back to blogging

§It has been a year now i think, that i have been writing this blog and prompted by a number of things that have been going on, i think i am ready to pick it up again and get going. My exams are over with and all i have to do now is wait for the results, which is giving me some restless sleep, but there is nothing much to be done now. I have started working through the artist's way again, and i see this as part of the course.

Last week i was in Italy again, which was a welcome break from London, and a beautiful and inspiring time for me. I feel like i have a fresh view on things. We went to Ville d'Este on Saturday and i took many short clips of the fountains and moving water to add to my image base. I am keen to get working on them. I still have the work that i started previously that i want to finish. I will view all these things as seeds, that i need to plant and water, nurture so that they can grow. For now though, a sneak preview... I edited the clips in iMovie but did not apply the transitions properly, now i've figured it out... so its a bit jumpy but its a start and i already feel as though i have learned something.

layers

The process of lining up and layering images...

patience

Well, I am working on the animation with the sandwoman, and as many people have told me before, animation requires patience... and heaps extra if you don't use a tripod when taking photos for stop motion. I will carry a tripod with me.... I will carry a tripod with me....I will carry a tripod with me....I will carry a tripod with me....I will carry a tripod with me....I will carry a tripod with me.... I have lined up an odd three hundred images with about 400 to go... but getting there! I am determined to finish this thing, get it moving. Some thoughts about the whole idea...

Well its about washing away or dissolving perceptions. I made the sand woman on a day when i was feeling rather sad, back in South Africa, thinking about who I have become in these years away from home and the way people see me and how I see myself. It was Good Friday and we were on the road, I thought about all the Good Fridays before, quite days of contemplation as I was growing up, with the sense of transformation and healing awaiting. I felt this weight of judgment on me (internal and external), the weight of disapproval - and frustration with it. As I sat in the beach sand, I was trying to separate myself from these perceptions... this is what they see, its not who I am, it is their perception and I wanted to be free of the piercing sadness it made me feel. I wanted to let go of it. I made her to be washed away, with the tide coming in, forgiven and released.

Well, I'll be getting back to it now.

positive thoughts

A minor or major distraction from what I am doing, I am working on my assignment but the dangers of looking for info on the web is that I keep on getting distracted when I'm searching and I end up going off on a complete tangent. So I came across a blog and then I realised I had not written mine for the week.

I went to oxford last monday to look at the murals in the Oxford Union library by William Morris and other Pre-Raphaelite painters. Unfortunately I could not get a very good photo of his mural, but of some of the others. They depict scenes from Mort d'Arthur. The ceiling is also painted by Morris, although the initial design was lost because the plaster was not adequately prepared and Morris returned in 1875 to paint the design which is currently decorates the vaulted ceiling.





SO... back to work! My inspirational quotes for the moment...

I am succesful at fininshing what I start - Julia Fraser

Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it! Action has magic, power and grace. - Goethe

New model for paper doll

I have been trying to think of ways of making the paperdoll more flexible and have made a new model. Its a bit time consuming putting her bits all together in the right place, but i am definitely happier. So this weekend is probably going to involve making more characters or objects, with my story in mind... which you'll have to wait and see... For now, a sneak preview of the new look paper dolly...

climate change and sustainable power

I think this is important. If you want to find out more information about ways that you can make a difference, click on this link - http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/

Paper Doll

It is amazing how when you start doing something that is absorbing, time seems to fold up like a fan. I was sitting here, trying to figure out how to use iMovie and suddenly three hours have past. I have something to show for the time at least. I made a little paper doll, I suppose she is sort of a representation of me. Anyway the aim was to animate her, a little easier i thought than jumping in and building a 3d character and set. I am still figuring out how to get the walking properly and i have some ideas for refining her design so that she can move better. I also need to work out how to make this software do what i want it to do and refine me story a bit, plan it better.... and all that stuff. But the rewarding part i think is these tiny bits that you get right when you're trying things out, that is the fun part too and i did not want to bog down the process with all that stuff.



