Category: CSM MFA – Progress Blog
It is finished!
I finished the Ann painting this week. The last section was quite fiddly and intense to paint, and it was a sweet relief when it was over. I didn’t even stand back and look at it afterwards, I just pushed it in the corner of the studio, facing the wall, so it can dry. Once it has, I will look at it with fresh eyes. I will also have an open-studio, so friends and family can come and see it. I especially look forward to showing my mum, as I feel the painting has a special connection to her. As I mentioned before, not only has she been helping me with the research for Ann Thompson’s story, but her middle and maiden name are also Ann Thompson, which I think is very special.
There’s always a bit of an anti-climax when I finish a big, labour intensive painting like that, and I tend to feel a little bit lost, in terms of what to do next. To keep up the momentum of my art practice, I make sure I keep my 3 daily painting sessions. Since finishing the Ann painting, I’ve been playing with old paintings that were never really resolved, working on what might possibly be my next big painting, and painting horses.
It’s enjoyable just playing and experimenting, but very soon I will have to focus on my MA project about water. I will also have to start looking at the other artworks I want to make to go with the Ann painting, particularly the film, as well as consolidate the research into Ann’s story, and see where the holes are, and where further research is required. There’s a lot to do, but for the next few days, I think I’ll just play.
I had a couple of workshops this week. One was about socially engaged art, with David McGovern, which I found really informative and interesting. The other was one our whole class did together, called “Emerging dialogues through textile and visual arrangements” with Sukie Sagoo-Reddy. It was actually a workshop I had done last term, even so, it was enjoyable and inspiring to do again, especially with all my classmates. My favourite task was called “chasing shadows”, where we were asked to create a piece of work that involved shadows. I decided to arrange and photograph the shadows cast by these beautiful glass ornaments made by a lovely friend of mine. I love how glass effectively casts coloured shadows.
Anam Cara (where I live) has been exceptionally beautiful this week, and my new favourite thing is to sit on the front lawn, facing the sea, and do the readings for my research paper. To be honest, I spend most of the time just looking at the sea (keeping an eye out for Fonzi of course), or closing my eyes to heighten the sensation of being in such an exhilarating place.
Never enter a river alone!
Term 3 began this week, which means it’s only 10 weeks until I have finished the first year of my masters. It is scary to think how fast the time is going, especially as I feel so faraway from achieving the creative goals I have set myself, especially related to my water-paintings project.
I am hoping I will feel a bit better about things once I have finished the Ann painting. I thought I’d finish last week, but alas, that was not the case. The hold-up isn’t for want of spending endless hours painting it each day, it’s just that it’s such an delicate, time-consuming painting, and I keep under-estimating how long it will take. Thankfully, I truly am nearly there.
While I’ve been on the home-stretch the past couple of weeks, my fella has effectively been banished from the studio, as I’m paranoid the painting will be knocked, so it’s just too stressful to have anyone around. I’m sure if he was telling the story, banished would be changed to steering clear of that mad woman and her “delicate painting”!
I continued drawing horses this week, which has been a pleasure as usual. My goal is to include a horse-like figure in my water paintings, a Kelpie to be precise. The problem is, a Kelpie is a malevolent water-horse that preys on people and drowns them, and my horses all look cute and cheerful. When told my fella I was having trouble making them look sinister, he suggested adding eyebrows. I think you’ll agree I nailed it.
I find the idea of a predatory, human-killing horse fascinating, considering that they are a prey animal, and left to their own devices, wouldn’t come anywhere near us. This contradiction is precisely why they are the perfect representation of the dangers of water, particularly rivers.
It cannot be over-stated how dangerous rivers are, especially ones that look calm and benign on the surface. For lurking underneath, you’ll often find a strong current that will easily knock you off your feet, making you vulnerable to shock, jagged stones, tangley weeds, to name but a few perils. Even a shallow river can be dangerous for these reasons, but if its deep, you’ve almost got no chance.
It is no surprise then, that the ancients told the story of a friendly horse by the riverside, that offered a group of children (or a lone adult) a ride. Once they mounted it, they were stuck-fast, and the Kelpie transformed into a malevolent spirit, and leapt into the water and drowned them. The warning being, children should not play unsupervised in rivers, and adults should not enter them alone.
