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Thats it, just had my assessment and it went really well...the relief ! Now I shall relax a bit and spend a bit of time with my friends and family who I tend to neglect during college time.

Paperworks

An exhibition 'Paperworks' at the Civic Centre in Barnsley is on until Friday 26th August and features many renowned artists from the UK and abroad. Not only is the work in paper, cut and folded into many different pieces it is also pulped and manufactured into vessels and sculpture. The gallery is in the town centre and admission is free. The staff were only too pleased to talk about the individual artists and their background. I really enjoyed how each artist using the same material could produce such diverse work from beautiful jewellery to large hand cut hangings. It is well worth a visit. There is also another gallery just around the corner: The Cooper Gallery. Barnsley seems to have made a major effort on improving the town and its regeneration really impressed me.

www.barnsleycivic.co.uk 01226 327 000 for details.

Thursday 16 th June.

The 6 mile trek in Dovedale where many older walkers ( 70+ish) decked out with all the 'gear' were whizzing past me smiling and joyful clutching compasses and maps, quite embarrassing really... so I would always take out my camera, look as if I wasn't the least bit puffed or tired when they approached and click away until they had passed by. After returning home feeling reasonably okay the shock of descending the three flights of stairs to the kitchen next morning for my cup of tea can only be described two words ... a nightmare; my calves felt like huge walnuts and every step was an indication that I definitely need to return to the gym ... before it is too late.

I have made my decision regarding tonight ... and it is going to be college. Eva Rothschild would have been great but I love to see the college with such an atmosphere, everyone appreciating the work on show ... and its a chance to see some of my peers and tutors as well before everyone breaks for the summer.

My blog will continue over the summer, although, I know at times I tend to ramble about things not linked in the least to my art but I do rather enjoy it and it really helps to look back on my older posts and my thoughts at that time. It is a diary, I suppose of my experiences during my degree course as a mature student and a way of reminiscing at a really special time for me. Having found myself in a position to study full time it will be interesting for me to look back on this time in my life and a blog is by far the easiest way I can do that.

The Peak District.

Photographs were taken yesterday during a 6 mile walk in Dovedale near Ashbourne in the Peak District. An area with spectacular rock formations of limestone emerging dramatically from a rich, green landscape so beautiful I was speechless at times. This is an area new to me and one that has really provoked ideas. These caves were so beautiful; limestone worn away into such amazing forms, white, silver, charcoal grey contrasted with lichen and tiny plants growing in the crevices.

Hepworth was influenced by the Yorkshire landscape that she saw from the window of her father's car; undulating hills and forms. I felt like that yesterday; natural forms carved by years of wear and the movement over centuries. I am drawn by form; curves, archways from delicate structure to huge formations... and then the textures. I could have spent a whole day just taking photographs and sketching. Influences are all around in the landscape and this area was brimming with them. It was a very good 4 days!

Memories.

Oh 2010 Latex, cheesecloth 214 x 214 x 214 cm.

Down 2008 Plaster and acrylic polymer, polyurethane rigid foam 210 x 69 x 65 cm.

When we visited the Saatchi Gallery I filled in my email address in the usual way so they have records of who the gallery is attracting and can then email invitations to the private view nights and news of any forthcoming artists. Today came news of 'the shape of things to come' an exhibition of up and coming sculptors. I looked on Google and looked at the reviews, one as per usual by Brian Sewell was really interesting/if a bit long. It is unfortunate to be here when I would love to be there.

The Saatchi Gallery was the one that really made an impression on me. The way they show the work in such surroundings was perfect; each smaller gallery was a surprise and the one artist that I can't get stop thinking about was Juliana Cerqueira Leite and the work: Down and Oh. With Down Leite used tons of clay in a large block, burrowed her way inside from the top, scooping out the clay and then eventually the outer layer took on the shapes of feet, toes, elbows, fingers and is so clever. Cast in plaster it is suspended from the ceiling and it is so different from anything I have seen before.

