Crash and Burn

Since graduating on Wednesday, I've been sobering up and slobbing. Gertie is with me for the next few weeks picking up some supply teaching while she can. Boy is busy recovering from having his in-grown toenails operated on. The cat is busy teasing her beau next door and sleeping. All in all my household is limping along.

Tomorrow, I've got my interview for the MA in Digital Art and in my usual fashion I've done nothing but think about it. So, rather than get on and prepare my presentation I'm blogging. No change there then.

While having a coffee in my local cafe, I had a brainstorm (no, not a thought-shower) and then I thought I'd run it past you guys, see what you think. I was thinking of setting up another blog, but for it to be dedicated to looking at poetry and bits of prose. So that someone would e-mail me a piece of writing, I'd post it and everyone would comment on it...constructive and useful comments that is. I'd be the moderator, so the site would be troll free. Whatcha think? Anyone interested?

Good Intentions

It's no good. Over the last few months, I have ground to a physical halt. I have done no exercise except walking. Yes, I have put on weight, *mumbles* about half a stone. But it's not that which worries me so much. When I revert to Couch Potato, I find that my system becomes sluggish; my energy levels drop. Everything becomes so much of an effort. Rather than keep with this downward spiral of feeling physically bleugh, I've decided to take up an exercise regime again. Wish me luck. As I have the will power of spaghetti, I will be posting charts, targets, goals all over my flat to keep me motivated.

My regime will occur indoors, behind closed curtains, in the safety of my front room. I've got a good shelf-full of exercise DVDs, I have weights and an exercise mat. It's not that money is such an issue I can't join a gym, though the home exercise route is the cheaper option. It's just that I'm allergic to gyms. They are filled with skinny, fit people, with wide, toothy smiles. I once went to a gym for a course and in the changing room, while I was tying up my hair I saw this woman. Her work-out gear was smothered in labels and she was busy applying makeup before she exercised.

I will keep you informed on my progress with this lifestyle change. The biggest problem I envisage, is crawling out of bed at 6 am before work, to exercise. That may well be my downfall. But to my way of thinking, it's better to keep with the good intentions, than to not bother at all.

Red Nose Day

This evening in attempt to procrastinate even further (I dusted my desk for the 3rd time today) I thought I'd practice spamming.

Yes, you heard right. Tonight Matthew I am a spammer. I tripped along to my fave funny blogs and left messages willy nilly. Not just any spam. Oh no. Not for you herbal viagra or opportunity to invest in Nigerian royalty (note: I am able to spell it properly). Nope.

On Johnny B's site, I followed this call to Rednose Day. So for all you bloggers who have escaped my clutches. Here.

PS. Monkfish. Be a pet. Give me those instructions on how to make links *live* in comment boxes. Again.

Participation

In the first part of the week I had to defend my pursuit of this project to my tutors, I had to come up with some intelligent and informed arguments why this project would be worthy of submission for my degree. Well, never mind. I found myself in both meetings stuttering as I tried to argue for the inclusion of this blog in my assessment. It's been exactly like an argument I've had with friends and family; days afterwards waking up in the middle of the night, springing up in bed with my index finger at the ready to point out all of the relevant issues that I missed during the actual fight.

This blog is about participation, a big issue that artists in galleries grapple with quite a lot of the time. Punters in a gallery setting especially, are often afraid to push the buttons that say 'push', or laugh or even to have fun with the piece. While this is not even close to the finished piece, it's still part of it, and in whatever form my submission will take in May, it will have been influenced by the comments and feedback that I will have got from you, my readers, my fellow travellers.

So perhaps over the next couple of weeks while I'm trying to come to grips with my new job, you'll do some thinking on my behalf.

• What would you like to see on this site?
• What are your experiences with travelling that changed your perspective on life? and would you be willing to share them with the wider world? Obviously being Anonymous is fine, but it would be great to be able to put names to stories.

I'd really appreciate it if you would take some time and bear those questions in mind. Technology and time permitting, I will try and follow up your suggestions. And of course, I'll let you know when my degree show is happening and you'll be more than welcome to come and have a giggle at my final piece.

Lifting of the Fog

Somewhere between last night and this morning, the fog and darkness that has surrounded me for a month has lifted. It has given way to inspiration and energy, and oh boy does it feel good to be able to breathe freely again.

Tomorrow, I go to see my Creative Practice tutor and (I hope) my dissertation supervisor. I'm going to have to swap things around a bit. Journeying is taking such a cerebral route that I don't think I could find a way to convey it physically; it therefore makes sense to do a proper exploration as a dissertation. Which leaves me short of a Creative Practice project. I was writing an e-mail to my mate SW in Sri Lanka and my mind must have wandered because suddenly I had a Eureka moment. Somewhere in the depths of my subconsciouness little thoughts and ideas suddenly bumped into each other and there it was. Bang!

In my second term of Year 2, my prose submission was a monologue based on Gustav Klimt's Judith. Given that I really enjoyed the performance module last year, why don't I perform the monologue? How cool would that be?! It means I'd have to get to grips with lighting, sets, costume, props, camera work, not to mention being able to memorise an 8 page monologue. Oh and act it out.

I then started to think about what style to do it in. If I did it as an homage to Klimt, I would want to present it as a sumptuous, sensuous piece. Swathes of rich fabric, lots of bangles and jewelry, heavy on the khol. A bit like the character of Sybilla in Kingdom of Heaven. I'd also have the joy of finding out how to fake love-bites and scratches. Hmmm...I wonder who I could ask to help out? :-)

The other alternative would be to modernise the Judith myth. So that she would have to kill Holofernes the CEO. Costume would have to be PVC and leather, boots and suspenders (but not fish net stockings) the set would be an office. A bit Angelina Jolie from Mr and Mrs Smith. Both ideas would be fun. I can do most of the work myself, but I would need help with filming and the editing. Anyone free sometime during this and the early part of next year?