A Life Force: Mass blog update!

I've been so slack at updating this so I thought I'd write about a few things I've been doing recently.

Very late on this one but I went to see Polar Bear Club play at the Marquee on the 16th. I found the vibe of this show incredible. It got me thinking about a couple years ago when I didn't know many people at hardcore/punk shows and I really wanted my friends to be into the same bands so I could sing along with them. Well that's what made that show so fun, so many good friends squashed into a tiny pub to hang out and sing along with awesome bands. Definitely one of my favourite bands and shows I've been to. Seeing them again tomorrow.

I came across this photo of my buddy Arooj on his wordpress(http://todayisyesterdaystomorrow.wordpress.com/). The print is a bootleg Vans one I made to raise money for Haiti. Thank you for the support brother! It is much appreciated! The bands surrounding the print are Minor Threat, Black Flag, Set Your Goals, New Found Glory, Polar Bear Club, Have Heart and Bad Brains.

Went for a meal at Mambo Jambos and the cinema to see The Wolfman (Beastman) with my good friend Alice Dyson on Friday. It was nice to have a proper catch up/hang with her. The film was pretty average but good fun nonetheless! Afterwards we watched The Notebook which I actually enjoyed despite my doubts. I think I quite like films based in 1940's America.

Worked at Boots all day Saturday which was ok. Felt fairly positive and didn't have any terrible customers. Afterwards I met up with bros Batween, Darkside and Barber (who didn't stick around, not cool Joe, not cool!) for Nandos (2nd time that week I believe). Afterwards we headed to the Bell to celebrate the birth of Mr Jack Pitt. It was rad to see such a good turn out with some special guests from Cambridge and Leeds. I tried some awesome ginger beer which I can't remember the name of but will be trying again at some point. The photo below Mr Thomas Uden teaching Jack to play drums is a Black Flag print I made for his birthday. I don't think you can go too wrong giving Jack a Black Flag themed present.

On Monday my course had an exhibition in our studio. I decided to submit something a little different for this one which started as a joke with a friend. I had serious reservations about it because I was worried viewers wouldn't find it amusing and might think negatively of me. In the marking criteria we often get marked on "taking risks" and feel I accomplished this with my work. A visiting artist gave us a talk a while back and one thing she said struck me, that you should learn to become desensitized to criticism at art school. One of the highlights of the evening was seeing some kids looking at my work and commenting on it to their mother.