Previewing my last entry, the video appeared twice and I couldn't get it to play this morning, needs to be sorted. I have been continuing my interest in grounds, for the moment made from paper. Have been painting A2 sheets first with off white emulsion and then a colour with the plan to mount them all on top of each other with the colours showing at the sides. I have 2 of these on the go, the second one just white and double the size, 2 A2s side by side using the flour and water mix, I plan to do some gestural drawing on the bigger one. Also am reading a book on Robert Gober, watched the movie Wagner, all 7 hours and 48 minutes, fantastic, shot by Storaro.

Just as I thought I'd done enough to my torn poster piece, Michael C. said attack it more until theres just a few shreds left. In the meantime have another one on the go to be destroyed also, taking my time. Even though I liked the black and white element of my prints, the drawing didn't create the sense of motion, it was a very simple drawing. Will be spending the next couple of days painting the reverse of the wooden tops, very slow process, cause I want to suspend and spin them.

On Monday decided to cover the sheet with photographs of tops and backs of sewn wood. Let them dry overnight and today attack it with sand paper. All the torn paper on the ground, restick that back on. Now it is begining to look like maybe something is happening, will decide tomorrow the next move. Made my first visit to the print room this afternoon, fantastic, love it there.

Woke at 3am. so decided to finish my second essay, the research of which has been eating up too much time. After a wonderful workshop recently about mark making decided to make myself a large surface to work on. I've made it by sticking sheets of various papers together with flower and water mix, it dries real hard. The result is a creation in itself. Also it has been suggessted that I make a larger version of the material sewn onto board, this is quiet a large undertaking but have decided to go for it. Still haven't been to the print room really want to get in there and do some printing. Also now with my large sheet of various papers got to start making some marks, the truth is I don't want to touch it, oh fuck it just go for it.

Even though I bitched and moaned at colour theory class today and found it difficult at times, I know difficult is good, even though I don't like it. I felt quiet shaken from it, there are comfort areas that need to be blown out of the water. I feel I need to find another level some how, and I can see this process is just going to go on and on, always after that something, IT, and when you find it, it is no longer it, but you still have to look. A good day now it's over.

Have posted examples of latest activity. The tops are cut out from MDF and then painted. The plan is to build an army of these and use them in a film and also arrange them into a picture. The other images are stitching material in wood inspired by the top drawings. Went to London last Thursday to see a couple of exhibitions and see people. The best of what I saw was Pipilotti Rist "Eyeball massage" at the Hayward. Her work is video instillation, not normal my thing but this was really great. It's an exhibition one has to experience, but I will say it had a very positive female quality to it. Gerhard Richter "Panarama" at the Tate Modern. I loved the representational paintings best, some of them are photorealistic, truly wonderful. The essay lies ahead, Courbet, would also like to do some printing and shoot a film and make many more tops, they are a slow process.

Not one of the great Octobers, difficult to enjoy the colours with all the rain, but still beautiful. I took advantage of the long weekend by watching the complete series of K Clark's Civisilation. This was made by the BBC in the late 60s, an absolute must for all Art students, it is incredible. Also I did a little research for my essay on Courbet, have not written anything yet. Managed to make two pieces relating to my spinning top theme where I wove material into wood, sounds more dramatic than it is, but still an idea with possibilities. It was suggested I should shoot a video so that is reeling around in my head. One idea would involve stop motion which is a very painstaking way of working, nothing like a bit of pain to shine the soul.

Last 24 hours have been good, started drawings using the tops to make the marks. I have done seven and they are all different, using mainly two tops I made. One is ash, about five inches in diamiter and at least two inches thick, so quiet a chunk, and then a much lighter one from MDF, I use that on with felt tips and the pencils with the ash. The most wonderful thing about the marks is there is no sense of it being contrived, it's pure free flowing and the spirals tend to mesmerise. They have order and chaos at the same time

Eames Tops

Eames Tops

Progress to date

I choose cars and the road as my subject for the project "Movement and Motion" but dropped it after two weeks because my ideas were getting too complicated and really were not grabbing me. For the past week I've been exploring the possibilities of spinning tops. I fell in love with tops 20 years ago after seeing a short film made by the Eames called Tops. I love the simplicity of them, their different shapes, colours and probably most of all what they do, spin. I also love the fact that they are as old as mankind and belong to all cultures. I've spent the week drawing and making them, trying different things colouring them and what happens with the colours when they spin. I've been experimenting with mounting a camera on one, that is still in the testing stage. Plan to make several from found objects, also looking into using florescent paint and fiberoptic so investigate what can be done with light. Have been filming the tops spinning with a plan to cut a short film.