End of Year

Facebook keeps reminding me I haven’t posted on my blog for ages. I wish it wouldn’t do that. The notification never fails to make me feel anxious – only because it’s an issue I know that needs addressing, and who wants to address issues?! Alas, I can only blog when my heart’s in it, anyway.

Uhm…What can I update you on?  Most people already know I left art school before it finished (shrugs) Despite the appeal of an art degree, it turned out that it really wasn’t my thing in the end. And seeing as I’ve got more work done since dropping out, than I did whilst the course was in progress, it was probably a good decision to leave. Besides, my art will continue, regardless of tutors, marking and a syllabus.

Something that isn’t art-related? My fitness is improving -that’s good. I do stretches each night and attend a gymnast class twice a week, so I should be doing somersaults by the end of the year -surely, right? I’m still banging on about doing the over-splits one day, as well. Apparently,  it’s not an impossible thing for me to accomplish. It’s amazing that now, at 30-something, I have decided to get in shape and have actually stuck to a routine. A plan I never entertained in my teens, or even my twenties.

Once again I’m prepping all of my new year resolutions and one of those include keeping up with blog -HAAA! We shall see.

That is all.

It’s February…

I’m feeling happy today. I like the first days of the month. Any month. The whole fresh start thing… blah blah blah. February is especially grand because it kind of marks the end of the previous year. Officially. Christmas grumbles are still floating in the air during January and I find it all a bit negative.

I last made a post here during July 2017. Wow. I know I’ve been a bit lazy, but jeez. I’m always so disappointed in myself when I leave these things too long. More so because I’ve managed to still make time for a bit of other social media nonsense. Namely Facebook. Although that is becoming somewhat of a tumbleweed for me -I’m making updates less and less. Not that it bothers me. Besides, the Instagram community works better for my creative output. Junk journals, bullet journals, writing journals, stationary… all catching my eye this year and lots of those things are being shared around my Instagram account. I particularly got into mail art and have enjoyed sending happy mail for a short-while now. I really hope all that snail mail continues.

So, a new month. I already planned my February spread in the BuJo. It’s basically an offspring to my diary. I think it’s always good to have visuals.

In other news, September will hopefully mark the end of the beginning for my art degree and I’m looking forward to moving on to the next course, of which there are many options. Although, Visual Studies is a compulsory area that I’ll need to focus on at some point, so I’m thinking it might be best to get it out of the way, especially as there seems to be a lot less, if absolutely zero, practical work to be done. Then I’ll most likely choose a painting course or maybe even sculpture. Maybe. I’ll keep myself posted about that. In the meantime, I’ll be hacking away at the sketches and paintings for Assignment 3 -due in March, so I’ll end this here. That’s it for now. As usual, I’ll promise to try and keep the momentum going with the blog.

Art Society

I attended my first meeting with the local Art Society yesterday evening. My previous working hours never allowed such time for regular groups or classes, evening-based or otherwise, so it was nice to finally say ‘yes’ to something I can take part in on an invariable basis. The people at the group were all so lovely and welcoming. My friend from work had joined me on my first visit and we seemed to settle in pretty quickly which was nice. On arrival I was pleasantly surprised to see another familiar face; a friend from an art class dating a couple of years back. My colleague and I joined him at the table and we all started working on our own projects. The art space was shared over two large rooms. The first room was used for the weekly demonstration -whatever that might be – and the second room, the one in which we opted to settle , was set aside for ‘doing your own thing’. I did a little work based around the ‘Don’t Remain Static’ theme I’ve been working on for a while.

I’ve promised myself I’m going to be brave next week and peruse other peoples’ work, just like some of the artists did last night, and perhaps I’ll make more of an effort to keep social. I even signed up to join them for their annual night out at a local Italian restuarant, which will be around the beginning of March. It will be cool to get to know some of the others in the group a little better. In addition to the positivity yesterday, my friend amazed me when he produced a belated birthday gift – a pack of Pigma Micron pens! Proper mint!

The eve was actually awesome and there’s a mighty chance that Monday may indeed become my favourite day of the week. For me, it’s not only time to get all dreamy with my art, but also definite time set aside to focus on my art degree.

 

 

Art Over French

It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally managed to take the first steps towards making my blog appear a bit jazzy. Do take a look around.

Whilst I originally intended to solely post my art work, it has recently come to light that I will most likely benefit from the written word, as well. I’m hoping that through regular blogging I will be able find some kind of theme for my new portfolio.

For now, here’s a bit of information you don’t really need to know, but something that’s relevant to my new art journey…

I recently decided to leave university. I’ve been a student of French for a couple of years, working towards a degree in Modern Languages. My marks were often above average, it was something I was good at and I enjoyed it, most of the time. However, during the course I often found myself replacing potential study-time with a new drawing. And then, feeling guilty about it. There were many times I considered dropping everything for a career in art, but I either convinced myself I weren’t good enough or insisted that it was too late to start. How could I involve art in my life alongside my language studies? I settled for evening classes once a week, and through the course I had made two brilliant friends, including my new art tutor -a wonderful man with the patience of a saint and a heart of gold. I would always leave the lesson feeling inspired and even more tempted to make art a bigger part of my life. I never did anything about it. Ever.

Christmas 2014, my art teacher (and dear friend) suddenly passed away. It was truly shocking and a very sad time for many. During this period, I made the decision to leave my language course and pursue a new creative path. This is something I’ve never been brave enough to do, but through the inspiration of my tutor I am finally going to do it. Forget about time. The place to be is here and now.

There will always be a special place in my heart for French, and no doubt I’ll continue to learn in the future, but for now I am happy. I feel content with my decision.

It was my intention to apply for a position in art school this year, but after a long think it seemed more sensible to wait until my portfolio is a sure pass –something it currently isn’t, but certainly something I’m capable of putting together for next year.

And so, my journey has begun…