Year 4 - the very beginning

After a dodgy start, so far so good. The dodgy start was by way of a cold or flu. Not sure which but it managed to fell me. I felt it was an ominous start as Monday 13th in the rain was the first day back. No matter, now all better and hopefully that will be the only illness.

I am in C5. A studio taken over from sculpture as there are more 4th year painters than sculptors. I share the space with 2 M.A. students, Suzie and Emily which means that they are away a lot of the time elsewhere. The rest are a quiet conscientious hard-working bunch who also do not appear there very often. Sarah is making her own film. Rachael also seems to be basing her work on film. Sam is very interesting, creating a whole new world by way of drawings. Gezi is a painter who seems to be interested in the Scottish landscape. She is involved in printing too. India too is a painter with a focus on portraiture. Not sure what George is doing but it involves glass lenses! So nine folk in total. It is bliss. I have a good spot near the sink. Lots of wall space and have acquired two tables.

I have decided to do a practice-led dissertation which allows for my studio work to evolve in tandem with the writing. My source of materials is found objects - so far the majority found on the Wemyss beach in Fife. I have also acquired found wood on which to paint, so what I am doing now is moving away from sketchbook explorations to working on wood. My method is to deconstruct the found object in order to recreate. The process of transformation is all important. This ties in with the writing which follows the linear history of Sill Life painting in conjunction with Material culture, Object biography and the notion of commodity. I am having an exciting time, principally as I have decided to write the essay with a found object being the narrator.

The studio space as it was when I found it! 

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