Say hello to my new Lomography Diana F+ analogue camera! I've been wanting one for ages and thank goodness my christmas hinting has worked! Yes, it looks amaaazing (En Rose) but they also take killer photos. Theres some sort sparkle with old film cameras that digital doesn't have. You take the photo, CLICK, wind the film and waaait that long wait until the film has run out and you bring it into the ole photo shop. The suspense! And what's more, this little plastic beauty comes with different coloured gels to put into the flash so the pictures can come out different colours! I'm going to use it to take pictures of my memory objects for my memory box. There's something that brings me back to those days of using a film camera. It remind me of my first (okay, second. The first had the doomed fate of being accidentally flushed down the toilet..) little camera and how I'd run around taking pictures of any little pretty thing that took my fancy. I love that this project gives me an excuse to rediscover and 'sense' these things of my childhood.

Christmas holidaaays!

So that's it, semester one has come to an end. Well, kind of... It's really not complete to me until after our assesment which starts this day three weeks.(!!!) I have some serious work to do but luckily I've gotten off to a good start and worked a bit on my contextual notebook over the weekend. I really need to gather some more artists to look at, currently running a bit short..
Of course, the most important thing is to work on my initial idea (including working in some more 3D and digital) and develop what I'm gonna display for assement. At the moment I'm developing some ideas of how I'm going to display that whole concept of nostalgia for a space. A space existing somewhere you're not, but also existing in other forms. What I love about the direction my project's gone in lately is that I'm genuinely excited about it! Something I found was missing from my project a few weeks ago. We'll see how it goes! :)

My workspace today!

 

CCS visual notebook

 My favorite page! ^

Here are some of the pages from my CCS visual notebook. I thought I was a good idea, getting us to do this instead of an essay. Susan told us that I had to be largely visual so I was interesting, I thought, trying to find a way to express the artists we studied on a page. Although it was pretty rushed in the end, I did put alot into it - hopefully the grade shows!

Godess experiences

While rooting through some charity shops in rainy Limerick city centre last friday, i found a gem! I love trawling through charity shops, particularly through the books and magazines section. Cuz you never know what you might find. I picked up a lovely book on art and archictecture on Rome, but then I spotted a luminous acid-pink floral design on a black background. I was going to buy it for its cover but I flickered through it anyway. Bright illustrated pages, topics varying between travel, fashion, food and art .. interviews with Damien Hirst, Vivienne Westwood and pages about hotel chandeliers- it was quite the find. And how much? A euro. Yep!
 And the next day, the unlikely happened. Christmas shopping with my family in Kilkenny and once again I couldnt resist the little charity shops lined along the buterslip. Aaaand what did I find? Yus, the first 'Godess Guide' book. Three euro, a little steeper than its sequel, but I suppose it's hardback.....

Obviously in the past three days I haven't exactly read them cover to cover, but I have practically brought them everywhere I go. Just in case I get the chance for some tea, a chocolate chip biscuit and a good ole read ya know.... Plus they gave me mega inspiration for my CSS notebook which was handed up yesterday. Win win!

Space with, then without.

A piece I did today after talking to Des.
I got an old picture of my dad and I on Titahi Bay beach when we used to live there. With precision I cut out around us, and our shadows and left the remaining photo on a blank white page. I stuck us, the figures onto another white page. For me it depicts being in a space, then leaving the space, but the space still existing. People can move from one space to another, but that space still exists, albeit without its previous inhabitants. Its a cool concept that I really must plan more artwork around. Maybe I'll paint the first picture, of the beach without us, in the candy bright that remind me of the space when I'm not there.. the childish colours that tint my memory of the space. The candy coloured corruption of the true existence.

Ice-cream drippy prints!

 

Last night I was up late with the flu.. but on the bright side I got some drippy, glittery watercolour ice cream prints! I made a stencil (above) first in the general shape of an ice-cream cone. Then I made a palette of those particular acid-y colours that I've decided bring be back to my youthful days. I watered up the colours, then, using different base colours for different cones, dripped and drizzled the other colours (including gold and glitter) down the ice cream part of the cone. I did a few prints leaving out the cone part to see what I would look like with just the ice cream. Not sure what my tutors will think of the prints - but I really liked how they came out!

'Ice Cream Colours' by Yuvali, 6.

