updated tumblr look

I was happy with the previous blog layout, but fancied a change with the new year. I also like the idea of a single column as being less distracting/ overwhelming to look at. As ever, the priority was with minimalism. http://mollyfairhurst.tumblr.com

MA options

A while ago I had a helpful discussion with Matt about MAs and the options/ benefits of them.

1: DIY

• free, just be an artist
• demands a certain level of focus, and consciousness about your own work, as well as self-criticism
• it's essentially just continuing your practice, but must make sure you do it in a continually thoughtful way. Maybe there are periods of time where this is more intense and less commercially based. Maybe these can involve artist residencies.

2: Part Time

• ability to complete an MA alongside work- financial benefits but also doesn't take you out of the industry if you've already got your foot in

3: Go hard or go home

• the big guns, RCA, Konstfack etc
• with the prestige they get you can only hope that they are worthy, and will open your eyes to the best artistic experience...
• you will be surrounded by the 'cream of the crop'... inevitably getting a foot in the door but I wonder how much this relies on ALREADY knowing people too
• ££££££££££
• very hard to get in!

Overall, I realise an MA isn't something I want to shoot for just yet. I don't feel particularly ripe in my ideas or work, but I think I need to develop myself further before committing money to another period of education. My main reason for doing one is for the environment in which I can think about my work, but there is definitely the added benefit also of being recognised academically / to teach. 

With the money and time that would be invested, I need to be SURE that it is something I want to do- or rather, it is the right time and place.

Hannah Waldron talk

I enjoyed Waldron's work visually/ thematically but mostly it was the thought processes behind them that got me thinking.

• Using illustration/ image making as a research tool is something I've started to really think more about recently. Personally, I think it makes for much stronger and informed work, but sometimes when it is more abstract or this research isn't so clear, I wonder how much it is picked up on viewers/ clients. Does this matter?
• Waldron's examination of science and facts in subjective, artistic ways is VERY interesting to me.
• On the other (science) hand, Waldron treats her work quite scientifically, investigating colour and composition in quite a scientific/ theoretical way. I wonder if I should look at that more- and wonder if my work has become too instinctual.
• I noted and admired her work ethic, particularly with media selections that can often take a long time to use. She also mentioned how artists should allow their media to inform their decisions (Brancusi, The Thinking Hand) and this also resonated with me, as I start to examine relinquishing control in my visual practice.
• Following that, the idea of limiting yourself (i.e. colour palettes etc) when investigating a new tool is a good and interesting idea! I think it is helpful to also re-limit yourself to once again re-examine what you do.
• Showing (gallery-type) work outside of the gallery space feels relevant, as someone who has been looking at galleries for the past two years in COP! It's good to see artists actually discuss this- and it wasn't even so much about the intrinsic hierarchies and inaccessibility of these establishments, but rather just making the work be its best. That was nice.

• Textiles as response to poetry! ART FEEDS ART! (though look outside too). It was interesting to see such a big project based on one single poem. It suggests that, (for extended practice), a starting point does NOT have to be big.

• To me, some of the work Waldron was making feels like a less traditional method of illustration, if not illustration at all. Maybe because of its environment, but this was noted before she went into great detail about exhibitions. I think dismissing labels can sound blasé, but at the same time the label of illustration is feeling increasingly pointless. Sometimes I think things are labelled illustration for their style above anything, regardless of their contexts.  

recent live briefs reflection/ notes

My last two live briefs, a feature in Forge Art Magazine and a print for PRESS fundraiser have both been really open briefs with an opportunity to make something that could be quite self-indulgent, or RATHER, an opportunity to examine my tone of voice in working and really make something that showcases 'ME'. This was particularly important in the Forge feature as it is, after all, a magazine about showcasing new creatives.

I don't know how I really identify what I make without it just coming naturally. I suppose my interest at the minute in my working are

• emotion
• narrative

But 'emotion', to me, certainly doesn't have to mean gloomy. It's more a visceral(?) thing?

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At this point I think I need to get my head back in the game of working to tighter briefs too, but right now COP is a huge priority and these briefs have happened to come up with sooner deadlines too. At this point, I have accepted that I'll have to sacrifice some work I would have liked to have done for Extended Practice over Christmas in favour of COP (writing and practical), but the ideas are there and they are brewing and not forgotten...