Another glorious groundhog week
I could copy and paste my last post, as this week my day to day life pretty much followed the same routine. There was painting, horse drawing, seal watching, massaging, and fella loving.
There was also a few anomalies, like how beautiful the weather was on Friday. It gave me a taste of what summer will be like out here at Anam Cara. Mum popped out in the morning and agreed that the summer here will be glorious, and picked a spot for her and Dad to sit and watch the sea.
When it’s sunny, the studio is filled with beautiful diffused light, making it a pleasure to work in. Even so, Friday was so lovely, I finished my afternoon Ann-paint early and sat outside and drew horses, which was heavenly.
The course starts again this coming Tuesday. It will be lovely to catch up with everyone, and get stuck into my water project again. Once I have finished the Ann painting (hopefully by the end of the week), I’ll be able to devote most of my time to it, so hopefully there’ll be more progress this term.
“We Are What We Repeatedly Do” – Aristotle
I can’t believe it’s been over two weeks since I was in London. I even had to look at my diary to make sure I was counting right. I think the problem with my time perception at the moment is I had a bit of a groundhog week, in that it was almost exactly the same as the week before. Added to which, almost every day followed the same routine:
Yoga
I typically start my day with yoga. It’s sounds super healthy and together, but in reality the max I do is 15 minutes. Still, I’m always very grateful to myself when I have done it, and definitely feel better for it.
Drawing horses
I kept up my 20 minute drawing exercise this week, and continued with drawing horses. They are so much fun to draw, and though I don’t seem to have improved much, I have definitely loosened up. Also, drawing them has made me love the horses next door even more. My favourite is a Clydesdale that I call Mr Rogers, on account of him being so friendly – he came to the fence twice this week and had a wee chat with me.
Painting
Painting the Ann painting has been my main focus this week, which has been as wonderful and nerve-wracking as usual. I had another stress dream this morning that it got smudged. It was by a person that I really like, so I didn’t yell at them, but I did tell them that they’d have to leave. When I have one of these dreams, the sense of stress and blind fury I feel makes it difficult to speak, and is so intense that it generally wakes me up. The only upside to such a dream is the relief I feel when I fully come-to and realise the painting is alright.
Looking for Fonzi
Usually when I finish my morning paint I’ll go out looking for Fonzi. I’m ridiculously happy when I see him. If I don’t, I content myself with looking at the sea and saying hello to Mr Rogers.
Massaging
Sunday to Thursday, I tend have a morning massage appointment. I’ve had my homebased massage business for about 6 years now, and have a lovely assortment of regular clients. Becoming a Massage Therapist is one of the best decisions I have ever made, not only is it a great thing to do for someone else, but it is the perfect compliment to being an artist.
Painting
My afternoon paint tends to be the longest of the 3, and for some reason the most relaxed. I like to have a clear four hours to play with, which gives me both time to paint and research things that come to mind.
Looking for Fonzi
Since Spring has sprung, I am able to go looking for Fonzi after my afternoon paint as well. I saw him a few times this week, but no land-bound sighting compared to the drone footage my fella got of him yesterday. Look how handsome he is (and his friend is pretty cute too)!
Massaging
As well as a morning massage, I tend to have an early evening one too, which is handy for those clients that have to work during the day. When I first started my business, I used to advertise for clients by running adverts on Facebook (like the one below), now it ticks along nicely with returning clients and word of mouth.
A visit from my fella (if I’m lucky)
My fella wasn’t able to come out every evening this week, but it was certainly splendid when he did. As usual, we had fun catching up on each other’s newses – his was generally more exciting than mine, considering mine consisted of “I saw Fonzi and said hello to Mr Rogers”.
Painting
My evenings this week were spent painting the Ann painting. I’m so close to finishing that I am literally counting the days – I reckon 10 if I keep going at my current pace. My evening paint tends to be the shortest of the 3, though still a minimum of two hours.
Bed
I absolutely love going to bed, and am usually in a hurry to get there, which is why my evening paint session tends to be the shortest. I really like my current bed – true, it’s no dead-lady-bed, but still, its super comfortable and a pleasure to sleep in. I don’t always sleep the whole night through, but if I wake up I just read my book or research things on my phone (ahem…watch cat videos) so I never really mind. Plus, if it’s after 4am, I usually just get up and paint – the wee hours being my favourite time to do so.
