The grand finale - it's over!

THE GRAND FINALE  (the opening of my degree show) has been and gone and I have spent the last week oscillating between relief at having finished and sadness that it has finally come to an end. Those of you who have been following this blog for sometime will know that I started this degree 7 years ago - a 6 year part time course with one year out when I moved from Leeds down to Plymouth. It has become part of my life so the transition to not studying will be strange - it's going to leave quite a hole but I have it in the back of my mind to maybe do an MA in a couple of years (am i mad?) - we'll see - but I am keen to get my art practice established now - Most of all I will miss the feedback and support of my peers and tutors, the group and individual tutorials and hope I can, in due course, find some kind of substitute structure. Writing this blog has been really valuable and rewarding and it has not always been about the degree but much wider interests - I look forward to posting about all sorts of creative adventures in the future. 

My degree show was an installation which I titled 'It hung over the bed' - a forensic investigation based on the trial in March. I presented the scraped painting on an easel with a magnifying glass.

 I included a table of tools and instruments, a chair with white coat, a shelf with a collection of the residue pigment in 6 glass bottles and fragments from the framing.

It also included a wall of photographs, details of the painting and I think this was the weakest part of the installation. I made 50 paper boats and placed one of my business cards in each one for visitors to take away (really popular) The blog book of the artist collaboration 'The painting in the attic' was displayed with my professional portfolio. I included a comments board for people to add to the collaboration and will post these on my other blog at the end of the show on 28 June.

On reflection I think my degree show was too busy and that I needed to edit it even more - but this will give me something to think about in terms of how I present this work in the future - I don't feel I have quite finished with it yet....................

My results are out on 6 July so I just have to be patience!  

Meantime I am hoping to exhibit in an exhibition at the end of July in Plymouth called 'Pushing the boat out' - seems made for me doesn't it?

My degree show opening

You are invited to the opening of my degree show if you are near enough to Plymouth to come along.
Friday 15 June at 6pm
2nd floor studios, Mills Bakery, Royal William Yard, Plymouth
The exhibition then runs from 16th to 28th June everyday 10am - 6pm

Meantime here is a couple of images to entice you............

Welcome - at the entrance you can take part in the collaboration, see the book and add your comments to the board !

Before you leave you can take a paper boat with my card as a memory and to thank you for visiting

I do hope you will come along and help me celebrate - after the opening I will post more images

paper boats

It's been a strange day - rather unfocused, not sure what to get on with in the studio - seem to have lots on my mind  - anyway I've made another 10 paper boats... I intend making 50 to represent the age of the painting 'man in a boat' - I am using old envelopes - containers/vessels of news and all the other stuff of life over the years - giving the old form a new life, and like an archaeologist's trowel, excavating and archiving the original meanings for my own use and recollection.  

Then I put some work into the collaboration by starting another blog HERE and getting ready for the book which will be published from the blog. Finally before supper I went into the garden to do some more planting! I want to be outdoors in the garden more than in the studio these days but I really must balance the time in order to get everything ready for the degree show in June.