Life Size.

The next step for now is to create a life size dollhouse, Fee and I are going to join together and start collaborating again like we did for the shelter project, we have such similar ideas and we’re both stuck in the same frame of mind at the moment. We’ve recently been on the hunt for old abandoned houses, or even just small spaces that aren’t being used like sheds and garages. We’re going to create a house inside the spaces, much like the dollhouse I’ve wanted to do for ages, so to have Fee interested in the same idea is prefect! We plan to hold an exhibition night within the house, showcasing our work and maybe others if it suits. I think this is a step in the right direction now, and I feel like my way of thinking is a bit more focused, last term I fell back a bit and this new term I will push myself harder to achieve more.

This old ruin of a building would the ideal location for me...now we just need to find it!

Oh nooooo!! I’ve totally messed up the stupid dates and I was supposed to have had my feedback tutorial last Thursday, I thought it was this Thursday coming! This is so typically annoying, I genuinely wanted to talk to Jon about my work, I wanted my feedback from my presentation, I’m really annoyed with myself because now I’m going to have to wait until the new year to get the chance to speak to Jon again.

Kai-Oi Jay Yung.

Today I went to Kai-Oi Jay Yung’s exhibition the ‘Interval; A Narrative Psychosis’ at the Cornerhouse.

I've written an exhibition review on this, so I don't want to repeat myself, so I'll keep it brief...

The exhibition overall interested me through its stage design, it reminded me much of the interior of a house, though perhaps a house in Hong-Kong, noticeable through the constant reminder of Chinese decoration and video footage. The video's themselves I wasn't that blown away from, I mean they were interesting to listen to, though some dragged on a little bit, and it took me to about the tenth video clip to start to understand a little bit about the overall theme of the exhibition, and what Yung was trying to put across to her audience.

I've written my exhibition review on this is particular because I think it's important to talk about art which you don't necessarily like, because in a way I have more of an opinion about an exhibition like this as appose to something which I love very aspect of.

A long break.

I've not been blogging for ages, probably because i've not had inspo for anything and to be honest i've been stuck in a bit of a rut. I hate getting to this stage it really frustrates me, I’ve got all these ideas going on in my head but nothings actually coming out of it. I've needed something to inspire me again desperately.

It's all good though because i'm back on it now and full of ideas which i'm pretty excited about, i'll keep this updated as of NOW.

Yesterday I did my presentation about my exhibition piece, there were 5 of us altogether in my group, we each had to give a 5 minute talk about our work displayed and then there would be a 5 minute period to ask questions. I always like hearing about other people’s work, especially those who are in my class because it helps me relate back to my own work too. There were one or two in my group who had done a fair amount of experimentation work, and that’s something which I always need to do more of so it set me back a bit. I’ve always been quite happy to talk about my work, I tend not to think too deeply about it beforehand because a lot of people get so nervous and I don’t ever want to be like that. I could have spoken about my work for quite a bit longer, but we had to keep to the time limit so then it came to the questions. Someone commented on the fact that the story didn’t really match up to the scene they were looking at, they said that they wouldn’t have guessed that the couple were acting like gypsy’s, stealing from the community. I could see what they meant, because the scene could have involved a lot more ‘stolen goods’ and I’d like to make the interior a bit more mix matched to suggest a broken home. Jon and Hazel always comment on the way in which I piece together my work, I’ve been told a number of times that it always looks a little bit messy, with glue poking out in random places. I have taken note of this, and when making this small dollhouse I really tried my best to keep it to a neat standard, though I think I need to change the glue I’ve been using, perhaps something a bit more delicate. I’ve also got some great suggestions for work experience and volunteer work, someone suggested working on a theatre stage set, I’ve thought about this before actually, but at the time it wasn’t something I was really that interested in, because I associated it more with drama and acting as appose to the set design itself.

I always imagined the inside of my dollhouse to be a bit interactive, having random objects moving and creating unexpected gestures. When I spoke about this, it was suggested to me that I research a bit about automata and see how I could develop the idea further, so that’s stuck with me and is something I’ll do.

my minature dolls house.

My dolls house, has been created using a small cupboard/drawer which i've stripped down to make a basic room, and then i've just made a bought all the bits and bobs to create a lively scene within the house. I made this one room first because i needed a prototype of what a dolls house would look like...it would be like 8 of these smaller rooms put togther, and each room will set a different scene, following a story.

