University of Kent

Many are the means by which happiness is delivered to the human soul. For me, I like finding money in the washing machine. It’s like an accidental, imaginary savings fund.

An ominous clink revealing itself to be the joyful chime of a pound coin is enough to enliven – imagine then the ensuing merriment when no less than three such coins are garnered from the drum! Add this to the results of the morning’s work in the studio, pouring and brushing hot wax and schlepping a heavy plaster-encased mould, finally to reveal a pink, life-sized, man-shaped candle! What a joyous day indeed.

This cast was always a bit of a worry for me, as not only was I convinced that the ears wouldn’t make it in one piece as the harder plaster cast had suffered in those areas, the mould itself hadn’t gone back together correctly and the plaster case had broken as well. While there will still be some filling and chasing to do, the wax cast so much better than I’d hoped for, and the ears came out without a single issue. I had coloured the white wax pellets with some red candles, and after my concerns about the resulting mixture being too pale, I realised that the wax darkened as it cooled and became a sickly, sugary, tacky pale pink – absolutely perfect! (My apologies to anyone who has candles in that specific shade of pink.)

Now the next task is to get hold of some heat-and-pour soap without breaking the bank. I’ve spent more than enough on materials so far, and three quid isn’t going to help much. Especially seeing as I’m the only adult in my house, so any money that comes out of the machine was mine to start with. Money’s a big issue for the whole group at the moment, not just in terms of materials for the new work we’re making for the show, but around putting on the show itself. At least we’ve got two free venues.

At the beginning of the week, Xanthus and I drove up to the university’s Medway campus. One of our tutors also works there, and had arranged a meeting for us with Amanda Beech, primarily to discuss the MA program, which she heads. The facilities were undeniably impressive, even in the process of construction. I’m not sure whether logistically it would be a good choice for me: simply getting there would commit me to a substantial amount of time spent driving, besides the amount I’d have to pay in childcare to make the Monday evening lectures. It’s the same thing I’d have to think about anywhere else though, and it’s made me start to question the entire MA route. I got the feeling that although none of it is beyond me in any way, I just don’t have the kind of freedom that’s required for it. The reality of not having a studio in a few months’ time hit home as well, and despite being mentally prepared, I’ll hate it. A few of us in the group have been kicking around the idea of setting up our own studios, but none of us can really think about it properly right now.

The post-graduation issue is still weighing on my mind, though. I’m trying not to get too attached to the idea of the art history MA course I’ve already applied for in case things don’t work out. If not, I’ll have time to research other courses and apply to the ones that are right for me. Then there’s an internship which I’ve put myself forward for. I need to make more noise about that as well. That’s apart from the constant, recurring thought of whether I should move closer to London. Just thinking about it is dizzying sometimes, but it’ll be fine. I think. What I’m looking forward to is having a bit of time for unfinished projects and for writing. A year out might be the best thing, actually. I’ve even got an idea for my next blog, which is jumping the gun, I know! Right now I ought to be thinking about making paintings and buying soap ingredients. Oh, and figuring out how to make a cake version of Phil. One tutor wants to cut him up and serve him to the guests at the Medway exhibition’s closing party. After weeks on display? I’d pass.

Remind me to tell you how one of my drawings ended up in the Barbados National Art Gallery Collection without me knowing about it. Soon.

Right now I’m putting off delivering a bit of disappointing news. The funding application didn’t exactly turn out the way we’d been led to believe it had. We were told we’d be receiving some money for the catalogue, which led me to believe it wouldn’t be the full amount requested. Two weeks later I’ve found out we’re getting no money for the catalogue, and some money for advertising. No, I can’t push it around either, as it was specified for that purpose. And now I feel like a prize-winning lemon for not asking for more, as we still need to cough up a fair bit between us for advertising, printing and booze, and if I’d have known that advertising would have been the only thing favoured by the K College honchos, I’d have put more of my eggs into that basket. Hence my reticence to email everyone with the news. Still, we’ll raise the funds ourselves, as we had planned to beforehand. We’ve got a sponsorship opportunity available as well, so it’s time to get the claws into that.

Instead of ranting, I’ll add a bit of background info to the course I’m on. I’m often curious about other bloggers’s course structures, so I might as well explain ours. At the University of Kent induction day back in September we were addressed by the head of the School of Arts, and during his speech he went on to say, “You’re like full university students”, whilst showcasing the facilities on offer to us. That ‘like’ rankled with me; it was a slip, of course, but an interesting one. I heard a lot more than he probably meant to say with it. We are University of Kent students, studying at a partner college, but it does lead to a decent sized identity crisis at times. Our B.A. journey is different to the other University of Kent students, being chopped into two: the two-year HND, then the B.A. Top-Up. Apparently this makes this final year a bit more pressurised than other courses, as the first two years are disregarded, but I have little to compare it to myself.

