rustic

We have discovered a lovely artist   -Alice Fox -she has had a 6 month residency at Spurn Head, and one of the ways she found to express her surrounding was with rust work. 
Do look her up.
Full of excitement and impatience I sallied forth and rust dyed some fabric, the secret is tea!  It is so fabulous the only thing I can do is goggle in delight at its wonders.  One day i will settle down and stitch it.
I also used her technique to print iron flotsam and jetsam on paperand my tutor has approved them as a record of the "journey" project, so double obeisance to the Blessed Alice.
Most peeps are amused by my giant copralite,thus to educate the masses, always my aim; I have inscribed it with archaeological data.
Adding to the Ladies of my Town sculptures I made a Mrs. Giacometti, coming home from the shops.

We have to produce a lens based project "journey".  Again.  I reckon the tutors all watch X factor. 

I had the idea that when I arrive at college car park each morning I take a pic of the view thru the windshield with the dated car park ticket.  That should be post modern enough I hope.  Also if I remember.

Had a terrible morning watching a screen above my eye line, while technician showed us how many tricks he can play with photo shop.  I learnt very little [sequences are NOT my forte] in the pm we looked at a video of a BBC programme on sculpture that I think I have seen before. Went home with a headache.

Wednesday was fun as we went into the dance studio and sketched the dancers during their yoga session.  Very very quick sketches.  Perhaps this is my forte as later I started a drawing of the model [40 mins] to great acclaim, and then proceeded to completely ruin in by over working.  have to learn to STOP.

light and shade

 Have been having fun working on the Sculpture and Lens based modules. We have to design a sculpture for a plinth near college.  When I researched I found there was only one female form in the whole town, the rest were men or boats plus one Madonna who in this context doesn't count.......

 I knocked up the plaster and clay models of a woman and her whining g'child trying to get the shopping done.

 Then I threw caution out of the window and took my inspiration from the nearby Coprolite St. [fossilised dinosaur dung] and made this giant turd.  Tutor liked it more.

 We have had a couple of sessions on F numbers and shutter speeds with the aim of producing photos that are blurry or otherwise usually rejectable. I used my own camera, which the tutor couldn't sort out either, so the results were mixed.  The Performance Arts students were very patient and good tempered.

This was someone skipping with a rope of green Xmas lights, a huge success? Next week we are to have a go at photo shop, so my troubles have only just begun.

new plinth

Started next two projects that will last until Xmas -  Sculpture and Photography.
Allegedly the University gave the local council a patch of land in exchange for re-tarmacking the student car park.  Some where in the negotiations a large granite plinth appeared and was placed by the council on the edge of the car park.
Can't say I have ever noticed it, but as I have neither driven nor walked into it, I must have registered it's presence in some way.
The object has been adopted by the Fine Arts dept, with some misgivings, but much glee [mixed feelings depending what kind of tutor you are] and now all us poor students have to design suitable, or more likely unsuitable, objects to go on top. 
Presumably someone from real life and  with more clout will eventually get the gig.
So first morning we had to make a small model of the granite block.........accurately. 
I find measurements an arcane art that is not included in my skill set.  Specially where saws and nails  are involved.  I quickly tried to get round the problem by choosing some kind of plastic wood that I could stick together.  Admittedly things did go wrong in that my measurements did not make allowance for the thickness of the wood when constructing, but the tutor is a kind man and whipped them thru the Big machines again till they looked more agreeable to each other. 
Lots of glue filled gaps I found.
We watched a welding workshop, always wanted to do this, but now not so sure, it does seem to need a steady hand and eye and metal toed boots and a big Darth Vador mask, worrying.
Have been looking at the town history for research ideas, but have already decided public sculpture is not for me, altho the presence of Coprolite St nearby has led me to design a giant turd to sit on top of the plinth as one suggestion .
The camera session was very long and equally demanding, originality is demanded but it's all been done before.......it feels exciting but at the same time I doubt I will prove equal to it,  F numbers come in the same black hole as measurements to my brain.
We were guided by the little camera technician - it all made some sense till he stopped talking. 
He said at one point he was 5'7", same as me; I am a tall woman, but he is a small man. Strange.
Be Ambitious is the tutors cry.  
Help is mine.
I was so challenged by Wednesday that I woke up with a migraine and was unable to go to the Wendy Cope public reading in the afternoon which annoyed me intensely, she would have been stimulating and made me laugh!

End of the beginning

Well that's the end of the first six weeks of my Fine Arts experience. Callie and I are quite relaxed.

Passed Painting and Printing fortunately, so now we can press on next week to Sculpture and Lens Based work…………..cameras I presume.

I think I am settling down a bit, getting to know a few people and skulking the corridors less.  It is quite a culture change from Head Teacher to Anxious Student, specially when I am tempted to organise the class or worse still the tutor. Once a bossy woman, always a BW.

This and below is part of my piece about WWI

Sketch books play quite a large part of the on-going work and assessment.  I have always been too impatient to waste time of them before, just want to get my hands on the fabric and scissors, but I have found that being forced to think more laterally and explore ideas/evidence is helpful.

I still don't want to produce a sketch book as another "piece" - too often I have found in exhibitions the liveliest work has gone into the sketch book and by the time the final piece is produced the idea had curled up and died.

I will put some pics on my blog if you want to see more.

But right now I am going to Felixstowe to walk the dog………..unfortunately I can't quite relax as we had a lecture yesterday on a new Drawing project entitles {Sacred Places"  This bloke had been to Mount Athos, Bhutan, Canyons of America and produced books of sketches.  We have to make a concertina sketch book of 20 x A4 sketches of an actual journey of our own……….drawn in situ………maybe to my garden ladyshed………..who knows. Probably not Felixstowe I am rubbish at water colours

Collage re WWI influenced by Rauschenberg

1903 School class influenced by Marlene Dumas

Life drawing, poor Mike on a cold concrete floor.

Jen being Very Brave,  Young people know no fear.

Rabab and Tricia likewise