Thursday at 11.39pm.

One word...shattered!!!
I have been hammering away at pieces of lead playing around with shapes all day and my back is killing me; stood up all day brandishing a hammer is not the most relaxing of pastimes but thinking about it a friend of mine, Tracy who was an avid fan of cross stitch broke her wrist through constantly doing it.
I made a small child's shoe out of lead....just wanted to see if I could pound the lead thin to begin with to resemble old, worn leather. The process made me realise just how delicate lead can become and therefore its uses, its only downside is it is so heavy and although easy in a small piece anything larger than 6" x 12" can be hard to work.

'Lead' lead the way.

This photograph is the display case at the museum re coal mining. Very basic protection that was worn; boots, helmet and knee pads tied on with leather straps. The tiny snap box and its shape interested me and having purchased a good strip of lead I wondered what I could do with it. I decided to concentrate on the knee pads which were the exact shape that lead forms when beaten on the leather pad with a wooden mallet. It forms a natural curve; the shape of our knee.

During our Weds workshop day I began work on them and quickly saw some good results. Lead is full of surprises; it varies in malleability but needs such a lot of bashing to become soft enough to manipulate which is very tiring. I have driven everyone mad with the constant banging.

Tuesday 7.15am.

Yesterday was a good day, we visited the Dewsbury Museum to look at the rooms once again and discuss on site possible new ideas for placement of our work and just a useful exercise for us all.
The sun was shining, the daffodils and hyacinths scented the air and we were all in a good mood. I tried to imagine the night of our private view when guests will wonder around the house looking at our work and sipping their drinks. The house although now a museum has still retained it's beautiful interior with the original plasterwork and fireplaces which definitely add to it's charm and feeling of intimacy.

Today, Tuesday was really busy; I plan to cut my pit props to fit up against the wall which I know will be tricky to do. It was! You can see from the image that it is holding up a piece of plaster which is in front of a wood wedge.
Steve was a great help...pit props are heavy plus it was difficult due to the other students coming in and out. It really was trial and error. I am confident the result will 'have 'something, my interpretation of coal mining and the wealth it brought to the area. A prop!

Sunday morning.

Absolutely full of cold again, can't breathe, blocked nose, coughing but I need to start work on the coal asap. The clocks were altered last night so what I thought was 9am is actually 10am so I need to get moving now. It seems so long ago that I could spend Sunday morning browsing the papers, drinking coffee...just being lazy really.

8pm and totally shattered. I hate being blocked up, not being able to breathe up my nose. This proved a nightmare when working with the coal at the bottom of the garden today...what with wearing goggles and a face mast I felt ghastly. The neighbours must have wondered what the hell I was doing. By 5 pm my face was totally black and coal dust was everywhere but I am pleased with what I achieved.

I had to look at the shape of each piece individually before deciding what to do. Some were obvious but mostly I smoothed one side first using my new sander. The coal seems to be either very hard or very crumbly so it is trial and error to achieve anything good.
The idea of Whitby Jet but in a very understated way was behind what I tried today and I did manage to get some reasonably good facets.
I want to have some areas as it was when it came out of the earth; very textured, dull black or very shiny in contrast to the worked areas which are very smooth but angular in places.
My face and hair were 'jet' black, not a pretty sight but it was worth it.

Friday 6.15pm.

Already on the sofa: Relocation, Relocation on the TV, have seen it ! Cup of tea in a china cup and a bag of cheese n onion crisps, bliss !
Unfortunately I am full of cold again so the sofa and I are an item for the night...nothing too energetic for me tonight except for lifting my large glass of red later.

I am glad to get this week out of the way; it has been a bit of a learning curve...a realisation of where I can go wrong and do. I enjoy the work at college so much that when starting a new module I can go off doing ...... lots of different things instead of keeping to one idea and seeing where I can go with it. For example; I was working with coal, had begun by carving into a piece of it, with some success but a cloud of coal dust in the air stopped me and my brain from realising that this was something worth exploring; instead I liked it but couldn't stop myself going onto something else.
What I ought to have done was get another piece of coal, gone outside ( coal dust cloud and losing friends in studio ) or seen if the workshop was open again, trying out what else I could do.
Within a couple of hours I had wrapped a small flat shiny piece of coal in a thin layer of lead; another tangent but I did like the contrast of the lead against the coal.

Crows Nest Park but more importantly the house set inside it was once owned by the Hague family who owned many mines in the area. Before coal mining was regulated anyone who had land could start up a mine and employ whoever they wanted to work there. The wealth that the mining industry brought to the area along with textiles and glass production gave the family the wealth to extend the house and landscape the gardens giving it the grandeur that resonates still.

Miles of tunnels underneath the landscape and images of the dark, eerie conditions in sharp contrast to the opulence above.

One of the best days ever!

Today I conquered a fear of going underground at the Mining Museum in Middlestown. I have been very lucky to obtain coal to be used in my sculpture from the workings carried out to extend the tunnels underground. I had a guided tour of the surface with Keith Neale who was really helpful in understanding my ideas for work.
If I am doing a project re coal for our exhibition then it was necessary for me to experience what it is like underground...so... I asked Kathryn a fellow student to come with me for support and so she could see it as well. We booked an early appointment and I tried not to think about what I was about to do. The cage door slammed shut and down it went. Keith and Kathryn were reassuring me all the time and I actually stayed very calm in the cage and admit to enjoying it as it descended to the bottom. It proved to me that I can conquer my fears if I really have to...and I did, so to say I was pleased with myself is an understatement. I emerged from the cage with a smile on my face and as I looked around me my astonishment took over. The first sensation was the atmosphere, so still and calm, fairly warm and very dry. I found it relaxed me.

To see the amount of wood everywhere; not just the props that I had expected but the tunnels were crammed with it; planks, sleepers, wedges of all shapes and sizes but the ceilings were lined with it in the really old workings. It was the textures, the rough edges, the age, thoughts of the miners who put it there without the tools that are used today. It gave me a real understanding of the conditions that they had to work in; cramped, hot, dirt everywhere, but with no quick escape if something went wrong. We walked through the tunnels, sometimes stooping, glad of the helmet on our head and carrying the torch that we shone around so we could capture the best images.

The ultimate image that was all around was the brute force, the pressure needed to keep the earth back; it was all about that. Men inching further in but having to physically respect the earth that wanted to fall in and the difficulty in stopping it doing that. It was a bit precarious in places but worth it. Keith was constantly talking, telling us exactly what we were looking at but we had been allowed to go down in the cage before the school trip so we had to keep moving fairly quickly.

It was one of the best experiences I have had and everyone was so nice to us. We then enjoyed a roast pork dinner complete with apple pie and cream in the restaurant which was absolutely gorgeous. My diet was put on hold but I felt that I ought to reward myself with something for my bravery. I will go down again without a problem...get you Ann all smug!

An interesting day.

Had to take a photograph of myself into college today of when I was little ( those were the days ) no I jest; when I was young. I found one of me at about 3years, with a coy expression ( Eve's observation and correct ) The images were sized up using Photoshop.We had to leave one in the original format but then did a second one using half tone in blue, green, or burgundy. I chose green. Then they are digitally printed onto fabric.

This took longer than expected and then we changed to the normal timetable, for me the 3D workshop. Now we have finished our work re Typography we can make something that may or may not be included in our exhibition.
As per usual instead of saying ' I'm going to spend a few minutes to think about it' to Richard when he asked of my intention re work I prattled on with ideas. Big mistake!

Sometimes you just have to mull it over; think about our conversation, relive it and try very hard to understand his point of view and what he was trying so very hard to get over to me. I admit the fog had come in so it was a long chat we had together...I feel happy to announce the fog took a while to clear ( overnight )! but I have come out of it much clearer and yes the penny dropped veeeery slooowly.

The outcome; a better me with a strange feeling of calmness.

Sunday

Its 4pm and I'm once again sat looking at my laptop researching coal for my sculpture.There is a plethora of information about coal mining including miners tales of their lives down the pit. It is very interesting to imagine what it must have been like working underground in such conditions but also the feeling of the camaraderie of the miners, the faith and trust they had to have in each other.
I must try to muster up the courage, this will sound silly, but I will have to if I want to see it for myself... Underground!

