Panic over! My interviews at Cardiff Met went well and I have been offered an unconditional place on the Artist, Designer Maker course and a conditional place on the Fine Art course. I still have my interviews at Hereford on 10th Jan, and I still have no idea which one I will choose if I get offers for all 4, but the pressure is off - I will definitely be going to university in September! Woo-hoo!
In an attempt to try to relax the day before my interviews, I joined a college trip to the V&A. I thought it might take my mind off things and it worked - I got a solid 8 hours sleep the night before which was desperately needed!
I love the V&A - such a variety of exhibits. I have a strange obsession with the iron & steel area - I could spend a whole day in there admiring the wrought iron and steel paterns and the shadows they cast on the walls! Maybe I should look into blacksmith courses...😄
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| Wrought Mild Steel Grille - Klaus Walz - 1980 |
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| "Buddug's Apron Number 1" Wallhanging - Julia Griffiths Jones - 2014 |
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| "Fire Imp" Wallhanging - Anthony Robinson - 1974 |
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| Sorry - forgot to get artist and date details for this gate, but I love the Art Nouveau feel - when the pair of gates were closed it would look like a pair of swans on a lake . |
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| Elevator Grilles, Chicago, Louis Henry Sullivan 1893-4 |
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| Again, I forgot to take the artist & date details, but the intricate art nouveau pattern captivated me. It's like cupped hands holding ocean waves |
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| These 2 photo's are of segments of the Salisbury Cathedral Choir Screen, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and made by metalworker Francis Skidmore in around 1870-1 |
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Pair of wrought iron window grilles, Italy c.1575 - 1600 I love the delicacy and simplicity of the lattice work with the intricate fleur de lis inserts. Hard to believe it was made over 400 years ago! It must have cast beautiful shadows into the room with the strong Italian sun shining through.
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I think it's the shadows that fascinate me as much as the craftsmanship - mental note to self, an idea for a future work - seek out wrought iron locally and draw it and the shadows it casts! Or possibly look into making some of my own with something other than wrought iron (for now!) Maybe clay?
Talking of clay, the ceramics were also stunning!
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| Red Twisted Form - Merete Rasmussen - 2012. Mobius strip (a single surface with one continuous edge that runs throughout the whole figure - any knitters and crocheters out there will know what a mobius cowl is I'm sure!) Wow...just wow! |
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| Dark Trivalve - Halima Cassell - 2008. based on Islamic architecture and African pattern, but it reminded me of Canadian First Nation art with the strong, bold, wide curves. I love the depth of the carving on the inside and outside of the bowl. |
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| Form-Series I - Guac Roh-Hoon - 2005. This one didn't have the impact on me that the frst 2 did, but it's an incredible piece of work. The technical making of it looks so delicate and yet strong at the same time. I wasn't sure if it was an elephant head or trees, but according to the notes it is 3 trees joined together by foliage! |
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| "Form 1113:Twisting Back, Multiplying" - Harumi Nakashima - 2011. Bonkers but gorgeous! Such a beautiful organic form and I am a bit of a sucker for blue & white. |
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| Snow Lady Gourd - Kate Malone - 2008. We have all seen Kate Malone on Pottery Throwdown, so it was lovely to see her work in the flesh, so to speak. I loved the glaze on this - it does look like snow when it's starting to melt and little pops of colour are starting to show through and it's starting to melt and drip. |
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| Bottle Green Republic - Richard Deacon - 2009. Be still my beating heart: that colour! Swoon...the individual componenets forming a unified structure represents the republic. Simple, beautiful, meaningful 💓 |
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| Graphic Permutations - Glenys Barton - 1974. I'm not sure why I love this, but I do. So there. |
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| Pleated Pot - Henry Pim - 1983. The photo doesn't do this one justice - the metallic glazes really brought this to life. |
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| Another where I don't appear to have noted the artist or date. The illustrative quality of this is beautiful - it's just a lovely serene scene with all my favourite things - scallop shells, hollyhocks, foxgloves and topiary. Sometimes pretty things are enough for me. |
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| Another where I forgot to retain the artist and date. The clay has been layered and then cut away, revealing the layer or layers beneath. In the vase, the angle and curve of the cuts has distorted the layers into interesting patterns |
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| Tao Series - Lee Seunghee - 2016. Lee re-interprets famous examples of porcelein from the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) in the form of ceramic tiles. The vases are in light relief on a flat tile. |
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Porcelein & gold vessels - Yun Jucheol - 2015-16. So tactile - I want to pick one up and hold it (but I guess that's why they are in a glass case so you can't!)
And there were a few prints that I was taken with too...
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Northwest D6 - Catherine Yass - 2001. A distorted print of Tokyo at night - the original photograph was repeated in positive and negative, enlarged and layered, creating a distorted sensory overload, effectively recreating the atmosphere of Tokyo.
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| Air Routes of the World - Langlands & Bell - 2001. I thought this was a map of the stars to start with until I saw the title. simple, beautiful and takes you away - thinking about all those people travelling across the world - where are they going, why etc... |
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| Dry point etching by Lucien Freud. I selected this because it made me feel better about my dry point etching! I thought mine was a bit rubbish, but looking at this, my mark making is very similar! Maybe mine isn't so bad afterall! 😆 |
I won't bore you with the rest of my photo's of the furniture, fashion, large sculptures and the Japanese section - you should go see for yourself if you haven't already - it's a wonderful museum. I still haven't made it around all the displays in 2 visits - serves me right for spending too long in the iron and steel part!
So, now all that is over I am back to working on my Swimming Pool piece. I have made a start at practicing painting with oils on acetate:
I'm not that happy with it, but it's a start. I have ruled out glass paints as they dry too quickly and you can't manipulate them, however it is very tricky to control the oil paint - the opacity and the brushmarks. This is only a single layer painting, wheras I am intending to spread the image over 3 or 4 layers and the photo is also taken from the wrong side - it is my intention to flip the image over and have the glass side at the front to protect the paint from chipping, but as it won't dry for days I couldn't take the photo from that side just yet.
I am going to attempt a short animation over the next few days, using a sheet of real glass rather than the acetate, but again only painting in a single layer. I think the answer to the problems I have been having may be to remove small areas of paint with a cotton bud dipped in white spiritand repaint, rather than tring to move the paint as this just creates muddy colours. We shall see!
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