Number 3: A bit about failure

Its the pointy end of the year. Tomorrow is the day to hand over  this sememster's work.
Bittersweet is the theme. Its an enormous relief to have actually finished the required number of pieces (sidenote: who said art was about quantity not quality.... but thats a whole other story), to have completed a qualification, to have juggled family, work and study.
There's a whole lot of other stuff too - that familiar feeling of getting ready to say goodbye to  a whole lot of people that I'm not likely to see again. Sigh.

One of the projects I've been working on for the past few months has been a paper mache sculpture based on drawings I've done of some beautiful diatoms. The finished product hasnt quite met my expectations... but its been a great lesson in choosing materials to fit the project, and engineering. The poor thing is struggling to stand upright and the legs have collapsed under the weight of the paper mache. And its a bit too gray and rough at the moment ....I'll do some research on finishing and see if we cant get it looking a bit smoother.

The whole process has been getting me comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. Cutting my delicate little hands to bits on the wire, working with numb hands in the rain and wind. Letting go of expectations and judgement.