Time

The funny thing about time is that when you're doing a degree you suddenly don't have a lot of it. That's my subtle apology and excuse, not only for barely posting here, but also for generally being unavailable whilst I'm panicking over working on course-related reading and assignments.

I'd like to say I'm incredibly resentful of the fact I have no time for social or personal activities, but I'm genuinely grateful for the opportunity to get a degree. It's hard work and I'm finding it quite easy to get stressed out but I don't think I'd still be here if it wasn't what I truly wanted to do. In fact, I'm finding it enjoyable and rewarding when I actually work hard and come out with a good grade at the end.

Today I attended my lecture on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Initially I found the play pretty boring and I can still say that I don't take pleasure in having to read extensive notes before I can fully understand the actual meaning of a sentence. However, after watching film clips of the play and discussing it in lecture I have, at last, found an interest in it! A similar thing did happen with The Tempest and has generally been the case with other texts on my course. It's fun to break down a text and explore themes in my lectures as it finally gives me something to get my teeth into that is reliable and safe to absorb. I think that doing this degree has opened me up to a lot of texts that I would have otherwise never picked up, which I am also grateful for.

Whilst working on something for a module called Text, Context and Spin, I was listening to a band called This Mortal Coil. My lecturer recommended them to us today and I was excited to find that I had already unknowingly been listening to one of their songs already; Song To The Siren. I almost always take up the opportunity to listen to music recommended to me. I'd been using Song To The Siren as part of a soundtrack I listened to when I went through a phase of doing Tai Chi (yes, I know). Although it didn't work for me, I highly recommend that anyone who is prone to stress or anxiety give it a try - everyone is different.

On that note, I will recommend one of my favourite songs that I use to relieve stress or just generally listen to whilst studying or tidying; Bon Iver & -St. Vincent - Roslyn.

So, time. What can it do? I'm staying on this theme because despite my confession of having very little personal time at the moment, I have managed to work on something. I decided to take a relatively old piece of digital art I created in 2014 - a punky-floaty-goggly human - and remake it using whatever new techniques I had learned since. Truthfully, I was concerned about the results. Three years, give or take a few months, is not a long time, is it? I have never felt like I have progressed or improved artistically and always felt as though I was going backwards rather than forwards. This exercise was truly helpful for me, because it has helped me see how a lot of time invested in art is never wasted time,

I issue this challenge to any artists who happen to be reading! It's fun and relaxing to remake something you used to think was pretty good, but now think you could do better!

And with that we have the results;

Merry Wednesday and a Happy New Thursday!

Lauren Newman a.k.a shr-Inking violet

Sprouting

Right now I'm drinking a cup of tea from a mug with 'The Walking Dead' on it that my boyfriend gave me for my twentieth birthday. It's a decent cup of tea but, to tell you the truth, I've spent more time trying not to smear my lipstick all over my face every time I take a sip. I'm going through a bit of a make-up phase. I don't know how this will hold up before a 10am lecture tomorrow so it's likely I will drag myself out of bed and be out of the door within ten minutes, clutching toast. Why do I need make-up anyway? Matt Haig always tweets about how 'they' make us worry about our appearance so we buy cosmetics. Do I really want to do it? Or do I just feel addicted to how it makes me feel about myself?

I'm not really sure how this blog is going to turn out. I'm trying to figure out where I want to be in life, mainly career-wise. I'm going to start sketching more. I miss all the free time I had to draw and read before university, but I'm looking at it as a short time in my life to work hard and reap the rewards afterwards. I'm already half-way through so I should think graduation will be here in no time at all. Part of me can't wait and another part is terrified. 

I'm kind of bobbing about listening to 'Tugboat' by Galaxie 500. I wish I had heard of them from somewhere other than 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' soundtrack. As much as I love that film and all the music in it, I certainly don't feel like a Galaxie 500 fan. I should really branch out and listen to more of their music. They have a way of transporting you back in time and, even though I wasn't even born then, it makes me feel like I was there. It's also pretty cool that they were influenced by The Velvet Underground. Last year I studied an interesting module, it was my favourite actually, which was taught by someone I genuinely think is wonderful. He has white fluffy hair and bounces around in skinny jeans and plaid shirts and I always imagine him to have been a hippie. He told us about The Velvet Underground and I quite liked their sound. 

I think I will leave this introductory stream-of-consciousness with a tiny comic and will hopefully be back with more interesting content! Official avatar and theme coming soon!

- Lauren Newman a.k.a shrInking violet