I have my pit props, wedges and coal but if I want to do the job properly then I shall have to suffer for my art and take the.............. plunge. Very funny!

John ( my previous tutor ) once said he felt slightly panicky on entering the cage, hearing it slam shut before it descended to the bottom of the shaft. I am obviously aware of that thought which does not help.

Thanks John.

Friday.

This is part of my typography work; an Helvetica B cut out using the laser cutter in the workshop. A thin plywood was used which has a good colour and showed up the scorch mark left by the laser. I chose a B due to it having both curves and straights which would give a good image when photographed. It can be arranged in so many different ways to show the 3d effect using the black edges to exaggerate the positioning.

It is a piece of work I am very proud of and yet the work was minimal due to the laser but it was carefully planned, measured and the outcome was better than I could have predicted. It is also very tactile; wood has so many qualities that I like.

Typeography and Bookie Wookie.

Typography and Bookie Wookie; 2 workshop projects done on Wednesdays either in the Print workshop for the 2D group or 3D, like me in the 3D workshop or plaster room.

The work is very different from person to person, each having developed their own style of work. Our group luckily has never had any problems communicating with each other,we can discuss everything which is necessary when working out the details of exhibiting art. It is much harder than any of us thought it would be and great dialogue is needed when agreeing the right place for the work. We are reasonably good at what we do but are a bit apprehensive about taking risks with our work. Perhaps because typography and books are themselves rooted in our psyche as fairly small our work is not any bigger than a sheet of A1 or in my piece in the shape of an 'L' about 1 metre high; the size was dictated by the size of the circuit boards I used which all seemed to be about the same size.

The letter L stands for ' listen' hence the circuit board idea. I am pleased with it; it is quite colourful with brightly coloured wires sticking out everywhere. My intention is to have it little light bulbs inside it which is why the base is left bare for access. Here it is exhibited in the gallery space high up positioned on a ledge.

Richard said something today which really had me thinking; during our discussion re our feeling of trepidation when trying something a little more 'out of the box', he said "No-one owns sculpture" hence why have doubts over what it is or is it worthy of being called 'sculpture'...he is right! We set our own boundaries as human beings so why not be a bit more playful with ideas and see what happens.

Tuesday.

A slight deviation from coal; on Wednesdays we have a workshop day with Richard. For our project 'Bookie Wookie' we had to produce work influenced by books and this image is obviously a book [ 50p from the library] dipped in plaster, then by adding more and more very slowly over the sides a thicker, interesting surface is formed. When dry it could be carved or sanded to give an interesting surface. Plaster is one of my favourite materials, I just wish the setting time was a bit longer. I love the effect of fragility that it gives to the pages but yet the cover has references to something on a plinth in a museum! It was a good day, I love not being too sure of the outcome.

Monday again.

You can't beat driving to college with a light frost on the ground and the sun just beginning to shine. It's an hours journey to college so there's plenty of time to think and plan my day. After my conversations on Friday with Eve and Richard I am confident to go with my instincts and do what I had in mind. My sculpture will depict in a very subtle way the coal mining industry, it is the simplification of my thoughts and sketches that is what I now enjoy. The pair of pit props I was donated will have reference to the silent world underneath the house; the miners toiling away so the big house on the hill can prosper and grow rich.

This now seems like a very fast change in me when I look back to September 2009 and the ' Fat Cat ' sculpture I did on the access course. I liked it but now it is a prime example of what I was back then; someone who over did it totally. It's funny but I was really proud of it at the time. If I had to do it again it would now look totally different....a subtle hint of a message about the bankers and the greed not everything including the kitchen sink.
So...that's progress! and a great experience. The 'Fat Cat' now sits in the garage gathering dust and tut tuts from me.

I suppose it is all the research into other artists, the galleries I have wondered around, listening and just developing naturally but just the sheer enjoyment of being able to spend my time doing what I enjoy, surrounded by my peers, having fun and sharing ideas with each other. Brilliant.

A good day.

