intergenerationaltraumaexpressedthroughpaper

I've been playing with the scan created at kings after a synthetic anatomy session - very odd to see a 3D rendering of my head looking back at me. When these become our ID 'card' it will be challenged at first. The 3rd session of synthetic anatomy was all about communication, starting off by exploring symbols and graphic devices within patterns, then illustrating text with shapes and sculptural paper construction, creating creatures which led to families, touching on genetics and finally landscape building, the engagement with the process was all encompassing, developing work that was truly meaningful. Still getting over the group who created a body of work which focused on intergenerational trauma. They created one of the most striking images to come out of a workshop I have given, along with some thoughtful reflection throughout the whole group. Meanwhile onto screens Plane - it was what you expect from an action thriller staring Gerard Butler. Deep into season 2 of Hacks - truly hilarious in a painful way. 

oldschoolartschoolthinking

A wonderful day working at Kings – reflective old-school art school thinking and values transposed into a science context led to some fantastic conversations and revelations for all parties. After the workshops we went onto talk about the possibilities of collaboration – I’m working on some structures that explore the forces within themselves and focus on the act of control. These fit with and in some way mimic the functionality found within the roof plate model and explore the stretching morphology of the structure. There is some interesting work ahead. The first session with Double Elephant was so positive and open and welcoming, sharing more lateral thinking and creative problem-solving ways of thinking. Onto screens – deep into season 3 of Ozarks – dark as ever, watching the impending doom of anyone who encounters the Byrde’s. The Nest had potential and yet was slow, maybe that was the point. My latest favourite YouTube music channel - My Analog Journal is a place that explores rare grooves from around the world on vinyl. It’s also an insight into DJs private spaces - https://www.youtube.com/c/MyAnalogJournal/videos a particular favourite is a House & Detroit Techno vinyl mix by the cute couple Sol Ortega & E110101 both the music and their set up. 

workonthebraincontinues

work on the brain continues - this 3D print is the negative space within the head - the folds. interesting to take it apart and to see how the making relates to the function.

meanwhile everybody in the art world will know somebody within The Meyerowitz Stories http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5536736/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

spaceofabasketbook

After an interesting week at NUA where rooms of nervous individuals wielding black folders were to be found talking about possible futures - (yes interviews are underway) the work at Kings on synthetic anatomy continues.....meanwhile ..... today was another great day at Kings - consisting of numerous elements which including getting to grips with new software and the physical process of 3D printing. Pushing a material till it fails is always interesting and making a piece that explored the space of a book was the first of today's questioning of systems and a way of investigating materials. The next print will be of a brain that will explore the interconnectedness within it and create support structures that look like basketwork - maybe 3D printing is a textile activity and our department at Norwich should have one. Shelley James and Andrew Carnie ran a very professional workshop that looked at measuring, mapping and communicating. Making  great connections with my own and Celia's previous workshops. I loved the rules and general set up. It enabled the students to find their inner storytelling skills. Feedback and sharing at the end of the session seems very normal activity within a art education situation and an experience that is familiar but its excellent to watch students unfamiliar with this truly engage with the process and be genuinely interested in each others work.

Woody Harrelson does a great job in LBJ but maybe you have to be American to actually care http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4778988/?ref_=nv_sr_1 Phantom Thread is just so beautiful it melts your eyes and the acerbic tone of the actors is just chillingly brilliant when in dialogue with each other. "The tea may be gone but the interruption is still here" is one of my favourite http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5776858/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 and then there is Justice League - a bit like a CGI infused A team.

brainpowermakingbrains

I checked out the latest show at Annka Kultys Gallery which is by Bob Bicknell-Knight and all about how the internet is both presenting, mirroring and simultaneously driving us all to hell. Meanwhile the steep learning curve that is 3D printing is going well. I managed to print a brain with the two colour printer where the foundation struts are a different colour. The imagery within the program is probably more interesting that the actual objects, although there is an abstract magic around making real the virtual which I am sure I will never fail to be amused/amazed by. In the drawing workshop I redrew and then printed a 3D version using the medical scanning software of a blind-left-hand-15-second-drawing (yes the drawing workshop was a wonderful 'oldskool' art school session). Which was odd and infused with possibilities.