Similarly with Oh a small octagonal room was built 8x8' that had 2 tons of clay inside. By entering through a small hole at the top the clay was scooped out until Leite by holding pencils at arms length and turning around the sphere was eventually formed. The interior was then painted with latex to cast the 'balloon'. Cheesecloth was mentioned but I imagine this is on the inside to had strength. The details given at the side of a piece of work are never enough for me; it was only by reading the guide later that the true essence of what I had seen hit home. This is the same at any exhibition and I am sure most people would like to find out more. Kathryn, who was with me was equally 'taken' with this work.

Exhibition Ends.

The exhibition was taken down today and returned to college. Thanks must go to the group members who took part... it was quite a day! I was indebted to Francine and Val who came to my rescue when I was struggling with pit props, 'normal' size plinths etc etc. I felt my age today.

News re Elaine will come later when I have more facts to blog.

A Double Booking.

It is just typical that in this busy life of mine ... some would smile at that ... but it is the exhibition at my college on Thursday 16 June at 6 pm which I love to go to. It is a chance to see the work of the third year students prior to their show in London in July. But, at the same time Eva Rothschild is in conversation at the Hepworth Gallery at 6.30 pm for £5.00 ... what a quandary I am in.

I saw Rothschild's work for the first time at the opening of the Hepworth. The work is sculptural using a wide range of materials and it has been awarded 4 rooms in the gallery which is an indication of Rothschild's description in the guide as ... ' one of the foremost contemporary sculptors working in the United Kingdom'.

A Very Good Day.

What a fantastic morning... The Hepworth Wakefield. It was so exciting to cross over the footbridge and see Chantry Bridge from the opposite side of the river. Being from Wakefield I was really taken aback by the width of the river and how the gallery seems to emerge from it. The architect David Chipperfield has caused so much controversy with the design of the building that the local papers have been full of complaints about the cost and its box like appearance, people either love it or hate it. I have observed its construction and admit it was a bit of a shock at first...but...after walking across the bridge you are really seeing it for the first time. The river swirls beneath you, the sound of the water adds to the experience and the appreciation of a great building rising up from the river surrounded by industrial buildings that seem to have been given a new lease of life.

It wasn't until I had seen the work on show that I realised how the architect had used the work of Hepworth to reflect the form and power of the building. Both Hepworth and Henry Moore were from Wakefield and their work and friendship is celebrated in the galleries. I have been reading many of Hepworth's books recently so to see her workbench, tools, maquettes and finished sculpture was absolutely incredible. I am captivated by the surfaces; smooth, glossy, gleaming and then in sharp contrast to the textured surfaces on the same piece. My head was swimming with the sheer beauty of it all; plaster, wood, marble, bronze; it is all there. I found the drawings and the examples of how Hepworth constructed using wire mesh, wood, paper etc really interesting. It added to the exhibition and understanding of the practice.

One thing that always fascinates me is reading about their lives and how they interacted with other artists, formed friendships and sometimes homes. During my access course I studied Piet Mondrian who was a great friend of Hepworths and it just makes me smile when I can imagine them together, eating, drinking and discussing their work. It is one of the ongoing delights of art history that gives me a real thrill.

Later the same day I took my Mum to see the exhibition at Crow Nest Park and it was lovely to show her what I have been doing. If only my Dad could have seen it too. She was really impressed with Elaine's work re the Brontes and how it looks in the setting; against the mullion windows and period features of the room. The Park was so busy due to the sunshine and the cafe next door was heaving with people sat outside at the tables, chatting and keeping their dogs apart. It really is a lovely place.

All the work was intact, Xaiou's brilliant dvd was playing; his 'tea dunking machine' and his incredible 'murder of crows' proved a real draw and everything looked just as though it had always been there along with all the other exhibits in the museum. We are due to remove the work next week when the exhibition ends, which we still need to organise as a group, our manager is on holiday in China...again, so we shall just have to manage without him.