So there we have it, my current routine. If Aristotle is right, I guess that means I am yoga doing, seal watching, horse drawing, massage giving, fella loving, bed indulging painter!
Home sweet home
A bird sang me awake this morning. It was a lovely song and a lovely way to wake up. It made me think of how our lives intersect with other living things. How we witness each other’s existence. Whether momentarily or for long periods of time, we become part of each other’s story. It’s like Fonzi, he might not comprehend what I am, but, nevertheless, when he bobs past my house, he often sees a strange, upright creature standing on the beach looking at him. I don’t know what he makes of me, but I do know he’s curious about me, because whenever I turn around and make my way back towards the house, he comes in for a closer look. He responds to my presence, and I most definitely respond to his. We share time and space to together. It’s a beautiful thing.
As soon as I arrived back at Anam Cara and breathed the fresh sea air, I felt immediately better. Never has it felt so good to be home from London. There’s lots I love about the city, but even all those things together pale in comparison to this sweet corner of the world.
Spring arrived in my absence, and flowers and flying things abound. My favourite are the big fat bumblebees. I found one motionless on the doorstep the other evening. Darkness was descending and the rain was on its way, so I brought it inside and gave it some sugar-water, which it happily drank. I then played it some Miles Davis, which made it spring into life and start cleaning itself. Next I played The Who, but it went careening about the place, and seemed at risk of doing itself an injury, so we went back to Miles. Sadly, after our lovely evening together, the weight of living got the better of my little buddy, and it passed away during the night.
As well as enjoying all the creatures out here, including the horses that live next-door, and a pair of dolphins that swam idly by the other day (filling my heart with joy), I have been painting. During the Easter break, my primary artistic goal is to finish the Ann painting, which means working on it 8-9 hours per day. It’s an utter pleasure, and I couldn’t be happier. I have also begun drawing for 20 minutes each morning. The aim is not to draw realistically, but to draw expressively, in the hopes I will find my own style. This week I have been drawing horses, inspired by my beautiful neighbours.
Goodbye London, thanks for the chips and the raging allergy
Written – Friday, 17th March
Currently, I am sat in my hotel room, bag packed, watching breakfast telly, having just eaten my “I’m very poorly, I’ll eat what I want” breakfast, which consisted of a pot of chocolate pudding and a Bakewell tart. I will be heading to the airport soon, for what will either be a short trip home, or should the misfortune that befell my fella, befall me, a 3-day odyssey that will take me back and forth across the Irish Sea and a jaunty trip to Liverpool.
My body seems to be making a sterling effort of fighting whatever ails me, as I feel mildly better today. Unlike yesterday, which saw me getting progressively worse as the day wore on. I made the difficult, but ultimately wise decision not to attend the last day of class activities – i.e. visiting several art galleries together. I was disappointed I couldn’t go, as it was the day I was most looking forward to, but no one wants a moribund mucus-dripper for their art-viewing companion. Instead, I wandered the streets of London looking for the ghost of Mrs Quick.
Mrs Quick was the intended subject of my Interim Show painting that I was unable to finish in time for the show. Now the show is finished, I can resume my work on the painting, the start of which is research into her story. In short (I’ll write at length in another post), Mrs Quick died in the 1928 Thames flood, when her basement flat in Westminster became entirely submerged. Something about her story caught my attention and gave me the idea for my “Confluence” research project as a whole.
Anyway, I decided to walk to Westminster to see what I could find. To be honest, I didn’t find much save the street where she had lived and sadly died (the house long demolished and replaced), and the local pub she may well have frequented, and which I did (alone, in a corner, slathered in anti-bac). Post ghost-hunting, I made the mistake of catching a tube back to my hotel, which re-triggered my allergy, making my symptoms worse than ever, and leaving me utterly miserable for the rest of the day.
I think I’m allergic to London
I woke up feeling crap this morning, with a blocked nose, sore throat, and red, itchy eyes. It’s happened before when I’ve been in London, especially when travelling on the tubes that are deep underground, as I did yesterday when I went to the V&A. Either that or I have cold, though the itchy eyes leads me to assume it is the former. Hedging my bets, I traipsed to the 24hr supermarket at the crack of dawn and bought supplies, more for comfort than remedy.
