Well, the assessments are over and eventually we will discover what our grades are for the past semester. Next semester we concentrate solely on our Degree Show or whatever option we choose to take to qualify for our degrees. Aside from the obvious choice of a degree show, we also have the opportunity to write a thesis, something I expect many of the Theory students will do, or to stage an event, which could be anything form curating a show to some variety of performance art. I plan to go the Degree Show route, which seems the best fit for me. This will not only mean coordinating my own self to display my work, but will also include working with the others in my class to organise the entire show, from layout to construction to advertising to programs to maps and so on. But, for the moment, we have a break so I will not let that worry me yet.
In the meantime since my last post, I have made more progress on my sculpture and my Material Cultures lecture group has published a collection of essays entitled, Unruly Objects. This is will eventually be available on the ECA website somewhere, but in the meantime you can read it here. Feel free to download it to read at your leisure…nothing like a little artwriting to pile on the holiday cheer!
[gview file=”https://philobermarck.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Unruly-Objects.pdf”]
I have also been spending some time working on my sculpture, which is looking less like a block of wood and more like a man. Last week, Douglas, the woodworking technician, was able to use the chainsaw on it for me and take off some of the excess timber. Since then, I have been using an ArborTech woodcarving blade on an angle grinder to take off more of the excess, before I actually start working with hand tools.
As you can see in the photos below, I have blocked out the legs, the chest and stomach, and a bit of the head and arms on the front and a bit less on the back. When I get back from break, I can finish the blocking out and get on with the hand tooling.
This will be my final post of 2013, since I am going to visit family for the holidays. Warm wishes for all my friends, family and other readers. Happy holidays and have a joyous and safe New Year. I will see you all again in 2014!