Deviled Eggs (e.g personal statement 1st draft)

Bedlam, or at least that's what it feels like when making my work in Fine Art. It's not an unpleasant feeling, on the contrary it can be rather invigorating-even though the definition of the word does not permit such a varied interpretation! Perhaps chaos describes it better, as I collect objects that amuse me and surround myself with them while I work at my studio/parents’ garage in Los Angeles;(I’ve been struggling a bit at the studio in Chelsea because I haven't really been able to "spread" as my father would say). I collect imagery that I find interesting, but I don't often work from it; I find that working from a photograph can be exponentially more challenging then working from the chimera created in my own imagination, because it can be so difficult to extract elements of the image rather then replicating the exact photo in paint-unless that's what is sought after. This is not to say that I never work from source material, just that I try my best to veer away from it whenever possible. Recently I've been reading “Just Kids” by Patti Smith and have found that the way I work is very similar to hers and in some respects Robert Mapplethorpe's way of working (although poetry, collaging and S&M photography in particular, isn't really my cup of tea). Patti often describes her studio as being riddled with drawings, poems and all sorts of eclectic objects, with everything scattered about the room. If you replace poems with an ikea carpet and ceramic pots and beads you have my own space. While reading “Just Kids” I found myself making constant parallels (as one always does with people one admires) between Patti and myself; her love of religious paraphernalia (e.g crucifixes, prayer beads, etc.), of Treasure hunting and Book collecting (a lethal obsession of mine), and even the way she dressed. She also had many other interest besides Fine art, as I do. But rather then the pursuit of poetry and rock and roll, I have the biological sciences; neurology, biology, anatomy, botany, etc. The first book a bought after arriving in London was “The Practical Home Doctor” by a Harley Street Specialist published in the early 20th century. The book is stuffed with Victorian medical remedies and every picture is beautifully rendered. I believe that my obsession with these subjects stems from the extensive collection of medical and biological texts that my parents ferried from country to country-  my early life was quite nomadic. I'm sure that at some point early on  I must picked up one of these weighty hardbacks and it piqued my interest in the biological sciences.Within the realm of visual arts I enjoy doing working with all sorts of media. I don't categorize myself as being say a painter or a sculptor, i find joy in both of them and so much more. I've been known to dabble in painting, ceramics, black and white photography- film not digital, (I have a lot of darkroom experience from my previous school), installation art, printmaking, fashion/textiles, etc. All of which I enjoy very much and would like to continue with throughout my university experience. For this reason I have chosen Fine Art as my BA. I don't recall having many significant aspirations as a child, but the expression "you are what you eat" comes to mind because as an infant I would sit in front of my parent’s bookcase in Warsaw, Poland and shred and eat the dust jackets of any hardback books that I could get my hands on, and it just so happens that most of these books were either artistically or scientifically-related. So i suppose I ate more Monet then Mendel. 

DUNE - trailer

Moyashimon OP

Could have been one of these things first

Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal

Arabian Stew

Fine art pathway proj. uno

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Home (JVTP)

EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS - 40 DAY DREAM LIVE @ THE REGENT

Prawn or shrimp kromeskies

select images

 

Canon PIXMA Bring colour to life The making of video

Victorian Cook Book (i.e. Crossroads II)

So i've thought about this a lot, perhaps more then I would like, because I have a tendency to worry and they tell me worrying isn't healthy. But I've come to the conclusion that, well, I'm standing on the wall between Fine Art and Fashion/Textiles. To be more precise my body's leaning markedly towards Fine Art  but with one leg still stuck in Fashion/Textiles. The reason for this indecisive leg is that I just can't help thinking that a career in the realm of Fashion and Textiles would be fascinating and rewarding (in more ways than one), and I would like to think that I have a certain flair for accessory design (but you must tell me if I'm being delusional here).I recall my interview for University of the Arts London where they advised me to choose Chelsea and Textiles, but, and this is where the rest of my body hangs, i do love the idea of Fine Art. I like the freedom of never having to choose one medium to focus on, and of not being in an over-structured environment (put that down to my authority issues etc). I also found that during the rotations I was deeply missing the smell of oil paint, the dry red hands i would have after throwing in Ceramics and the excitement of seeing your little plastic reel of film turn into pictures in the developer (which smells like sulfur by the way; so I suppose smells are very important to me). These are things that I wouldn't be able to do in Textiles, and that worries me. 

I do find solace in the fact that I may not have to select the same BA as the subject I choose to focus on for the next few months in Foundation year, but nevertheless I really want to pick wisely. Before the Area Talks I was more than sure of what I was going to pick, and although I enjoyed the Fashion/Textiles rotation the most out the all the rotations (even Fine Art) I was still convinced that Fine Art was for me and that I couldn't imagine life without it. But oh those Area Talks! They may have clarified that I absolutely didn't want to do  3 Dimensional Spatial Design or Visual Communications, but unfortunately the same cannot be said of Fashion/Textiles. Instead of clarifying my preference for Fine Art they caused the practical part of my brain to spin into action and I began to think about careers, not just making Art. While the Fine Art talk confirmed all my beliefs about the subject, it didn't help resolve my dilemma. In my Arts High School in Los Angeles I was lucky enough to do all the major subjects (Fashion, Textiles, Painting, Ceramics, Black and White Photography, Printmaking, etc, etc.) and as a result i have a good idea about all of them; so I can't help feeling a little feeble for not being able to be more steadfast in my choice. So I'm really hoping that you can help me make the decision. Conceivably of course we could always flip a coin and see if I feel uneasy with the side it lands on? All I can safely say is that I would not like to take a course in Paper sculpting, I think I may have done enough of that for the rest of my life!

ROLY-POLY

More Textile/Fashion

CARMELITE EGGS

Pictures of me wearing a sculpture from Fashion/Textiles:

This one is a bit scary, I admit.