That is the question…

It’s tempting to run away with ideas of further education – I’ve enjoyed this course so much and the research paper helped to explain a lot of things to me and gave me clarity in my practice. It is something that I would like to explore at a deeper level but is now or the imminent future the right time to think about it?

Aside from the commitment of time and the issue of funding, I think that rather than rushing out and trying to find a replacement for the course, I need to learn to practise and function in its absence. I need to focus on continuing to build sustainability into my practice in how, when and where I make. That’s not to say that there isn’t any space for personal development – there is and, as I mentioned to Jonathan in my last tutorial, I would like to improve my skills in a number of areas in terms of photography and film-making, and there are also some printing processes that I would like to explore. I will, of course, continue broadening my knowledge by reading and visiting exhibitions. But for now, it’s sorting out the physical location, carrying on implementing flexible time management (which seems to be working quite well at the moment), and thinking about issues such as building a website and maintaining my Instagram aacount.

I’m also going to carry on submitting work to open calls – since being on the course I have carried on my tradition of applying to the RA’s Summer Exhibition, unsuccessfully. I don’t think that I actually had any aspiration of being accepted; it was more a case of wanting to keep experiencing the feeling of rejection to make me resilient. I used to feel deflated but now I don’t really feel anything anymore, except perhaps regret at paying the submission fee. The only success I’ve had is with ING Discerning Eye last year, but even that had its own issues.