HELLO back at UCA!
After an encouraging Freshers Week last week, tomorrow morning will see us meet for the first time in our tutor groups. I'm a full-time student for the 1st time in my life (mature, just like good cheese!), feeling strange and still trying not to feel guilty. Who would have thought...?

First impressions of our first week:

Our small group of 3 tried to combine 3 summer mini-project briefs into 1:

Uli's task was to pain a picture of moon, sea and evoking emotions

Mel had to choose a random book page and use the
1st word caught by her eye

Tom had to cut up an image and re-assemble it to a new one.
He did well by pulling all 3 briefs together!

And this was our result: A Scottish (National) Bird

Finally we decorated our new studio space walls in white. A great team exercise which helped to not only get to know new co-students and some of our tutors, but also to get a sense of the space which will house us for the next eight or nine months.

What a busy and excellent end-of-year exhibition we had yesterday! It was amazing how many people came to the campus to see the graduation show as well as our Further Education exhibition. Well done everyone!

This was also the end of our assessment and evaluation period. I've been thinking a lot about the meaning of it all, and decided that I don't really like the word evaluation. It reminds me of e-valuation or the de-valuation of something. How can one assess or evaluate art when a) it is highly subjective and personal, and b) one doesn't really know the journey someone has travelled before the final exhibition piece was finished?

One of the ways I can definitely assess my own journey of the last 9 months is this:

I used at least 12 tubes of glue, more likely 15 or more!

I'm so happy to have seen two words in connection with each other in this week's news: Cornelia Parker and embroidery! Parker took a screen shot of the Magna Carta Wikipedia listing on its 799th birthday last year, divided it into 87 sections and sent it to 200 people around the world for embroidery. The result is a 13-meter hand-stitched work of art, exhibited in the British Library until 24th July.

Artists include the famous and the unknown, prisoners and academics. They are united by their love for embroidery, and it very much reminds of the V&A's Quilts 1700-2010 exhibition. Maybe I should finally finish my 'old' embroidery project over the summer?

It was such a busy week, with a good ending though!
Here are just a few of the amazing works of art to be exhibited, together with their creators:

Jacqueline

Mel

Ian Number 3

Deanna

Bev

The remains of the day

 It's been a privilege to be part of the course!

Productive day today, preparing our studio/classroom area into an exhibition space.

First white...

... more white!

Then making grey...

... in a huge quantity (for 3 floors)!

Great team work, folks!

Last workshop this academic year, especially tailored for the completion of our journals or/and sketch books: printing with foam stencils, taught by the fabulous Sara Wicks!

I was reminded how quick and versatile printing can be. The other lovely quality of this kind of printing is that any 'mistakes' can be corrected, or beautified, by carrying on printing on top of it. So, any accident becomes a new opportunity for something new and creative. Thank you, Sara.

Last, not least: the simple stencil shapes remind me of HAB Grieshaber's prints even though his preferred medium was woodcut. I can see something almost 'primitive' in these shapes and figures, and yet they are very striking and telling a clear story.

It's strange to see one's work in a different context! My 'sphere' looks suddenly small, compared to when it was hanging high up in the studio space. Can I detect a hint of disappointment?