almost famous

We've never had so many copies of the Warrington Guardian in my house!! The parents are more excited about this than i am i think!!

I didn't expect the article to be so big, i'm flattered that the Guardian are trying to help me with my cause.

For those of you still confused about why i am doing this let me explain.
When you go to uni you get the opportunity to apply for a tuition fee loan, and a maintenance fee loan. Most people apply for both, art courses can be quite expensive so any extra money helps, also the fact that i travel every day makes me apply for the maintenance loan. I'm gonna be paying it back when i leave uni anyway so why not have the extra cash now when i need it? Anyway, i digress.....
I left high school in 2002, went to 6th form for 3 years and did an art foundation course at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2005/2006.
Because i'd stayed on at college for an extra year and was 19 when i did the foundation course i was charged £1000. For 1 year! It's not fair, i understand why they make mature students pay, but 1 year over deadline, really??!
After my foundation year i joined the fashion design and technology course at MMU but left in february 2007.

This is where i lost my way a little. I knew i wanted to do art, but people kept asking me "what are you gonna do with a fine art degree" "an artist isn't a job" and i listened, and i let these thoughts swill around in my head.
It was after i dropped out that i got depressed, but it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, i decided to apply for a fine art course at UCLAN and was accepted.

My first year in preston started in 2008 and i'm not in my 2nd year.

So i apply for and am granted my maintenance grant, i am however DENIED my tuition fee. I ring up Student Finance and they tell me according to their system i applied for and went to MMU in 2007 to do an Art History. This did not happen, lol, so i asked the guy why i had been denied money.
He told me that Student Loans Company only finance 3 years of uni. 3 years!! What about my MA? Or my teaching degree? Why isn't this made more public, why aren't more people aware of this?!
I was told i had to appeal the decision so i had to get pay slips from all my jobs in 2007-2008, bank statements proving that i was being paid, basically send a skip load of evidence, EVIDENCE, to proooooove i hadn't gone to uni in 2007. If my appeal had been denied, i would have had to pay for this year myself also. Luckily for me my appeal came back and was re-assessed so all my evidence must have satisfied them, SLC are paying my tuition fee's this year thank god!

So i discovered in that phone call that because SLC paid £1200 for that 1 semester at MMU, and i have had my 1st year at Preston paid for, i am now getting year 2 paid for, but where i stand on year 3 i've no idea?!! I know i have to pay something but i don't know whether it will be the full £3225 or if i'll just have £1200 deducted and have to pay the remaining £2000.



I need to come up with ways to raise money to prepare for these scenarios, if i work extra hours as well as being at uni during the day i will get taxed. If i get an extra job, i will get taxed. The thing is because i'm a student i can't do a 9-5 job, i have to do bar work, the hours are much easier to work with, uni in the day, pub at night, uni the next day, pub at night. You get my drift!


My art teacher Mat told me about a few artists who sold themselves, i thought, what can i do that's not been done yet? What's so different that will make people stand up and take note........and that's my story.

I hope you've enjoyed the read :)

I think i'm gonna have a busy few days explaining this to people!

Right, uni is done, all my work is handed in, i am free to work on the tattoo project.

I am launching on monday, this monday, MONDAY 14TH DECEMBER!!!

I will post the item number and what tattoo we're kicking off with on here beforehand obviously, but Monday is day 1. One tattoo a day at a time.

Oooooh the excitement :) x