Much going on this week ....

If you’ve read this blog from the beginning you may remember this image, which was the first I posted as it represents the idea I proposed to explore during this residency.  Though I’ve become distracted by other materials, particularly teabags, I haven’t completely forgotten this part of my project.  Over recent weeks I have continued to think about, and occasionally play with, clay and today I am firing the kiln for the first time. Next week the students I am working with are going to start expanding our line making exercise by exploring the lines they have made with clay.  Stay tuned for more images.

Next Thursday I will be joining one of my fellow AIR program artists, Alicia King, in presenting about our work at the regular Tasmanian College of the Arts lunchtime Arts Forum at the Inveresk campus.  Talking about your work is a skill that doesn’t come naturally to most artists, but we get a fair bit of practice at it while studying.  Once outside of the educational institution though the occasions on which you must do this become more formal and the audience less familiar, thus the task gets a bit more daunting.  I have a habit of over-preparing for such occasions, writing a script so finely crafted that I can’t bring myself to go ‘off script’ for fear that I will fail to find those exact words previously chosen to represent my idea.  So my plan is to limit the use of my computer in preparation to the compilation of images, only allowing myself to write notes about my ideas, not a whole essay!

And now I’ve made that declaration in public, I’m going to have to stick to it. 

The UTAS forums are public events, so come along to the lecture room in the main building of the Inveresk campus at 12.30 if you are interested.  I will also be presenting a public floor talk during the day on Thursday 17th April at St Patrick's College. More details about that when available.

I usually find that being forced to articulate my thoughts about my work helps me to better make the links and understand it myself.  Yesterday I had a chat with the filmmaker who is coming to film me next week as part of a short documentary about the AIR program and I found even just that short conversation beneficial.  Next week I plan to prepare a blog post that will attempt to explain this preoccupation I’ve been having with teabags.  For now though I will admit that I have moved on from books as previously alluded to, and offer up this clip as a hint of the path I am now firmly settled upon.