The dissertation is preoccupying me and taking me a way from making and experimenting. This feels uncomfortable as this is how I research and explore materiality. This morning I remind myself what core strategies are within my practice and refer back to the Manifesto I put together last year to keep me focused..........
​
  Manifesto
​  I will always use organic materials to produce work  
​  I will continue to be ethically responsible by using recycled and re-claimed materials in my practice.
​  I will endeavour to depict the fragility of life through my work
​  Concealed, hidden and unwanted matter & materials will be manipulated to redefine its aesthetic qualities
​  Making, exploring and doing will be my continued way of researching
  The ‘haptic’ will drive my practice forward; the sense of touch through making
​  I will bring attention to the physical aspect of life through my creative practice
​  I will endeavour to communicate my work using the World Wide Web

​http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07z7y5v/boy-georges-1970s-save-me-from-suburbia?suggid=b07z7y5v

This was a really interesting and confirming documentary on Boy Georges life from child to superstar. The main theme that I found relevant was the music scene through the 70's & 80's and the wide range of different genres that were created, embraced and expressed in those decades. Punk, Soul, Disco, Glam Rock, Ska, Reggae, New Romantics the list is endless. The music of these decades reflected society of then the anger, frustration, good times, bad times, hardships, and ultimately the individuality of the young.  Although society experienced desperate and hard times such as the Thatcher era, 3 day week, miners strike, 3 million unemployed etc. there seemed to be a fight in society to 'not let the bastards grind you down' to rebel against the establishment. The constant edge that society seemed to be living on was reflected through the creation of rich vibrant and different sounding music. It gave the younger generation something to relate to something to belong to. With the different sounds came the different styles of dress and a physically different way of expression. What popular music today can be seen as individual with a new sound? What do the younger generation have to relate to in the 21st century that enables them to be themselves rather than the same simulated, perfected, visual images they are duped into thinking they should be. We are individuals and need to express ourselves in an individual way. The different music genres of the 70's and 80's gave the opportunity for teenagers to feel like they belonged and were part of something.
​The manufactured 'music' of the 21st century gives the younger generation no inspiration or reason to express or feel like an individual or belong to a special gang. It has no depth, no emotion or expression.
​I was lucky I lived through these vibrant eras and found 'my' music. I am a Soul girl through and through! 

Carol Petrini the founder of the Slow Food Movement 20 years ago forged the way forward for the Slow Movement; the concept of taking time, care, reflection, appreciation and a less hurried approach to life in general. These core ideas stem from the Slow Food Movements philosophy of embracing the value of experiencing the simple but important things in life such as family, friends, food and the social aspects that stem from these activities. By cherishing processes, materials and ingredients we become connected to others. The industrial age spring boarded the age of speed forcing society to gain momentum in the everyday. This speedy efficiency gave way to our disregard for the important things in life such as time. Time to absorb and appreciate making, connecting, being, doing, listening to each other and the environment around us.
​Our ever addictive and merciless digital age is sucking the real fabric and individuality out of our souls........or at least that is how it feels!!!

With every turn of this books pages I associate my thoughts and feelings of how as individuals in todays society we are becoming slaves to the digital age. We are constantly pressured into filling our days with 'stuff' to do never having time to just be. 'A life lived in a hurry can become superficial........' (pg.8) We speed through our day to day lives in such a pace we have become unable to evaluate and take stock. The pressures of modern living are taking away our time spent doing the important things in life like spending quality time with friends, family, having those regular times to just be in the moment, doing just nothing, taking in the world and its materiality.
​The Slow Movement is not about going 'slow' it is about doing things  in a calm, careful more thoughtful way. Making real and meaningful connections. Having that balance of  making, eating, socializing, working helps us connect to each other and the world around us, something that is lacking more and more in our digitally fuelled  communicative world. When things are done in a thoughtful and reflective way the quality of the outcome be it creative work, cooking, conversation; less time is wasted by doing things in this careful way than if done in a fast and speedy way!

Processes are moving on. Freezing as a storage method is now becoming a major feature. I was originally harnessing the process to enable me to store pigments for later use but it is now becoming a physical elemental process of intervention with the pigments. Visually and aesthetically the 'pigment cubes' I have produced offer possibilities for ephemeral and transient work. How the pigments 'freeze' and their transient change from a fluid liquid to a motionless form and back to a melted liquid in order to mark make is driving my work forward. The freezing changes the texture of the pigment it becomes a solidified form. The beauty of this frozen form and its properties can be viewed in the momentary way it was at the point of freezing.  The pigment in its frozen state is fragile.Once taken out of the freezing temperature it turns to fluid once more!   

I have recently found myself working with colour from pigments drawn out of foraged plant life. The work of designers Blond & Beiber situated in Berlin have been an interest to me. Sustainability is their prime concern along with the simple analogue processes that bring the experience of process and making into a genuine and thoughtful process. Their focus on perfection and a refined flawless realization of materials resonates with me. Recent processes I am exploring are the refining of plant pigments to a purer and genuine form of  liquid. My process has no intervention of any other  materials; pigment is formed through manipulation and physical refining only. The transient temporality of these pigments are what interest me. The intervention of the elements and how they change their consistency, texture & solidity.