That perfect stone

Today I headed out to Stromness for some fresh air. I ventured to Warbeth and parked the car and proceeded out towards the Black Craigs, not a route I have ever taken before but have often said I would like to walk it. 

Unfortunately with tide, wind and wet conditions as they were I reached the furthest out point before the Craigs before being forced to return the route I had just came. It simply wouldn't have been safe to have continued any further, which did vex me slightly as I am quite a determined person and not succeeding in a task irritates me! 

On this walk out I seen many washed up bits of fish cages, driftwood, bruck etc. 

A lovely, let's say 'refreshing' walk on a very decent day in December. 

I spotted this bit of metal, which I loved the colours of with the textures. 

And then I also seen this stone 

This is taken just exactly as I found it. It just immediately resembles a typical standing stone. And just those three sections were just so asthetically pleasing to me I knew I had to take it home with me! 

So I propped it up against the grassy banks in a place I could pick it up on the walk back. 

And continued walking until I reached the furthest point... 

Yes, like I said 'refreshing'! 

This is the point I had to stop, but one day I will walk the whole length!! 

So then on the return I found the stone again and proceeded with it tucked under my arm for just over 1.5 miles! 

(I did also try to take the chunk of rusty metal too, before deciding my priority lay with the stone to take home) 

And here it is safe and sound at home. Just that one perfect stone I couldn't leave behind! 

Handicraft project

I started this project at the beginning of the year, to make a rug using Pom poms. Most of which I made inbetween writing my dissertation and I finished it this evening - so it's been a week of conclusions! 

Dissertation is finished

Finally I get to say that! 

30 pages long!! 

This process has been something I've noticed others work through for a few previous years and have dreaded the year it would be me to work through it. 

But I can honestly say, it has not been as bad as I feared. It has of course, been a lot of hard work but keeping to an organised schedule and turning the writing into a habit you do every day it soon increases the word count. 

Late night in the studio

Waiting for last comments from my supervisor on recent tweaks to sections of dissertation has allowed a window of opportunity. 

I was told I would need to have some work set up for Friday too, not that I have done anything. So got a few things arranged to look half decent. 

Other folk are preparing for the deadline too...

Paris climate change silent protest

The peaceful side of the protests in Paris on Climate Change. 

Hauntingly beautiful, all those shoes representing the present absence of those protesting. 

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/world/climate-protest-paris-1.3342384 

Ba' display

At work we annually have our own Ba' Calendar for sale. And every year need a display for the window but it's usually the calendars on display with all the Ba' framed photographs on the walls. 

This year, I got left to my own devices...

Hanging Ba' balls. And had very good feedback on the display and most surprisingly, had a few folk in buying a string for themselves and another business made an order to put in their window when they display a Boys Ba' !! 

Bit of creative flair in my work, not often it gets noticed and sadly it's not even known that this was my own creation not of my workplace. 

Volunteering nomination for an Award

To put this into context, I was nominated for a volunteering award by my tutor Anne. 

'Throughout my time working with Kirstin as her tutor, I have been aware of the additional commitments she has taken on in terms of volunteering. 

Kirstin also generously shares her skills and enjoyment of art with her fellow degree art students and the public, for whom she will always be there to support and help when needed.'

I didn't attend the ceremony as busy with dissertation work but nice to have been nominated. 

Wordcount ✔️

Such a good feeling to see the wordcount begin with an eight! Lots to tweak but the shape of the dissertation is complete. 2 weeks today and I will be free! 

Adrian Gray

Whilst watching the 'One Show' on TV the other evening, a sculptor Adrian Gray was on the programme and was showing his talent of stone balancing. 

It's amazing! These photos show his work, and it's just stones balancing. No glue, nails or anything else to assist in keeping the stones in place. 

There most definitely is a lot of skill involved and a huge amount of patience!  

Beautiful pieces but very temporary and the images become the lasting creation. 

Stromness Art Scene

Was out a look in Stromness the other day to go and see the Christmas Open Exhibition. I had two pieces in from the February exhibition 'Sturt' 

Pieces are in the space just at the window facing the pier. Here I am posing with my work! 

Also ended up seeing a VERY large painting 

Hard to get it all in a photo and these panoramics don't really do it justice. 

The painting entitled Moonrise, Sunset and Hoy in the Middle and measures 43 x 5ft!!! 

