Summertime and the living is (not that) easy (yet)

It's a while since I was on this train… writing my blog. And it will be a few weeks before I am again. I am on my way to Manchester, and there's a party tomorrow, starting at 5pm. Exactly when I need to leave. So a rethink is required, I think I shall spend some quality time on the embroidery software, visit the Richter exhibition at The Whitworth Gallery then just go to the pub early with the keener partygoers. At least I am being conscientious and doing MA work, also taking (some of) my library books back - how exciting. 

In other news; we have now got our own 'part time MA students' Facebook page which will be a useful place to post ongoing work/ideas and get some peer feedback seeing as there won't be much going on at MMU for us over the summer, note however, we ARE still supposed to be doing work, no time off here… although I may get some days in Devon if I'm lucky. My trip to Auschwitz is still on the cards, paid for and all. It is not something like a holiday to look forward to but it's there.

Work-wise I have been rather busy in the print room but, as is usual, I don't seem to have an equivalent amount of work to show for it. I always forget how long it takes and that it is imperative to: print, take away, look at it for a long time, decide what to do to it next, go and do that something to it then repeat, ad infinitum sometimes, whereupon it is usually 'overdone' and ready for the bin. From about 20 samples I have one resolved, 15 that require further work (but I'm supposed to be limiting content!) and 4 that are good for nothing. My intention being 'to capture a moment'...mmm.

I am supposed to NOT be continuing with portraits but I kind of have, just as it is easy to carry this (pre-printed spare) around to work on at opportune moments, like now for instance...

Ivan's eye in colour

Ivan's eye in black & white

The End (of something) is Nigh?

Ivan of Chernobyl - Hand Embroidery

I am handing in my main project work for assessment today/tomorrow... I have a suitcase full AND an A2 portfolio. I have already submitted the written part which took me much longer than it should have, due to nitpicking and formatting troubles, the words only took half of the total time, the rest was spent stressfully getting text to line up and images to stay in the correct position. I ended up having to do the whole thing in 'InDesign' as 'Word' is so awful. 

My main concern at the moment is getting it all off the train quickly enough, once that is done my next concern will be 'curating' my sketchbook, notebooks and file on a table (?!) then the presentation of it tomorrow, and filling 25 minutes up with talking.

To help me I will get some preparation done now:

Introduction:

The summing up of my timeline; where I started, where I am now and how I got there.

I'm assuming the tutors will have already read my in depth, reflective essay about that and my process, so hopefully it will be more about the artwork than the theory this time although I'm not so sure!

Show/flick through examples; A2 paintings, my sketchbook, best (mounted) photographs, and fabrics. I must say it IS professionally presented.

My strengths during this project- Practice 1:

• primary research
• visual interpretation/communication of idea's
• testing of initial thoughts
• relevance of materials and techniques to concept/subject
• presentation

Ivan - Detail/Reverse

What didn't work technically?

• digital stitch programming - so far I haven't been able to get it to do what I want, BUT I just need more time.
• laser cutting matching/combined with print (as above), need to sample 'printing' WITH the laser (which I used to be able to do. cf rastering)

What I intend to develop (further) in Practice 2:

• it all feels a little 'bitty' i.e. not logical, due to my ideas jumping about - I hope to focus on ONE main area, at least for a while and actually produce some solid work... I am starting to worry that I have only 18 months left and it doesn't seem long enough to produce an embroidery collection at couture level based on whatever... it could take me that long just to do ONE sample (from past experience).
• confidence - I am confident with the practical aspects regarding the quality, skills, aesthetics and initiative evident within my work, but I need to better articulate my thought process and intellect with regards to the not yet, completed project. My confidence will come from believing that I understand what I want to achieve, and have the knowledge and imagination to convey it to the critic and feeling that it is personal to me but shared and appreciated by others.

I am happy with what I have done, even though it never seems enough and there are too many idea's to try and then to progress and to develop further until they are beautiful... AND I STILL have to research the theory of Aesthetics.

So my conclusion is:

• that I will produce (by the end of practice 3 - the final module) 'a collection of pieces on a theme/addressing an issue, for exhibition' (probably) about Chernobyl and the related issues surrounding the world's worst nuclear disaster, and on it's 30th anniversary. 
• to forget about the fashion fabric design collection, I have decided I am NOT a commercial designer AND I can produce that anyway later if I so choose, from the experimental samples I produce whilst doing the above...can't I?

And, the FINAL conclusion is:

... there is never an end. Is there?