So this happened - on Saturday night I found myself walking away from an art auction for Bank arts in Eye with an Abigail Lane print! Meanwhile wonder http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543472/ is truly beautiful and heart wrenchingly, obvious and a well worn journey but still quite lovely.  

drawdrawdrawandyouwillsee

Fridays are all about Synthetic Anatomy, although learning and working with new software to be able to create 3D pieces has been my obsession this week in between the gaps of general teaching, running a smocking and pleating workshop for BA students, a folding workshop for MA students, interviewing prospective students for Textile Design BA, briefing the last unit for the current year 3 on the Textile Course at Norwich, tutorials for year 2 OCA Fine Art students, seeing The Comforter by the wonderful (you will laugh you will cry) Stacy Makishi https://www.artsadmin.co.uk/artists/stacy-makishi at the glorious Norwich Arts Centre which was really fantastic and then finally tweaking designs for planning committee for the Goldlay Square commission.

This Friday at Kings the afternoon session was run by Celia Pym.  http://celiapym.com/  Life drawing. If you ever need a drawing workshop I cannot recommend her more highly. The level of serious fun and energy in the room (for 2 hours) was awesome. The medical students went from 'this is a laugh', which it was, to taking the whole thing very seriously as they became focused and realised that drawing is not so easy and needs practice and a way of thinking to develop your skills. The drawing techniques and rules that engaged in by the students were so relevant to thinking about anatomy and 3D printing. 

brainblowingaboutbrains

the synthetic anatomy project at Kings continues to blow my mind...today I have seen a video of an opera singer awake and actually singing whilst having a brain operation where they turned his ability to sing off with electric probes. I was moved to tears. This on top of engaging with medical software imaging that I is a fairly steep learning curve, holding a chicken foetus, learning that monkey brains are smoother, making sense of grey and white brain matter and the concept behind CAT scanning. Next it's engaging with the software that interfaces with the 3D printer whilst developing my understanding of anatomy by working with brain data sets. My session today was a mixture of the brutal delivery of atypical material in a unfamiliar context but tempered by amazing amounts of good natured engagement. I hope that the students can take some of the ideas on board and make use of the lateral thinking skills embedded within the workshop. 

fullonvirtualheartsurgery

Work wise it's been a full on week, the process of planning permission is underway at Chelmsford so should hopefully, maybe start making work soonish.  Assessment time at NUA  is an immersive exercise and takes all sorts of energy but it's exciting to spend quality time with the work submitted. Tutorials with OCA students has been wonderfully creative. They are taking on the huge task of challenging their working patterns to create new work within a new context, testing boundaries. For my part I have been made aware of a huge range of new work and ideas alongside providing advice and support. Synthetic anatomy has seen me attempting to take on board learning 3D medical imaging software. It's a steep curve but awesome - working on the heart virtually is fairly mind blowing - can't wait to try and 3D print my efforts. The end of the f***ing world is a great road movie coming of age season - watched it all, 8 episodes in one go - yea that compelling http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6257970/ Gilbert and George at White Cube - what to say - I loved the sign warning of bad language outside, although fucking became so oblivious that it ceased to actually have the impact it can have in isolation. Its Condo in London time http://www.condocomplex.org/london/ so decided to check out a few spaces in the east end - loved the nipping from space to space festival vibe

