Chatsworth

After the annual trip to Alton Towers, this time staying two nights in the hotel, my family and I decided to take the scenic route home via Chatsworth and spent a few hours in the house and even longer navigating the gardens.  Now like all houses, we get the standard layout of shrubs, trees, sculptures etc. however much I adore the stories and history of the buildings within the land, it is a little heart wrenching when the immediate view from the house is a bunch of tatty shrubs and wonky topiary.  The house has had a lot of money spent on it recently, the dreaded scaffolding is minimal and restricted to the small side of the house for the time being, there is still a way to go and it seems the gardeners struggle on a daily basis clearing paths, making it safe.  Anyone else visiting this year may not expect the blooming roses I saw as they had not been dead-headed therefor their flowers will be a low count.  As a result, I say go in the blooming season!

Also guess who's left a sculpture....

Andy Goldsworthy.  At least I thoroughly believe so, the Dutch and Duchess are very fond of their modern art.  A good experience for the adaptable, but not for those who are stubborn on believing such estates should house the master painters...there were some sketches done by the masters on display though...

Here are some flowers to make up for it.

Degree Show

Opening Night:
Thursday 24th May 18:00-21:00
Regular Opening:
Friday 25th May to Friday 1st June 12:00-18:00

There will be a minimum of 4 art students per day on a rota, any interest in the work will be happily recieved and forwarded to the responsible artist.

'Twelve' Degree Show Installation

This is it!  What my work since September has been building up to!

It failed the safe test of allowing people to walk on it before it even begun because I picked up a tile and it shattered in my hands, however, this is not a bad thing because the ability to stand on it was more of a novelty than anything else.  The work is more effective as a sculpture forcing people to observe it and perceive its meaning.

I have inserted images of the 91 grids of Castle Street in every box then covered a majority of the boxes with the slate tiles, it is my intention that the viewer will understand the piece as a direct comment of what we know is beneath our feet literally illuminating the little knowledge we have of a space we use.

@LJMUFineArt_12

http://liverpoolartprize.com/?event=liverpool-john-moores-university-school-of-art-and-design-2012-degree-show

Royal Du Luxe

Sea Odyssey Liverpool

The Giants took a tour around Liverpool on the 20th to the 22nd April, I took my sister to see the spectacle.

On Castle Street the little girl giant continued her search for her Uncle with his diving suit with her dog.  She found her way to the Docks a few hours later and waited.

On Lord Street, Uncle was peering down streets wearing his suit ready to search for the giant girl's father, he grew tired and took a break outside St George's Hall, he then continued heading for the docks.

http://www.giantspectacular.com/

Official Basement Project Poster

Created from the map I made in Microsoft Paint.

The Basement Project links

I know its a bit late but I have only just discovered them after finding other Projects which involve the word Basement...

http://www.sevenstreets.com/art-and-creativity/radar-the-basement-project/

http://www.artinliverpool.com/?p=28006

http://twitter.com/#!/The_Basement_P

http://liverpoolfineart.posterous.com/

BASEMENT

As number 16 on the map, I am finding it the most difficult to access power, however, the meeting today with the building manager has relieved a lot of issues faced by both myself and the other artists involved.  Rat traps will be cleared during the installation, electricians will be in to hook us up in the next week or so as well as cleaners who will dispose of the large debris on the floor.  All we need to do is publication and signs saying things like "Mind your head" as the doorways are small.  We also need to conger a list of needs from Gary for the exhibition (ie. torches in case of power out, fire extinguisher, exit route signs etc.) perfect considering I had been rummaging all the people I knew for their hoovers, brooms, hands on experience and ideas for how to make this work.  I've left masks and gloves down there for any of my fellow artists to use if needs be and now I am focusing on the presentation of my work to others in a paper format, various other mediums of presentation, publication and display.

We got together on Monday to produce a poster from our favourite images of the basement, my favourite is the wall with a cow in the plaster...

The following are the posters I designed...very simple images of wall space.

The following is everyone favourite because it is a simple 'accident' image which subtly suggests the contemporary art within the project.  We all think the text needs to be a little larger, stick LJMU as the last sentence and it will be fit for publishing.

So publishing, nailing, sanding, painting blocks and getting lights tested are on my to do list so far.

I've also been thinking about he degree show, how to change and adapt my project and such.  I want to use the knowledge I have acquired to further influence the outcome...the knowledge of the dock changes, markets, archaeological discoveries, social adaption.  Technology is just scraping the surface and only one aspect I could explore, but the Basement project will have accomplished this.  So a new method of installation...more interesting and relevant compare to the nails in wood, a new material within the piece...  I can go as far as a sketch up of this for now, my focus will need to be on the Basement and publication for the time being.

My purse is lighter

I have bought 55 slate tiles, 5kg worth of 4" oval nails, 2 fluorescent light fittings and cut 60 odd pieces of wood 2"x1".
I still need another 120 pieces of wood, a power source, 1 more light fitting, a tube of outdoor flashing lights, self publication and participation in the catalogue of the basement project.

Salvage

Salvage Yards are amongst the most difficult to find in Liverpool, I have visited two in Widnes and seemingly lost another in Bootle. The best I can find near the University is the offices of a demolition firm which is not what I need! I need to configure the scale and weight of the tiles I need in order to discover if I can manage them in the limited access basement, I have since visited B&Q and Taskers to see if their solutions can help.

The thinner indoor wall and floor tiles are easy to manage, have accurate appearance though are incredibly thin, I'm not sure they will be as effective as their real counterparts... comparison below from Taskers during a sale.

Salvage Yards...

The biggest I can lift is a standard 1ft sq tile so that is my limitation as there are no lifts down to the basement therefore all the tiles will have to be hand carried down.
Price is up for negotiation, all I really need to focus on is the type of tile.

Project Proposal

Project Proposal John Foster Building
By Rebecca Foster

Concept/idea
As society moves in the daily routines of lifestyle and the habitat we live in constantly changes with construction of new buildings, we fail to truly observe of what is happing at the present because of the rapid changes. These changes are built upon layers of history and modern technology which are responsible of the attitudes towards contemporary living. The objective is to encourage the audience of my work to leave with a new sense of understanding their environment, to do this I will explore the modern sub-levels of the old constructions of Castle Street and the John Foster Building.

My exhibition space in the John Foster building is located at the furthest route and has an old fridge at one end. I will raise the floor level of my space by 10 to 13 centimetres from wall to wall and will stop at the base of the fridge. I will use paving tiles which will seem suspended above the floor leaving gaps between where the mortar would usually be, instead these gaps will emit light forcing the viewer to look at the source and the confined space in which the installation is located. The void in between the pavement is the impact of the work generating questions, the lack of knowing what we live on literally is highlighted. Under the raised flooring I will also outline black voids representing modern technology in the shape of pipes and cables, these will be taped on to the floor. In order to generate a greater impact, I believe the journey to the installation is necessary. It will also be necessary to darken the space further therefore I will block off the narrow entrance near the fridge to further emphasise the light I will be providing using LED battery lights.

Technical specifications
Do Not Cross tape/chain—raised floor is not to be walked on but observed from an entrance.
One potential entrance near the fridge is to be blocked off, eliminating any contaminating light.
The transport of tiles and materials will have to be co-ordinated between the Art Academy and the John Foster Building. Wood for plinths first then tiles.