I’ve come back home to Wales this week because I’m in desperate need of HobbyCraft!! My exhibition piece is a small version of a dolls house, I bought a small cabinet for around £1 and have created a little dollhouse scene inside...but I need all the finishing touches and HobbyCraft is the only place I know of that sells the essentials! The scene I’ve created follows the story which I made up, It’s about a beautiful married couple who live in this lovely little house, until one day a wicked witch (or wizard I haven’t decided yet) cast a spell on the two for being so perfectly happy, and the spell turned the couple into half human and half animal! They were then looked down upon in their community and had to look out for themselves, robbing food from markets and living like gypsy to just get by. So basically the house I’ve created is supposed to show their chaotic house and the couple inside. I now need to buy lots of bits and bobs, including kitchenware, books and anything else I think will relate to the story. I just hope I can get it all done in time; I only have 3 more days until it should be displayed!

We had our cross course crit a couple of days ago, I knew what to expect because of having the same last year, though this year I guess I was put in a different situation because I now had 1^st years to discuss my work with too. My group was actually made up of four 2^nd years, three 3^rd years and only one 1^st year! We each took turns in talking about our work up to date and just talked generally about what were up to at the moment. It’s always good to talk to new groups of people, because It’s interesting and helpful to know their opinions especially if they have some suggestions which could benefit my work. I got quite a good response from the group, to be fair it wasn’t the most talkative of groups, and I probably would of liked a bit more of a discussion about each individuals work. I came away from the session with the influence to do more work, and especially more experimentation, because my ideas aren’t good enough without more visual props. Next week we start putting up our work in the end of term exhibition.

I got an email back toady from Selfridges and John Lewis...both aren’t looking for any temp work, they each said they’ll contact me if they have any further in the future, which is absolutely rubbish because I was looking forward to getting involved with that field of work! I think I need to start smaller, perhaps some shops in Manchester.

A few days ago I emailed a few companies regarding works experience or even just any type of help they might need in the coming year, I’m really interested in Visual Merchandising and decided to ask around at department stores like Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and John Lewis. I emailed all three stores and now I’m just waiting to hear back, I reallyy hope they have some vacancies, because I think this could be a step in the right direction with what I want to do. I’ve always loved the window displays at Christmas time especially, I like the mechanical moving toys and the bizarre scenario set...I think this is something which connects quite nicely with my style of work. This year so far I feel very panicky about the future, and that’s not something I generally worry about, but It’s sort of dawned on me that I should have some idea of what path I’d like to take, but I have NO idea! So I think doing some work experience with Visual Merchandising should give me a feel as to what the job would entail, and even just to give me a few contacts for any future plans.

I went to a life drawing class recently in the Nexus Art cafe in the Northern Quarter, oh I just love drawing so freely, the last time I did a class like that was on my foundation year and back then it was my favourite too. I found it exciting to be doing something which is different to what I’ve been practicing for the past year or so, I think it’s been quite important for me to get a bit of inspiration back too.

my dolls house!

We had tutorials again this past week, I missed my original one so I was in a group with a few others and we discussed our current work and upcoming ideas with Jon. My main idea at the moment is still creating a dollhouse; I’ve made a few characters recently which I imagine would fit with the theme of my house, I’ve sewn together a rabbits head made out of textured material and wiring for the ears, and placed it onto the body of a toy animal. I like the contradiction of two bodies coming together to create a new type of species, the idea isn’t for the characters to be scary and twisted, I’m aiming for a surreal element but relating closely to children’s fairytales. The house itself I want to create inside a piece of furniture, because a chest of drawers or an old cabinet has a real authentic feel to it, and I want each room to be inside a hidden drawer of some kind. The feedback I got from my group was all pretty positive, the main issue is that I need to produce more work, Jon has told me this before and I know he’s right, I’ve got so many ideas going on but not enough work to show for it. Also Jon spoke to us about networking too, volunteering more and perhaps looking for some sort of works experience.

I went to a friend’s exhibition a couple of days ago, he was showing some drawings and film in the basement of one of the little cafe bars in Northern Quarter. He draws very simply and I really enjoy that about his work, I wasn’t so keen on his film work, I think he has a better skill for drawing...it’s inspired me to do some life drawing classes!

