Sunday

Hello all,

I did finally get round to putting my 4th part of my essay on my journal at the weekend but I dont think anyone got the alert for it. 

Im getting on really well with my work - I've made a good start on pasting all my images onto my model - so Im feeling a bit better about that. I've got to get all my stuff ready for my interview on Friday - which Im not worried about really - I either get in or I dont!!

Bought a gorgeous gorgeous dress for my brother's wedding - will try get a pic of it when I can.

Take care everyone and hope you all had a great weekend.

Love Laine xxxx

 

 

Part 4 of essay

Fig. 5. Take a chance on  me. Sculpture, 2004, Elaine Sayers

 

Sonja Wyndham-West, tutor, reminded me of my sculpture that I worked on last year (see fig 5). I created a cardboard box sculpture painted with white acrylic, covered in text messages, lines from emails, real personal ‘stuff ‘ that I glued  all over the box and made it public. The dice were symbols of the chance I had taken in love.

 

One of the many artists I was studying at that time was Tracy Emin. I was particularly interested in her work ‘Everyone I ever slept with’. Emin was brave enough to embroider a tent with more than 100 names of people that she had ‘slept’ with. (See fig. 6). It was a bold statement but subtle at the same time. To read all the names one had to crawl in to the tent – thus making men crawl rather than stand tall. This tent was a very clever piece of work, very creative and very meaningful.  The viewer, once inside, would be encompassed by Emin’s thoughts and feelings.  The same way I want to encompass the viewer of my work.

 

Fig. 6 ‘Everyone I ever slept with’, Tracy Emin, 1997

 

I was encouraged by Sonja to reinstate the excitement I had when I was involved in my sculpture project. I needed to change my direction. I took a look at the workspace I had at college. It was not adequate enough for creating the atmosphere I wanted. I had a partition put in to create my own space and enable me to surround myself with my work.  I put down the paintbrushes, picked up my digital camera and headed for the woods where I would take multiple photographs and use them to bring a sense of exterior space inside. This was going to be the beginning of something very new and exciting.  I felt the need to share this with other people so I created a journal on the internet and logged my day to day experiences and thoughts about my work.  It was brilliant, a great buzz, people were excited about my work and encouraging me from all over the world. 

hello

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all well.  I'm still struggling with my work load and thats why I havent turned on my alerts yet - but I will visit you all later to see how you are all doing.

My interview for my top-up degree is next week and like my tradition I am no where near ready for it yet!! I'm also still struggling to make my model for my final piece but none of its worrying me yet!!!

I had some lovely news last night - as I may have told you before my brother is getting married in August, in Norwich - anyway, he asked me to be his witness last night - how chuffed am I!!! It had never even crossed my mind that he would want me to be his witness!!! Im so excited!!!!

Anyway take care my journal buddies - I will be back LOL!!

Love Laine xxxx

Can't Cope!!

Hello my Jland Friends,

I'm so sorry but I'm going to turn my alerts off for a while - I just can't cope with all the work I have at the moment. It's getting me down;

Firstly, I have to think of a proposal for a dissertation and only have two weeks to do that. 

Secondly, I have to get my port-folio together for 28th April (interview).

Also got 500 pics to print out for my model installation - then in June its the real thing so got to get sorted for that too!!

Then there is the kids to look after, the house to look after, the dog to look after, me to look after LOL and John, bless him. Suddenly I'm having a can't cope phase. 

I really will try and get the rest of my essay on to my journal for you too as I know some of you are enjoying reading it - so I will try my best. But, John told me to not spend so much time on journals and concentrate on my work and he is right. 

I will miss you all - but I will catch up with you again soon - I'm not disappearing for ever - just a couple of weeks.

Love Laine xxxxx

 

Essay

Well I did at last get the third part of my essay onto my journal - sorry about all the funny bits on it - bits from word I think!!!! Laine xxxxxx

Part Three of Essay

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As intimated in my last paragraph I was determined, in year one of HND, to be a painter.  I would walk into the woods, sketchbook in hand, sketch away and hopefully transfer these thoughts, feelings, marks I was making onto canvas.  I was at the time reading a lot about Constable and his love of trees.  His sketchbooks I scanned at the V&A museum and they excited me immensely, I felt honoured to be looking at such beautiful work. (See fig. 3).  Constable’s sketchbooks capture the pure essence of the beauty that Constable saw before him. This work encouraged me to spend more time out on location and soak up what was around me just like Constable had done.

 Fig. 3. View on the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Stour, Museum no. Sketchbook 1259-1888

John Constable used this sketchbook during 1814.
Actual size 11.3cm x 8.6cm, Victoria and Albert Museum.

When I started year 2of HND I had a mental block with my art creativity, I did not know which way to turn. I spoke to Rod Harman, he inspired me to carry on by speaking of Constable saying that the wind in the trees reminded him of his wife’s last breath when she was dying of cancer.  This stirred up a great emotion rush in me, how wonderful and beautiful that Constable could hear or see such things in nature.  This gave me the strength to carry on with what I believed in. 

 

It wasn’t enough for me that I was just sketching and painting. The paintings I produced at the end of my first year were good but they lacked something. Something that I was trying to pull out of the woods wasn’t quite happening in my paintings. The first few paintings I created at the beginning of year 2 were good and seemed successful in what I was trying to achieve but they still lacked something. See fig 4.

 

Fig 4. Painting No.2, 2005, Elaine Sayers

 

 

I did not know what this was.  I felt very down about my work and was not able to paint anymore.  I had lost the enthusiasm and enjoyment of painting. It was not working. I had to change.

 

 

 

 

Saturday

I'm frustrated because I just did a whole long entry - finished it then went to look in my file manager and yes you guessed it my journal disappeared and my whole entry went with it!!!! Drat!!!!!!!

I really dont feel like writing it all again!!! But I will try.

I was saying that the house feels quiet without the kids and it felt really empty last night so John and I went to the pub for a nice pint of beer and that cheered us up - it was a lovely old quiet pub and hardly anyone in there so it was nice - also had a lovely log fire going.

I have got my interview for my BA Hons Fine Art top-up degree on Friday 28th April at 1:00pm EEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!  Really scared!!!  The course is just a year long and at the end, if I'm successful I will have a degree in fine art! During that year we have to do a dissertation of about 5,000-8,000 words - so for the interview I have to write a proposal - that has to be handed in a week before the interview!! Cripes!!!  I also have to get my port-folio together - with work I think they should see - that Ive done over the last three years - including sketch books and essays etc. another cripes!!!!   I also still havent got on very well with my installation for my exhibition in June - lots of work to do for me at the moment!!!!  I have no idea what to propose to write for the dissertation - some of the suggestions I dont even understand - cant even ask tutors as the college is now closed for Easter!!!

Sorry I havent done my third part of the essay yet - I will post it soon - I promise!!! Its not as easy to post as I thought it would be!!! It wont just paste in direct form word but I will get it to you!!!

John and I are out tonight - over to our friends Shelley and David - they dont have any kids - they have pussy cats LOL - lovely persian cats - all nice and fluffy LOL.  Not sure what David and John will talk about tonight as they now both work for competitors - so no work talk!! LOL Right Im off for a nice soak in the bath - then get ready - Shelley always looks so nice - well she hasnt got kids and can spend all her money on clothes - I cant even remember the last time I went shopping for me!!!!!

Take care and have a good weekend.

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