Our in-person classes were cancelled today, on account of the tube and teacher strikes. Instead, we had an artist’s talk via zoom, though, unfortunately, the internet isn’t very good in my hotel room, so I could only listen to part of it, and couldn’t participate in the discussion. So, I took the opportunity to finish wrapping my painting, ready for the courier to collect tomorrow. Jonathan, our kind-hearted teacher, had a go wrapping it when he collected it from the exhibition, but let’s just say, we all have our strengths.
Because I didn’t have any classes for the rest of the day, I thought I better do something arty, so I went to a beautiful bookshop around the corner, and looked for books relevant to my research project about water. It’s been a while since I’ve spent time browsing in a bookshop (I mostly buy books on Amazon); what an absolute pleasure.
Next, I went in search of somewhere nice to have lunch and peruse my new books, stopping at a chemist on the way to buy some antihistamines. I came across a nice looking pub called the Norfolk Arms. Having just completed an application for an art residency in Norfolk, I thought it was a fortuitous sign. As I was peeping in the window, to see what it was like, a friendly old fella passing-by informed me that the food was lovely, so in I went. I’m so glad I did. I had a sublime afternoon, hocked-up on antihistamines, eating delicious food, and reading the introductions of my wonderful new books.
I faded by the time I got back to my hotel this afternoon, so I took a nap but didn’t sleep. For my evening activities, I took my parcel down to reception, went to the shop for more tissues, watched the Ramsey Town Commission meeting (that my fella was chairing), and wrote this post. Now I’m going to have a pot-noodle for tea, and sit in my bed and watch The Repair Shop. London, baby!
Vic & Albie’s knick knacks
Today our class visited the Victoria & Albert Museum. We were there for a talk and private viewing of items from the museum’s digital art collection. It is not my favourite type of art, but the woman who gave the talk was very engaging, which made viewing the work more enjoyable.
Afterwards, I had a wander around the museum, looking at all the beautiful objects on display. There were so many wonderful things to see. Here are a few of my favourite:
As beautiful as these things are, my absolute favourite was the iron work, some of which was the most exquisite I have ever seen.
I had a bit of a shock when I got back to the hotel. The day before I had sent my clothes out to be laundered. It was soon clear I had misunderstood the service, because what I got back was my scruffy, arty clothes on hangers, wrapped in the plastic, and my knickers neatly folded in a box, all for the eye-watering price of £63!
Speaking of knickers, before I had the bright idea of availing myself of the hotel laundry service, I decided to replenish my knicker stock at Morrisons, and was alarmed to discover that what I had bought was the biggest knickers I have ever seen. My fella got the shock of his life when he saw them, and asked why in god’s name was I wearing a leotard.
And speaking of my fella, I am pleased to say that he finally made it home, after his arduous three day journey of trying to get there.
I can now officially say “come up and see my etchings”
I had my first ever etching class today. It was very a different picture-making process for me, but I really enjoyed it. There are quite a few preparatory steps that go into making an etching, it’s messy and convoluted, but the final step of peeling back the piece of paper from the etching plate is deliciously satisfying and well worth the preceding effort.
It was also my first time at Central Saint Martins. I was quite stressed going there this morning, as I didn’t know the way. But once I got to Kings Cross Station, I just followed a group of scruffy looking people and hey-presto, there it was. It is very impressive, and must be amazing to attend on a daily basis for an entire degree, though, truth be told, I’d rather be in my little house by the sea. I did take some photos of CSM, but this one on the internet had a much better perspective.
Along with all the art schooly facilities, the campus has a selection of cafes, bars, and restaurants, one of which I frequented for lunch. My fella had told me off for only eating chips while on this trip, so I was sure to send him this photo to show him that today I added protein, fruit, and beans to my diet.
Speaking of my fella, would you believe that the poor soul is on his way back to the Tavistock Hotel AGAIN, having spent the past 6 hours at the airport waiting for his flight that never came. He is now beyond exhausted and stressed, and has vowed never to leave the Island again…that’s if he ever makes it back there. He will attempt the trip again tomorrow, this time taking a train to Liverpool and flying to the Island from there. He just messaged that he’s 6 minutes away, so I better get his Guiness in.
bexODESSA 