Either I will find a way, or I will make one.

I've been so busy lately, I thought I'd give myself a little break and write a new blog post!

With my head stuck in books and the internet, researching psychology, the unconscious and artists who make work based on it for my dissertation, I haven't felt like I've had any time to think. But of course, being my final year, I have another 6 projects on the go, and it's feeling like an avalanche right now. It's hard enough thinking about 1 project, never mind 7! I think I'm at that point now where I'm forgetting the basics of how to live like a normal human being!

But anyway, I thought I'd show you a couple of stitch pieces I did a little while ago for screen printing which is going towards 1 of my other projects.

I originally sewed the owl onto cotton, but scanned it in and edited the curves and levels in photoshop to make it thicker for putting on a screen (seeing as I'm being taught how to use adobe now, might as well use it to my advantage!).

I quite like that you can't really tell it's stitch, and it looks a bit jaunty - but as usual I just love that it's black and white!

And I'm getting so many compliments on my bee! Originally I made him for yet another project, but feeling under so much stress recently, I decided to drop it, but felt I couldn't just let him come to nothing, so decided to transfer him to my card project - which thankfully I can forget about in 3 weeks time!

Anyone else thinking Christmas is approaching waaaaaay too fast?

Our most beautiful and complex art work we can make are our identities - Grayson Perry

So if you haven't been watching Grayson Perry: Who Are You? on channel 4 on Wednesdays, I don't know where you've been! You've really missed out! But don't worry - that's what 4OD is for.

I've seen Perry's work before, seen interviews and exhibitions, and grew a fondness for him as an artist and a human being. I think it's the way he puts pieces together, and how much he looks into his subject, and the way he has of making his journey through the subject to what interests him about it that inspires me most, and I think this new series really shows that well.

I enjoy the fact that he's been given the honour of presenting his works in the National Portrait Gallery, and one of the first thing he mentions or notices is what it's lacking, and so effectively what he could change with his pieces.

I know Perry has a routed interest in personalities and identities, and now what with me going back to finish my BA degree and getting to get into the subject matter of my own choice for my FMP (and heading down a psychological route), I think Perry has an even bigger influence on me.

Exhibition Take-Down

So on Friday the end of year exhibition at OCVC Banbury, where my Telephone Box has been hanging for the last week, started to be taken down.

My reservations about hanging the fairly heavy telephone box from the hollow ceiling for 2 weeks, now gone. Originally I thought I was going to hate it being hung, but after hours of balancing and sewing fishing wire throughout it, it finally looked the part (even if it did get bashed about by the bustle of people at the incredibly busy Private View a couple of weeks ago).

I don't know what I'm going to do with my Telephone Box now, as it's quite big and takes up a fair bit of space, but I feel it deserves more than being shoved in the corner of a room for years to come. It was one thing trusting the strength of the college ceilings to hang it, but trusting my own at home I feel is a complete nightmare waiting to happen.

Maybe it will become my 5 month old niece, and 34 month nephew's safe place, like everyone who talked to me about it wanted it to be for them, haha :)

Up And Running

In what feels like no time my degree has come to an end! I can't believe the end is now here, after feeling like a million miles away right up until hand in.

As you can see my final piece was this cushdy K6 telephone box, and although there's a good few things I would have done differently if I could (and the worst problems came within the last 24 hours of hand in, and my God was that a long 24 hours!), I am really proud of the final outcome :) and find it's really quite similar to a few older pieces I once did. It is a representation of a small village I know.

Whilst I'm looking forward to the next year of no degree deadlines, I'm also terrified of not being in education for the first time in my life! Although I'm also really excited to be able to start making my own work finally, and the hope is to make, make, make for the next year before I fully get into craft fairs and the like for more of an income. I guess I'll also have to start looking for a little job to keep me going! Lets just hope the motivation keeps on going!!!

In a years time I'm hoping to be accepted to do the top-up course to add to my degree at the same place I did my diploma and degree. But in the mean time I would like to keep my toes in the water by doing evening or short courses to fund my knowledge further within the textiles and fine art world.

Bring it on!