12Oct/100
Edinburgh
Enjoying time in Edinburgh with my sis - what a nice city. Victoria street is my favourite street. Analogue Books, The Red Door Gallery and Swish and a little group Knitting shop all make it so enjoyable! What a creative feel this street has, everyone on it is doing something creative and independent. These active and successful creative mini-businesses huddle in among some amazing Puddle Lane style buildings on a two-tiered street.
7Feb/101
Spring will soon have sprung
It's interesting - this time of year I get a deep need to start making and feeling creative. Winter time is usually a creative hibernation for me, although crafts do feature heavily close to Christmas. It is the same feeling each year and I have begun to recognize the pattern.
The seeds have germinated so here's to the natural creative shoots becoming re-exposed.
20Jan/100
So how is Zurich?
When I visited home at Christmas I was asked so many times - "So how is Zurich, I'd say it's really quiet? I'd say there isn't much crack to be had?" Here's some words that come to mind thinking back on my time here so far....
Ankle deep snow. Heavy trams grinding. Underfloor heating. Nature / City balance. Little to no rain. Old fashioned bikes. Conservative clothes. Cobbled streets. Vanilla pod Yoghurt. Smell of hot chestnuts. Ice rink view through window. Frequent silent trains. Church bells ringing. Heavy ski boots. Farms in the city. Bundles of tied paper. Water fountains. Magical Winter lights. Grapes from the vine. Second hand havens. Wilderness park. After school swim in Zurich lake.
All in all a pretty good experience so far.
Ankle deep snow. Heavy trams grinding. Underfloor heating. Nature / City balance. Little to no rain. Old fashioned bikes. Conservative clothes. Cobbled streets. Vanilla pod Yoghurt. Smell of hot chestnuts. Ice rink view through window. Frequent silent trains. Church bells ringing. Heavy ski boots. Farms in the city. Bundles of tied paper. Water fountains. Magical Winter lights. Grapes from the vine. Second hand havens. Wilderness park. After school swim in Zurich lake.
All in all a pretty good experience so far.
22Dec/090
Short film: Shadows dancing
I recently completed a shadow puppet project with students aged 4 and 5 years.
14Nov/090
Visual response to music
I am currently teaching Art in Zurich International School. One of my class groups have been focusing on Kandinsky and his abstract art work. Yesterday I taught a really enjoyable class. The students created visual responses to four contrasting styles of music. It was interesting to see some obvious contrast in shape, line and colour throughout the four drawings. Each student then named the style of music they had listened and drawn to, which became the title of each drawing.
Music extracts by: 1. Mile Davis / 2. Daft Punk / 3. Lemon Jelly / 4. Sufjan Stevens
8Nov/090
Found it!
Franz Schubert’s Nocturne in E-flat Major (Op.148)
The backing track to Ian Breakwells video piece The Other Side which is part of the Tate Britain collection. It is a beautiful video piece he created while on a residency in East Sussex. This is one of my favorite pieces of video art, along with Bill Violas 'Five Angles'. I feel privileged to have had a private tutorial with Ian Breakwell while studying Art in Galway.