InSitu 2016

In January of this year I joined Over The Line Studios. It's my first time having a studio and I LOVE IT!! It's so motivating being part of a creative community. The studio is over Glenline Fitted Furniture on the North Ring Road and we recently had our first show, InSitu, in that location. Again I was delighted to be involved and found the whole process very engaging. Here are some pictures of my work...

I feel very lucky to be part of the studio. The other artists are all so inspiring and have been teaching me so much! Here is some of their great work...

Dervla Baker

Judy Fisher

Martha Cashman

JP LeVillain

Yestin Reboul

Allie Glynn

Clara Griffin

Caireann Browne

Andrew Whitelaw

Jennifer Aherne

Louisa Sloan

John Dwyer

Wire Sculpture

First ever wire sculpture! This was done as part of the curriculum studies module for the H. Dip in art and design teaching. I focused on retaining the cleanness of the wire line and building this as sparsely as possible. I went on to build another wire sculpture, taking the opposite approach - layering it up with loads of wire to create texture. I'll photograph that and pop that up here too when I get a chance.

We've finished semester one now, it's been great! I've really enjoyed it. We don't have college again now until February so it will be really nice to be able to fully concentrate on teaching at school and put in longer days there.

More Day of the Dead!

I came across the Dia de los Muertos celebrations in Ogden Museum on my twitter feed. I had the pleasure of visiting the museum last Mardi Gras. I loved it! It's one of the best museums i've ever been to. So much original and unique Southern style art. I loved the Folk Art tradition in New Orleans, it has a distinct humour and really vibrant style. The Ogden's Dia de los Muertos celebration is no exception! The museum is very connected with the culture and people of New Orleans. Museums can be a bit elitest but this one is so open and inviting to the public. It has an eclectic mix of music nights and loads of other events. I wish I could be there this Hallowe'en!

These photos are from the museum's facebook page. The calendar page of the museum site gives the following info:

"Artist Cynthia Ramirez creates a Day of the Dead altar to honor New Orleans icon Uncle Lionel Batiste. The altar will include items that she has incorporated into it, as well as those the public has brought her to include."

"Presented by the Consulate of Mexico, New Orleans; Tulane University's Stone Center for Latin American Studios and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art."

Applied Arts - Final Project

I'm a bit late posting this but here are a few shots from my final project in Applied Arts. It was a great year, I learned so much and it's all really valuable for my course this year.

This project was based on the notion of function, I spoke about it in an earlier post here.  I was happy with how the pieces turned out, I wanted to insinuate human damage by intentionally making the vases limb-like and in pairs and also by "inflicting" bruise and cut-like decoration.  I was hoping that these objects would invite the viewer to question the perception, meaning and limits of human functionality.

Lucio Fontana Sculpture

We're on our final project for college (shock! fastest year ever!) and we wrote our own brief this time, mine goes like ....

I will produce a series of experiments based on the notion of function.  I will use the vertical vase form to explore the perceptual boundary between functional and non-functional objects. 

I will produce a series of vases which all show interventions that could be perceived as damage by the user.  The vases will retain their functionality as defined by their ability to hold liquid, but the perception of their functionality will be visually compromised by the “damage” interventions.

I'm working away at that at the moment and in the process being more drawn to  Lucio Fontana's sculpture.  His concept of "Spatialism" can be summed up as... "the principle that in our age matter should be transformed into energy in order to invade space in a dynamic form. "  I find the work really interesting and beautiful and while I am focusing on damage and the contextual, subjective nature of functionality, Fontana's work is really speaking to me at the moment!

These images via Temple Of Light, Curated Object, Veezzle, Find Art Info,  Adrianna Sasson, Ben Brown Fine Arts,

Ersy

We recently visited New Orleans for Mardi Gras, what a great city! Loads of music, art and great food. We visited the Ogden Museum which was fantastic. Great mix of Southern art from established to outsider artists.

One of my favourite exhibits was Ersy's. At the time I didn't take many photos as I thought there was probably plenty of images online, now I really wish I took photos of EVERYTHING as there's not a huge amount online at all! Here are two that I took, plus some I found on the web. I love how she plays with scale to create these distorted (often macabre), immersive realities, it's a very surreal experience wandering around her work.

Photos that aren't my own are from Unstitched Blog, nola.com, and Arthur Roger Gallery.

Culture Night 2011

Another great Culture night in Cork last Friday night! We strolled around to the Wandesford Gallery, the Backwater Artists, Christchurch at the Triskel, the English Market and Camden Palace.

There was a great atmosphere everywhere we went, it's really heartening to see the number of people who come out and engage with the various shows and events around town, there's a great sense of community. Camden Palace was rocking as usual! Loads of music, art installations and people having a good time. The dogs were also back again en masse, this time for sale.

The photos featured here are all from Camden Palace, unfortunately i'm not sure who the artists are!