Duncan Of Jordanstone College of Art And Design

I’m starting to really look forward to next year now! Preparations for the show are in full swing and I think things are going really well.

Well today the reality of the degree show has really hit home for me. This afternoon we were given our space proposal forms and shown the final timetable for the installation.

It was announced last week that our degree show is going to be in the university this year, after rumour that it would be held outside like last year. ( In another building not open-air)

I suppose im happy about that but im not sure anymore, just happy to know that a decision has ben made!

As I prepare for the degree show and also another exhibiton in the university with two fellow students, I am feeling a little overwhelmed, not really with the workload but just the thought of it all.

Next week I will be installaling and be glad be tied to working and not all the other things I should be doing. Applying for lots of competitions and scholarships etc.

Its is fun though.

On advice from my tutors: the head of year told us that ‘life is a long game’

Things that have happened recently:

– My penultimate term has ended and assessments are finally over.

– As a year we’ve gotten our final term organised. We have an exhibition on the 29th of January with an after party to raise money for our catalogue, and a night organised at our student union.

– I recieved my feedback from the assessment and was really happy with it. I know exactly where I want to be with my work now, i just need to keep trying to get there.

– I’ve finished writing my dissertation too and I couldn’t be happier, I’ve found it a really rewarding experience (now I’ve finished!)

– Now the start of the new term is approaching I’m feeling the fear but excitement too. Im sure that in a few months time my classmates and I will have a show to be proud of.

– I went to an exhibition by Elin Jakobsdottir at the Stills gallery (stills.org) yesterday and was really impressed. I’d really reccomend going to see it if you can get to Edinburgh.

Fingers crossed the next term starts as well as the last ended.

Well things are still plodding along nicely at the moment. I’ve had a few concrete ideas about the structure of my degree show and am now waiting for the wood glue to dry on a scale model I’m trying out. I am starting to panic slightly about my dissertation but that just seems to be part of the writing process for a lot of people. Admittedly I haven’t done a lot of work recently but I do know exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. Plus I’ve had some really good chats with a few people over the last few days, I value them pretty highly.

My current work revolves around small interactions that I encounter and use when making pieces. The structure that I’m making will act as a partition, a support and a sculpture. Hopefully.

I had my first final year group crit yesterday which went fairly well. My most recent work is based on experiments with material that are driven by my interest in juxtaposing images. As usual the most interesting part of the experience is hearing other people in the year talking about their work. My studio space is in the sculpture studios on the other side of the building from the drawing and painting rooms (where rooms are often locked) so I rarely get a good look around. The range of subjects and media that people are working on made me really excited about our degree show.

I updated my diary today so I would know exactly how long I had before I could panic. Today is the last day of week 7 of 30.

At the moment I’m feeling quite happy about where I am, it seems as though the pressure of fourth year naturally pushes your work forward at a faster rate. Fingers crossed I still feel like this in week 15 and 29!