A busy day at the V&A

Actually I have had a busy week.  I had a tutorial for my art work and we identified I need to do lots more drawing of pomegranates, focussing on use of colour and composition.  I think I will continue working large but may end up making my own sketchbooks.  We noted that I really dislike hard drawn lines round objects, so I often cut round them, and I particularly dislike white backgrounds.  I have also worked out  something fundamental about my use of sketchbooks and my use of pattern.  For some time  I have been cutting into the page so that I can see something from the page behind so there is some patterning in the ground, rather than flat colour.  The cutaway pages create a visual that includes pattern (related or unrelated) as a background to the primary pattern.

In my essay tute I had good feedback on my paraphrasing practice, and received some  good tips on how to introduce a writer's work.  For the second time, Steven recommended that we use the V&A print study room and the National Art library.

So today, I took myself off to the V&A.  Two hours travelling each way, but because I used to do this every day as a commuter, only doing it occasionally makes it a doddle.  I found the Print Study Room, signed in, and found how to request textile specific prints and drawings from the archive.  I looked at some original William Morris and Byrne Jones drawings amongst others.  You are advised to keep documents  flat and fully supported on the tables, without overhanging.  No gloves required, but clean hands are essential.

Then I went to the National Art Library (upstairs at the V&A), made the arrangements for a library card to entitle me to use the reference library.  you either pre-order on line 3 days in advance, or submit a paper slip on arrival, the request goes to the archive on the hour and will be back at the desk c20 mins later.

The librarian showed me how to access journals on line, and I managed to access an article I had failed to access through UH Studynet.   Although it is a lot of travelling, I am inclined to make this a regular weekly trip, because I work more intensely for the 5 hours I am there, and am more successful in accessing pertinent material quickly.  This makes study a more productive and less frustrating experience.