New girl...

The view from here...

Sitting alone in the computer room of the glass department at the RCA looking out over the turning leaves of Hyde Park, the Royal Albert Hall just metres away glowing orange and gold in the evening sun.

Despite the comfort of Francesca's beautiful flat just across the park and pep talks from men in trendy suits about how we are the creme de la creme in the creme de la creme of art schools in the whole universe and should have total confidence in ourselves for ever and ever, until this morning, I had been rather wondering what I am doing here.


my new desk...

London, so fine in this autumn sunshine is as brutal and demanding as ever. Grit and tarmac everywhere, pressing, pushy people, constant tremor of tubes and traffic and expensive everything. The first year students mostly half my age seemed keen to smoke in the sunshine, while research students were mostly worrying about the extra years it was taking to write up their projects and what to do next...


High Street Kensington

But I have been shown around the incredible glass, ceramics and print studios by bright, professional and friendly people, and found the drawing studio - a wide sunlit space on the top floor with an apparently unlimited supply of big sheets of paper and charcoal to play with. I also had the first tutorial with my supervisor Martin Smith this morning. Excellent.

I think it's all going to be just fine.


Claude Butler and new friends

I'm off now to the Freud Museum to see some work by 2nd year glass and ceramics students, then back to Farnham for a last day of cleaning.

Then a week of sailing in Norfolk before starting here in earnest.

I will email a link to the next installment but do let me know if you'd rather not be on the list?