1 term down 3 to go!!

So my first term is over and I can not believe that it has gone so fast!


 It is amazing how different I feel from When i first arrived in London. I feel a lot more confident and I still have the wonderful feeling of waking up every morning being excited -after all I get to do what I love every day (sorry to rub it in!)
The final few weeks the pace has not slowed down though, two shows, life drawing, cornices, Christmas concerts and graduate exhibitions!

My latest personal project i need to design and make a section of cornice
I have based my design on Persian architecture with repetitive patterns found in Perspolis which also gave me a great excuse to pop down to the British museum to do a little research *shifty eyes*

It is not complete yet but it is starting to take shape  I have marked up all the pieces  and where they are going to go in relation to each other the final profile will look like the sketch below.

This week we have also had some still life drawing lessons which has done me the world of good i no longer think i can not draw hoooraay!!  Many thanks to Michael Kirkbride who was our fantastic tutor over the 3 sessions.
The first day we started off with only using ink and a piece of mount board and was asked to draw some of the objects that had been set up for us. We were taught how to measure out proportions and angles using a pencil or paint brush.
In the second session we focused on shading and light and we were taught how in a painting you can not show the light unless it is contrasted with the dark. I think i had a tendency to play it a little safe with my shading and thus it was not as striking as it could be but that is something for next time. For the second session we used charcoal which was messy but also fun as you can really get stuck in with using your hands and fingers to get the texture you want.
On the final session we were able to use mixed media so ink, paint, charcoal and graphite I stuck to mainly charcoal and white paint but added a little touch of black ink for the dark sections.
It seemed intimidating at first but Mike really made you feel at ease and explained everything so clearly. It was great the way that the sessions built on each other  - i think that you can see that from the drawings produced.

Day 1: first drawing  (ink and mount board)

Day 2: Charcoal experimenting with light and dark

Day 2: Charcoal second drawing of the day

Day 3: Mixed media demonstrating focal points drawing the viewers eyes to part of the drawing

Now i am far from an artists of any standard but I would recommend still life drawing classes to anyone even if you think that it will not be relevant it is great fun!

Moving on to more fun and frivolity it was RADA's Christmas concert on the 2nd Dec this is where all the student get together and put on a carol concert. A brilliant way to get into the festive spirit! Almost everyone from all courses and years took part with carols, poems and readings. There was even a beautiful little puppet show from two student from the acting course. 

Even the Techies had a go singing a cover of Santa baby with Tech themed lyrics! I guess the high light of our attempt at a song was that as soon as we were needed on stage every single one of us tried to get as far up stage and out of the light as possible! With two rehearsals and a last minute lyric change it was shall we say ... rustic, but all in all it was a good laugh and every one had fun.

To the Final week of term we had the strike to 'Ashes and sand' and 'Dealing with claire' which was Monday and Tuesday. Then set up for the Specialists technical tree which opened on Thursday. 

The technical tree is an exhibition in which the 4 term specialists (scenic art, construction, props and lighting)  get to display their projects at the end of their course. It looked amazing! All the work was excellent and of such a high standard it really tied all of the exhibits together. I can not praise them and their work enough!

On Saturday we had to take the exhibition down which was pretty busy, when we came to the last few little bit it was a little sad as it hit home that it was the end of term and that you will not be seeing everyone for nearly a month. It may sound a little over dramatic but you have spent nearly every day for the last three months with everyone in this theatre bubble it is a little sad to be leaving everyone. On the plus side though it does  mean Christmas at home with old friends and family, catching up and eating far to much food.... I cant wait!!!

Happy holidays guys will update soon!