 

This is genuinely one of the most beautiful pieces of art I have seen in a while. I came across it while scanning through pinterest. It's called 'Ice Cream Colours' and is by a six year old named Yuvali. And thats the extent of my knowlegde on the the piece. Was it in an exhibition? Done at school? On a fridge in a home?

I think it appeals to me because it's fulls of that playfulness of being a child. It is of colours that remind me of sweet wrappers, Barbie cars, budgie wings and ice cream. These are the colours that bring me back to that place when I was six.

That hazy palette of years gone by...

 

I went home this weekend and dug through some old photo albums. Im thinking about those colours that remind me of being young - that over-tone that hangs upon my memories -  and edited these photos adding colour and frames.

Decision Time!

As this semester nears an end, and assesment draws closer, its easy to forget that we have to make our decisions regarding what subject choices we have to make for next semester. Last week the college held a number of talks on what each department is about. I went to talks on most of the disciplines, to keep my options open. The talk on fashion was quiet scare-mongering.... but intruiging! I loved the display on graphics and getting to see how much of a broad course it is. I love photography, but after going to the talk about it, I don't think its something that I'd like to take to degree level. So, at the moment fashion and visual communications are my top two. I'm stuck between painting, print and animation as my third. We'll see!

My Apartment Work Space.

 

Fairy lights always make me feel at home!

New Subjects

 

Again, I met with one of my tutors to find out how my new idea is developing. I showed Elaine the maps I made and some beach photography. She suggest I become more particular in my approach. I should find something, an object perhaps, that brings me straight back to the beach in my childhood. I should keep to my theme of nostalgia. The idea of ice cream resonated with me and I thought about hazy summer evenings by the shore, and trips to the dairy or the ice cream van to get a 99 cone, dipped in sparkling multi-coloured hundreds and thousands. The sweet creamy taste and that familiar melody of the ice cream van...

Cyu next semester CCS!

 

No more CCS lectures until next semester. I must day though, I really enjoyed the lectures and learnt alot during our 'whirlwind through art history'. In fairness we did cover alot - from Giotto's pioneering perspective to Wedgewood's business-savy ceramics in the eighteenth century. Now to focus on our CCS tutorial notebook due for the 10th!

Inspiration!

 

Kieran showed us the work of a past ceramics student called Niamh. I love her used of materials, shape and the story-like quality to her work of oceans, mythology and tales of the deep.

Ceramics Workshop

 

Today I decided to take part in a ceramics workshop run by one of the lecturers, Kieran. We were given a tour of the ceramics studios and shown some sketchbooks of previous students. Unfortunately we didnt get to make anything within our time slot but I must admit I did benefit and was inspired by some of the beautiful sketchbboks and pieces. Although I dont think ceramics is for me, I have a great admiration and respect for it.

 

Meeting with my Tutor.

Today I spoke to one of my tutors, Elaine, about my new idea. She agreed with me in that it would have been a good idea to begin the year with. She liked my new idea but reminded me how little time is left to begin a new idea. It is possible, I'll just have to work veeery hard! She recommened that I look at old maps to begin with, perhaps layering maps of where I used to live and where I live now. Also, to find some old photographs of Titahi Bay and maybe me there when I was young. They could become nostalgic, retro-like postcards!

Aerial View of Titahi Bay

Memory Map

 

The beginning of the first project based on my new idea. I decided to make a map from memory of where I lived when I was young, paying particular attention to the shape of the coast-line and the beaches. I though that it was an interesting way to 'sense my space', by going on memory rather than going straight to a map. I'm planning on painting it using a variety of materials including, watercolour paint, green-tea stains, gold paint, black ink pens and maybe even sand! 

Change (Again!)

Yet again, I found myself coming to a sort of brick wall with regards to the 'To Sense my Space' project. True, during the progress reviews a month ago my tutors were happy with my idea development. But basing my project on caves and shanty towns has come a bit detached from the project idea. Sure they depict a space but is it 'my space'? Not really.
 I started to brainstorm again last week. Instead though of starting completely again ( I didn't fancy going back completely to where I was in December!) I wanted to keep my new idea in tune with my exploration of geographical, physical and personal space.
 In the end I came up with something that I quite obviously should have done from the beginning. I thought about a place that is important to me, that i could connect with and explore. This place is the Titahi Bay Beach in New Zealand, where i lived for the first six and a half years of my life. It is a space which always have an always will be part of me. It is a place that holds just as much importance to me as my home in Waterford. At the moment I'm thinking of so many possibilities, but I must work quick!!!

