"Back to School"

Well, it's back to school and for me it's the home stretch. One more course this Fall called Information Management and then it's my research project or Master's thesis. In many ways, going back to school has been like my artistic journey towards abstraction. It was new territory for me to step outside representational drawing into conceptual abstract painting and experimental minimalist work in metal point. Not that I abandoned drawing. Instead, I expanded the boundaries of my creative journey to include pure abstraction. And that's what graduate study has done for me. Stretched the boundaries of my mind to include writing and research. Even though I didn't take the summer off from research, I did manage some new art works. For the curious: the images are new metal point abstracts, 38 x 48, 24 x 32, and 48 x 24, respectively ( quite large for metal point work ) in hand-rubbed brass, copper, and silver. Enjoy. And to me fellow Cohort, "see you in eClass!"

"A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Just to let you know I haven't forgotten you. It's August 2011, and the view of a Long Beach sunset on Vancouver Island's west coast is beyond words. Took that shot myself. But the dream ends when my mind wakes to the sobering thought, "there is a thesis or research project to be written." But, those who persevere, will end up with less anxiety towards the end of the program. Is it better to wonder what you're going to write or wonder what not to write? Sort of like construction vs de-construction. I favour gathering lots of material and writing as much as I can, and then begin the task of editing. It's like the process of corporate image design I learned and practised back in the days. Take everything about a company, its history, marketing plans, goals, objectives, etc, and de-construct the information into a clean and simple logo. Easier said than done. Like COMM 508, soon to be launched upon us Cohortians.