Shelter project- 'Home Sweet Home'

My group project.

My group and I exhibited our shelter project last week, I've written a project report on it, so I won't go into the nitty gritty stuff, but basically it turned out great! Me and Felix spent the entire day right up untill 1am, trying to find the perfext interior for the bus shelter. By the next morning all the furniture had been stolen...but we knew smething would happen, and at the end of the day it's part of the fun, it's the unexpected which is exciting. Overall I'm happy with the outcome, it has gievn us ideas to further the project in different areas now.

The concept plays with the image of what a shelter is, a home is where you live, it's where you sleep and each home is personal. It's common knowledge that a bus shelter has the use of sheltering the people underneath it, so when combining the two ideas together we created this set-up displaying a scene from a house. I love the contradiction of the inside/outside scenario, and I think the project can be looked at from different perspectives, some might think the idea is simple in regards to 'shelter' but there's more depth than the visual aspect.

SLOW MOTION SHOES.

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My sister Hannah Merrick is in this new band and they are called Slow Motion Shoes. I suggest you get listening to them and come see them at Deaf Institute this thursday oct 28th. don't miss this treat!!!!

HEATHER BENNING!

I stumbled across this artist when researching for doll houses; I was fascinated by her life size ‘Dollhouse’. Benning found an old abandoned house in the middle of a Saskatchewan field, and decided to renovate the building into what would be seen as a typical dolls house. The back wall of the house was replaced with plexiglass which would give the same appearance as a dollhouse, and the interior was completely refurbished with furniture from the 1960’s. I wanted to discover why Benning chose to create this house, was it simply for the visual aspect? And is the piece site specific? I managed to find quote from her...

“We hold inside us the gathering of the places we have inhabited. Places shape our ideas and feelings; at the same time, our ideas and feelings animate places.

In my past works, I have explored issues of identity, rural displacement and/or reclamation, heritage and nostalgia. My site-specific installations rely on surrounding landscape and architecture to create a mise-en-scene for the viewer, thus making the works a multi-sensorial experience.

The goal with my practice is to make viewers question their relationship to their surroundings and their placement within these environments. However, everything changes all the time, as do I and my research...”

So there we go, I think it explains enough to me...though I still want to know more about the chosen theme and interior as appose to the surrounding landscape. I was attracted to the piece because I immediately thought it was a miniature dollhouse which had been focused in on, and when I discovered that in fact it was a life size house, I became really fascinated by the whole idea. So now I’ve got dollhouse ideas on mind constantly, I just need to focus on one!

http://www.heatherbenning.ca/theworks/dollhouse/dollhouse.html

Heather Benning.

I'm going to build a dolls house.

Well I volunteered to help out at the Manchester Science Festival as part of a group organising an installation piece called the Super K Sonic Boom. The installation was a 23 metre long river of water which was running through a tunnel lined with loads and loads of gold balloons...it’s a recreation of the experience of a sonic boom at Japan’s Super Kamiokande neutrino observatory. The idea is for the visitors to dress in white boiler suits, wearing protective hats and wellingtons to sail down the balloon filled tunnel in a small rowing boat, where they will witness loud ‘booms’ and bright bold blue flashes, hopefully gaining the full experience! So I put my name down to volunteer for the whole week, but after just the one day I actually went back home for a while because I had the opportunity to see Rachel at hospital. I know this volunteer job is great experience, but at the time there was no way on earth I was going to miss the chance to finally see Rach, I don’t care what anyone thinks about it because she means the world to me. I emailed the management team to apologise about the situation and have asked to please consider me again for any further opportunities, because I’m interested in helping out exhibitions, I think it would be fun!

Shleter Project.

I had my first tutorial with Jon today, I know it’s early on in the year but before I went to see him I still felt I was lacking with ideas and work, and really I have plenty of good ideas. I think because of what’s happened with Rachel I’ve just put everything on hold, when really I can’t do that because I love art and I can’t risk my degree because of personal circumstances, I just have to focus on what I need to do.

