MIA

I've been to New Designers, London with my students, one of whom turned out to be an (especially) big winner :-) and I luckily had a little bit of time to do some extra research and really enjoyed the Sonia Delauney exhibition at the Tate Modern, especially her textile design (of course), we also were invited to 'The House of Dreams' by Stephen Wright which was amazing and eye boggling, I love how he interprets his own experiences and losses into his art 'world' (rather than art 'work') and is organically transforming his all encompassing space into an heterotopian delight. 

In The House of Dreams

I haven't done any more 'art' work myself except write a proposal for my next (well, this) unit. Unfortunately doing it (and consequently after my tutorial - changing it) meant no more new 'real' work, but this week…I have learned:

1. You shouldn't take a break or you lose your thread or momentum
2. You shouldn't work full time (in a dream world - maybe Stephen's!)
3. You shouldn't try and fit too much into your concept, thinking what you have is not enough, or you will confuse yourself
4. You should draw a chicken
5. You should keep it simple and just do what you do…don't change because you think you should. Change will come naturally at the right moment (I hope)
6. Go with your instinct and don't doubt yourself, your first thoughts may actually turn out to be your best
7. Time spent thinking is WORKING
8. Time spent on things that don't go anywhere and seem to come back to the beginning is LEARNING
9. Your idea's probably sound better to other people than they do to yourself
10. You should never forget that you actually have artwork in your bag you can show in your tutorial instead of just typed words
11. Ten things are quite enough for one day or your brain might explode.

I am happy I have had a tutorial with my personal tutor at last, not least because I feel I have been given ‘permission’ to get on with it and do samples, experiments and investigations - whoop! And whoever said I had to do digital stitch anyway?

To finish this drawing is my next job, then the fabric will be out :-)

The house that once was

To present (in a formal and ceremonious way)...

I present...

A research study project on a (local) contested territory.

On a productive and painless morning, the last session with my lovely group, we surveyed our (very hard to get) exhibition space and then went and played a game to generate a jumble of phrases to describe our joint 'production', it was a great idea which luckily worked first time, whether anyone else will be able to understand it is debatable (though not that necessary) but it's conceptual and fits with the theme! I will be really sad not to be in this class anymore. I am thinking of going to do a 'Contested Territories' MA instead.

Contested Territories Selection

So then, I had to centre myself and focus on the 'presentation' of my work to 2 lecturers. It went much better than I had hoped, because they were nice. It was very positive overall although my blog should be more academic and my final piece should really have been more minimal/abstract. I can live with that. I think I may even pass but only if someone lovely irons my exhibit before it gets hung. I am grateful it's getting hung (and wafted).

Now just to electronically submit and turnitin. Then on with the Practice 1 module (after Paris of course).   

The wheels are turning...

Piccadilly, Manchester

I've had my first tutorial, with Jane McKeating who is the Associate Head of Design at MMU, she who has written (good) embroidery books. 

I was afraid she was going to tell me that my 'concept' wasn't 'conceptual' enough...But she was just really interested in my artwork and my ideas of what and how I was going to stitch, I feel like I've been given permission, not to stop reading intellectual and academic texts but to do my practical work alongside that, with equal importance, and not to worry about how I was going to make it become one whole (let's just hope that happens naturally). I feel I can get on and do a body of practical work and stop worrying about it. Her main advice and focus was on my embroidery which was refreshing and got me excited again. She thinks I'm 'precise'. I can't wait to get home and do some PROPER work.

Unfortunately I have to lug my portfolio and overnight bag halfway across Manchester first.

In other news, our lecture this morning was cancelled and this afternoon's session was for international students only. 

So... I had my health & safety embroidery workshop induction and had to prove I could thread a Bernina sewing machine, I expect it will get slightly more difficult. Next week I get to learn how to use the software for the 12 head embroidery machine- cool.

This respite also gave our CT mapping group a chance to decide what we were actually going to do and how to move forward. The dynamics have changed a little but I think it will all work out...for my part, I am going to photograph a contested territory near home, which will be put on a map, one of a series of 3. I am thinking Seal Sands... that industry vs nature thing we've got going on and maybe Seaton Carew, that quaint little seaside town we've got, as a 'non-tourist' resort. After Christmas we'll decide how we are going to present it; so far this involves a buffet, as we decided a plate of buffet food could be said to be 'contested' I.e. prawn vol au vents fighting with sherry trifle = a mess on a plate.

Oh, I also offered to help with some (very) early-morning, guerrilla-style, paste-up, street-art* for an installation piece two of the group are doing (I'm knitting the balaclavas!)

*I have used the hyphen incorrectly... for effect.