1How are you getting on with your art project, Tom?
2OK.
3Like, they gave us the theme of birds to base our project on,
4and I'm not really all that interested in wildlife.
5But I'm starting to get into it.
6I've pretty well finished the introductory stage.
7So have I.
8When they gave us all those handouts with details of books and websites to look at,
9I was really put off,
10but the more I read, the more interested I got.
11Me too.
12I found I could research so many different aspects of birds in art - colour, movement, texture.
13So I was looking forward to the Bird Park visit.
14What a letdown!
15It poured with rain and we hardly saw a single bird.
16Much less use than the trip to the Natural History Museum.
17Yeah, I liked all the stuff about evolution there.
18The workshop sessions with Dr Fletcher were good too,
19especially the brainstorming sessions.
20Oh... I missed those because I was ill.
21I wish we could've seen the projects last year's students did.
22Mm. I suppose they want us to do our own thing, not copy.
23Have you drafted your proposal yet?
24Yes, but I haven't handed it in.
25I need to amend some parts.
26I've realised the notes from my research are almost all just descriptions,
27I haven't actually evaluated anything.
28So I'll have to fix that.
29Oh, I didn't know we had to do that.
30I'll have to look at that too.
31Did you do a timeline for the project?
32Yes, and a mind map.
33Yeah, so did I.
34I quite enjoyed that.
35But it was hard having to explain the basis for my decisions in my action plan.
36What?
37You know, give a rationale.
38I didn't realise we had to do that.
39OK, I can add it now.
40And I've done the video diary presentation,
41and worked out what I want my outcome to be in the project.
42Someone told me it's best not to be too precise about your actual outcome at this stage,
43so you have more scope to explore your ideas later on.
44So I'm going to go back to my proposal to make it a bit more vague.
45Really? OK, I'll change that too then.
46One part of the project I'm unsure about is where we choose some paintings of birds and say what they mean to us.
47Like, I chose a painting of a falcon by Landseer.
48I like it because the bird's standing there with his head turned to one side,
49but he seems to be staring straight at you.
50But I can't just say it's a bit scary, can I?
51You could talk about the possible danger suggested by the bird's look.
52Oh, OK.
53There's a picture of a fish hawk by Audubon I like.
54It's swooping over the water with a fish in its talons,
55and with great black wings which take up most of the picture.
56So you could discuss it in relation to predators and food chains?
57Well actually I think I'll concentrate on the impression of rapid motion it gives.
58Right.
59Do you know that picture of a kingfisher by van Gogh -
60it's perching on a reed growing near a stream.
61Yes, it's got these beautiful blue and red and black shades.
62I've actually chosen it because I saw a real kingfisher once when I was little,
63I was out walking with my grandfather, and I've never forgotten it.
64So we can use a personal link?
65Sure.
66OK.
67There's a portrait called William Wells.
68I can't remember the artist but it's a middle-aged man who's just shot a bird.
69And his expression, and the way he's holding the bird in his hand
70suggests he's not sure about what he's done.
71To me it's about how ambiguous people are in the way they exploit the natural world.
72Interesting.
73There's Gauguin's picture Vairumati.
74He did it in Tahiti.
75It's a woman with a white bird behind her that is eating a lizard,
76and what I'm interested in is what idea this bird refers to.
77Apparently, it's a reference to the never-ending cycle of existence.
78Wow.
79I chose a portrait of a little boy, Giovanni de Medici.
80He's holding a tiny bird in one fist.
81I like the way he's holding it carefully so he doesn't hurt it.
82Ah right.