So generally Jon and I spoke about my ideas for where I’ll be taking my next project, which I think Jon found interesting, though I get the feeling he likes to see the work rather than just hear my ideas! I have a plan to create a dolls house, I just love making miniature creations and producing little story scenes, I think there’s something really magical and intriguing about small versions of life-sized objects. During my first year on this course, I began a fascination with taxidermy and story books, I enjoy the humour which animals and toys can create when set as though human, acting out roles which are unexpected of these creatures. I imagine my doll’s house to set a different scene within each room, each scene will relate to a chapter from a story book...I’m unsure whether I will create my own story or refer to one which interests me already. I’m very excited about this project!!

I also discussed with Jon the new project we’ve been given in class the other week, the project is based on ‘shelter’. Initially I loved the sound of this; there are so many avenues which can be taken with it so it’s something I’m really looking forward to getting on with. Being in a group was optional, so I decided it would be a good opportunity to work with my friend Felix, we’re both very similar in our ideas, we both love making intricate things, and generally have quite a similar outlook. I’ve spoken to Fee about my dolls house idea already and she loves the idea, so I suggested we do something similar with this shelter project, and we came up with a few ideas. We both liked the aspect of having some sort of contradiction in the context, I thought of perhaps creating a shelter from the environment like survivalists do, using any means we could find such as branches, leaves, grass, wood etc. And then inside the shelter would be a readymade ‘home’, including the likely objects you would find in a house such as a carpet, lamp, picture frame and other household associations. Fee came up with the idea of doing something with a bus shelter, focusing on the obvious fact that the general public all use this space as a shelter by some means. Combining both of our ideas we landed on the decision to create a home within a bus shelter, transforming the usual and familiar surroundings of a ‘bus stop’ into a space which creates a home for those who shelter underneath it. Two girls from my class, Holly and Emma both needed to be in a group so they ended up joining onto mine and Fee’s project too. So far we’ve planned out the concept of the project and have given ourselves targets as for when to start setting the scene.

shelter.

...

What an AWFUL week this has been. My best friend Rachel had a car accident one week ago, and she’s been in a coma this whole time, I went home a few days ago hoping to see her but she’s not able to have any visitors yet, all I want to do is go and be with her, and right now nothing else matters. I haven’t done any art, but it’s really the last thing I’m thinking about right now.

New term.

So we’ve started back at uni now, we had a bit of an induction type thing the other day, I think it was more for the 1^st years who Hazel wanted to settle in by mingling with us now 2^nd years. We also brought in out summer projects, which by the way I was surprised to see so many costumes had been made! The brief did say “wear your project on the first day back”, but to be fair mine wasn’t really wearable...I could have worn it or just held it! There were quite a few good costumes which I liked, capes, hats and other type things. If I’m really honest though I’ve always thought this Interactive Arts course is far too ‘drama-y’ for me, I mean I understand ‘Interactive’ means getting involved with each other and being spontaneously creative...but that’s not the kind of art which appeals to me, and after our first day back earlier this week, I kind of remember that side of the course which I don’t really like. I’ve got to look past this though because as long as I focus on what I’m interested in then I’ll do just fine!

Also I forgot to mention that I’ve got a job, at Topshop! I really so badly need the money, I struggled last year to buy all my art materials so this wage will really help in the months to come. I know it’s going to take a few days out of the week, which I really hope won’t affect my art work, and if it starts suffering then I’ll cut down my hours so I can fit both into the week!

Little Dragon.

So someone told me about Little Dragon, her music is so dreamy and quite hypnotic, I'm really loving it. I'm really into this video for her song.TWICE. It's filmed by the artist/film maker Johannes Nyholm...he's produced a tonne of music videos. definitely my new found LOVE.

(LOOK)

...cannot wait for some of this.

daaaim i want to be at glastonbury.

...i like this, i don't know if it's by an artist or what, but i like it aesthetically. I want to make something minature.

recent paintings.

End of year exhibition...

I've put up my final exhibition piece in the link gallery at Manchester met uni today. I've created books showing the characters coming to life, and almost escaping from inside the pages into the real world. The stage setting in the middle of the books show a human situation of getting married, though their heads are animals, which makes the scenario confusing and would turn the story into something fictional. I make these stories simply because I enjoy creating miniature scenes, adding detail and making them look quite realistic, some may be amusing and others may not, but I don't really have an intention to get people to think of them in a certain way, I make them for enjoyment.

