Thursday 27 May 2010

tortoise regrets hare.

A slow but not forgotten update. I've been rather preoccupied with daily events in the last few weeks. I helped volunteer with my friend Kirsten at Dundee's Big Top Jamboree in setting up the Cut Click Exhibtion which was great fun to be involved with. It was really inspiring to see all the different mail based art. I've been doing a few mail swaps with friends at the moment so I can't wait to try out some new ideas. I also made some badges and a fabric corsage with Pale Face at the Jamboree workshops during the day. I also bought myself a Mystery Drawing by David Galletly and a cute little green note pad with a paper cut deer on the cover. Here are a few photos of the Cut Click exhibition that Kirsten and I helped set up and a couple of envelopes which particularly caught my eye.












Apart from trying to round up the last of my duties for college work in these last few weeks, I also managed to go see the Duncan of Jordanstone Degree Show last Friday. To be truthful I wasn't completely sure if I was particularly thrilled. After looking around at the different subject areas, it has made me wonder if I want to do Illustration anymore or if I should do Fine Art. I wasn't feeling very inspired by the Illustration department at all this year, whereas some of the Fine Art work may suit my style better. At the end of the day I guess it is what you make of your time at Art School.

In saying that, I am really looking forward to the ECA Degree Show so I can compare both universities. They are having a Roald Dahl themed Degree Show party, which I will be dressing up as Fantastic Mrs Fox which I can't wait to make a costume for! I also have my Barbara Robertson linoprinting class lined up for the 6th June at Dundee Contemporary Arts which I am ecstatic about. Although I may have to do an all nighter coming back from the Roald Dahl party...

I have failed to mention that in amongst my busy social schedule, my lecturers seem to be very pleased with my final pieces for the Graded Unit. In fact so much one of them mentioned she wants to keep them! Although previously before I went in to get my feedback, another Textiles lecturer at Graham Street spotted my work before my hand in and asked if it would be on sale at the exhibition. Although I'm unsure if I would actually sell my work or not, it was very complimentary that someone was interested enough in possibly purchasing my canvases.

Here are a few photographs of my completed work for my Graded Unit...





We are hanging our exhibition on Monday and the opening is on Tuesday evening. I have invited my parents and a few close friends which should make it a pleasant evening. Hopefully. I've got my eye on a rather fetching pair of suede and chiffon wedges and a tencil jacket from Topshop which I plan to purchase when I'm in Edinburgh this weekend. Overall, I am feeling content that college will soon be over with and exciting new times lay ahead.

Thursday 13 May 2010

Final College Project



These are my drawings I’ve been working on this week for my final project. I’ve been heavily inspired by Crystal Neubauer who uses a mixed media of vintage ephemera and wax covered collage. I particularly loved her Field Studies – Encaustics & Bugs series which has largely influenced my idea for my sea theme collage series. Watch this space.

Wednesday 12 May 2010

communist daughter, standing on the seaweed water.



I sadly have not had any reasonable amount of time to update, but as study and exam time looms over… I find myself procrastinating a little and coming across a certain blog (wishwishwish.net) which always seems to gets me in the mood for writing and thinking why can’t I?!

I have been incredibly overwhelmed with college work, getting my portfolio together for art school and now exams. I have been given two offers from Edinburgh College of Art & Duncan of Jordanstone in Dundee. I am pretty torn between the two. I see it as if having to choose between two lovers. One is the more secure, stable and conventional one (DOJ) and the other one is the new, exciting and unpredictable (ECA). To be truthful, I didn’t really think I’d have to make a ‘choice’ between two great art schools and I guess it’s all dependent on whether I pass my course or not so I can’t really make a decision until then.

It’s Gael Garcia Bernal week on Filmfour which has been preoccupying my free time in the evenings. Not that I can complain, the films he seems to star in are always aesthetically and culturally indulgent which I would always highly recommend to anyone. So far I’ve watched two films I hadn’t seen, which were Y Tu Mamá También and Deficit.

I have a fair few activities lying ahead for this next month, so this will probably be another short insight into my rather busy lifestyle at present. This weekend I’ve planned to volunteer for Dundee’s Big Top Jamboree, a unique creative independent craft fair which appeals to me a lot as I think it’ll give me some insight on how to go around setting up my own stall/online store in future and becoming more of a creative entrepreneur.

I am then planning on attending the exhibition opening of ‘They Had Four Years’ at Generator Projects in Dundee; a video and film installation from 2009 Duncan of Jordanstone graduates . I haven’t been to any exhibitions in Dundee for a while so it’ll be interesting to see what DOJ graduates are up to at the moment. I really feel the need to research into what ECA and DOJ are both doing as current and previous students so I can be better informed in my decision for art school.

Another few events I hopefully will manage to squeeze in this weekend is the Made in the Shade Jamboree, another independent craft fair but this time based in Edinburgh with a larger collective of illustrators, designers and artists. I still haven’t had the chance to visit the Made in the Shade shop in Glasgow, so I’ve an overwhelming curiosity to find out what they’re involved with. There’s a few designers I know they work with that I like, such as Claire Nicolson; a textiles artist, Anthony Zinonos, fine artist/printmaker who puts together amazing collage packs full of old vintage style ephemera which I’ve been using a lot for one of my series of mixed media collage pieces for my final project.

Then on Saturday and Sunday evening, may take my dancing shoes for a small trip down to the wrong end of Dundee town to go see an old acquaintance, Mr. Boom Monk Ben who is DJing on Saturday at the Reading Rooms, and then I have a ticket for Mr. Scruff on Sunday for a bit of nostalgia.

a few photos from a day out at arbroath beach