What is it about then? well it started with the idea of animating her posting a letter, and i have some footage of that...to be included later. Fran gave me this diary with all sorts of pictures of the sea and boats... which Al posted all the way here, although i had not expected him to, it was supposed to be stashed with all the other boxes and stuff that Mum and Dad are storing for me. Anyway, so this diary travelled by surface mail (ship) all the way here. I have being sorting through all of my stuff, trying to get myself organised and I saved a number of the images before getting rid of the diary. So I have all these images of boats and the sea and, they linked in with what I wanted to do, I thought they could be a vessels to transport my messages. They also connect with my other water images in a way. The idea I suppose is to represent the connection, or the desired connection with home and my roots.

Fridays

I am well on my way to sorting out my filing issues, and have transferred and archived most of them! Ready to rock and roll with my new computer! Well, that is just a start but a good one because now I'll be able to get going properly with these animations/movies I keep promising.

Last week I went on a course about curating, found it really useful in that it has given me a much better idea of how to go about doing things. I enjoyed meeting new people and having conversations with them. Many of them were also artists.

I have also decided to change the way i do this blog a bit, that is, I will be updating it every Thursday to be ready for Friday, this is much more manageable than trying to do it everyday...don't laugh! I know that I only seem to get to it twice a month! Its just a way of dealing with the guilt and being a bit more reasonable with my expectations. I want to start building a website (have started) so I need to fit that in somewhere too!

Anyway... watch this space and I'll try not to dupe you.

indian ocean

Things seem to be getting back to some kind of normality, that is, I seem to have both the time and the focus to post something. I'm adding to the previous water footage with this video of the Indian ocean taken at the heads at Knysna in April this year. As i mentioned before about wanting to catalogue my images and video, well, its a kind of start. I have heaps of water, so i thought it was an easy enough one to start with, until i figure out exactly what i want to do with it all. I waas browsing around on Youtube and came across some really inspiring animations, some of them really short... I'll add the links at the below.

what a great day
sand on glass animation

Photos

Well, they are dated now - seems like ages since I was home. Anyway, I will continue to add them. I had to remove the links before and now I'm just putting them in again.

Sycamore Trails

Oudshoorn and Knysna

Owl House

I hope to add more soon! Cheers

I am working on preparing images of the sand sculpture I made in near Plettenburg bay, its slow progress because my computer is playing up, but I keep plodding on. Hopefully i will be able to buy a new machine next month, so it should go better then. Here is a sneak preview of what I'm working on....
Yesterday we went to some artists studios as part of a Open house studio event in the Richmond area. It was a lovely day and has given me the necessary inspiration i was hoping for. I want to mount some of my work, print some of my photographs and try and show my work somehow. Also, as we were taking a break, sitting on the bank of the river, I noticed some interesting, beautiful junk floating down the river. I have take quite a number of short videos in a similar way, keeping the camera as still as possible and focusing on something particular (in this case as in many - moving water) I am working on ideas for putting it all together, but for now, just this...

Life Drawing

Creative process

I managed to finish my assignments in time, and now i am trying to pull my creative process into exactly that... a process, rather than scattered bits that are extremely unmanageable. I have these ideas buzzing around but to many and too split up to work out what to do and where to start. I was trying to figure out a way, i wrote down all the themes i have been working with lately (the last 2 years - since being here). Then I started writing down themes and media explored in the past, since i started at unisa in 1999. All of this to try and find a common strain and decide on something, one theme to work with. Still a bit blank about it though, i don't know what i actually want to say or make. The thing is i have heaps of photos and video footage that i have taken over the past 2 years, that i want to use, but because i was not following one specific intention it does not really fit together. Chatting to Al about, i realise that half of the problem is that it is all over the place, and not categorized at all. So that could be a starting point, just to go through it all and make a catalogue. I can give it a go.

I have been toying with the idea of an animation based on a story by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, from Women who run with the Wolves called the wolf's eyelash... it kind of seemed to fit my situation of coming to London, (in the story a girl goes into the woods) Maybe i will get into this a bit more later, but getting to my image for the day, its a wood scene.

