Following on from my Degrees Unedited blog. I have now graduated and am embarking upon an MA.
Am I still classed as a student as I’m still studying or a ‘Real” artist now that I am a Post Graduate?
This blog will follow my work as an MA student and my attempts to work as a professional artist, but basically it’s all about life in the real world….or is it?
I just thought I’d let you all know I passed my MA.
With a Distinction!!
Extremely happy + now settling into my new job and life as a working artist again.
New blog will start soon.
I abandoned this blog in favour of the Butterfly Park one as that took up all of my time and was essentially my MA project so it seemed daft keeping two blogs. However on the slim chance that someone reads this one, I’m almost finished my MA now.
Few weeks left to go, thesis written + printed. Some more map drawing and framing to do, help set up the MA show and then take the caravan visitor centre up to Preston for the PV evening in Sept and wait for the results…eek
Thesis can be read here:
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2408319
Please Come along to the PV on the evening of Wed 14 Sept in The Hanover Buliding, UCLAN Preston if you are around the North West.
Best laid plans got scuppered due to vile illness , been off work and off working for this project all week.
I officially hate being ill.
I do not do it well, my creative thinking vanished!
In the midst of this, just as I began to feel ‘slightly’ human I had to take a group of school children on a tour of the park, pre arranged ages ago so had to go.
It went really well, the kids were all so polite and very interested, they followed me around listening intently and asking lots of questions. We talked a bit about the visitor centre that they will be making work for. I go into their school on 24th to do an assembly and discuss all this in detail with the rest of the kids.
Then because I’d been out in the rain, I got ill again :(
I did however manage to speak with my old lecturer at Wirral Met college and they’ve agreed to loan me one of their old plan chests for the duration of the summer. I’ll re-furb it into a lepidoptera cabinet for the visitor centre saving a small fortune not having to actually buy one, major bonus staying friends with other creatives.
The entries are in for the Butterfly Art trail, some really interesting ones amongst them. I’ll be presenting to the team this week (pending my feeling better) and looking for a decision on who to invite to join with us this year. Very excited.
Had an interesting meeting last week about our Contextual Reports, these are in place of a Dissertation. An MA without a dissertation seems very bizarre to me. I LOVE writing and was looking forward to this part greatly but and here is where i make some other MA students very envious, the Contextual report that accompanies our work is only 6000 words, I’ve written longer essays.
I have to say I am going to really struggle to ONLY write 6000 words, I don’t know if I can manage it, my Butterfly Park blog alone stands at 6000 words and with 7 months to go.
How do I tell the story of the park and all that I’ve been doing/planning in 6000 words, it’s nigh on impossible and I can pretty much guarantee it’ll be more than that but heyho.
It’s how to present it that will be key, lots of imagery, let the pictures talk for themselves apparently.
I’m still unsure what format to work in for this, was originally thinking of laying it out as a guide to the park but now a set of tourism students have asked if they can work with us to make a guide, which is fantastic news but kind of puts my plans out a bit.
So maybe an evaluation type report that can be used to put with funding applications in the future.
WHo knows yet?
Stayed up until 3am last night filling in an application form for another residency later on in the year, the first one I’ve actually put a proposal in for that would be funded, well, when I say funded, they will appoint the artist and then apply for funding but it does sound hopeful.
It is an amazing project, so utterly up my street, it was like it was written for me in particular but obviously hundreds of other artists will think that too and also apply so I have to just sit and wait now with fingers crossed and baited breath.
In Preston yesterday, presenting our work so far. Great to see what the others in the group have been up to, very diverse work.
We don’t get to meet up as often in this final year and as such I think it’s important to have these presentation sessions to catch up.
There is an interim exhibition in Preston, a chance to see all the 2nd year MA work to date, very much looking forward to that as I don’t get to see the Studio Practice group at all nowadays.
I made the decision not to join in the exhibition, though I would love to be part of it, as my work is all site based it seems odd to ‘make’ something specific for an exhibition nowhere near the site, it wouldn’t have the same significance in a white box setting.
5 of the UCLAN Fine Art MA students were accepted in the Atkinson Gallery’s MA & Other Postgraduates Show 2011, how good is that? So happy for them all.
I didn’t enter -as again – site specific doesn’t really travel well. Feel like I might be missing out a bit but it’ll all be worth in come September I’m sure.