On Kawara

My tutor Anne said to look up On Kawara for a connection between the date boxes I created and his own work... Can see why! 

Each painting was started and finished on the same date as seen on the canvas.

 The date paintings were then accompanied with a cardboard box lined with the newspapaper from that date. 

There was no significance behind which days he painted, it just happened to span over so many years which had many globally significant events. 

He was a curator to documenting his own life

Video link - 

http://youtu.be/wXjiWD7j0fM 

Wordcount

Dissertation as it stands is 7,002 words 

So the end is near - once the wordcount is achieved will be happy but there will still be tweaks and editing and lots of it!! 

Symmetry

Quite mesmerising! Just playing around with editing apps on my phone. First pic is originally of an image of paint dripping down fabric. The second one is of a texture on the surface of a stone which was interesting just as itself but this symmetry editing, it takes on a whole new image. 

Free time and free space

Was up at the college today and played around with some fabrics, paint and bit of heat press. Been a while since I've handled any creative materials! 

Thinking my space is very Halloween-esk, very black and white and eery. 

Massive scale projections

There had been thoughts of using projection for some of my video works within a space - this has all been discussion and mulled around on the back burner with no real thoughts to the logistics yet - 

Had been on Instagram and had a notification from a new follower, well a company double take projections who specialise in massive scale projections. I've seen projections in Edinburgh before and it looks like the work of these guys. It's a cool, eye catching medium and has so many possibilities. Here is a link to the website - http://www.doubletakeprojections.com

Draft is submitted

Got reference work sorted and achieved my target of 6,000 so that's another ticked box. Await feedback now to tweak working before pressing on for the last 2,000 words or 3,000 depending on how well it flows. 

Dissertation draft

Draft has to be submitted tomorrow but I will be working so no be a chance to work on it so will be submitting by the end of today. Currently at 5,700 odd words so want to round up to 6,000 before I submit. Over and above the 4,000 mark I set myself to aim to achieve 6 weeks ago, so I have stuck with the 1,000 a week pace, which I have surprised myself about! 

However, I need to concentrate on getting my references clearer and construct my bibliography on to the end of my dissertation. 

I am fully aware the feedback will state more theory will needed within the writing- they always want more! - but I am happy with the shape it has taken, discovered new artists who will no doubt inspire me further in my creative practice when I get round to that again properly. 

Oh, and here is what my table I sit at writing all these words, looks like! 

I work better when I have visuals surrounding me, so when I stop to gaze away from my page at least it's to something relevant and hopefully keeps me to task...not always but does reduce the amount of irrelevant daydreaming! 

Voices from the Cillin

This was an exhibition at the Orkney Museum, had seen various advertisements for it on Facebook and looked interesting. I have been to a few exhibitions in there and it's been of the same style more or less, so I went there expecting the same hanging pieces of work against that horrible dark green walls. (been perfectly OK as background for a museum space but now that there is more and more mini exhibitions in there just white walls would be more suited) But when I turned that corner from the Orkney room, I was soon to discover this was not the standard! 

There was light projections all round the room, from a central adapted light box of their own construction. It was a hollowed out plinth with clip on desk lights on the top with their designs (in reverse) placed as a box on the top. There was sufficient a gap between the light and the paper, as from using those lights myself, I'm aware of how ridiculously hot they get. 

It transformed that room. A completely different atmosphere was created. 

The main piece was the video, which was projected against the far corner of the room, the far left one as you entered into the room. 

The plinth had a shelf where the projector sat. And there was no light projections to interrupt the film projection. The power cables were taped to the floor and also there were speakers linked to this central plinth. Again everything kept flat as possible on the floor, and was all black to avoid distraction. 

The piece is based on the secret burial of infants on un-consecrated ground. They were buried in secret due to the extreme poverty in Irish families and with infant mortality being so high in the 19th century it was the only option, although not the easiest. 

The whole installation was hauntingly beautiful, I got goosebumps sitting there while watching the film on my own in that room. 

There was also a few extra pieces which to be honest I hadn't even noticed as I entered the room, it was only when I went to leave I seen them. But perhaps that was the idea..? I liked the long narrow shadow boxes framing the poems. 

Merry dancers

These were taken on Thursday night,a lovely clear night with plenty of stars to see. Me and my Mum went driving down some dark tracks before stopping, not really sure where exactly we were! These are the best 'dancers' I've seen this year so far....