That's all for tonight... i am going to a life drawing class tomorrow, so hopefully that will help get me flowing again, i am really looking forward to it.

land act revisited

It been beautiful in London, sun shining and clear skies. I have been working away at art history assignments, which is going quite well, and I have managed to join two excellent reference libraries, which has helped lots. I'm hankering after time to work on my art, but its not long to go because my assignments are soon due and then I can work on art guilt free. I am really actually enjoying the research and writing, which is a first (at least in a long time). One of them is about informal art training in South Africa in the 1950's and 60's. Reading about Sophiatown, and the forced removals got me thinking about the animation that I did for the Journey to freedom project for UNISA. I think that I did not think about the seriousness of the forced removals and how tragic they really were, well, maybe I did but being my first animation, I think I was more concerned about getting the embroidered images moving and less about the impact it had. My animation is kind of humorous. Anyway, I am glad that I've realised this now, and have been thinking about how I could have done it differently which is a step in the right direction, I suppose.

Back from SA

Arrived back on Tuesday morning and went straight to work, which was a bit of a shock to the system and exhausting but it was okay.

Being home was wonderfully strengthening and renewing. I was so happy to be with my family again, strangely i expected that after so long they would all seem unfamiliar, but it was not at all so, it was like we had never been apart. I find this very comforting, still to belong and feel comfortable with these people that are most dear to me.

Arrival and Sycamore Trails
We arrived on Sunday 25 March. Fran, Mike and Tim fetched us from the airport. Mom, Dad and Alistair arrived shortly after us and we had lunch together. Friends came to visit later and stayed at Fran and Mike's for the night. Next morning we prepared everything for the family holiday, unfortunately Mike had to stay to move into new office. We got to Bronkhorstspruit at about midday and started packing the trailer etc. We arrived at Sycamore trails at about 6, just as it was getting dark. Dad joined us the next morning and took us up the mountain in the landrover. It was an exciting drive, dipping through small ravines through forest. Alistair, Fran and Francesco and i walked up to the waterfalls, Spog the great dane in tow. There were beautiful spiders, plants, flowers, butterflies, trees. By the time we got back to the Chalets, we were hot tired, thirsty and a little burnt. We had a braai for dinner and spent the evening around a camp fire talking. it was lovely. The insects around us buzzing and screeching, the stars twinkling.

20 days since last post

So much for every day. Heading home for a visit after a year and a half, on Saturday, i am excited, happy and a little nervous. I can't wait to see everyone and breathe the open air and get out of this frosty, windy place. Bags are packed, but still have to check everything. I'm trying to get things tied up before we leave so i feel a bit tired. i feel that there are big changes ahead. not sure what to expect. Whatever you expect, you'll never know for sure. so for all the times i miss everyone at home, i am going to try and relax and enjoy just being with you all.

robo aliens

what jamie and i do when we should be working...

the lady with a whip

Hi folks, i am afraid its a bit of nose to the grindstone for me, had too much fun with my animation experiments during the half term, and UNISA art history is beckoning...with a whip. So no new animations till the weekend when I'll let my artist play a bit. Have been working on something in flash with water colour images...star to birds again but slightly different. anyway i can upload the other sketch stop motions as soon as I've put them into flash. London is miserable and rainy... but only a month to go!
x

i'm back...

I have been working on some things... as I keep saying but never posting. I have an idea for an animation and did a rough start sketch to get into the process... I am enjoying it but realise that i have heaps to learn. I set up my camera on a tripod and starting drawing. I want to refine the images and possibly work in a different media. But for now as a sketch its a start.



More images of my paintings and drawings to follow shortly!

If I post today's photos immediately it will seem like it has been snowing for ages, but it hasn't. So i will put in others of some of the things i have been doing. I found this really cool link today and wanted to add it. Book cutouts the work of Su Blackwell, really beautiful and inspiring. Will add some more when i get home, just thought i would forget.

Its Friday again and i can hardly believe that the week went by so quickly. Its been the coldest week so far... or at least it feels that way. I am finding it hard to be positive, but i know that like this week, the feeing will pass. I am determined to cycle into work next week as it is getting a bit lighter in the evenings. So many people are sick this time of year and it kind of adds to the down feeling. But i really want to stay positive and keep going with things... that is the only way. It does feel like i am kicking and fighting a bit at the moment, almost zeo tolerance for others misery because i am trying to fight my own. What a moaner i am! i need to keep myself in check. So i am sitting here writing this, thinking that i really want to put something new on here today, and all i am getting out is a winge... sorry!

snow ;)

someone else made a mini snowman before me...

