CHERYL

Creativity is messy, and I am very creative.

[cric1415-cheryl]

/ Knuckles & Notch 02

Went over to their studio today and had our designs printed out! It was pretty cool seeing your own design come out of this kind of printer! However, it was a really humid day and all of us were really impatient and grumpy over at their place. hehe oops. 

However, honestly speaking I don't get why is this so expensive thought. How is it any different from normal printing other than the fluorescent colours? Oh well, I'll never know will i. 

[cric1415-cheryl]

/ Experimental Photography { end }

Today, we presented a compilation of all the experimental photography works to our lecturer, Luke. It was the last of experimental photography and we had to reflect on what we have learnt for the past term.

Personally I really like what we are doing for this part of CRIC. It has opened my eyes to so many ways of photography instead of the conventional point-and-shoot. It has shown me the beauty of all the different methods of photography taught. I have acquired knowledge of these photography skills and I hope that I will be able to put them to good use someday.

Though we bared the scorching sun and pouring rain during all the field trips, though we had to bring our oh-so-heavy DSLR along with the burdensome tripod, if I had a chance to choose if I wanted to go along with it, I would still choose to. It has honestly really taught me a lot.

[cric1415-cheryl]

/ Knuckles & Notch 01

Knuckles & Notch came over to our school to briefly introduce themselves as well as advise us on how to prepare our files for the risography printing and show us their works.

Honestly, I think most of us were not listening as it was in the afternoon and we had lessons. However, the works were really nice! They gave us a coaster-like thing printed with risography (shown above). Being able to print fluorescent pink & orange, it is really pretty cool! I can't wait for the printing next week!

[cric1415-cheryl]

/ Light Photography

This was really really fun! We brought lasers, torch lights and also the torch from our mobile phones! Bringing our creativity juices to good use, we drew a ton of funny things using the light! 

It is definitely something useful to have learnt! I'm glad I managed to learn how to do light photography so that I can use it next time no matter for work projects or personal picture ideas! 

[cric1415-cheryl]

/ Dry point Etching @ STPI & LASALLE Grad Show

Yet again early in the morning, we went searching for Singapore Tyler Print Institute (STPI) located along the Singapore River. Taking a bus from Tiong Bahru plus around 30 minutes of walking was what it took for us to find the place. 

Had a tour of STPI but we were not exactly allowed to take photos and hence there wasn't much I was able to take. The handprint was really cool though! The art piece reacts thermally and since my hand is always very warm, the print when I place my hand on the art piece, is really obvious too! I was so fascinated I just HAD TO snap a picture!

Then, we went to the workshop to put our scratched and chamfered acrylic pieces to good use! Inking it slowly, and then patiently lifting up the excess ink. After which we put it in the machine seen above and roll it through once with some good quality paper which was soaked inside water for quite a while. I was so happy with what I've got for my second print as it looks more 'vintage' than the first print which was really clean and light. 

Ended off the session with the strong smell of cleaning alcohol lingering in our noses before we headed to LASALLE Grad Show to look at some of the works. Though some are quite amazing, they were not really the kind of designs that appeal to me. We did manage to get some inspiration from those working on Singapore-related projects though! A rather helpful and apt timing i must add!

[cric1415-cheryl]

/ Dry point etching

When we were told to scratch out our desired design/drawing onto the acrylic, the first thought i had was 'OUCH!" the sound! As if that wasn't bad enough, we also had to chamfer the edges. DOUBLE OUCH!

Scratching the design was relatively easy as my design is quite simple and straightforward. Keeping a straight line however, was not as simple as it looks. Also, chamfering the edges was a chore! It was really noisy, messy and scary. There is always this fear that the acrylic will snap into two! Also, it was difficult to keep a consistent strength while chamfering and thus, my end result was not very nice.

[cric1415-cheryl]

/ Chrono Photography

Chrono Photography! It was really an enjoyable time experimenting with chrono photography today! I have seen such pictures floating around on the blogs of some famous bloggers or on other websites but I never knew how they manage to do that so flawlessly. 

I found out that it is actually quite simple as all you have to do is to shoot continuously for a period of time and do some actions in front of the camera. It is definitely a technique that I will want to use and explore again in the future during my free time. So fun! 

[cric1415-cheryl]

/ Calligraphy & Hand-lettering

I've always envied those people who can write so beautifully in calligraphy. I've only tried calligraphy with calligraphic markers sold in art stores, but not with the real pens. 

Trying out with real ink and real pens was really fun but a little difficult to master as i kept scratching the paper with the sharp edges. 

Oh! And we actually made our very own calligraphy pens out of bamboo twigs! Slicing through and polishing it up, I felt really accomplished when I completed it. 

P.S It felt rather good when my friends actually like to use my pen! hehe. oops!

[cric1415-cheryl]

/ Pinhole Photography

When I was first introduced to pinhole photography, my first thought was "blurblur one, nice meh?"

Went out and tried taking some pictures and I must say, it has its own beauty. It is blur alright, but the blurriness of not having a lens gives it another kind of effect and texture that we would not get when we use a lens and shoot. 

