Linked but not!

This week I spent two days in Dublin participating in a workshop that was a mixture of research, inquiry,  review and it was thought provoking. I'll blog more about that over on my http://Creativedynamic.blogspot.com when it filters a bit more. Here I wanted to talk about the two exhibitions that I saw.
I recently came across a quote via twitter that stated "making unusual connections is the basis of creativity" Ellen Galinsky. I think that is true.
The first exhibition I saw on Tuesday evening was at the Science Gallery a rocking 'museum', funky space where science, art and technology converge to inform, present, educate, raise interest and more. The HYPERBOLIC CROCHET CORAL REEF exhibition is fascinating. Along with the fact it is a traditional craft form, it's application to a science and sustainability setting plus the community aspect of the project is exactly the kind of work I get. If you live in Dublin you have got to go see this exhibition. I love the 'second life for rubbish' aspect to the project also where the toxic reef has non organic and less then traditional materials of plastic used. 
"A major element of the Crochet Coral Reef Project is its ‘plastic component’ which responds to this crisis. Where the yarn-based Reefs serve as a handicraftplastic sand. In the northern invocation of the living beauty of actual reefs, so the “Toxic Reef” is a wildly proliferating agglomeration of yarn and plastic trash. It is the ‘evil’ 21st century twin to the classical finesse of the yarn Reefs. To put this into temporal terms, we might say that where the yarn Reefs represent the past, and the exquisite creations of nature, the plastic looks to the future and to the destructive tendencies of humanity."
Good exhibition to take children to also.
The second exhibition I went to see was Gary Coyle RHA, At Sea. I remember the first time I saw Gary Coyles work and instantly like it. The exhibition close on Saturday but if you can make the effort to see it do. I would live happily with any of the 'lovely water' series. Even the ones where the sea was obviously not lovely. i purchased the book from the exhibition and as I took the train home found my self reading his words about the project and the train moved by the location that they were taken. I know the area well as I lived there at some point. His drawings were interesting and the use of the drawn frame around the charcoal ones added something significant. But they do not reach that place of the photography. The swimming diaries have a documentary and anthropological aspect to them.
The link between the two projects is the sea but the mediums and ambitions of both exhibitions and projects are very far apart. The exhibition also linked to the training I attended metaphors or the sea and blue ocean spaces, underwater, some talked about 'tapestries' and strands.
It is more to do with the link I made to this work in my head and the dialogue between the training and the visual and social reference points. I'm rushing to get out the door. Perhaps more on this later.

...why am I not making work like this?

Last week I wrote two proposals for projects. Hence the reason I did n't get to blog the Greystones Art Group demo and the School live willow structure. Information to follow on both of those.
I've had a few ideas floating around my head for over a year and have not either had the time or felt really clear to verbalise aspects of a proposal or make the work. I refer to both personal and project work. Writing proposals is an interesting process (I just don't recommend two in one week). I always learn something more about the way I work or become clearer on some aspect of my arts practice.

Last week amid budgets and schedules I managed to get real clarity on two pieces of work. Of course the sketchbook I initially drew them in is lined but I think this evokes a certain edginess to them.
I had these ideas in my head and finally I could start getting them onto paper. Does that happen to you ideas that lurk in the ether? As if waiting for the right time to be downloaded. I have been keeping these ideas to present for project work they occupy a different space I don't know why. But up until now I have been waiting to make this work. On Friday after I submitted the second proposal. I asked myself "why are not making work like this? why are you only proposing to make this work? why are you waiting to make this work?"
The leaf motif is a shape that has appeared in a few paintings when I painted on the theme of change. It is a good representation of change.

It even appears in my Legacy series and features strongly in the subset ‘memories are made of these’.

I think that the doodle for image with the leaf is suited to be done on the mac in photoshop and printed on to some fine art paper showing the delicate shading and toning in computer graphics. It also makes me hark back to the days of etching and screen printing. So I suspect a series suitable for colour plate etchings will be developed also and a plan to spend some time in a print studio with a tutor. But it is asking to be painted first (…here we go again my creative genius is back and demanding how work should be done, do I argue? I have learnt to get out of the way otherwise disaster ensues). So I have started to make that work. The background has been painted for the leaf motif image,

a gird is lightly drawn and some spiral text handwritten. it is sitting on the studio floor drying. The image might not be great as my digital camera is giving me guff and this is taken with my camera phone.

So the problem now is that it is a lovely evening and I want to go hangout with my family but my genius demands that I stay here and paint... sometimes my genius wins and sometimes not.

...the progression of work

I had great stitching plans for being in the studio this morning, my plan had included some sample stitching, development of collage based images for a mixed media series along with a quilting and painting sampler. I really wanted to move things along so I decided to start the studio day with something completely different and cleared a bit of table space for the sewing machine... perplexing to say the least. I could not get my sewing machine to work. I had leant it to a neighbour sometime ago and have not used it since! Could I figure it out - yes if I spent some time on it but with time moving on I decided to refocus, twitted the three items on the left and then got on with something else. I went back to some of the collages I had started on the mac in photoshop. I love the progression of an image.

I worked on a montage last week it is part of the 'Legacy series' and is linked to underneath my grandmothers table and memories are made of these. I printed it on to cotton with the idea to stitch it. It was quiet flat. I left it alone for a few days to mull over.

Now I can see that the leaf motif needs to be printed, stitched and embellished separately and then layer on top of the print. It would look well printed on heavy watercolour paper with the leaf stitched on. I’m also considering making the background out of ultramarine silk nuno felted with orange – yellow felt with surface detail of silk tops. But I think… background printed on to cotton a metallic thread stitch of the quote in the lower left corner and the embellished leaf motif stitched on. What do you think?

The leaf and its autumn colouring I wanted to explore more...

I'm happy with this one and it prints out well. I plan to stitch and bead sparsely.
So although I did not get what I had planned to do done I did have a good creative day at the studio; printed out images for stitching, laid out a rough draft for a collage, posted a new image Correspondance on Redbubble, listened to some podcasts and had some creative headspace to mull over doing, being and progressing some visual work. Fantastic... now its time for a walk and the weekend. Love Fridays.
Oh and the quote that is featured you might enjoy it
"When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and your discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” Patanjali