The cold weather has paid off, and i woke up to a world almost covered in snow. everything crisp and beautiful. The greyness was transformed, I grabbed my camera and took photos on the way into work. Then fortunately the trains were delayed and i was finally able to quickly make a snowoman...she has been on my mind for a while.

blue monday

apparently today is the most depressing day of the year, i did not notice but there is even a site to help people cope with the blues. well it is freezing but its okay. Going to do some studying/writing tonight, so 'll keep it short. Pic is a sketch of ideas for a painting.

tree hill

Every time we went into Rome from Monterotondo, we passed this hill, that seems to be a perfect cylinder with a clump of trees on it. It really had such magical appeal to me.

This porcelain shrine was quite a surprise to me. It is one of the Vatican's treasures. The height is about 2m and it is possibly one of the most magnificently kitch things i have ever seen. So much so that i really like it.
I found the ancient sculptures really beautiful and took lots of photos of them for future reference. They especially because i have been looking at Rodin's work too, and really dying to make something 3d. Well... do it some wise people have told me... will keep you posted if anything materialises.
I have been working on my painting every day and will post progress soon.
take care!

sunny sunday

Today is the first sunny day this year... in london anyway. It is more like spring than mid jan. So no long posts, maybe something more tonight. I am going to go out and enjoy some of this light.

Roberto's Photos

On next year's eve, before going to Fra's aunt's house, we were just chilling. He was playing guitar and i started making a new workbook. I did not take one with me because i thought i would get one on the way. It was almost the end of my stay and we still had not found one - eventually things started ticking, i had made many of them myself before... (will post some scans from it soon) anway so i started folding the paper and needed thread and a needle...which happen to be kept in the same chest of drawers as all the old photos.

Francesco and his mom started pulling them all out and we started looking at them. Lots of photos that his dad took as a young man. They are beautiful and really interesting. So he is scanning them all, and has sent some of them. Thought a few would be good on the blog for today.
Thanks for all you comments :)

painting in progress... the second part

Tonight i painted...over another painting that i don't like anymore as i usually do. This one joins to the other one i included earlier on. I will be working on them together now so i am looking forward to see what i have in mind will actually turn out like. Anyway it is late now so that's it for the day. Thanks for your comments guys!

snow mountains trees

I am back and it has taken me all this time, hampered by (procrastination) technical difficulties, like log-ins and internet not working to PC crashing to get myself into gear to write something again. I am back in London (since Wednesday) and that has been an adjustment. I really did not want to leave Rome and the warm family vibes to come back here...well its okay, that's what holidays are for... to give you a break from everyday.

I wanted to trace though the time in a diary like way (begining to end?), linking in with photos, but i don't actually have the earlier ones with me, they are on Fra's computer and he'll only be back Friday. So working with what I've got on my camera, which is more recent here goes... At least this means i still have lots of material for DAILY additions from now on.


Before leaving Monterotondo for Terminillo where we spent a day between Christmas and new year, we walked through Monterotondo Vecchio, the old part of the town. There are all sorts of winding little roads and picturesque alley ways. Francesco was showing me all the old haunts.


We went up to Terminillo which is north of Monterotondo, and north of Rieti - said to be the heart of Italy- see map...


The trip took about an hour and a half, we did not rush too much. I enjoyed seeing this other countryside, that is hilly and covered with olive groves and then forests. Familiar and new at the same time. We left in time to catch the last bit of light as we arrived in Terminillo.



My first contact with 'real' snow, love the way it crunches underfoot. The light was so beautiful over the valley. We were on a short circular route that contours a small peak. Which is also home to the abandoned mountain house of Mussolini (will include image at later stage).


The area (pian de rosce) is named after the rich rusty coloured leaves during autumn and early winter. Next day, walks around the area, there was less snow than is usual for this time of year, but that seems to be the case all over Europe this winter. In the 70's and 80's this was a popular skiing area, but its quite now and there are a number of abandoned hotels. I suppose it could be a bit spooky if you let your imagination go. The quite was welcome after the crowds and sight-seeing around Rome. Walking in nature and clean air was restoring and one of the best parts of the whole time away.

I had wanted to add something every day, but this did not happen so i'll just fill in the details up to the present, which is that i am at home now...

Also want to add some photos... i don't have all of them, but thats okay because there are too many anyway.The last time i wrote was on the 23rd, lots has happened since.