my card…

Devoid of labels but providing that portable genzaichi hit, the new business cards have arrived.

JPL4 kanji 2

Here’s the second PenPen file: L4kanji2.lvl (right click, save)

And a cumulative file of all the kanji so far this level: L4kanji1_2.lvl.

progression

I was asked to condense how my practice had developed since graduation (June 2006) into a 20-minute presentation to the current final year students on the BA at Bournville.

This is what I came up with:

I’m not sure what the students thought of it (I think I might have scared a few of them), but it’s only now, after the presentation, that it’s starting to dawn on me exactly how packed those 16 months have been.

I’m finding the whole thing a bit mind-boggling. I can’t quite get the time-scale right in my head: graduation seems like such a long time ago, and yet I still feel like such a beginner*.

*I’m not necessarily saying that’s a bad thing.

gainfully employed

I’m not sure if this counts as interdisciplinary practice or not, but on Friday I had my first training session for the new job.

I may be jumping to conclusions, but the early indications are that it’s going to be a lot more stimulating than other part-time jobs I’ve had in the past…

genzaichi

Welcome to the genzaichi/you are here edition.

現在地 【げんざいち】 (n) present location; current location; “you are here” (on map)Jim Breen

It’s that “present location” bit that’s been resonating with me since those 29 walks in 2006 and taking a closer look at the locale maps at the Yamanote stations.

Beyond a physical existence, being present in a location also suggests to me being alert to what is going on there. ‘Nuff said.

I’ve already talked a bit about why I felt it was time for a re-design, so this is what we’ve arrived at:

Blog

Shifted to centre-stage. This is where most of the content is; this is where you get a more accurate picture of who I am and what I’m about.

The feed address is www.npugh.co.uk/feed/

Comments

A year and a half out of graduation and feeling the bite of lack of critical exchange. Commenting on this site is possibly long overdue. Let’s find out…

Mailing list

I hereby pledge to use it more often. (Not too much though.) Get yourself signed up if you’re not already.

That profile page.

The very idea of pinning things down in print makes me cringe, but I can’t read this one so that’s not so bad. Thank you to all the blind monk contributors.

Current Projects

That’s what those blocks on the left hand side are: the main things I’m working on at the moment. Sort of. Not all of it. Consider them edited highlights.

So, what do you think? Let’s inaugurate that comment form with some feedback on the new design: any questions? what do you think about the approach? what doesn’t work on your browser? any ideas on how to tune fonts in sIFR?

scream if you want to go faster

Hold onto your hats: redesign on its way after a bit of messin’ with the database.

RSS feed should stay the same, but you might want to check back in a bit…

elle a une voix de contralto admirable

JPL4 kanji 1

Japanese classes have started again so it’s time to break out the penguin in earnest.

Here’s the first PenPen file: L4kanji1.lvl (right click, save)

dastardly

Frieze? Zoo? Bah! Northfield was the main hotbed of creativity this weekend!

This year Matt and Ed’s Halloween Party was a) slightly earlier than expected and b) on the theme of Weird and Wacky. This therefore necessitated a quick trip down to my parents’ house to get to my stock of wallpaper paste and poster paints.

I’m afraid I don’t have many photos of the night itself, but there are probably plenty somewhere on Facebook by now…

update: the official website

biadart.com

Just stumbled across this:

Through this website you can get up to date information about the Art-based Courses at UCE Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD). The site also profiles the students, staff, events and research opportunities within the department.http://www.biadart.com/

It blatantly doesn’t mention Bournville at all so I’d dispute the opening statement above, however, apart from that and quite a strong reaction against the design and format I’d say it’s an encouraging step in the right direction as UCEBCU drags itself closer to the 21st Century.

I think departmental-specific mini-sites/blogs would be a ruddy good idea if done right (and, ahem, independently of the university’s central marketing department).

Incidentally, I came across the site by following a link from an a-n advert for applicants to BA Fine Art; MA Fine Art; MA Art and Education; MA Art Practice and Education; MA Art, Health and Well-being; MA Contemporary Curatorial Practice; and MA Digital Arts in Performance. erm, that’s got to be pretty much all of them, hasn’t it?

Is there a drastic shortage of students applying, or is it just that targets haven’t been met yet?

afterthought: although, to be fair, loads of other institutions are still advertising too.