The storm before the calm...

It has been pretty crazy here for the last few months. Work has been busy, home has been busy, I have been busy. Finding time has been difficult. I have been trying to write, trying to exercise, trying to draw, trying to blog, AND trying to spend time with family and friends along the way. First there was the 40th birthday, then the fun run and now the interview.

The interview is for a course I want to do next year. It is an entry level arts course - fine arts and contemporary craft to be exact. It is two days a week for 16 weeks (2 terms) and will mean I have to go part time at work for that time (no complaints by me, and work have agreed to release me for that period). If I get in, it will be an opportunity to immerse myself in the arts and have intensive training in both drawing and painting and supplementary lessons in sculpture and print-making amongst other things.

Entry is by application, interview and presentation of a portfolio of work. This is completely new to me. It is a confronting experience to hand over your work, for strangers to evaluate. With no experience of this situation I have been trying to work out what they might be looking for - hoping that my art is up to scratch.

The preparation has been daunting. Where to start? What to include? What to discard? And then, just to complicate things, they pushed the interview forward a week earlier than I had expected and so there was the additional time frame pressures. I find it really hard to judge my own work and I also believe that perceptions of one's own work can be miles from reality. One only has to watch a show like Australian (or American) Idol to realise that! My inner critic is well known to me (we meet regularly) and quite vocal! I needed some feedback. Thankfully over the last couple of weeks I had a chance to show some work to a few people and the response has been good.

Last night I was lucky enough to get some guidance from my friend Angela who helped me organise all my pieces into a logical order (and we agreed to remove a couple of pieces) and we talked about the sort of thing that might come up in the interview. It was invaluable. Not only did she help me with the folio, she also gave me a boost in confidence and sent me off feeling more comfortable with the whole process.

Anyway, the interview was today.

All went well. They were friendly and interested in my work and listened to my answers. I have no idea if I will get in. They said I am the sort of person they are looking for, but that they have 40 candidates for 16 places. They did say they liked some of my pieces, but didn't comment on everything. They made particular (positive) comment on some of my observational drawings, so that was good. They flicked through the folio as we talked.

All interviews are today and tomorrow, so I should know by the end of the week. As they said, with 40 applicants, they have no idea the range of work that will walk through the door in the next 2 days, so there are no guarantees.

Did I introduce you to my inner critic? She's right here - say hi!

For now, the storm is over and it's time to relax a little.
Thanks to everyone for your patience, your enthusiasm and your love and support.

Fingers Crossed!
I will let you know as soon as I do.