started but not finished

Exploring the concept of the older woman....................in paint and clay. This isn't a self portrait, tho in some ways it could be as I do find this whole studying thing very tiring, and feel over whelmed,  no way I could do full time, too old.  I should learn to Salute the Sun each morning instead of turning 6 Music up very loud and banging my fist.  I think quite a lot of the students feel the pressure, which is not what one expects really, especially on a Fine Arts course.  Should be a doddle, but somehow the tutors just laconically throw out endless ideas and projects and look surprised when we blanch,.   it's not that i don't want to take them up on site specific installations, charity sculpture challenges, etc etc it's just there isn't room in my head to form up what I am supposed to be doing.  I guess it is like schoolkids doing GCSE continuous assessment, you never know when you are finished.  Give me a 3 hour exam any day.  No i don't mean that, never again, i laid down my last exam paper some years back and swore I would never do that again. 

Tutor suggests I could also make a textile sculpture..........with some of my rusted fabric.  And paint a life size portrait.  Any volunteers.  Much too cold for a nude.

Monday funday

 Very chirpy day at college.  Had painting tutorial in the morning, and tutor was encouraging.  I had gessoed a couple of hardboards and painted with acrylics.  The first more successful than the second but we learn from our problems............hopefully.  Haven't done much painting so have a arbitrary collection of brushes from the artist to the decorating, but it is stimulating to get such a quick result of mark making [as they say] as compared to cutting, fiddling and stitching.  And acrylics dry so quickly  a new thought can be attempted even more quickly than unstitching and stitching something else.
Sadly i will end up with a load of boards to add to the pile of textile pieces that have not been sold yet.

 Can move one obstinate piece tho as the third years have an auction of donated art works [1st and 2nd years are shut in a cupboard till they cough up] coming up, so donated my "Tracy Emin" look alike blanket which is unlikely to sell in the local exhibitions.  It concerns eating problems and the female position as "sin eater" [reference to Eve and original sin and women's guilt etc. etc.]          Embarrassing if it doesn't sell at the auction, but that's their problem.

Monday afternoon was a hoot.  We piled into the sculpture room and were provided with the structure on which to build a clay portrait of each other. Much giggling and high spirits at our end of the table. Mine was tasteful rather than exciting.  R's one of me was libellous but much more fun.  Next week we hope to learn to make moulds.

inked up

We went on a "school trip" to see the Paulozzi and Henderson prints at First Site the newish gallery in Colchester.  The boys got together in Essex in the 50s and produced designs for screen prints and collages etc. to be used as wallpaper, crockery etc.  I think we had some black and white dinner plates when I was a child with similar designs. The Gallery tried to make use of it's impressive [but useless for hanging work] sloping walls by sticking big sea black and white cut out fossil designs on them.

The use of newspapers and sacking and black ink to get textural effects was attractive but would have been somewhat over whelming as wall paper I think.

Dunno why this lady's photo was in one of the cases but thought she was worth the visit alone.

After lunch we went down to the Minories gallery, small creaking wooden floored original gallery which was full to busting with paintings by local artist.  Won't name him as I wasn't that taken with the geometric boxes he had relentlessly stalked over the years.  He came upstairs to chat to us and was very sweet.

We were instructed to create our own straight lines drawings with charcoal but I think these cup marks on the table [that I gently stroked with blackened finger tips] were the most successful thing I produced.

venus in blue jeans

This is my Reduction print, [photo is a bit wonky] 1st I printed the uncut board [rollered ink on it and put in enormous press] then 2nd I cut the background out and rollered and printed what was left

Then I left it in the drying rack for days, as usual I had used much too much ink. Wrenching my brain i managed to work out what to take out, and what to leave for the 3rd print. Like steering a narrow boat everything is in reverse and the consequences of getting it wrong are dire.

we did a bit of architectural drawing at college, - straight lines - building blocks, to draw Mike the model. Tutor told him to stand crucified, ignoring the pain and grimaces that followed, as she blithely announced we have 40 mins to finish this sketch.

Then from bags of little wooden splints and a hot glue gun we were supposed to construct Mike = drawing in 3D.  Quickly Mike kneeled, and basically chatted to us as we squirted boiling hot glue and stuck splints to floor, fingers, paper and bits to each other.

This is my mess shadowed on the wall using an overhead projector.  next week we may bind twigs - my suggestion as it will be bigger and I won't use very rude swear words when I burn my hand. the young people yelped with shock, which just goes to prove how  very old they think I am.

