Joslin Koolen

Found in the guide of this year's SALA festival; Joslin Koolen creates a striking interplay of contemporary and evocative artworks interweaving life's fabric of learning and experience expressed through strong line work, colour and movement. I love it!

City (Shaher)

Industry (Udiyog)

Balance (Tualaa)

Birds Eye View (Vihaggama-drsti)

Depth (Gherai)

Enigma 1 & 2 (Glidhazprazna)

Liberation (Moksha)

Reflection (Pratichaayaa)

Meeting of Materials

Our first project of the second year is Meeting of Materials. 

The Brief: 4 Week project

The Joining and Meeting of material techniques and processes is a key issue for anyone work in the decorative arts.How we combine materials, utilise techniques and synthesis processes , can leads us towards new working practices and eventually to exciting finished work.You are required to produce a series of Object that demonstrate working in combination.

Through research today  I have found an excellent display of jewellery doing this at Lesley Craze Gallery, I especially like Tania Clarke Hall's Freeform collection.

Considering the idea of the meeting of material and concept, I am really struck by the work of Steffen Dam, his curious glass panels fuse specimen jars with the application of attentive glass work

Cabinet of Curiosities, 2010

Further consideration, in terms of the meeting of process and material, exciting work can be made like the surface design of Drummond Masterton where digital craft technology creates bowls like this: 

From the Star Tessellation series

 Other interesting combinations can be found in the work of Stuart Cairns. His extensive utensils collection are delicate, clever and compelling:

2 Tea spoons

Nail Ladle

South Korean Ja-kyung Shin similarly explores the act of making through materials and process, like here with In My Hands (2009) which concentrates on the process of electroforming:

Working through the mountain..

..of postcards, leaflets, flyers, and business cards! I've junked a whole bin's worth already and am slowly working my way through the next! Having collected an awful lot this past year through visits to Collect, New Designers, NTU Degree Shows and the MA Expo, I've not spent anytime evaluating what I wanted to keep!? So here I am with a few days to go before starting back and considering my own work again! As I work through, here are my favourite finds:

Continuing my Journey by Lexi Mac

Isobel Thackray

Janet Wooton: eco resin, black bamboo and jute

Christina Barnard Illustration

Kyle Hands, Painting No.56

Canadian artist Martin Messier brings this unusual orchestra in which all the sounds are made by sewing machines made in the 1940s, amplified and processed by computers. A complex network of strange rhythmic patterns which create all sorts of mental associations among the audience, thanks to the evocative power of these small industrial marvels.

Back with a Bump

It's been 3 months since my last post - eeeek!! Some of that has been due to blogger telling me I have used up all the available space(?!) but mostly because I've been away visiting family and moving Mike into the house - which is great!

I'm going to try and upload some images in this post, as I'm guessing that's been the problem, but having deleted some image heavy drafts and also assigning myself a tumblr account I might be able to work my way around it, fingers crossed!

So, starting again, here are some drawings that I did in Lisbon:

silhouettes of people by the Terreiro do Paco, Tagus River

drawing at the Oceanario

Some are more successful than others, as I'm still experimenting with drawing on location. I am attempting each drawing with a variety of media and technique, which inevitably results in a mixed outcome! I'm curious as to how my summer drawings will translate into work, but that will come with time and more experiments I am sure! 

I'm excited for going back to uni and exploring new ways of working and making again. I feel the summer has been a great time in which to reflect and explore but now its time to learn about application again. If this is a successful post then there will be more to come on my return to year 2 so, w a t c h . t h i s . s p a c e !