Samson and Delilah.

I went to see this film the other night, it was actually pretty good, although there wasn't much of a story line, I saw it as more of a documentry to show us how the Aboriginal people in Austrailia are misstreated and classified as different to the rest of the Austrailian continent.
I don't have much knowledge on this subject, but after watching the film I actually can understand a abit more about the issue, and I would suggest anyone the same to go see it too!

In contrast...Musee du Louvre.

MONA LISA.

I've finally seen this Leonardo da Vinci painting in real life and as close as I could possibly get...which was metres away guarded behind a glass protective box and a barrier for the viewer to stand behind.
I heard one person say to their friend

"yeah it's good, but I just don't see what all the fuss is about"

which made me laugh because she had some point, I mean the other da Vinci Paintings were displayed much more low key, and on a scale 3 times as big as The Mona Lisa. Though this is probably the most famous and iconic painting in the world, therefore has every right to be protected and presented to such a high standard. Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1911, and luckily was recovered intact two years later, the painting has since also attracted much vandalism in the past for different reasons, and so the bullet proof glass is vital to keep the iconic painting safe.
When I looked at the painting I still couldn't understand how genuine it was, even though it was standing right there in front of me I had to keep reminding myself that this was the original Leonardo da Vinci. Although I had heard the painting was only small, I didn't realise how small it actually would be! when you walk into the room you can just see a swarm of people pushing and shoving each other to get to the front of the safety barrier, and a few feet ahead is the Mona Lisa, barely visible at this point. When i got to the front it was still a struggle to take a clear picture of the painting, I took like 15 photographs to eventually get a clear portrait of her.
It was as though a famous person was standing with her body guards in front of these crazy fans, pushing and taking photographs, it was just a constant repeat of flashing camera's. really bizarre.

I did really enjoy visiting the Louvre, I couldn't believe how massive the gallery was, it would take days to view the thousands and thousands of collected art pieces. I admit that I'm more keen on 20th century art than the exhibits in the Louvre, though the works of artists such as Botticelli, Raphael and da Vinci leave me in awe of their pure talent to paint so beautifully.

Jean-Francois Rauzier.

Hyper-photos. Rauzier's artwork is created by assembling hundreds of close-up shots taken with a telephoto lens, giving amazing high-definition detail which no normal camera could possibly capture at the distance taken. When I saw the images I hadn't the knowledge of how Rauzier created them, I couldn't understand how a piece of photography could be so clear and so life-like. Since returning home I looked into the work of Rauzier and now I'm just fascinated with how he produces such detailed images, it's crazy because when I looked closely at his work I could see no sign of the images being tampered with, no joining to suggest any cropping and redesigning.
The hyper-photos give off a strange atmosphere whereby time has frozen and a fantasy world has been captured, the colours are so vivid and magical that it's hard to believe the photographs have been taken from the real world.
From these photographs I have taken, you can see how large the scale of his images are, which indicates how precise Rauzier has to be in order to display a flawless photograph. I like his work because of the interesting way in which he creates, his subject matter is confusing and again has similar characteristics to collage, the image as a whole makes sense until you look closely and discover random objects which contrast each other.

Serge Mendjisky.


Mendjisky uses photography to create a means of distorted collage's, displaying images of city life, public events and other general scenarios. It was the scale of his work which captured me the most, because from afar the images could be mistaken as a random collection of colour. When I took a closer look I could see a clear image of buildings and people which have cleverly been restructured to give the impression of an original photograph.
I find collage really interesting to use and to look at, I see it as another form of painting, so instead of creating with acrylics, oil or pastel, I can use photographs and images to give the same effect.
Mendjisky reminds me a bit of Rauschenberg's approach to image and colour, both use imagery to create abstract art, and where Rauschenberg utilizes paint to combine the two mediums, Medjisky's creations give off a similar affect using only photography.

Arman.
I really like this sculpture piece in the exhibition,by the artist named Arman. I found it aesthetically pleasing to look at, but it was frustrating because it was in a box and I just really wanted to touch it! I love ready-made art, I think it's really interesting to look at, and i like the debate on whether or not it is considered as art in its own right.

