Exploring Creativity at The Castle

Working with the members of the Castle Youth Centre is always a privilege the young people who frequent the centre are always enthusiastic and keen to try new things. The centre is run by Deb, Melissa and their colleagues. The Castle is a safe place where young people come for support and understanding.

I was fortunate to run two sets of workshops this year exploring creativity in the visual arts. The first series of workshops concentrated on abstract painting where the participants created their own artworks from colourful paint blotches. The resulting artworks were innovative and vibrant and expressed the ideas and inspirations of each individual.

The second series of workshops concentrated on the creation of 3D models made from polystyrene , chenille sticks and plaster bandage. Again the pieces produced were many and varied. Each participant created their own unique piece. 

Thank you Deb and Melissa!

Claremont Banner Winner!

The winner of the Claremont Banner for St Georges Terrace project is Freshwater Bay Primary School. One of the three schools I worked with during the project. Freshwater was the youngest group I worked with. They produced this beautiful colourful banner which will be reproduced and displayed on St Georges Terrace in July!

Three Busy Months Jan-March 1014

Having returned from a six week trip to Scotland at the end of the year I had expected to have a quiet few weeks to start off 2014. Not so! 

My first small project was for the City of Canning preparing some Tiger masks for the Canning World Arts Exchange concert on the Shelley Foreshore 1st February 2014.

                            

I followed this with a project for the City of Gosnells for the Homegrown Festival. This was a community engagement project to seek public opinion about the services and facilities past present and future in the City of Gosnells. People left their comments on the 'trees' about what they remember, what they have now and what they'd like to see in the future. The event took place on a very hot Saturday afternoon 23rd February!

 

Banner Design

 

The 'Trees'

  

Community Feedback

 I began a six week Artist in Residence at Bentley Adolescent Unit in mid February.This followed on from  my residency at PMH last year. Working with adolescents with significant mental health issues is challenging but very worthwhile. It can be difficult to decide what technique to use when working with groups where time is fairly limited. On this occasion I chose to use collage and drawing to produce individual and collaborative artworks:

• Production of individual artworks on 35x35cm art boards which had been pre-primed with very simple abstract designs, these then to be worked on using Posca pens, art paper and Styrofoam shapes to produce interesting and unique artworks some of my own examples below:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

•  The collaborative piece was constructed on a 90x120cm art board.It was the combined work of patients, staff and myself. This art work will be hung in the Bentley Adolescent Unit it is a bright and attractive piece:

Another project was the production of three banner designs for the Town of Claremont working with three local schools. This was part of a larger project which also involved a second artist who worked with a further three schools. My chosen method here was paper collage on foam core board using Posca pens to add details.  This was a quick and efficient way to construct the  artworks following brainstorming sessions with each group. John xxiii College decided on a map of Claremont as the centre piece of their banner. This was a challenging group comprising two classes each of 30 year 6 students.

Methodist ladies College decided to represent Claremont with a roller coaster going into Freshwater Bay 20 year 10 students took part. 

Freshwater Bay Primary School chose to represent Claremont Park the year 5 students produced some beautifully detailed work.

My final project over this period was 10 weeks with the Wellard Saturday morning Kids Club. A number of projects were undertaken mainly 3D sculpture works made from a variety of materials and culminating with an exhibition of work at the Kwinana Library at the Darius Wells community Centre:

3d sculptures made from Styrofoam plaster and plaster bandage

Small 3D collages made from Styrofoam, paper and chenille sticks

Hand puppets made from yoghurt cartons, chenille sticks and coloured paper

Artworks on display at the library

What next?  Watch this space!

Merry Christmas

A wee bit of artistic licence with an old Christmas Carol!!

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:
Twelve snotty noses
Eleven glowing candles
Ten salmon leaping
Nine hounds a' howling
Eight bottles popping
Seven moggies  grinning
Six eggs hatching
Five frozen chins
Four howling kids
Three drenched men
Two purple gloves
And a partridge in a BEAR TREE

FutureWorld the Exhibition at Princess Margaret Hospital

A busy few days have been spent this week setting up the exhibition at PMH.  Rebecca De Rooy the curator at the hospital has done a brilliant job of curating the exhibition and we have worked together hanging and displaying the artworks.

