Computer Graphics!

Work in progress with a Corinthian krater
from the National Archaeological Museum in Florence.

The time is high for me to get to grips with some graphics software. I'm tinkering with Inkscape: tracing photos and learning to manipulate the tools. Work produced in Illustrator and similar programs can feel too clean and smarmy, but it's a very useful and flexible method.

Awl Over The Place

The current illustration project asks for non-western / non-renaissance influences. I've dabbled with Nigeria, 18th Century India, Easter Island, mediaeval England and pre-Columbian Mesoamerica...

and now I've returned to my archaeology notes and Janet Spector's influential work on symbolism and narrative, "What This Awl Means". The title was inspired by the drawled introduction, "What this all means...", known to students of heavyweight archeological theorist Lewis Binford. That's the story that my tutor told. Who am I to stop a tradition of bad puns?

The awl in question was found at Little Rapids, Minnesota. The centrepiece of Spector's book is her experiment in bringing an empathetic approach to the interpretation of an artifact. Here are some extracts from the story.

"Ha-za win (Blueberry Woman) and Mazomani were proud of their daughter, Mazo okiye win (One who talks to Iron). One day after visiting Faribault, they bought her a new iron awl tip and some glass beads. Even though she was still young (unmarried), she had already established a reputation among the people at Inyan cetake atonwan for hard work, creativity, and excellence through her skills in quill and bead work.
Her mothers and grandmothers taught her to keep careful record of her accomplishments, so whenever she finished quilling or beading a skin bag or pair of moccasins, she remembered to impress a small dot on the fine antler awl handle Ha-za win had made for her when she first went to dwell alone. When Mazo okiye win completed more laborious work like sewing and decorating buckskin dresses or leggings, she created diamond-shaped clusters of four small dots, one to the north, one south, one east, and one west, a pattern she designed to represent the powers of the four directions which guided her life in so many ways. [...] When she engraved the dots into her awl she carefully marked each with pigment she made [...]. Red, she knew, was a color associated with women and their life forces [...] it represented the east where the sun rose giving all knowledge, wisdom, and understanding."

World Of Death

The description says "Important sites where fossils of early humans are found."

I preferred the initial appearance of biological or political plague and death.

Found in the Book of Historical And Curious Maps (much like the Strange Maps site, linked on the right).

Bronze And Iron

Beakers; urns; maps; metallurgy...

I'm concerned that I might not really care enough about "the promotion of an archaeological model of amber trade in the [Bronze Age] Balkans"

Must try harder.

REFERENCES
Palavestra, A (1993) Priastorijski Cilibar na centralnom I zapadnom Balkanu. Belgrade: Siberian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Essays

The past four weeks have been spent writing essays for my archaeology course. The final one went in this afternoon, two days early!

I had to let the activity consume my time wholly and I've spent as many hours as possible in the library. Furthermore, I managed to refer to my great uncle's book about monasteries.

Here is the cosy den of learning that I'm now free from for a few weeks.

Enclosures

I'm learning about archaeological surveying and the interpretation of aerial photographs. At the moment I think I understand it. The latest assignment will test that. I enjoyed the reading for last week, An archaeologist's guide to classification of cropmarks and soilmarks by Jonathan Edis, David MacLeod & Robert Bewley (Antiquity 63 (1989) 112-26): it features a good number of diagrams and drawings, the most pleasing being the following three, illustrating types of enclosure.

Divertment... And Seriousness

Highlights of a trip to London at the weekend:

• Contemporary Applied Arts: intriguing ornaments and a surreal tea party;
• Art In Marylebone at the old Marylebone Library, where the sign reads "please eat and drink in the library";
• Leighton House, where I assisted the attendants with an explication of the differences between the words "barney", "blarney" and "barnet";
• L Cornelissen & Son: my favourite art shop in the land;
• Noisy bands (at the Dirty Water Club); old vinyl and much paisley.

Now I must settle myself to write two essays:

• Art: 1000 - 2000 words; due 19th November. My choice from six options: one work by Marcel Duchamp. I will try "Nude Descending A Staircase, No. 2".
• Archaeology: 800 words minimum; due 29th October. My choice from three options: Ethnoarchaeology.

This week's studies are as follows:

• Art: perspective drawing and a lecture on Charlie Chaplin;
• Archaeology: "Cultural Systems" and "Neo-evolutionism".

Avoision

or The dread of a task unfulfillable and the euphoria of a deadline met.

I've had two difficult projects in the past fortnight.

The first was a college project. The brief: to fill a sketchbook and create / explore a series of logos about oneself. This kind of thing is more reflexive than I'm comfortable with and I spent several days unsure of where to take it.

Lacking inspiration and suffering from unwise sleep patterns I found myself rebelling against the disciplines of study and reading. I bicycled around Portsmouth; fell asleep in the studio; ate my packed lunches before mid-morning and went to the library computer room and listened to the sound of busy typing.

On the final day I awoke to find all the missing ideas and motivation jostling at the front of my mind. I got right up to speed; finished the project and went home satisfied after handing it in.

The second project was a mini-commission (at least, I chose to see it that way) to produce a handful of A3 posters to be displayed at a little conference. With only four days' notice I prepared by taking a few photos of the subject and brainstorming content - but the specification was vague in the extreme.

On the due date I found myself greatly motivated by washing-up, shopping and tidying. Things in cupboards needed using up and I spent hours choosing and executing recipes for figs, marzipan, celery, mackerel, sole and sausage rolls.

This time I got down to the job with under three hours to spare. When the time ran out I had to tidy my drafts; laminate them and shove them up on the wall. I still don't know if they fitted the request but, as before, after the frustration, uncertainty and self-criticism of a difficult project, I was walking on air.

Now, this is bad practice and a hard habit to break. The redemptive relief of finishing a task is a rare joy but bodes against sanity for the majority of my work time. MUST LEARN.