Postgraduate?

The lack of written content in this blog perhaps speaks for itself. The past few months have gone by swiftly and suddenly without the pressing desire to document progress.

Without being too hard on myself, that is not productive and I need to get my head down. It is important to reflect on this time and get to the crux of what is happening in my practice now and deciding where I want to be in order to not let the next few months drift by unnoticed.

Two important things happened at the beginning of the year: I obtained a studio space and I started a full time job.

I could list all the impracticalities of that situation but it’s boring.

Instead, focus on the positives: I attended a few half day courses which are put on by the Cultural Enterprise Office – they exist to provide advice and all sorts of helpful guidance for creative professionals, including support and some grants. Incredibly informative and well run, the courses covered some of the basic stuff you need to know for “being a business” and thinking like one as a creative professional, and then more specifically how to go about writing applications and making proposals. The latter area is where I could really do with some help as it is something I struggle with and quite frankly don’t do too well in, if rejections are an indicator to go by.

So, having a period of reflection is incredibly important here – choosing the right opportunities I want to be part of is essential. I must spend time also thinking about what I actually want to do – where do I want my practice to be, what direction to take. Perhaps to some this seems far too planned, but to me it’s far worse to drift without focus.

So that is the to do list . . . and with a confirmed exhibition curated by the collective I am involved with (www.2-1-4-1.com) in July, there is more than plenty to keep me really busy in the little time I have spare away from earning cash. Making sure every moment in the studio counts is a real priority – it’s not enough time, but at least I have it.

Making the most of as I can, progress is slow but there is some! It is maybe about changing the thinking and adapting to what is possible. So for now, I may not be able to complete large scale installations but at least I can draw.

A whole month has flown past without thinking to reflect on what has been going on. It is all too easy to let other things and other LIFE STUFF take over from your practice. Worrying about money and jobs and opportunities and submissions and so on can detract from the making – guilty of this lack of balance, I need to regain some control.

I find being part of a collective is helping keep in touch with others in a way that I can really contribute – it is keeping me with a focus, although it may not be making actual work, I feel I am making something. We have meetings about once a month – we are quite business like in some ways but fluid and responsive to each other. I like it a lot and have a shared feeling of responsibility for making things happen and creating a successful enterprise.

I debated entering the RSA open this year – usually I don’t make work which tends to get accepted. So, I reasoned that I shouldn’t enter for its own sake. However, I decided to use one piece I created in Iceland, that at the time felt it had potential for an exhibition such as this. And it did – so it is on show now. I suppose the potential this opportunity has could be really worthwhile not just in the short-term but further down the line.

However, the best development (and what has been keeping me busy) is the preparation of a number of pieces of work for a buyer I met last year. I’m lucky to have someone so interested in my work that has committed to these works. It has been a learning curve working on something a bit different which has taken more time than originally anticipated – which in itself is something to bear in mind for the future. I could have ended up spending a lot more time and resource than I wanted to – I reckon having the knowledge and experience to make a correct proposal is key to avoid selling yourself short. But this comes with practice and on the whole it’s been worthwhile. Installation date for the majority of works is this week, which is a fine ending to the year.

It has been 2 weeks since I returned from Iceland, and its unsatisfactory having my world turned upside down again. I didn’t appreciate enough how fantastic it is to be able to work full-time in a studio. . .

So, since my return I have filled in some funding applications, some job applications (my current part-time job doesn’t cover rent let alone a studio) and had some ideas about what is next.

One of the funding applications asked to timetable the next year – I thought this was a great exercise as I genuinely sat down and planned the kind of things I want to do this year. And – even more relevant, I feel committed to them. Previously I might not have bothered to follow ideas through without a real motivation (as in a deadline or show) whereas now I am keen to explore them for myself.

I have had a lot more ideas about proposals for the collective I am involved in www.2-1-4-1.com. Collectively there are lots of things we want to achieve and personally some of the things I am interested in are: proposing shows/curating shows and engaging in participatory work.