It's really something new as I have never done it before. I did not even know you can shoot without a lens on the camera body! Awesome experience!

[cric1415-cheryl]

Conversations with my mother

A project that explores communications through music and exploration. When you press the keys, the flowers open and close.

Reading through the not-so-little book at the side, I found out that the artist's mother actually has breast cancer and has passed away. This project was actually one that expresses a personal dialogue between mother and daughter through music and kinetic structure.

It is really a beautiful and interesting project, successfully conveying what it needs to. There is even a comfy corner for people to lie down and experience the whole thing! 

[cric1415-cheryl]

Revisiting "Conversations between father and son"

Conversations between father and son (2010) was a part documentary, part obsequy, part performance piece dedicated as a tribute to the artist's father who passed away in 2009. Their last conversation before his legal death has been pivotal in Marla Bendini's artistic practice ever since but she has never been able to tell this story in its entirety. This revisit explores the fragility of memories, catharsis through art and experimental storytelling.

Walking into the exhibition space, I was initially confused.  "Why is there a bed in the middle?" "What is this about?"

It was until Marla Bendini came out herself to tell us all about the story behind it. The conversation was mainly about how her father wanted her to go through the knife just to be "accepted" by the society as trans-genders were rarely seen or accepted. Hearing her talk about her story and this project just made me feel so touched. She is strong, very strong about her stand in not going under the knife and being happy with who she was. 

At that moment I just thought of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and how true and apt it is. 

[cric1415-cheryl]

130912

This project titled '130912' is a reflection of the artist's intimate collections of thoughts and memories of her late husband who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma on 13 September 2012.

The pictures of her wearing the white dress symbolises her still in a state of denial and continue living as if her husband was still there with her. 

The pictures of her wearing the black dress however, symbolises her letting go of everything that is related to her late husband, throwing away those memories or keeping them at the back of her mind.

When i walked past this exhibit, I did not understand what it all meant, and did not think much of it. It was until my friend, Joy, talked to the artist, Malvina, that we all understood what it was all about and how sad it is. It is so difficult for her to do this project so soon after her husband has deceased. 

[cric1415-cheryl]

//  ADM Grad Show 

Right after a long day of classes, we boarded the bus and off we went to the ADM Grad Show. I personally felt a little half hearted as I had my laptop with my and I was of course also, with a heavy bag.

Upon arriving, we were asked to just go around and look at the works. Three of the works left a rather deep impression on me, of which i will talk about in detail later. 

All-in-all, it was an eyeopening experience at the ADM Grad Show, especially for these three works which really touched me.

[cric1415-cheryl]

//  SOJOURN THREE

Rising up early, we went on an adventure to the place where hipsters unite. It was hot, it was sunny, but it didn't stop us from having fun! Honestly, it was one of the nicer tuesdays field trips!

Met a boy named Kayden. He was sooooo adorable! Brought us to find cats, got angry at ants and pouted whenever I told him to smile! We had a brief chat with his grandparents who told us more about the little town of Tiong Bahru. 

Ending our journey at Book Actually, we were brought into a world of books. Met a feline friend taking a nap amongst the books in the hot afternoon. It is actually a really nice and quiet place with cafés all around. Spent a peaceful few hours flipping through books. 

What an enjoyable day.

[cric1415-cheryl]

I've always thought timelapse was a video fast-forward.

"does the person stay there the whole day taking the video?"

Then I found out how ignorant I was. 

First attempt at timelapse, it is a little amateur no matter the lighting or quality of the photos. Great experience though, I wanna do more.. If only my camera has that function.. 

[cric1415-cheryl]

/  Monoprint

Been a while since I got my hands dirty doing print work. Monoprint is very new to me, hell - I've never even heard of it before my lecturer mentioned it to us! What we had to do was use the roller to roll a thin layer of ink onto the acrylic and put our paper on the inked surface. After which we put an additional piece of paper on top and either draw or apply pressure on the paper in which the ink will then get onto the paper.

Sounds confusing? I'm confused too, just by typing this out. But it makes sense to me so its fine. 

Well anyway, we tried a few pieces with different materials such as a pencil, the back of a paintbrush, or a sponge brush. I must say, I rather like this method of experimental printing. It gives off a rustic look to the drawings. Something which I might try one day if I have the opportunity to.

[cric1415-cheryl]

Wishing Tree

This exhibit was one which I really liked, and it really touched my heart. Arriving at where the exhibit was, I got really excited to write my wish and hang it on the tree. After doing so, nosy cheryl came. I started scanning through the wishes hung on the tree, saw some really funny ones and some really cute ones written by kids. 

Then, one made me stop and read it. As shown in the photograph that I took of the little note / wish, it said "Please let my sister who has cancer live." It made me feel sorry for the person who wrote it. Looking at the handwriting, I think it might be a little child and that just made it even worse. 

So much feels but I don't know where or how to start writing. Cancer had taken away my favourite aunt from my family and I, and I've always seen it as an 'enemy' of some sort. Thus, reading this note made me think quite a bit.