tom johnson : artwork

first and foremost, inspite of workshop closure this week i managed to make and begin to fit the tubing which will tranfer drive across the mechanism. im ready to make the temporary hand crank (which intend to replace after 'locus' with various electrical systems) and adjust the wheels to make everything, hopefully, run smoothly. seeing as there was no woodwork for a couple of days i decided to start fiddling with a piece i was planning to leave for later. it involves the creation of an interactive mozaic, something that could be altered over the course of its exposure. so i cast from a wooden mock up to ascertain if i can produce an accurate piece to duplicate. along the same thread to some extent i also initiated the first in what may be many small collaborations. i have asked a friend studying graphics to design the type and layout for the form of a sort of public survey into learning... this will come to the fore once 'locus' things are done, a time which is curre

unfortunately, and rather idiotically on my part, i spent quite some time cutting wheels from ply and mdf without considering the effect of working them on a lathe, needless to say, this didnt go too well but i have started fashioning replacements from hardwood.

although no more comfortable with existence in general, thanks once again to the persistent, positive and wholly empathic influence of two individuals in particular things seem slightly more managable for the time being. although the dissertation proposal is still unfinished, i am beginning to understand and therefore may be able to communicate the specific motivations of the proposed research which was (and is to a greater extent) the biggest headache at this point. another significant event of late is... the acceptance of my application to 'no working title', a collaborative project involving 30 students from 3 universities and hosted by the tate modern. the project revolves around the idea of instruction and will be explained better here once i fully understand. work must continue nonetheless, construction of the contraption i am building for 'locus' is underway.

It has been some time... which is, im almost afraid to say, entirely intentional. My experience of writing the essay were i think, far more detrimental than i anticipated. I cannot seem to escape negative thoughts, circular reasoning and find it impossible to obtain necessary ignorance with regard to the pointlessness and/or futility of my practice. so i havent really been practicing as it just makes me dwell on these topics all the more and the spiral continues. I keep think theres an illusive point were everything might start to feel a little more comfortable or natural, the more time passes i find it harder want to exist as a member of society in any capacity.... .. So proposal for third year study has been causing me further frustration as i cant really continue my current research without getting into even more of a rant than this is turning out to be. essay feedback tomorrow will possibly offer a chance for discussion with an academic with regard to all this, but really, is their