Here’s the plan.
Finish the four paintings I’m still working on, frame them, call that side of it finished.
Figure out how to make a bucketload of soap from scratch, buy the materials, make a soap Philip. Sounds easy enough.
Finish carving wooden Philip. This is starting to look tricky, since my dodgy elbow is still, well, dodgy.
Paint plaster Philip. When I started this list I thought it would be shorter; perhaps painting plaster Phil will have to wait until the more important things are finished.
I’d planned to have so much more done, but catching a cold from Mr. T (my kid), as well as the aforementioned elbow, has slowed me down somewhat. The tea and chocolate biscuits have given way to herbal teas, pills and my own noxious concoction of garlic and honey – worse for others than for me.
Never mind – I did manage to buy some lengths of moulding to make some frames up for my latest pictures. I wanted to get a jump on the week’s work by going into the studio and cutting the mitre joints with their equipment, but somehow I must have missed the update that instead of closing in the afternoon on Wednesdays, it was going to be just plain closed.
When I started in 2010 I thought it was strange that the studios weren’t open on Saturdays, at least to HE students. At the beginning of this year when we were told that we’d lose half a day mid week, I thought that was bad enough. Now, it’s so close to the end that I refuse to be surprised by anything else that comes my way, as long as it doesn’t interfere with me getting my work done. The lack of equipment and materials does get in the way, but we’ve all worked around that.
Since having a bit of a downer last week I’ve been buoyed by lots of encouraging comments, and having an interview for an MA course lined up does help to keep me chirpy. So far, everyone seems quite happy with what I’ve written about them for our website. It’s been interesting doing the profiles, with some being far easier than others, for some unknown reason. We’ve also had an essay written by Jane Millar for our catalogue, which is fantastic! So far that side of it’s going well, with only a few people left to chase for statements and info. I’ve also got to create invitations and make Jane’s writing into an A2 poster, which we’ll hopefully have printed as vinyl lettering for the exhibition.
The only bit of written work outstanding for the course is that essay on curation, which I just can’t seem to get started on. I’ve got notes, but getting to the outline stage is tricky, especially with so much else to distract me. Now that I’ve admitted it, while I’m held up on the practical work, I don’t have much excuse but to lock myself away with laptop, paracetamol, garlic and honey until something that looks like an essay comes out at the end.