I recently entered and was rejected from 2 drawing competitions/bursaries. The organisations who run them put them out there as “exploring the concept of drawing” and “pushing boundaries” and so on, but it seems that more often than not something traditional (but highly skilled) ends up being selected. I am not against this kind of work as it has its merits, but why advertise as being something which doesn’t get fulfilled? To me a drawing can be many things, and many things can be drawings. Therefore, I am going to work on a proposal challenging drawing and its wider concept.

Otherwise, attempting to sell some work and grasp onto some sort of balance will keep me occupied for the next few weeks . . .

Now at the last day of my residency it is easy to say time flies but I think that is an indication of activity – when you have no set task or having almost nothing to do, time can appear to pass slowly.

Not feeling as if I have lacked time, I do still think had I had clearer objectives, I would have been a bit more productive but I have a good body of new work and renewed focus which are achievements enough.

Being in a place for a short period of time has sometimes put me off creating more ambitious work or has made me feel unable to work in some of the ways I am used to – this is something to address as if these isues don’t get resolved, these oportunities could be wasted.

On reflection, the next time I apply for such a residency, it will have a clearer purpose and focus using the place and space to best advantage – making work which is suitable and apt for a particular place or environment. If I want to do something engaging the community it should be planned, to have greater effect. And to remember ambitious projects can work if the preperation is good.

We had a really successful “Open House” with work exhibited and our colaborative project Please Wait to be Seated which had participants taking part in a walk – through portrait factory complete with menu. More on this here: www.stuff-cat.blogspot.co.uk

I have been fortunate to have been here with like minded hard working people. We were able to collaborate not just in the living space but as an artist collective group, although our practices are quite diverse.

Sometimes it’s not ust about the place but the people, and I can say I have learned something from each and every one of them which itself has made the residency experience even more fulfilling.

Hopefully I can use this experience to continue the progression in my practice – I want to find the right opportunity to apply for next, which will be appropriate for my practice.

For now, I will return to Scotland and work on developing the material I have from my time in Iceland. I also have to address the other pressing factor in the equation – money.

It won’t come as a surprise that as an artist I am short of it. I was lucky to have some funding for this trip so one month away was made posible. However, a permanent flexible solution must be found to balance the time I have.

Currently I don’t have a sudio which will of course directly effect my work and the part-time job I have is only one day a week. So, next step – achieving a balance with the best use of my time.

This last week has been a bit about experiencing the weather and a bit about finding balance.

Throughout my stay I’ve been reading a few books of Roni Horn – whose work has often focused on the weather in Iceland and the deep relationship the people of Iceland have with it. Reading some of the reports in Weather Reports You, they can be hard to believe – but since having stayed here, just these short few weeks, I can really appreciate how the weather is a force quite beyond us.

Finding a balance is important in your work and that of time spent in a residency. Quantity of work or productivity is hard to measure but the feeling of time pressure is a constant. This is of course self-imposed, as regardeless of how much time you have, the task will be completed (just to a greater of lesser extent).

I have been quite productive in a number of different ways so I have no reason to feel otherwise – but there is quite often a nagging doubt that I could have done more/achieved other things.

On a reflective note, this stems from my lack of planning and loose proposal before arriving here. It is great to have an outline or very general idea but I think a more beneficial way of working would be to have at least one quite set objective – be it complete 20 drawings or 5 paintings of x size or etc. . . I don’t imagine it has to be too restrictive but just something more structured which would be helpful certainly at the start when newly arrived.

I have been fortunate that the other artists here are keen on collaboration, and so we have planned an intervention for the “open house” to mark the end of the residency. Looking at themes of value in art, commissioning, choice and production, we will create a “walk-thru” portrait factory. Please Wait to be Seated will feature a set menu where “diners” or “consumers of art” will choose a portrait style and even method of payment (ranging from smiles and songs to telling of facts), all done in a humorous way.

We will also have our individual work on display and it should be a fantastic event to finish up the time spent on residency.