Philippe Pasqua.
I loved this painting 'Portrait de Femme'. The overall scale was amazing, because the markings were so clear and seemed so simple when I was stood close to it. I've been researching this artist since coming back, and i find his oil paintings amazing, he's inspired me to go back into painting. Pasqua's style is expressive, abstract and spontaneous, his brush strokes are visible and the painting's appear to be in motion, bringing his portraits to life.

parieeeeeee

I've come back from Paris now, and got sooo many ideas and inspiration, the exhibition Pavillon des Arts & Du Design was running during the week i was there, which was really lucky because it was amazing! it was full of painting, sculptures and loads of modern furniture design, i just loved it. I think just being in a new environment was needed at this point in time, being surrounded by really interesting people was what the exhibiton was all about.
I came across a suprising number of artists who I already admire, one being Nikki de Saint Phalle, one of her famous 'Nana' sculptures was exhibited, which i'm not really a fan of comapared to her 'shooting paintings', but I enjoyed seeing an artist I was familiar with. So as well as other known artists such as Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat, discovered some new pieces which I just loved...

Exit Through The Gift Shop.

Banksy is one of those artists whose life is as interesting as his art, I want to know how and when he creates his work, I'm hoping that this film will sort of shed some light into what goes on in his head.



i need to see this.

PARIS!

...I'm going to Paris in a couple of weeks and cannot waaaait. I need to get away from the same old things, and get NEW inspiration to get motivated now now now. arghh there's just so much to do over there, the art the sites the fashionnnnn. eeeeeeee i best get researching.

sketchbook stuff...

Victorian Taxidermy.

Taxidermy is the reproduction of dead animals for display...although I actually find this disgusting, there's something about it which excites me, because they appear so life-like, whilst also looking a bit like a toy stuffed animal.

Anthropomorphism- Meaning the characteristics of a human combined with that of a non-human, such as an animal or other being. I hate when animals are dressed up, like in the circus, or when people dress their pets for their own pleasure, I think it's inhumane...though for some reason I'm attracted to the 'artistic' side of taxidermy, and I'm enjoying exploring it at the moment.

The Victorian and Edwardian times were very popular for Anthropomorphism taxidermy , displaying the taxidermy for amusement and entertainment, which unlike modern day, the exhibits appeared to be of popular interest. One of the most well known practitioner at the time was Walter Potter, his collections of humorous taxidermy were displayed in his museum known as 'Bramber's Museum', based in West Sussex.
Potter's centerpiece of the museum was his display of 98 stuffed birds,which was inspired by a book of stories. It's the combination of texture which I love the most about this artwork,and the detail in the props and scenery which gives the characteristics of a human environment.
On face value I find the images quite amusing, I don't actually think of them as cruelty to animals...but maybe if I saw them in real life, displayed inside a box, I may well have a different outlook.

All these images are by Walter Potter.

I've never really experimented with animation before, I just find it really interesting figuring out how they are produced, so I'm discovering it in my own way, trying out different approaches to see what works best. I've been given the advice to research the work of Brothers Quay, their animations relate closely the style in which I'm trying to achieve.
So I've been looking, and I actually love some of what they've created, it really reminds me of Tim Burton's work. What appeals to me the most is the silence of it all, as in the viewer can make their own assumption of the story it tells. I love the lighting of the films, it gives the impression of an outlandish scenario, as though we are watching a nightmare unravel itself.

Below is an animation created by The Quay Brothers. It fascinates me, there is so much detail involved, it makes me wonder how many frames were used to make a film which is so precise and so well structured...

An animation I recently created...

Once upon a time...

My books.

I like the scenes within the books to be humorous, the surreal elements create an innuendo to the viewer, because each person will take their own perspective on the stories. The face value of each scenario is usally different once inspected closely, the happy 'fairytale' isn't always the case, and this is the quality i like about making these books...they're a composition of fantasies and nightmares.

Like this a lot.

'Silks: Part One, Silk and Secrecy'

Artists: Kumi Korf and Emoretta Yang

recent work.

back.

its been too long since i've written on here, i guess the essay took over for a while, then christmas. So here's what im thinking at the moment...
SEWING! im sewing a lot at the moment, making collages, still influenced by Marnie Weber, i wanted to go the Manchester Art Gallery today, but the snow has been so so bad, i'd like to see the Angels of Anarchy exhibition, can't believe i've still not seen it!