Doesn't time fly!

I had a thought this morning...ok, I know...that's unusual!

Anyway....I've spent the last few days playing with Photoshop Elements, a trial version that I am actually going to fork out for once the trial has finished (oh how I wish I could afford the full Photoshop creative suit with Illustrator!). I usually use The Gimp for editing my fractals (did you know I do fractals?) and photos. Now Gimp is free and lovely, but opening up Photoshop was like using my Ultra Fractal program and Gimp put together. OK, so I can't create fractals on it, but its moved on since the PS version I owned way back when, and I just love playing with it. So much so that I had a horrible realisation.

If fractal programs and Photoshop had existed when I was at school, I might have actually got up the gumption to go to art school!

"Split", one of my fractals from last year.

It's the one thing Ive regretted. I'm crap at drawing, but my batik for my Higher Project was apparently brilliant (no false modesty here), it was a complicated design of a cobra sitting on a pile of coins in grassland...unfortunately it "went missing" at school when it went off to be assessed and I never got it back. Now, if I had bumped my backside into gear I may have made a portfolio way back then, but I wanted to do archaeology, didn't get one of my highers and ended up with second best. Typical bloody teenager!

All those years ago (my GOD I sound ancient) there were no home computer graphics programs, and even if there were it wouldnt have been seen as art...lets admit it, a lot of people still don't think digital art is art that has time, energy and passion put into it. But now...if I was a teenager now I'd probably do a digital arts course in a bonfide art school and get my degree (if I was good enough, there are some brilliant digital artists out there!). As it is I play at making fractals and photomanipulation artwork, but the play is becoming more serious. Yesterday I even went in for a t-shirt design competition.

So what is all this waffle for? Well no reason, apart from it struck me like a hammer...in twenty years we've gone from digital art being only for the likes of moviemakers and special effects folk, to being able to knock up a digital piece of art at home on a home computer. A computer that twenty years ago was unheard of in a domestic setting.

"No Escape", one I did a few days ago

 

Bloody hell I feel ancient! So much has happened in the last twenty years..I blame alien technology ;)

If you are ever bored and fancy having a look at any of my "artwork" you can find it
here:  http://genuinegenie.deviantart.com/ 
or here: http://elviratsquirrel.redbubble.com/

Inspired by glass...

On Thursday evening I had the privilege to be among a small audience as four artists in residence from Northlands Creative Glass told us of their journey as glass workers and how they have spent their time in Caithness.

As each speaker had a different take on glass and what it meant to them, so each piece that we were shown fit into their work as an artist in an individual way. The one thing that struck me was that each of the four glass-makers had travelled the globe in the search for knowledge, working with other makers and sharing techniques, and will probably continue to do so. Glass is definitely not a lonely pursuit.

During a question and answer session there was a very interesting comparison made. Glass working was likened to modern day alchemy and in order to understand glass and allow its creative properties to be unleashed, the artist has to perfectly balance the four elements. Without all the elements being finely balanced the glass can be unstable and brittle.

The four artists were Veronika Beckh, Holly Grace, Clayton Hufford and Edison Osorio Zapata.

Veronika makes amazing glass, working with light and form that is captivating. 

(c) Veronika Beckh

http://veronikabeckh.com/works/

Holly takes inspiration from her surroundings and has created some lovely bottle canvases

(c) Holly Grace

http://www.hollygrace.com/

Clayton uses his glass in a very technical way, taking everyday items and creating them in glass.

(c) Clayton Hufford

http://claytonhufford.com/home.html 

Edison specialises in installations, his glass rod creations are amazing and his fluency in many languages is transformed by glass rollers.

(c) Edison Osorio Zapata

 http://www.edisonzapata.com/zapata/contents/home/?language=english

I am fascinated by glass, but have only managed to make it a few times. I would love to make more, but so far I’ve only managed a fish and a glass block, although I must admit that I enjoyed the block making immensely and am proud of the result…even if I have no way of displaying it (it’s been stuck in a kitchen drawer since I made it two years ago!)

(c) Sara Donaldson

 Yes, I know...this is my attempt, but at least I tried ;)

These amazing people, through a talk that lasted less than two hours, have inspired me to do more artistic stuff. Although I have a love/hate relationship with Caithness, seeing it through the eyes of others has made me realise that I tend to take the landscape for granted. Caithness is blessed with Northlands, an internationally acclaimed glass centre that attracts amazing artists from all over the world, one day I’ll get to go on another course.

Ok, I could wax lyrical forever. I love glass, it is tactile, neither completely solid nor liquid and can be made into virtually any form. What do you think about this wonderful material?

Why not visit these websites and have a look at the work of these brilliant people.

 

http://veronikabeckh.com/works/

http://www.hollygrace.com/

http://claytonhufford.com/zoom/984x588/1423632.html

http://www.edisonzapata.com/zapata/contents/home/?language=english

http://www.northlandsglass.com/