I got 1- as my overall tutor assessment for the term, which was encouraging and scary at the same time.

in progress?

 I have been messing with some work done on a Jan Marie workshop, integrating photos with stitching.  Seemed to work better when used with still life type pics.  I tried with A&D walking through the marshes at Snape.

I don't know  that this mix works, the stitching and the shiny pics, so I tried painting over the top to integrate them.  More work needed!

But interesting how the texture comes thru the paint,

historical perspective

This is another fabric I have just rust dyed, with the clutch plate of a Peugot 106, according to the bloke in the junk/boat yard.  .....I'm thinking tumulus, ancient burials doodahs.  The fabric is about a metre long, maybe I should just  leave it as it is, but my stitching fingers are itching.  I have an alarming stash  accumulated of rust dying, I must convince tutor that it is part of my oeuvre....

 Which may be partly because we did our Museum visit today [first day back at art school, I was grumpy last night, we have been off so long over Xmas that having to get up and out in the morning felt like going to work] but in the event was quite exciting.  The snow has been rained off, the air is mild [10 degrees] and it was fun to be part of something again.
 My theme for this semester is going to be the Nude, the aged female I suspect, as that arouses the most interest in my likewise ancient mind, so this fellow may not signify, but it is a bold pic.

 Probably this Mesolithic Venus will feature [even if she is only a replica]

 I also took to this lady

 these are a little serial killerish

where as these two small ladies carved and painted to sit in a Regency dress shop window are rather charming.
Tomorrow I hope to carve a wood block and print one of the ladies.

snow fun

Should be writing notes about Abstract Expressionists, but think these pics are more satisfying.

edges

Have been experimenting with some hand stitching on my rust cloth.   Hoping to frame a  set of four.

Have also been messing around with off cuts from the River sketch book, taking some thoughts from the Blessed Alice I rollered some black ink here and there and ended up with some quite attractive textures.  What to do with them is another question.............tea dyed some linen for a background, but feel it needs some more work to integrate everything. Would be nice to frame each strip individually but not sure I have the confidence.

And have started work on the Sketch books for next term.  I hope to take the Nude as my theme, and paint on HUGE canvases...........and make clay figures of Nudes already painted.  The Lucian Freud and Alice Neel come to mind.  It's a Plan.  I would add pics but Blogsite seems to have changed yet again and I refuse to read instructions.  Life is restricted enough.

walkies

Went to Wells next the Sea [Norfolk] for nearly a week. Came back a day early worried about getting snowed in and because I pulled muscle in my poor elderly back,  Bend Zee Knees when attempting to pick up your bag.

Callie had a wonderful time, by the end she sparkled like a diamond with all her healthy walks [and splunges into the waters]  Geese laughed loudly and continuously.

River Sketch book

xmas

Xmas day = new toys. Parents don't really believe what they see, I suppose when we are in our 80/90s we will be a bit bemused too.
I received inks for the printer [very welcome] book tokens [even more welcome] and an excellent book The Naked Nude which contrasts the traditional painted perfection with contemporary contradictions, wonderful pics.
Also 2 CDs for the car, belatedly Blunderbuss and the newer Alabama Shakes, which should cheer my chug into college on cold and misty mornings. 
Plus the jumper from The Killing/Faroe Islands [blue with grey snowflakes].  I know!! however it is wearable and warm and a possible family heirloom?

Skyped daughter and g'son in Nevada and spoke to son [horrible cold, stuck in SanFrancisco, Donner Pass snowed in, could be worse ] so all's well.
I am still working on the sketch book for my Drawing assignment [due Jan 7th - too far away to panic yet] but have discovered a recipe for crocheting Beanies; daughter and I now have a purple one each, and g'son a stripey one. 
Now onto black one for g'sons's dad, he won't wear anything but black. 
It is very satisfying as I can crochet them in an evening or so, while catching up on all the Xmas TV.  Disappointed with most of it, but Outnumbered was good I thought, [as close as I want to get to Noro-virus] and Eastenders was it's usual headbanging self. 
Downton tried to get a dozen story lines in a pint pot, Miranda was daffily amusing and reruns of Modern Family were very acceptable, as I missed them first time.  Saw bits of the Hitchcock drama, but found it too disturbing, in several ways.
Rain is still raining, as everywhere.  The puddles in the road are quite deep now and beginning to join up, but not as terrible as the floods in the West country. I have lit the fire and shall go and read one of my new books now [with pages].  xx