On the positive side, so I’ve been told, we’ve got an amazingly generous allocation of studio space. Ironic for me, as I was given a great space, but still refuse to paint in the studio (no windows!) and now spend most of my time when on campus in the sculpture room. As a very small group, we seem to have more tutor time than most, and we’re fortunate to have fantastic teaching staff and an excellent technician back on our site this year. On the down side, the facilities leave a lot to be desired. Coming from MassArt in Boston, which was, oh, about ten times the size of the Henwood campus, I learned to stop comparing pretty much straight away. Still, I believe you can get around the limitations if you’re prepared to roll your eyes instead of jump up and down like a lunatic. Furthermore, at Henwood, we’re like a little art school island on an industrial estate. I quite like it that way. I‘ve been across the Atlantic more times than I’ve been to the main campus on the other side of Ashford. It still scares me a bit.

After all that, I’m sure I can manage to tell you a bit about the actual art I’m making. After a much-needed morning at home clearing up, I started putting my paintings and drawings into their frames. This led to a mild panic once I realised just how few I had ready, and then to a bout of remorse over submitting some of them to other open exhibitions. Still, it’s a win-win situation; if they come back unselected, I’ve got more work ready and less to do, and if they are selected, why on earth would I complain about that? Still, it was shocking to see that I’ve got only one quarter of what I’d initially envisaged going on display, and probably one third of what I can actually get away with showing as a convincing version of my proposed idea. Time to swap the chisels for the size 000 sable/synthetic brush. (Saving up for the all-weasel… in time!)

It’s that time at last – our contextual studies lectures have come to an end, and the Monday time slot has been assigned one-to-one dissertation feedback sessions with our lecturer, Kath. She’s just had two essays published in 50 Key Texts In Art History, and our course leader Mav has had an essay published in it as well. Not bad for our little college eh? Kath had read the second draft of the dissertation that I’d emailed her, but wasn’t too surprised (maybe slightly exasperated!) when I said I’d replaced it with a third version. She had a few suggestions for further reading, but said it would be fine to leave it as is is, and then went on to discuss my post-graduation plans. She thinks I can follow the same route that she has, practicing and writing as well, and had a lot of practical suggestions on what to do from here. Yes, it’s cheesy, but I came away from the session with a good old fashioned warm, fuzzy glow because of her advice and offer of support… And you know what? Actually having someone who knows their stuff show so much confidence in you is priceless. True, hearing the words “PhD proposal” made me slightly wobbly of knee, but kinda chuffed at the same time. Some of us graduating soon will have an idea of sorts about where to go next, some will have set plans, and some won’t have a clue where to go or what to do. I’ve got plans, but who knows how things will turn out; what I have now is a bit more confidence that it’ll turn out ok.

Back to the here and now there’s still plenty to do. I’ve been spending so much time on the layout of my professional practice unit, you’d think I was doing a design degree instead. Such a waste of time… but strangely addictive. I’m so glad it’s due in soon! On Monday we had a fill-in tutor, Jane; it was interesting explaining to her the processes I’m going through, as she taught us on the HND, but hasn’t seen my work in progress this year. The project is so clearly defined now that it’s mostly a matter of getting on with it and hoping to fit it all in. I’ve been carving in the studio and spray painting frames on my washing line at home (I’m sure the very prim next-door neighbours hate me, but I care not.) The paintings have been neglected due to the sheer amount of time the carving demands, but the prospect of having to take some new work in next Monday (and getting my portfolio shots printed) has made me get on with it today, and clear a space in my head ready for some new images to germinate.

Having to come up with a 150 word statement for the catalogue has been interesting – my work makes so much more sense now than just a few months ago that it’s easier to be sharp and concise. Now we just have to persuade the rest of the group to come up with their statements on schedule. Kate’s designs for the cards are pretty much settled, and we’ve got an artist to contribute an essay… now we’ve just got to get the whole thing past management. How hard can that be?

Never let it be said I had a weekend off. Even during my brief sojourn in Portsmouth I was on the beat – well, kinda. I went to aspex (you must know by now how much it hurts me not to capitalise that) on Sunday and cast my beady eye around Cornelia Baltes’s show Hoovooloo. Interesting. The open submission exhibition Say What You See is a fantastic idea, and the concept of curating -or rather, growing an exhibition as weeks go by is definitely something I’d like to experience.

