thoughts on my college education

My conversations with Tim over the past few days have brought me to pondering over my own college education and the benefits therein.

Despite a life-time of practice, notwithstanding my senior years ( thankyou to the person who thought up 'mature students) going to college for sure a necessary part of my growth as an artist, firstly I had to satisfy the academic absence that gave me the credence in this modern world to put a price on works, works that had either seen the bottom of a bin or hanging on someones wall, for what reason I could never fathom, given away as tokens of my friendship, work that had been done in times of artistic retreat away from the world in which I both loved and despised.


It was also a necessary step to take in my confidence for it was only when I had enveloped myself in a creative atmosphere was able to remember the intense joy that I used to feel in the creation of things not only in the outcome but also of the journey that I used to take each time I did something, or even, I was saddened to remember, that I could create a place to disspaear into for days on end, .



On the negative side, having found my creative self, lost in worldly endeavours, I found that working alongside a course that was gauged toward the youngest and least experienced of students in the group both restrictive and constrictive, in as much as throughout the course much of the information and contents [of lectures], were of matters that to me absolute second nature, stuff that I always imagined was known to everybody, both in relation to the artistic mind set and in practice; is that, I wonder, a pointer toward an unrecognised or practiced inteligence throughout my life, or, is it similarily indicative that the youth of today either have totally different lives than the teenagers of yesteryear or have a completely different attitude towards life than of my generation, perhaps they dont even get the full level of tuition in their secondary years in preparation for college; my tutor was easily able to recognise this and was quite vocal in getting this across, a lesson however easily learned but as difficult to endure while the status quo continued.


For the now however, and returning to my last Blog and this ongoing and new ponderance regarding learning, taking into account that I do have knowledge that others have yet to learn, I guess my blog should point toward those who have no knowledge of the practice of art, though what I shall write about I am not sure for I know not what others know, I still am the apprentice .


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A Quiet Return It’s been a few years since anything new appeared on this blog. No dramatic exit, no crisis, no grand story — just life unfolding in its own quiet way while I wandered off into a long stretch of creative exploration. I didn’t spend that time chasing expectations or trying to produce anything impressive. In fact, it was the opposite. I let myself make things without pressure, without anticipation, and without any need for an audience. It was a good kind of absence — the sort that gives you space to breathe and rediscover what you enjoy. Along the way, painting slipped out of my hands. Not abandoned in frustration, just… released. It had carried me through many chapters, but eventually it felt like a language I’d said enough in. So I turned to sculpture, almost by accident, and found myself on a long, meandering tour through every material within reach. Papier‑mâché came first — messy, forgiving, and strangely liberating.Foam followed, stubborn but full of possibility.Cardboard had its moment too, proving far more architectural than I expected. Each material taught me something different about form, weight, and patience. And then, gradually, I settled into polymer clay. It felt right — structured but flexible, expressive without demanding perfection. It opened a new path, and with it came another journey: exploring genre, tone, and character in ways paint never quite allowed. So yes, I’ve been away. But not idle.Just quietly occupied in the kind of creative work that doesn’t need announcing. Now the blog returns — not as a relaunch, not as a promise, but simply as a continuation. A place to share what I’ve been shaping, learning, and enjoying along the way. If you’ve found your way back here too, welcome. Let’s see where this next chapter leads.

Polymer Clay 01

grounding