A meeting today with Eve re 'writing a report', so more to do over the next week. Our group all get on well so we talk everything over and that helps to make sure we all know what we are doing. Not long to go so everyone is concentrating on working hard for the exhibition. I had a tutorial with Eve and Richard which really helped me to just carry on going with my instinct and really just having the confidence to explore my ideas.

One of those mornings.

You know those days when things just do not go right, today is one of them! I have spent all morning working with coal...trying to create ideas for sculpture. It is a beautiful material when you really look at it. When you gently chisel into the layers the coal opens up and reveals the most interesting surfaces and colours: shiny black, beige's, burnt sienna type shades, really exciting!
Our exhibition is getting nearer...so the ideas I have, sketches, balsa wood ideas and photographs etc now need to be transformed into actual ' work'. My chosen subject is coal; the museum at Crow Nest already has some exhibits re coal. Having been successful in begging a sack of coal- of good quality [ Anthracite] and two original pit props which are really interesting; one is very old and has great colour and texture and the other is much newer. I now have everything I need to produce something interesting.

Having seen coal carvings before I just wanted to have a try and find out just how the surface can be altered and by using an engraving tool I achieved some pleasing results,however, the dust cloud I produced that settled on the surrounding studio spaces didn't go down very well and it isn't always possible to get into the workshops.

My sculpture will try to break down to a minimum the message I wish to convey; it will have subtle visual hints of the history of coal mining but in a contemporary way.

Thursday.

During our visit to the Saatchi Gallery in London this exhibit was spellbinding; 20:50 1987 by Richard Wilson has been shown in various other galleries until a room was specially built to occupy it at the Saatchi. It is completely breathtaking and very disorientating. The reflection of the windows on the surface and the huge piece of metal breaking the reflection is only eclipsed by the realisation that it is actually a huge vat of thick, black engine oil [ its type 20:50 ] its surface totally indelible until you give it a slight blow. I absolutely loved it.

Sunday

Having made several visits to the Mining Museum at Middlestown taking photographs and making sketches I was really impressed with the gallery that just deals with the use of children down the mines; some aged 4 and 5 working in tunnels 18" high. It really 'got' to me. They had to drag along baskets full of coal tied to a piece of wood that covered their shoulders. The literature for sale in the shop has some useful images that provoked ideas.

I have to decide how my work will fit into the exhibition venue, not just from a size point of view but also with the ambiance of the building.

Using some balsa wood I made a pit trolley that may look interesting made in lead. Balsa wood is a really nice way of making shapes from; its so light and easy to cut that there is hardly any mess...no complaints from anyone...and when photographed can be any size you want it to be. The basket idea could also be in lead, my model was very quick to make using cardboard. I could cut strips of lead quite easily...mmm ideas. I wondered about using wood but that would just end up looking like a copy of one with is not my intention.

I purchased a 7 kg piece of lead from my usual supplier on Church St in Ossett who I must remember to show some photographs of my work to. I began trying to beat the lead with various hammers [both wood and rubber] to try to make it thinner and therefore easier to handle. It is so heavy that to manipulate it can be difficult; I found holding one end while I wielded the tool proved precarious. It would fold over and threaten to split which drove me mad. I may have succeeded on a very large workbench with a few helpers. It was so disappointing and waste of a lovely strip of lead which is quite expensive.

Return from London trip.

A great time spent in London.

Still feeling a bit tired from all the walking from gallery to gallery so I decided to found myself reclining on my sofa sifting through that amazing BBCiplayer only to find Rolf Harris looking at Welsh Art re the miners. Another one about the female artist Shani Rhys James, herself an Aussie.
It was a total shock to me, having not recognised the name or any knowledge of her work to find that we had rented her cottage that is next to her studio about 7 years ago in Wales. Rolf was sat with her outside the beautiful cottage we had spent a week in oblivious to the knowledge that she was famous around the world for her paintings; usually self portraits influenced by her childhood up to the age of 9 in Austrailia. One of her paintings was hung in the cottage....7 years ago I wasn't at art college so perhaps I would have reacted differently anyway, but even so what a missed opportunity. One of her larger paintings was hung in the Royal Academy last year.