Big Break Diary: The sculptor

BBC News Online's Big Break Diaries follow a group of people hunting for their big break in the arts and entertainment world.

Sculptor Ben Thomson's urge to get back to work is knocked back by wiring and empty light sockets.

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7 January

Finally I get back to work after the long break. I seem to have been tidying up and sorting things out for ages (and doing my tax).

It's a kind of excuse for not getting down to work. Now the top drawer of my desk is clearer than it has ever been and the studio looks and feels like a different space.

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9 January

I can't work as the electricians are fitting new lighting, power and fire alarms. I arrive at the studio to find the door open and the floor strewn with cables and light fittings.

Ben Thomson: Keen to get on

I quickly arrange to take my tools to the relative safety of home and then spend the rest of the day at the university library reading their excellent selection of magazines. Take notes on relevant opportunities and exhibitions to apply for.

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11 January

The studio looks uninvitingly exactly the same as the last time I saw it. The same rolls of cable are lying in the same positions. The empty light fittings are still empty.

I retreat home to engage with the new Photoshop programme on the computer.

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14 January

I've spent the last few days scanning old slides and photographs of my work and playing with the images.

Hand of God: A sculpture aided by Ben's computer purchase

The possibilities for manipulating images on the computer are endless, limited only by my imagination and print capabilities. The studio is still not finished.

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15 January

Am I beginning to enjoy not being at the studio? The only things I have made have been in Plasticene. They were little animals which my children appreciate.

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16 January

Today I've been finishing some research for a costing and proposal for some public sculptures and I have sent it off all neatly typed up, new and crisp in an expensive envelope.

Giant Cat: One of Ben's favourite recent commissions

I feel less inclined than ever to make anything that will that lie around unseen. It seems pointless.

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21 January

Today I braved the studio which looked amazingly large and clear. I felt a glow of excitement at the possibility of making some new work there.

Unfortunately the electricians still haven't finished and although they weren't in the space I felt inhibited by their activity in the corridor because at any moment they might want to come in to finish the lighting and power.

I feel a bit lost. New year seems a long time ago now and I haven't yet managed any real work.