Coleg Menai, Bangor

A great day’s scavenging – I have enough long lengths of 2″x2″ timber for the roof frame for the ty unnos.

Through early morning mist and frost to Heather and Ivan Morison’s wood overlooking the Mawddach near Dolgellau. Heather had kindly agreed to help me with my dissertation and spoke freely of their practice and nomadic lifestyle, of model-making, reading and puppets while we shared tea in their beautiful and cosy house-truck (Tales of Space and Time 2008). Later we toured the wood, viewing Fantasy Island (2007). The Black Cloud (2009) lay nearby in kit form. I had only known the work from photographs so it was a wonderful opportunity to see them for real.

An energising morning in a great setting.

Have a site for a Ty Unnos and the landowner is really supportive. Looking for a van at the moment so I can transport materials. I have a few months to stockpile, looking at March 2011 for the construction.

In the meantime smaller scale models and video explorations in the studio and thinking about the dreaded dissertation which will be largely based around interviews with contemporary artists and curators.

Have begun researching ideas around the Ty Unnos. This is a Welsh tradition whereby if a person could build a home on common ground between the hours of sunset and sunrise and have smoke rising from the chimney by sunrise, then they could keep the house and as much land as could be delineated by a hammer throw. I’m amassing materials, have tacit agreement for a location and have keys to a joint studio large enough to carry out some indoor experimentation. Now I just need to find a van at the right price and this crazy plan might be a goer.

New to this blogging lark.

Just starting final year, staring down the barrel of the dissertation but established in a great studio space and with keys to a shared studio in my village.

Just allowing myself to get a little excited and anxious about the first 40 credit studio module.

We’re a small group, we had a couple of dropouts but the college’s final three part-time students will graduate with us this year making ten of us in all.

We have some interesting options for the dissertation including an “imaginary museum” which is an opportunity to curate a virtual exhibition with a catalogue and associated essay which is the option I’m attempting. The plan is to explore the relevance of local through the work of 3 contemporary artists in a non-traditional exhibition space.

The practical work will run in parallel exploring ideas around home utilising my own uncertain cultural identity and ambivalent attitude to the idea of home.

More details and pics to follow.