Well...I know I complained about art school a few months ago. It settled down, I managed and I started to enjoy it. I had to do two textiles projects, I had three days of class time for each and I got them done quite well I think.

I went to my textiles assessment and I was very upset by the end of it. I pinned my work up and all the textiles teachers looked at it. They had a few positive things to say about my ideas, but overall I got quite a negative impression. One teacher, who had NEVER taught me before, said brutally that she didn't think I had the commitment to do textiles, and wondered if I were doing a double degree (as surely I'd done so LITTLE work..er.. :S that only other uni commitments could possibly explain it..)
Now...I admit that I am not great at visual diaries, I do my best but in the end I think that the work is more important than a ridiculous manifesto about it. The teachers complained that I didn't do enough drawing (what drawing..I bet they'd complain about irrelevant drawing if that was what I'd filled my diary with!), enough experimentation (so what, 50 crappy half finished "experiments" is more worthwhile than doing two good, finished projects?), enough research, or enough writing. I'm doing my best, and I actually don't think it would be any more possible for me to do more work without sacrificing the rest of my life. One girl I know stays up until THREE every morning just to do all the freaking work they expect! I already did so much work I got RSI and the skin on my hands started to crack...
The head of textiles said that I needed to go to more exhibitions and lectures (oh really, when..I do 35 hours of uni a week and I sure as hell don't want to donate my precious weekends to exhibition hopping!) and also if I didn't do enough experimentation my work would be worthless as there was no foundation for it to rest on.

Aaarghhhh! I actually don't know if I can stand two and a half years more work if they're going to be that demanding. I probably am overreacting, as apparently they were just as mean to everyone else...but I do very much feel like taking up the offer of the printmaking and drawing teacher, of changing courses. I love textiles but I'm a jack of all trades and can surely try my hand at something else...especially if the teachers are going to expect me to be some sort of textiles slave. I'm sorry, but I refuse to donate the rest of my life to the noble cause of natural fibres, or whatever.

I think in a way textiles as an art form cultivates a bit of an inferiority complex in the artists, because textiles has always been considered a mere CRAFT instead of a proper art form so they expect us to be complete wankers about the stuff we make, just so we can get noticed.

If anyone else at ANU had such a crap experience at review, please tell me..are the teachers of the other workshops as mean?

Oh and I promised a musical interlude for you. Well..naturally I'm a massive camwhore as you may well know, although I do my best to make the videos and photos I make at least partially worthwhile. This is "The Great Male Vocalist Imitation Roundup' in which I go through my music collection and imitate several male vocalists. Enjoy.
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