A Week at LCC

As many of you already know I spent last week at LCC (London College of Communication) doing a one week summer school course in Visual Thinking. I'm going there in October to do a one year diploma in Photography, so when this course was offered to me free of charge (I will pretty much take anything if it's free) I figured it would be a good introduction to the college, and a chance to get some creative juices flowing.

If you are wondering what the hell a Visual Thinking course entails, well then you are in pretty much the same place as I was last Monday. The first day did not start well. I am painfully shy around people I don't know, and am also at that stage in life where I figure I don't care if people like me or talk to me, so I pretty much just stood there on my own, reading a book and being generally unsociable. And then they set us our task for the day, which basically involved lots of drawing, the one thing I was dreading about the course. I can't draw. That's not to say I just don't really like my style of drawing. No, I have no style of drawing because I can't do it. I avoid it at all costs. So Monday was pretty much a nightmare, and I contemplated chucking it in. But I'm so glad I did because it got SO much better! Here are a few snaps from around the college. Oh and there is more about the week after the pics.

signage out front

shadow of flowers on the road outside

lots of pretty colours

the degree shows had finished but there were still random pieces around the college and this one was my favourite

another piece of art

self-portrait in the loos

the workshop block where we were based

follow the arrows

So after the slightly disastrous first day I really got into it. We had to produce a sketchbook of research/observations from the 'journey' we went on that week, along with a final piece which was our individual interpretation of a book, using the stuff we gathered in our sketchbooks. Because I was avoiding drawing, I had to get creative, and it was a real challenge, but one I really enjoyed. Lots of paper cuts, using found materials like doilies and vintage thread spools, a touch of embroidery, and a whole load of tracing, cutting, sticking and colouring in! Every day I was up at 7am, left my house at 8 am, and was at college from 10am till 4pm. Then I would get home for 6pm, and then work on my sketchbook there from 6pm to 2am the next day! Exhausting but totally worth every minute of it because I got some amazing feedback, both from my tutors and from other people on the course, and I felt so proud of myself, not in a big headed way, but just because I had worked so hard and was pleased with the way it turned out.

If the sun decides to come out today I will take some photos of my sketchbook and final piece, but if not it might have to wait till tomorrow. In the meantime I have a room that is getting completely overhauled (I decided yesterday it needs a massive clear out and reshuffle) and an apple crumble to bake. xxx