madeleine young

art foundation student at strode college instagram: mjyart

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The artist, Jackie Oliver came into college to give an artist presentation about her work, residencies and commissions. She then demonstrated in workshops the way she casts small pewter sculptures, using cuttlefish bones and wooden or metal tools to create an image or pattern. I chose to create a clock hand which also links with my current project about 'time'. It was a great experience to meet another professional working artist and learn new crafts.

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Rachel Whiteread, untitled (one hundred spaces), 1995, Tate Britain

I absolutely love these little sculptures! They look like Turkish delight or jellies. Every time I walk past these I wish I could feel their smooth surface. Depending on the time of day or weather conditions, the light can filter though the Tate’s glass ceiling, casting light into the semi transparent chair moulds creating the appearance of water or some other liquid.

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I enjoyed visiting the exhibition of Kim Yong-Ik's work in Spike Island (Bristol, UK), at first I liked his polka dot work the most but as my time at the gallery passed I felt his later work about death and the future, touched on important issues in the art sphere and wider world. The polka dot work was aesthetically pleasing, however Kim Yong-Ik made the decision to keep few works in their storage packaging, creating a frustration in the viewer that something was kept hidden that one couldn't open or touch.

I found his work quite difficult to understand as I don't have knowledge of the Korean political and art history, this has made me want to research further as I already have a love of South Korean music, entertainment and fashion.

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Visited the Carol Peace exhibition on Wednesday the 15th of November, at the Paint Works in Bristol. I had a look around the exhibition space, and then the art foundation group had the chance to see Carol’s work space and listen to her explain how she creates the sculptures. 

I really enjoyed seeing her works of art in person, and the trip has given me some inspiration for my next pathway project in a few weeks time. The small forms sitting on wooden blocks attached to the wall gave a shadow of which looked like it could have come from a real human being. I thought the textures on the forms were really intriguing, the lines created by a saw like tool were made to represent shadows, and the added smooth parts are to create highlights for which light can bounce off.

(I also went to the Boca Bar next door for lunch and had a great hot chocolate! Would recommend.)

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The next talk at Wells Festival of Literature that I sat in was by Joanna Moorhead, a journalist and the writer of 'The Surreal Life of Leonora Carrington' which was published on the artists 100th anniversary. Moorhead talked about how she slowly revealed the light on her wild cousin that was never spoken of in the family.  The artist's desire to live a life of art in her early teens would never be swayed throughout her life, which made her into a formidable character that always valued the notion of continuing to move forward. Moorhead talked about Carrington's romance with Max Ernst, and travels around Europe, that would finally bring her to Mexico with her husband Renato Leduc. Moorhead also mentioned not so glamourous moments of being exiled from her family in Lancashire, England, leaving her lover, Max Ernst in prison in France, and the decline in Carrington's mental health, which resulted in her being admitted to a mental asylum in Madrid, Spain.

I thought the talk by Joanna Moorhead was intriguing and enjoyable, I will definitely be reading her book in the near future, and certainly carrying out some research into Leonora Carrington.

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On Wednesday the 18th of October, I had the opportunity to go to Wells Festival of Literature in the Bishops Palace. First I listened to the artist, Rafael Klein, whose current exhibition is situated in the Wells Cathedral's South Cloister. During the talk, Rafael explained how his hand printed limited edition artist books are used to inspire his sculptures. Rafael showed his enthusiasm of working in metal, and how the properties of it being cut and bent into shapes allows for experimentation of negative space, which means his sculptures can interlink in unusual ways. Rafael talked about his exciting time living in New York and Brooklyn during his youth, and trips to Italy which have provided inspiration his Dante collection of art works. He carries the city in his heart but loves to admire the nostalgia of rural life and its thriving nature.

'Family Tree', Rafael's artworks that sit in the Cathedral depict the wider connection between all humans, the individual differences are overlooked, as we are brought to contemplate the spirituality of being part of one family tree. The tree's branches constantly connect everyone, both generations that have come before and that will come, and all that are living on the same Earth today. If only we all took a moment to realise and accept that we have all come from the same place, maybe human beings would be able to solve the issues we have created due to individual differences.

My personal favourites from the collection were subjects of nature and human form combined, one showed a person crouching within a leaf shape. However not all of the sculptures gave me such a positive feeling, some of the metal figures situated within a bigger form, had an interesting raised surface texture, which I think would have been more aesthetically appealing if they were smooth.

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I visited the Tate Modern Gallery on Wednesday the 27th of September 2017. I got a little over excited seeing Matisse! I don’t normally take pictures with works of art but I felt that it would help to stand in as a scale reference to show how huge this piece is (but also to show my appreciation of one of my favourite artists with some silly poses). 

Henri Matisse, ‘ L'Escargot’ (The Snail), 1953, gouache on paper, cut and pasted on paper mounted on canvas.

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Cardboard Jellyfish, for Strode College induction project to create an outfit for a catwalk out of cardboard and other recycled materials. The jellyfish was created from a cardboard box, cardboard strips, brown tape, masking tape, bubble wrap, green tissue paper, string and LED fairy lights (solar powered). The message behind this exquisite sea creature is to raise awareness of the rise in human waste within seas either rubbish or oil spills, all cause harm to its habitats and species. The jellyfish is a species that is involved with the oceanic ecosystem, it is prey to turtles and bigger sea creatures, and a predator to fish and algae. My favourite part of my jellyfish is the lights, which represent the dangerous electrical tentacles. I was honoured to participate in the creation of the original idea and even be the model!! 

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I visited the Museum of Eastern Asian Art this weekend (24.09.17) in Bath, England. The museum mostly contained artefacts from China, however I found these two prints from Japan. I love the relaxing warm colours, and flat, 2 dimensional aesthetic of a print. The prints lack perspective, but make up for depth by layering images, such as a background of nature or buildings. The geisha dresses show cultural aspects of the time, fashion and textiles. I am particularly enticed by the patterns and designs of their kimonos. The feel of elegance and beauty is conveyed through these beautiful Japanese women, who are now captured in a print for generations to enjoy.

1. Print of two geisha by Eishi, Japan, Late Edo period, 1756-1827.

2. Print of three geisha by Yoshida Shuncho, Japan, Late Edo period, 1770-1790.

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And so it begins again. The Extended Diploma year 2 and 47 new art foundation students are all busy working on their cardboard induction ‘Catwalk’ creations and it’s terrific to have such a busy department again after the summer. Bring on the catwalk show - 12 lunchtime tomorrow.

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Fun day in college meeting with many of the new art foundation students, those starting this September. Worked with fish (*as is traditional), ink, pen, watercolour, shellac, laser-cutting, tea and collage. Great to get together after individual interviews over many months and to have some creative fun. I will next see everyone when we start the autumn term and the students have made their summer project ‘dolls and puppets’.

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Visited the F.E. McWilliam gallery and studio in Banbridge, Northern Ireland. The current exhibition was by Eddie Rafferty called 'The Pursuit of Happiness'. Rafferty depicts scenes from his life in Ireland and South Africa. He holds a simplistic, harmonious, child like style with a limited colour palette and use of several techniques, such as collage, print and found objects. His work has inspired me immensely and I look forward to experimenting in his style.