Before leaving the house I persuaded Luke to take the plunge and shave his beloved beard into a biker ‘tache, (naturally so that I could have fresh material for my work, you see) but it ended badly. He claimed he kept getting a combination of Village People/Mexican vibes, and after noticeably scaring small children in the shopping centre, he shaved it all off. Beard on/beard off – more value for money as a model, I say. The whole facial hair thing could… actually I know it will… take off on its own in the future as one of my ‘projects’, but I find it fascinating how it works as a signifier of masculinity in culture. It’s like shorthand for “man”. Nicola Rowlands is a designer and illustrator who has some work in the shop in aspex, and her “Pocket Manfriends” – little painted pebbles (I think) with faces and names like Claude, all had beards, except for one who had a wee pencil moustache.

I’ve been writing a fair bit about hair in my dissertation, which is nearly due to be submitted. After sitting on it for ages like a massive egg… well, that analogy won’t work so let’s just say I’ve started to comb through the third draft at last. It’s odd to think that side of it will be over so soon; I just hope the last minute fretting pays off and I don’t end up with an errant apostrophe in there. I don’t know what I would do with myself. If there’s usually a frustrated artist inside many people, there’s probably an English teacher deep inside me waiting to get out.

Back to the studio, what an eventful week for our little group! I don’t know the specifics yet, but it was leaked that we’ll be getting some money to go towards our catalogues. Some – so no idea how much or how the application fared as a whole, but it’s more than we started out with. On top of that, the others may well agree to go for the ad in the Degrees Publication, but I may need to work on them a bit still. What I’ve managed to do right for a change is to get the right woman to do the right job – after looking at my basic idea and then whirring away on her shiny new laptop, Kate delivered some great ideas for the catalogue cover and show logo, and amazingly, we settled on one very quickly, which she polished up later. I could show you now, but we’ve been told to send it off to the K College brass for approval first. But wait, there’s more! We also pinned down a date for the off-site show at Chatham Dockyard, which most likely will be in the first week of July.

The student ambassador gig’s been interesting – a few students in my year have expressed interest in subscriptions after my pitching it to them (I’m sure they’ll realise how useful it is with a professional practice unit looming) but blogging doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s list of priorities. I can understand, as 5 out of the 8 of us have families to look after, and everyone seems to be scrabbling to keep on top of the written work as well as actually making work.For me it’ll be more of the same – paint, draw, carve, cast, blog. Hopefully a wax version of Muse 2.0 by next week, and hopefully some serious progress with the carving as well. I finally bought a profile gauge today for under £2, and I’m kicking myself that I’ve gone so long without it. I could have saved so much time by having the right tools – or power tools of any description, I should say – but it should be much, much easier in the weeks to come. Hooray!

Cranky week to happy week. How did that happen?

First of all, there’s a pretty good chance I might get what I wanted all along. Now that usually makes most people happy!

Monday morning chats in the cafe at Henwood are part of our group routine now. Gathered around our teas and coffees, we catch up on the week’s developments (we gossip) before getting ready for the 10 o’clock lecture. Now that all of my time is spent in the sculpture room, I’d never see anyone otherwise.

Mav, our Monday tutor, found us in the middle of our pre-lecture chinwag and asked what was happening with the bursary application, as it was the deadline. I’d left it up to two others last week, and I gave a few suggestions, but they gave up on it. Seeing as the money was there for off site shows, and I’d tried – and failed – at the beginning of the term to get everyone on board for that, I’d had it up to the afro with trying to convince anyone of anything. Which is what I said. And unexpectedly, they agreed with me! Not only did they want me to do the application, but they agreed to supporting taking the degree show to the University of Kent campus at Chatham Historic Dockyard, and to increasing our fundraising efforts and using whatever college funds we might receive for the catalogue.

Ellie kindly volunteered to help, and during a post-lecture meeting we corralled the group into some kind of consensus, and submitted the paperwork for the funding that day. It was mostly down to her hard work, really. It’s so much easier getting anything done with just a little bit of support! So we’re calling it Henwood 8 Degree Show… yeah, not as exciting as it could be, but it does the job after weeks of begging for suggestions of any kind. On Tuesday I sat in on an exhibition meeting with staff and other student reps and went over the plans for the show so far, and all in all it put me in a much more positive frame of mind for the whole week. As for the catalogue, we just might be able to collaborate with the design and media group who live over in their hidey holes on the Jemmett Road campus, at least with using the same fonts and formatted logos. Kate might get around to whipping up something for me in InDesign this weekend. She told me I need to delegate, so I don’t feel too bad about it now!

As if that wasn’t enough of a result to put me in a good mood, I finally started to see some real progress with my wood carving, after knuckling down on Tuesday afternoon. But that wasn’t the best bit. I then collected my son from his after school art club, and was told that he’d been bigging me up to his teacher; seven years old and managing my PR already – not bad, eh? He’d been telling her I was an artist, and she wanted to show the club my website and some of my work the next week. “Of course!” I said, mentally scanning for any paintings on my site that might not be suitable for primary school eyes… but then she said something that made my week. “He’s very proud of his mummy.”