busybusyanatomybuilding

A busy week ahead with year 3 assessments at NUA, OCA tutorials for Testing Boundaries and general activity such as workshops - Hybrid thinking/construction is at the core of this session. You will be beginning to think about construction. You will be exploring where book becomes pleat and folding becomes smocking. You will of started off making simple smocking techniques, pleating and book experimental book structures. Needles, thread, paper and cloth will be provided. Meanwhile day 1 contact with students as part of the synthetic anatomy project at Kings was excellent. The energy in the room was so positive and solutions to bridge building and subsequent presentations were full of learning and thinking that will go on to support the project later.  some films - Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri is a remarkable film - it takes the viewer on an extraordinary journey that can't be guessed http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5027774/ Mark Felt: The Man who brought down the White House is a film full of very dramatic swirling enigmatic music that includes references to telephones and telecommunication in general whilst pointing out the obvious imagery on screen. Man with an iron heart is a down the line but not exactly word for actual historical fact of Nazi action in WW2. 

outcomesfromincomes

How small is nano? Was a question I was constantly asked when working at The Maxwell Centre in Cambridge. The answer was always contextualised with something from the real world as nano scale is almost beyond comprehension. This was usually human hair which is approximately 100,000 nanometers wide. As a reminder of this fact I grew my hair for the duration of the project. It is now over and I am left with a giant hair ball which in some ways explores the idea of scale. There were many outcomes from the project including a number of artists books. It was really great that Sarah Bodman chose using a known to make an unknown to be in her top ten artist books of the year - thank you.  https://www.a-n.co.uk/news/artists-books-2017-10-best-noise-alphabet-rearranged-romance

The Synthetic anatomy project at Kings is moving along - lots of thoughts around reflective thinking and how to support individuals who don't supposedly engage in the process. The aim is to develop the skills needed to create a reflective journal as part of a 'changing classrooms' initiative. But most individuals engage in the act of reflection when making choices based on experience so the challenge shouldn't be too great.

Finally looking at the range of upcoming booked leisure activities in the diary - The Berlin Art Biennale, tickets to flight of the conchords at the O2 and Titus Andronicus at The Barbican and then the glorious pantomime at The Wolsey in Ipswich, this year Red riding hood....nothing but eclectic.

thinkingenvironmentsaregoodforyou

an excellent 2 days in London - yesterday at Camberwell was all about making and thinking with year 2 and work-shopping  an idea I have been working with 'science' people on - diagramming and visualising in 3D ones thinking. It was an interesting session and like the best teaching I learnt a lot about how a project can be re-imagined through the creation of new tools. The afternoon was the crit of the first project with the new year 1 - there was some great starting points and wonderfully creative thinking that will support the development of their practice.

today was all about creative thinking at Kings with excellent science (medical) people and artists working on developing the 3D synthetic teaching module. it really is such a fantastic pleasure to be in the room with thinking people surrounded by gloriously splendid stuff such as ape skeletons and octopus - if only I could document the vast shelves of body parts to show!

managed to see Everything at once - the Lisson show at 180 Strand - a mixed bag but there are some gems - we obviously love most if not all of the Lisson artists, the gallery has been a go-to space since I was a student. so we have Cory Arcangel, Lawrence Weiner and Dan Graham. Anish Kapoor pulls off a beautiful illusion of space, Rodney Grapham's film Vexation Island is just very oddly bizarrely darkly funny but highlights are Ryoji Ikeda - the room is just digitally alive, Susan Hiller's hypnotic room of TV's and then there is the tightly edited film by Arthur Jafa on the roof, the experience of which is itself a gem - the view is eclectic. 

I then found myself in the middle of the incident at Covent Garden - very strange - I turned around to see a black cab travelling around road works colliding with a white van which  hits a pedestrian and crosses the road and ploughs into more people on pavement, sort of within more road works. so it's all fairly calm and people are tending to those knocked over until a film unit with lights starts filming then people watch that and a lot of police arrive and shouting then more police then more arrive running now police cars and a lot of sirens then you appear to be surrounded by police as people sort of get on with getting home or going out the area around the crash is cordoned off and then the anti-terrorist police arrive then the helicopter then the cordon gets wider lots more shouting and which point I decide to cycle off. any other time it would of passed off as an accident and we would of gone on about our business  but I guess we live in 'other' times.