An external project on offer is to work with the staff at the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art Two - to come up with a response to the exhibition of work by Peploe.

The work is to be in the form of books as the display space is limited - cabinets in the Keiller Library. The work will be selected by staff of Modern Two and ECA. The successful artworks will be put on display come March when the Peploe material will be retired. There is a finite time such artefacts can be displayed.

My response is very much to do with the still life paintings. The use of flower and fan and backdrop will inform my work. The book is to take the shape of a fan, with fourteen folds all together. Seven of the folds will have something on them as each one will denote a decade in his life. He painted roses, tulips and latterly lilies. The lily signified vulnerability. Some of the flowers incorporated in the paintings have been identified by botanists and are around today. Peploe painted backdrops in triangular blocks of colour mostly. The colours are rainbow colours really which is worth remarking on as there are also seven of them. The flowers will be cut-outs - as lace in the fan. The colours will be in the form of circles - the last one a cut-out through which a paintbursh will be installed - help the fan stand up. The whole book will be biographical in nature and the lily will be the last flower to app

I have a quote from Peploe - from a letter he wrote to his wife. It seems to sum up his philosophy and this will be part of the fan somewhere.

I want to use Japanese paper and will look into using the laser cutter.

A fairly daft title but one that will do in the interim. The next part of the project is to explore the surface textures and colours of found objects on the beach. These are old crockery items but mostly I think partial bricks, old cement and pipe. They are painted on board 30cm square with the intention of hanging them in a grid pattern which will make a metre square display. Each square will be effected by and make connections with its neighbours so hanging will be tricky. Since a couple of them have taken shape, I am more of the idea that some of the squares should be kept neutral, as they have been prepared. This way the effect will not be too busy and will also speak of the fragmented, diminishing nature of the objects.

All the squares were to have been painted using the sides as well to form a 3D painting. The first I attempted was too small for the board, so I enhanced it by using the colour and detail on its reverse to add bulk. Lester refers to it as Madagascar or chop! The second square has been more successful though took ages to create. As a finished object it actually refers to the landscape which is quite interesting - another interpretation and a fitting one as the topic is all about how these objects allow us to relate to our landscape in the first place. The third square I think looks like a blue Mickey Mouse!

These were intended to be research and development pieces for the Clarendon House project but seem to have formed character in their own right. The title pays homage to the 'tag' that is found all over Lower Largo now and which is incorporated in one of the paintings. I have subsequently treated them as a triptych.

The experimental work on this painting continues. Not sure whether it will ever be completed and the light glaze I have put on the surface seems to have lost its lustre. I will need to go over it again - perhaps with a warmer diluted glaze.

After discussions with Nicola Murray, photec printing was suggested as the best method for further developing ideas around the beach pottery. It seemed quite process driven which I like, yet I worried at all the steps that needed to be taken. It seemed all too easy to mess up. I had an initial induction with Nicola, then arranged a top-up with Brian of Printmaking. Both had slightly different ways of working so I could pick and choose and perhaps benefit from their experience.

Early printing experiences were not too good. That was down to the plates initially. Not enough depth of tone. The second batch completed with Brian's help were more successful. As for the actual use of colour and arrangement of the plats, that got better as time wore on. I started feeling more comfortable - in charge!

I am looking forward to more printing, perhaps with new plates next semester.

This time round, there were four in the group and I was joined by a 4th year- Buwei, a 3rd year MFA - Eloise and a 3rd year overseas student, Rutene. We decided that given the time constraints and differeing priorities this semester, we would combine our work under a heading 'Reflections'. This seemed appropriate after discussions as to what we were all involved with. It chimed with the 'Echoes' title I had chosen as my first foray into this semester's work. It also seemed to sit well with the work of the other two participants.

Issues with time meant that there was a series of meetings in which we failed to get a full turnout. It was luck of the draw at the end of the day as to how well our work was to sit together.

The crit was held by Gordon Brennan and attended by Cate Smith (4th yr) and Lester (C.S.) and Sarah(3rd yr). Luckily it all went well.