CSS Tutorial

 

Today in our CSS class with Susan, we watched a documentary on the font, 'Helvetica'. I found it strangely interesting, learning about the history of something I quite frankly didn't believe there was any history on!

CCS Essay

 

Our CSS essay of this semester was handed in today. Although it is a weight off my shoulders, I must say I loved doing it! I found the research quite interesting (my love of reading finally put to good use in art college!!) and then the writing I also enjoyed. I chose a question that intriuged me, even though I had little previous knowledge of the period (Rococo).

 

The question I chose was :

'Did Rococo art have a serious side? Analyse three works with particular reference to the opinions of historians who have written on the matter.'

 

The works I chose were (listed in order as above) ; The Princess Salon in Hotel de Soubise by Boffrand; Embarkation for Cythera by Watteau; Madame de Pompadour by Boucher.

 

I found Rococo so very inspiring! It embodies much of what I find aesthetically pleasing in art - cloudy pastels, symbolism, historical significance and ornate decoration. Since I've begun research on the topic it's remarkable how much I've noticed much contempory fashion which has drwn inspiration from the period.

 

I also made some colour prints but i thought the effects on the colour ont the potatoes when they dried was much more interesting!

Potatoe Prints!

 

My main feedback from the progress reviews was to work more in 3D. One of my tutors suggested I make potatoe prints in my depiction of favela houses. I had fun with this project, buying a big bag of potatoes and carving them into litttle simple houses. I then make some chips (not with painted potatoes.)

 

 

'A sense of belonging to something that belongs to us: a territory. A virtual dwelling that allows us to express ourselves in various ways and meanings.'

Favela Painting Project

My desk at the end of this week...

Amy Casey

Somehow these little boxes, roughly cut, selotaped together and clinging to each other, all lit up, became something quite enchanting for me. This simple project gave me a basis for exploration, perhaps turning 3D into 2D, using a mutitude of different materials and means of expression

 

In the past few weeks I've found myself in kind of a loop, in terms of the exploration of my 'caves' theme.
 Indeed, I considered abandoning it completely but in the research and brainstorming of new ideas, I continued to be faced with the fascination of the physical space around me and the metaphors it entails.I begun to think about the components of that space which is around me. I thought about my own home, room, living space... I thought about how little material could be used to make a space more safe and homely to me.
 I began to look at different types of homes around the world - my fascination fixated on the small dwellings of the favelas and shanty towns in Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai and Johannesburg. The people of these communities make homes with the most materials, resources abd space that they can find. They fill this space with their dwelling/ manmade cave, and this becomes home.

Favelas in Rio de Janeiro

Moment Factory - Ode à la vie démo officiel

As ever, Gaudí's architecture continues to amaze and awe-inspire - almost 70 years after his death. The Montreal-based new media arts and entertainment studio, 'Moment Factory', in September 2012, transformed the Sagrada Familia into yet a more stunning and colourful vision, playing on the building's magnificent architecture. By use of video, lighting, performance and sound, the team of artists created the most magical of moments for its spectators. Inspired by the original coloured drawings of Gaudí, 'Moment Factory' projected a dazzling array of coloured lighting and motion onto the Roman Catholic Church that remains uncompleted since the untimely death of its creator.
'Images cascaded across the front of the church, from a brightly coloured display of birds to a mosaic, to a tropical paradise, complete with waterfall'- The Daily Mail

To relate this fantastic art installation to my own project, I was inspired by how Moment Factory completely transformed the Sagrada Familia. It proves how colour can almost entirely change a space. As you see the Sagrada Familia transformed you almost feel as if you are gazing into a fourth dimesional space - another world. It has inspired me to explore colour and how it can effect and transform 2D and 3D spaces.

'Colour is the essence of life' - Antoni Gaudí

After dipping the ends of the stalagtites/ icycle formations into wax, i tied them together and after many attempts, managed to attach them all to behind my board. I was happy with the end product but after a talk with one of my tutors, came to the conclusion that working with such a literal interpretation of caves would leave me with a limited amount of projects to undertake. And so i began looking at a more broader spectrum of ideas (still based on the concept of space being the natural and man-made structures around me)