DEGREES UNEDITED

# 19 [27 July 2008]

Still busy at it, I spent all day Thursday making another proposal for another possibility, and researching available studios in Lincoln. The trouble is, they cost money, so I applied for a graphic design job, but in reality it was a knee jerk reaction to the notion that all single parents should be working. I don't know where that came from, probably the Daily Mail or some such rubbish...

So, anyway, I recently received feedback from my Degree Show.

It says that the comic is the strongest part (yay!) but it seems as though there's something missing... I like that!

Morten Harket, Pal Waaktaar Savoy and Magne Furuholmen were supposed to be there, but unfortunately they couldn't make it, so that's where that comes from..... 

# 18 [20 July 2008]

I have been busy exhibiting my illustration work at New Designers in London, which received positive responses, especially for our University in particular out of the many Illustration graduates that exhibited there.

I have now finished building my website - www.helendblackbird.co.uk

where there are pages for fine art work and Illustration....

I have a new proposal for a new series of dolls that I wish to make. I need to source funding for this project, and if anyone would like to know what it involves, it is on the website@

http://www.helendblackbird.co.uk/Fine_Art.html

Aside from that, I've been looking for any opportunities I can get as an artist and/or illustrator, but it seems that everything involves investing money that I just don't have. I regard myself as a producer, NOT a consumer, and will not pay to join any artist's groups until I get paid / funding for what I do. 

I need to be earning money for my work - I do not have parents to go home to, I have bills to pay and kids to feed..... and it's been over a month since I finished University and so far I've not had any luck :-(

# 17 [28 June 2008]

Thankyou to Andrew Bryant for your article in this month's a-n. The thoughts about the perceived crisis in art education is interesting, and not a subject that has completely escaped our thoughts, it's just that with all the lectures, dissertations, lack of enough time to actually be in the studio and produce work, I doubt many students have the time to really engage in that debate, and when we have glimpsed it, it exists somewhere in our peripheral vision, something that when you actually try to look at, it disappears.

Now I'm not sure how long this blog will carry on for, as I suspect it may transfer over to the artists_talking section in time....

I'm supposed to be building a website, but I'm battling against a sense of sadness that sometimes overwhelms me  - no one told me that finishing University would be quite so depressing!

# 16 [4 June 2008]

This week the kids have gone back to school, and I finished my proposal and reluctantly posted it yesterday in a deluge of rain. I've since been feeling very, very nervous in anticipation of the outcome.

I've started to keep a visual diary again, and felt inspired until yesterday's deluge of rain, which effectively destroyed my enthusiasm to do anything at all.

I gave up solving the earlier mystery; it remains a mystery, even though I've been in to Uni to invigilate the show and find out information for New Designers. The Illustration Degree Show has now finished, so I will have to take down my work for that, and start preparing stuff for New Designers, so even though I've finished, I'm still going in to do work!! 

Rather bemused that I don't appear to have received a copy of a-n lately.....

# 15 [29 May 2008]

So, what have I been doing with myself? 

I've been busy at the faculty of Illustration, helping to prepare for the Preview Night last Friday for the Illustration Degree Show.

So I've had twice as much stress (but twice the fun!) exhibiting in two shows :-)

The Unreal God And Aspects Of His Non-Existent Universe is now closed, and I have to go and restore the space back to normal by the end of tomorrow. As it's half term, I've had to book my son in to Kids' Club especially, yet I have no more Childcare Grant left, and I'm going headlong into my overdraft now :-(

The Illustration Show lacked a sense of occasion - it felt like everyone was all there in the same room, but wandering around in their own little bubbles.

Some colleagues and I went up and down Steep Hill to buy thankyou presents for the tutors, (no mean feat!) only one of them didn't turn up to receive his! He has since thanked us for it in an email he sent me, but no word of what happened on the evening of the show! This is a mystery that I have yet to resolve..... does he have a mysterious double life???? I shall find this out!

I will be going to help invigilate the Illustration Degree Show next week, and then I have the Faculty Ball to look forward to :-)

Writing this blog is my way of avoiding working on a proposal for a series of dolls that have attracted the interest of a certain artist friend of mine, and I really should finish it and send it off, because I'm panicking about being a single parent on benefits - aaaargh!!!

I always said that if the worst happens and I have to do that for a while, at least I can make art out of it :-D

But I'd rather not.

Other news, I watched Morten Harket on Loose Women on Tuesday. Whilst I've been having Degree Shows, the band members of A-ha have been performing at the Royal Albert Hall. I have missed them for my art - this is the suffering I have to endure! 