This project has been an enriching experience and I am truly privileged to have been chosen as Artist in Residence at PMH for 2013! Thank you all you wonderful teachers and staff at HSS!

The students I have worked with have been inspirational and every day  I was presented  with a new challenge!

There are nine small works on canvas eight by the students and one of my own (Top right hand corner). The students were given a prepared canvas with a background colour and some blotches of paint, they then used this as the foundation for their many and varied artworks. Some of the works incorporated collage using a variety of art papers.

The exhibition space at the Megazone has been completed and our exhibition looks excellent!
There are six works based on drawings by the students these have been digitally enhanced and framed. 

 This painting has been gifted the the PMH collection it is a large painting 100cm x100cm and depicts my interpretation of an alien forest complete with bizarre life forms.

The display boxes hold the sculpture works of the Bentley Adolescent Transition Unit and the Children from Family Pathways at Shenton Park,

The sculptures done by the student from Bentley Adolescent transition Unit were selected for exhibition at the 'Young Originals" Art Exhibition at Edith Cowan University in August. This was one of the highlights of the Residency.  The students made  innovative and unique pieces out of recycled materials.

The children at Family Pathways, Shenton Park had great fun messing about with polystyrene shapes and plaster of Paris bandages making these delightfully colourful models!

The piece on the left was a collaborative piece worked on by a number of staff members at the Bentley Transition Unit. 

A series of artworks have also been installed in the main entrance:

As with the works exhibited at the Megazone these are on prepared canvas with a background colour and some blotches of paint, they then used this as the foundation for their many and varied artworks. Some of the works incorporated collage using a variety of art papers.


Further works have been installed on this level:

These pieces are semi-3D and consist of pieces made by the kind and some digital prints of their works mounted to give a 3D effect.

These paintings are acrylic on canvas and continue the theme of Future World. I have used bright colours to describe my alien-scapes and iridescent paint to give life and sparkle to the pieces.

The Undergrowth is the third large collaborative piece installed at the Megazone. It again comprises work by many of the students and a number of staff members.

PMH AiR project update

Working as Artist in Residence at PMH is a unique and remarkable experience! two large collaborative works are now installed at the Megazone on the 7th floor. These pieces are imaginative and vibrant and have been much admired since their installation. I never cease to be amazed by the ingenuity of the kids!

The work is challenging and exciting. The children range in age from 5 years to 18 years. I see most of them for a short time 30min to an hour. I also have two adolescent groups who I have see over the whole of the residency. Hence the artworks that I offer have to be able to be completed in a short space of time and be suitable for a range of skill levels.

The first piece includes the work of over 30 kids and
portrays an underwater scene on an alien planet
the pieces are two and three dimensional.

The second piece depicts bizarre alien portraits with accompanying stories
about these strange creatures 25 contributors to this piece

Several of the adolescents who I have had regular contact with have been making their own sculpture works from recycled materials, there are two groups one at PMH and the other at Bentley Adolescent Unit. They have used a range of materials to produce their pieces, plastic bottles, bubble wrap, wire, papier mache and a variety of bits and pieces. It is planned to show these pieces at the exhibition to be held at the end of the residency.

In the meantime I have continued to create a number of 3D pieces, paintings and have also added to the portfolio of drawings shown previously.

Eugene the Gombo

Joobee-L-Ant

Laquishabon Qui Qui

Skizzer the Lizzer

A Mystic Alien Forest
Acrylic on Canvas

Weird and Wonderful Alien Bees
Acrylic on Canvas

weird creatures half bird half dog

Eugene the Gombo and Ainsley Joobee-L-Ant

Horny Jo Blo 

Skizzer the Lizzer a transporter of small aliens

The weightlessness chamber on the Inter Galactic Oasis
A place to chill out in space!