Hereford College of Arts

I am now reviewing my draft project proposal for the 3rd year and found it didn’t clarify anything for me, so I need to re-write it.

I have used this time before term starts again to do practical work in my own time and see where I go without the feedback from college.

I am playing with the form of writing in 3 dimensions, this brings a fresh perspective to the writing. These may be just tools to enable thinking in a new direction, enable me to beat new paths through my writing that is restrained in 2D.

I had started this with ‘Wood for the Trees’. I am now considering that piece to be a kind of art-life meeting place. To me the piece takes on different meanings easily; for instance: the strips of writing standing up represent people, with the ones in the centre having much connecting them to the people around them, and then there are the ones at the edges who are possibly lonely and not mixing with others much through choice or not. To me, being in the centre is bliss, with self-chosen times of solitude to replenish my equilibrium.

Is this weird? Probably, but I do find I have many interpretations for this 3D piece, whereas my 2D ones have one explaination to me.

I find the story in the 3D piece captivating. Perhaps it’s the possibility of a story and relatable experiences.

The past few months have been building up to the h. Art Young Open exhibition in Hereford. Now the work is hung I can step back a little and consider my work (and the other 25 artists) while stewarding.

I’ve started painting small pieces on calico, stretched around a small circular piece of wood and I have been writing (roughly) legibly on this surface, my observations – my multi-sensory ‘listening’.

I am disappointed with the results – but then I shouldn’t believe that it would turn out any differently. I am trying to describe verbally, that which needs much more than words to get across. Words are dull, I find, when used in this way – a poor substitute for experience.

I’m finding the results dull:

– it doesn’t evoke the experience

– I am itching to add colour/ form

-using words is reductive

I want to find a more readable (in a non-verbal way) to convey listening.

I’m coming to the conclusion that my writing is more effective when illegible. Is this a cop out? I don’t think so – I reckon gestural writing has the potential to be more sensitive.