like 7 – ouch!) due to family commitments. I don’t want my horizons to narrow. So, finding ways to drive myself on, without the outside imposed structure of deadlines and course requirements is my current pre-occupation. My everyday time for working on my own has reduced from 8 hours to 6, so getting stuck in straight away is vital each day. This is quite difficult to handle, so I have to keep on top of tasks and prioritise regularly. Not easy, though I am getting better at the decisions along the way.
I am throwing myself into things that capture my interest and following my nose. One experience often leads to another. Recently I talked about drawing in relation to my practice and talking afterwards with a tutor about Maths I was invited to talk to her group of Extended Diploma students about it. Voila! A chance to build myself a repertoire of talks has appeared (a few years ago I had a conversation with an old school friend (before I started my art degree) about wanting to do presentations / talks, even though it scares me. I still get fairly nervous, but this is small compared to my engagement with art and the exchanging of ideas (generally).
Is it possible to have some of the benefits of doing an MA without actually signing up to an individual university?
Is there a website or database of public art lectures in the UK? (So far, I can’t find one..it’s a case of looking on Colleges events pages, emailing staff plus ringing before travelling to check for cancellations)
So my personal (ised) plan for my postgraduate apprentice in Fine Art involves:
>Giving talks
>Attending lectures (nearby and further..i.e. Hereford College of Arts, Cardiff School of Art & Design, Bristol, Royal College of Art and the Royal Academy lectures – I am seeking work and alternative ways of funding the travel)
>Finding real and virtual mentors
(Cornelia Parker is a current virtual mentor as she is unlikely to have time! So this means I am researching her work intensively.)
>Attending group critiques. This is happening roughly twice a month through Frame
> Projects (multiple…Magna Carter, postcard exc, stone writing, writing, intuitive painting vs writing, there are often long periods of inactivity on some due to stages of projects)
>Going to exhibitions. Again for this I need to fund the travel as the exhibitions I really want to see are often in London, Liverpool, etc. It is painful to get to so few exhibitions of internationally renowned and other ambitious artists.
>Exhibiting
The Group Exhibition ‘PaperFields’ has been accepted to show at The Courtyard in Hereford in 12-18 months from now. So time for the work to evolve and to improve aspects of our London experience.
(currently evaluating )
I have applied to an opportunity this week and have a few more I’ll be applying for in the coming weeks, concentrating on ones that could help develop my practice.
>Taking risks with my work
>Reflecting (blog is very useful)
>Taking more risks…
