The City Project...Revisited

I have just finished my 2 weeks working on the City Project in our groups. So in my last post I was talking about Cardiff's arcades, and this is what my final outcome was with my group!

In our groups we all chose a place to focus our research on under the theme of 'the hidden city.' We all used our own areas of expertise and came up with this!! 

Here are my designs which I used in the presentation:

I created these using Photoshop and the photos that I took on my visit to the Arcades. 

When looking back at the photos I took of the Arcade I noticed I mainly focused on the ceiling. I then did a brainstorm to try and bring it back to my original aim of making the arcades more well-known. I decided on trying to project my designs of the ceiling on to the floor of the arcade in the hope of making people walking through, notice the old Victorian detailing. I tried to show this on these designs using Photoshop again.

I am so pleased with how they came out, although they're not perfect I think they show my ideas nicely. 

I would love to actually do this on the arcade floor!! Maybe one day!

So I am back now in my textiles group working in print and stitch using the ideas formed here to create a final piece in about 8 weeks time! Exciting stuff :)

Cardiff in the Snow

I know everyone is probably sick of seeing snow pictures now! But I took the opportunity to get my camera out once again and try to learn how to take some good pictures! Here are a few of the ones I think are quite good, I'm finding it quite difficult to delete ones which I know are no good, but i'm sure I will get used to it!

Artsicle....An Art Revolution

Artsicle is a new website that I have just discovered that lets you take a quiz to find out what art is best suited to your tastes.

The quiz only takes 2 minutes to do and then you get a list of recommendations of art that you can either rent or purchase!

I had personally never heard of renting artwork but reading what Artsicle is all about I think it is a brilliant idea!

Artsicle works to support artists in the long run as it allows more artists to continue what they love doing!

You can rent a piece of art work from just £25 a month and you can keep the piece for as long as you want! All the while you will be supporting the artist, and impressing all your friends with new artworks every month!! I know as an art student I love looking at pieces of art work, but would never be able to afford to purchase it, therefore this would be the perfect option!

I had a look at the quiz and I apparently have an eclectic taste!

I think this is quite true for me! So here is the link, take a look and do the quiz for yourself!!!!
http://www.artsicle.com

Some 'Pinspiration!'

I always find Pintrest helps me become inspired, so I have decided to do a new board for every project I start in Uni!

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1. Knit the City - Guerilla knitting, images are ©Lauren O'Farrell.
2. http://www.susannabauer.com/ pinned via http://www.thejealouscurator.com
3. http://www.etsy.com/shop/SewSarahWalton 
4. Juliana Santacruz Herrera - pinned via http://www.thejealouscurator.com
5. http://zoewilliams.net/ pinned via http://www.thejealouscurator.com
6. http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/uninvitedcollaborations/spiderwebs.php

Hope this will give everybody else some 'Pinspiration' for the day!!!

The City Project

On my return to uni after Christmas we have been given a new project, which I am actually quite excited about!

It is called The City Project, and we have to produce a piece or body of work inspired by specific sites in the City of Cardiff.

We are working in what we call our 'field groups' which basically means we work with people in other areas of art and design in order to gain hopefully a new perspective on things!! We have then been given a subject specific brief for textiles which is Memory.

Quite a lot of my work in Foundation was to do with memory as I always like making it personal to me or having a story behind the work.

So I took my camera out and about around Cardiff today and actually looked at the City. I feel like when you live somewhere for a long time you just get used to going to the same places and not actually exploring where you live! For example, if I want to go shopping I will go to Queen Street and completely miss the Arcades, which Cardiff is known for!

So today I explored the Castle Arcade!

My initial ideas for the project are:

• Exploring the arcades around Cardiff, making some drawings around them
• Learning more about the history of the arcades
• Experimenting using print and stitch 
• Maybe making something that will change, add or develop the site I was inspired by
• Make people more aware of the arcades 
• Take the final piece back to the site I was inspired by

So watch this space!!!

And on my walk I saw.....

I got a brand spanking new camera for Christmas this year which I was so excited about!! But today has literally been the only nice day where I have been able to get out and about and use it!  So I killed two birds with one stone and took the dog for a walk too!

and this is what I saw.....

Playing around with the aperture (don't I sound technical!)

Playing around with speed settings

This shows how much rain we've had!!

I hate to say it but this was a mistake, even though I love the  outcome. I  used a very high aperture  which let more light in, and took a photo of the reflection of the tree. When I got home I was playing around with the rotation and decided I liked the picture best upside down!! 

I love the colours of this photograph!

I am always drawn to buildings and houses!

A funny find as we were walking! I think this means the end of Christmas!

Someone has lost their kite 

One Artist I Love

One artist I am loving at the moment is Hollie Brown, her quirky illustrative style is used on greeting cards, art works and prints. She has won many awards including New Designers Hallmark and the Prince's Trust Supported Business Award. If I could be as successful as her I would be a very happy lady indeed!

All of these images were found originally on Hollie Brown's website, which you can find here:

http://www.holliebrown.co.uk/home.html

Italia

Me and my boyfriend travelled around Italy over summer for a month, and it was one of the most amazing experiences!
We planned the trip all by ourselves (very proud of that) and literally did all the major tourist attractions in every place! We travelled around by train, which had its ups and downs, but all in all we enjoyed every place! Our trip included:

• Milan - Wayyyy too expensive for two students! But a lovely city.
• Lake Garda - A gorgeous sunset, and beautiful scenery.
• Verona - A lovely city and an amazing experince going to see the opera. 
• Venice - A magical city where you had to get lost to discover the real Venice!
• Rimini - Hmm what to say about Rimini? A bit of a let down after all of the culture we had experienced!!!!
• Florence - One of my favourite places, amazing museums and the most gorgeous sunset.
• Rome - Experiencing the history of Rome is incredible
• Sardinia - Camping for a week, right on the beach was a welcome relax from the hectic schedule!
• Liguiria, The Cinque terre - This was by far my favourite place...I will never forget the 6 hour hike!!!
• Nice - This was where we had the best hotel...we thought we would treat ourselves before coming home!!! 

Milan's Du

Gorgeous sunset over Lake Garda

Verona's opera

Verona

Saint Marks Square

Sunset over the city of Florence

Statue of David

Which statue of David do you prefer????

Woo a gondola! 

Vatican City 

Segway'ing it around Rome

The Colosseum