I was invited to the opening of New Acquisitions at The Usher Gallery in Lincoln. I went there, and saw that they were now exhibiting a Salvador Dali work that I'd previously spied in the basement when we went to see the works in storage. They have also purchased two of Grayson Perry's ceramic vases that were exhibited in his "Charms of Lincolnshire" Exhibition in 2006.

Because I'm on their mailing list, I always receive invites for new exhibitions, and I enjoyed seeing the Luttrell Psalter tapestry inspired exhib in The Collection now that I have some time free. It renews my optimisn that although University life is finished, I will still be engaged with the art world outside, and if nothing else will have time to visit any exhibitions that interest me again.

# 14 [17 May 2008]

After spending most of last week setting up and preparing my Illustration Degree Show ready for assessment yesterday, last night was the preview of my Fine Art Degree Show, The Unreal God And Aspects of His Non-Existent Universe, as part of the University of Lincoln Degree Show thisisit08, as detailed on the shows page.

I made a comic style comments book to go in it, and left to get ready and pick my children up from school, and as such I was running slightly late to meet the curator. But nevertheless, she had some positive comments to make about my installation, especially how it worked juxtaposed next to my colleagues' installation in the adjacent room.

I received positive comments from people who actually went in and "read" the comic itself, and all my worries that people wouldn't be able to see it the way I intended have been allayed by the response I've received so far!

So I will share some pictures here, and then I will share my Illustration Show as well - I have pictures of how it is currently, awaiting assessment.

# 13 [8 May 2008]

I have finally printed the actual comic! I'm so happy to have that finished! I was going to print several copies, but now time is running out I'm just glad to have one finished comic to go in the installation to make it complete!

Everything else is back on track, but I still have a lot to do and today I had to clear out my Illustration studio. It feels sad to know I'll be leaving soon, but at the same time I'm getting quite excited and will be glad to graduate. 

# 12 [2 May 2008]

I've finally started to set up my space now, although this was hindered slightly by the fact that Channel Four were filming an advert for the University in the gallery for a while, and the place was awash with media people and equipment!

Now that I don't seem to have any other unnecessary distractions I feel quite excited at the prospect of my show - positive comments from people have helped!

I wasted a day attempting to print my comic onto newsprint through a laserjet printer and have since considered other options, but at least my comic is finished ready for printing, so that's satisfying!

Yesterday I foolishly thought that helping to self publish the Illustration catalogue would only take up a small amount of time.... but I have finished my dolls (whoops - shouldn't mention illustration work here!!) and am addicted to photoshopping a storyboard for a potential Brothers Quay style animation.

The dolls I have been making are to illustrate Black Jack Davey, a folk rock song by Steeleye Span... that's another story, but once I've set up my Fine Art show, I will also be exhibiting my Illustration work a week later!!

As a joint honours student I had the choice to exhibit at one show or the other, or both; the other joint students are doing both shows as well, so we're in it together. I know how Clark Kent feels now......! 

The bad news is that A-ha themselves will not be able to attend my Degree Show, as they will be busy preparing for a gig at the Royal Albert Hall - I sent an invite to Morten's management via Facebook, but they declined. I'm sure they would've accepted if it wasn't for such bad timing ;-)

# 11 [25 April 2008]

I'm getting really stressed out about the space for my installation, as I had tried to plan it so it would be straightforward, but the disappointment of having not secured the space I ideally had in mind is causing far more potential problems than I had hoped for.

I've been thinking about how to print my comic book and have decided that screen printing it is going to be too much kerfuffle and it'll be easier to just print it on newsprint through the printer in the faculty of Illustration.

I've been working hard to get my Illustration work finished so that I can concentrate on setting up my Fine Art show. Being a joint honours student has its benefits and its drawbacks.

But most of my drawbacks last week were caused by my boiler packing in.

I wasted so much time waiting for the gas man to come and fix it, plus the stress of not having heating or hot water for myself and my children for a whole week, that I haven't even begun to think about the logistics of building a room for my installation, so the repercussions of that are manifold.

# 10 [3 April 2008]

Today the spaces we have been allocated for the degree show have been announced on the noticeboard. I haven't succeeded in securing the space I ideally wanted, and have spent some time today trying to figure out how I can set up my installation in a room that will require a lot more work.... hmph!

I've collected my sketchbook so I can carry on with my comic book work, and I've been trying to figure out the best option for my webcast, and it's all very slow, and not only that, I had to go to the local gallery to go and watch some performance art by some colleagues, which was all very interesting, but I'd rather hide away and get on with work. I'm avoiding University tomorrow for this reason, that every time I go there, there is some distraction, however I'll have to go out in the afternoon to avoid the disturbances of the gas man.

I went to see my son play in the school band this evening. I rather enjoyed it actually, made a nice change, as I generally don't have a social life anymore....!