the show the show

our class show went up last week: this was the first instance in which i saw the work of my fellow classmates as well as the first event i made work for since i've arrived. that being said, my work is not something i am thrilled about. i haven't been able to feel comfortable or excited about art making the way i was last semester, and i think that feeling is obvious, though definitely not intentional.
anyhoo: the drawings are ones i've shown before, both on the blog and at the all-school-critique. that crit was open to all students (designers, architects, and artists) who wanted feedback on whatever they were working on. it was a good experience as i was able to receive input from other mindsets as well as get a gauge on the u.k. perspective or critique method.

the mice will be critiqued tomorrow at noon by a small group of my classmates, all of whom were participants in the show. wish me luck!

the effects of belief
the action of curiosity
carved bread, books






people in their houses
watercolour on paper

the best thing seen thusfar

mary buchanan's the threshold

marble statuary is something i have had very little live experience viewing compared to other classic art works (my focus, or stumbled-upon happenstance falling more towards metal work or painting). every time i come into contact with something in said vein i am shocked. it is such a beautiful way to show bodies. it is such a beautiful material alone.

this sculpture in particular is one that really overwhelms me. it is on display at the kelvingrove art gallery, a rather significant gallery to the area, not to far from whee i live. i have gone to see the threshold specifically twice. i know i will go again.

she is just larger then life sized, carved in the late eighteenth century for a french salon show. i have been unable to find more information regarding the history or the artist, but that information would be beside the point.

the texture, the pose is what is so different to me. her body has been left less than finished, with tiny scrape marks crisscrossing her very finely, volumetrically. this, to me, proves how the work was indeed handmade, a point i will refer back to momentarily. her face and hands however have been worked past this point, and appear so smooth, so perfect that they appear to have been soap, rubbed with a washcloth until nearly dissolved. she is without that hard eyelid line seen on greek sculpture, nor the outline of lips meeting cheek. in fact the line that would be expected to delineate her from the rough stone she sits upon, the stone with which she is made, is also blurred. this is especially so around her hands. when you consider these factors with the pose she sits in, her almost lifelike, almost alive seating, you can see that she is perched on the threshold between art and life. she is so perfect she almost is.

art vacation!!!

took a morning out in edinburgh: awoke to an immediate walk about in greenside, the topmost hill overseeing the city, to view the view and enjoy the 17th century monuments to persian canons, mathmaticions, and the celts. from there i went to see the royal academy of scottish art, the national gallery, and then the fruit market art gallery ( http://www.fruitmarket.co.uk/ ).

here are some images of things i saw.
http://louisebrunjes.co.uk/l -tactile moments
http://bridgetsteed.co.uk -showed skrimshaw, actual etching on whale teeth. unfortunately the work is not posted. please see her wonderful drawings though!


http://stuartmcadam.com/objectnote.html
this fellow's work was predominantly about talking to those who looked at his images, so i hung out with him for quite a long while. there is a chance we will be hanging out again: he seemed to appreciate my feedback and i was quite interested in his ideas.



http://frasergray.com/ i've actually been interested in this fellow for quite a long while, it was a real surprise to see him in actuality , in a place i did not expect him to be.

http://www.citycrimeradio.org/

http://darrenbuchanart.com/page3.htm

what? i've been waiting to see you all my life!

childhood

children in the u.k. had this lovely animation to grow up on:

drawing work

these watercolors are tiny. tiny one inch tall people that i do not know, but was able to call upon my imagination to create (an amazing thing, that anyone can relay an image of something accurately from past experience.) each of these drawings was situated behind a hand cut window silhouette on creased paper, appearing like the outside of home architecture would. these then were applied to the wall in a pop up fashion. as you moved around the work, you could see more and more of the person inside. (from underneath you could see the whole image.)

these were presented to a interdisciplinary group (architecture, design, and art students) as well as their professors. gsa has had some building interest to come together as an art school in total and experience all types work, this was it's first time. it went well!

a trip to glengarnock

a nest! maybe a red breasted merganser's?

michael, and the path we took

sheep! diana, look! there were so many of these guys!

i watched these guys fight a peacock!

this last thursday i skipped my first class here at gsa: my classical etching elective could not compete with an offer from my friend michael white to visit his small village and home! (i had cleared the absence with my tutor before hand, don't worry!)

i got up early to take the half hour train. it had snowed during the night, making the views absolutely beautiful. glasgow's central train station, my point of origin, is like what you see in old french animations: huge, full of milling people and luggage, all made of light blue stained glass and steel. michael's station was a little brick house with a foot bridge! he met me and we made the half hour walk to his house. on the way i asked to poke through the town cemetery and we got to talking about aboriginal theology, japan, and the people in his town. lovely lovely.

after a quick tea at his house, we set off a'walking. this walk was the purpose of the trip. see the country, get worn out, learn about this new person. following the hill's many gravel paths and farm roads we saw all sorts of birds and animals, met some neighbor's and their dogs, saw from above the city of glasgow. it is hard to remember just how small scotland is until you can see the coast, the country, and the city in one view.

here is a jumble of photographs i took haphazardly while walking.

michael's father is a builder, his house (which is an ancient, achitectural wonder itself) has all sorts of wonderful bits and ends around it, nice sheds...

michaels' back courtyard

scottish national bike trail

more of the house...

train ride!

wheat work

some drawings: