Ann Shaw | Image | Artists talking | a-n

Digital finger painting - "We do not know the future we are inventing."


Ann Shaw | Image | Artists talking | a-n

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Blippers have all been asked to submit a photo of the saltire to create an amazing film for Burns Night 2012 called Scotland the World Over, an online global project organised by Blipfoto.com

This is my contribution.


Tomorrow night we have the first pop up networking event in Stirling organised by Joe Hall, a young woman new to the area.

She tells me it is already over-subscribed.
We are delighted.

For those of us who live in central Scotland this area is like a cultural desert for the contemporary art scene, in its widest scene, with little in the way of printmaking, digital, music, performance or film

OK there are little pockets of activity – MacRobert Arts centre and Changing Room- but no central hub for contemporary artists.

Everything happens in either Glasgow or Edinburgh.

Through Forth Valley Open Studios we created the first ever database of all artists working in the area- and there are over a 100 of us- but most work in the traditional arts and crafts sector.

Hopefully these series of pop-up art events will help create a vibrant artistic community in the central belt of Scotland so that artists no longer feel they have to go to migrate to Glasgow, Edinburgh, or worse, London on emerging from art college.

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Elizabeth Blackadder at the opening of her exhibition in Stirling University.
Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n


I reckon we are fast approaching a “tipping point” for the arts in central Scotland.

Instead of being caught in a cultural wilderness between Glasgow and Edinburgh we are beginning to establish our own identity with a vibrant art community.
Last Saturday saw the opening of the Elizabeth Blackadder exhibition in Stirling University to celebrate her 80th anniversary.
This followed on the previous weeks highly success Bridge of Allan Arts and Crafts Festival- first ever for the area-and we have two “pop-up” events scheduled – one is a weekend exhibition by two FVOS members, Libby Yule and Catherine Froy in West Mosside and the other is a “networking/music evening in the former Changing Room in Stirling Arcade.

Meanwhile my own work involves finishing off “Sully” a book about Wales and I am about to dip into electronic publishing.

Eskimo knife

www.blipfoto.com/Libra


Some time ago I was in a Glasgow ironmongers looking for a new kitchen knife when a group of young Glaswegian men came in.

They were buying knives.


For the city is the murder capital of Britain and knives the weapon of choice despite the Cultural Renaissance during
the 1980s and 1990s when the city made serious attempts to reinvent itself with the Glasgow Miles Better campaign and the opening of the Burrell Collection, It also became the European City of Culture.


I once made an artwork based on this incident called
Getting ready for a Glasgow nite out”.

The gallery, not surprisingly, rejected it.

I bought this multi-purpose Eskimo chopping knife in Anchorage some years ago during a stopover to Japan.
It can be used for skinning animals, preparing vegetables and cutting meat.
Most of the time though it sits on my kitchen window ledge coming into use for chopping herbs.

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Gio Martin, sculptor with one of her quirky ceramics, at the first Bridge of Allan Contemporary Art and Craft Event.


It is ten years since I graduated from Glasgow School of Art. Here is a link to a blog about it:

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

'Mystery object', silver and wood, 24 October 2011. Photo: Ann Shaw. | Image | Artists talking | a-n

'Mystery object', silver and wood, 24 October 2011. Photo: Ann Shaw. | Image | Artists talking | a-n

Back from Morocco. I bought this high up in the Atlas mountains and I would love to know what it was originally used for. The inside is half hollow and it stands abaout ten inches and 3 inches in diameter, made of wood and engraved with intricate silverwork.

'In memori: Steve Jobs', digital, 6 October 2011. Steve Jobs made our world a better place. | Image | Artists talking | a-n

'In memori: Steve Jobs', digital, 6 October 2011. Steve Jobs made our world a better place. | Image | Artists talking | a-n

Also on my blipfoto site:
http://www.blipfoto.com/libra

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

"Nostalgia"
Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n



I used to work on The Herald newspaper in Glasgow many years ago – before I took redundancy to go to Glasgow School of Art-

I was one of the writers for the Women’s page (OMG! that sounds so sexist…).
Anyway The Herald has now launched a weekly Women’s Herald magazine and I bought my first copy today.

Will I buy it again ( at a £1 a copy)? Well....most of my reading is done online. For free.

Venice Biennale 2009

Finally got around to editing , or rather should I say, "mashing ", some footage from the 2009 Venice Biennale.

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Still Life with glass bowl and fruit
www.blipfoto.com/entry/1418129

To view my site:
blipfoto.com/Libra

Well, we have signed the papers which will enable Forth Valley Open Studios to become a C.I.C – Community interest Company, a not for profit arts organisation dedicated to community interests.

This does not give us charity status – which would require us to jump through many more hoops- but it ensures we continue in perpetuity and opens the doors to, we hope, gaining grants and sponsorship.

Spring Fling Open Studios on the Scottish Borders already formed themselves into a C.I.C.some years and we are using them as our role model.

Unlike Spring Fling we have not had any public funding and the only reason we have been able to reach the stage we are at in less than two years is thanks to the internet. So much of the work from gathering a database to registering, design and marketing our Open Studios has been done online.

Another new venture I have become absorbed in is www.blipfoto.com

This Edinburgh based project has created an amazing online global village for photographers.
If you have never visited the site then I would strongly recommend it:
www.blipfoto.com

My work is on www.blipfoto.com/Libra

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Visit Tate Modern

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n
Sunset over the Thames - view from Tate Modern


Night light: silver birch trees outside Tate Modern


Just had 24 hour visit to London to see Miro exhibition. I love Miro's work yet I was faintly disappointed. It looked dated.
Why? because now I have come to expect more from art than a painting hanging on a wall.

I wanted to interact with it somehow. Afterwards I went out on to the balcony of Tate Modern . It was packed with people with their smartphones and digital cameras all busy capturing the scene.

Visiting Open Studios in Perthshire

Lys Hansen in her studio in Braco, Perthshire.


Textile artist Clare Robinson in her Braco studio..


Perthshire Open Studios started yesterday. Visited two in Braco, Lys Hansen, an international artist and Clare Robinson a young textile artist who has re-located from Edinburgh to Perthshire and works for Liberty.



And this is what always surprises me about visiting Perthshire Open Studios - you find artists have moved here from the cities, many from down south, because they can combine their work with a good quality of life.



Going further north today to Dunkeld where I expect to find even more artists who have opted for the good life: big cheap ( well not that cheap this is Perthshire) studios, beautiful locations and thanks to the internet they can work anywhere.
Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

The new creative economy?....

My latest blip photo on www.blipfoto.com . You can find me under my screen name of Libra.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IehUM7XxJNU




What does the future hold for art and artists?

Well here are three very different perspectives:

Open Studios
We in Forth Valley Open Studios are looking into forming a C.I.C – Community Interest Company, in order that the organisation continues impetuity and makes it more attractive for investment i.e sponsorship, and grants. We have our annual general meeting in a month’s time and hope to get it all formalised by then.
In moving towards this structure we have been influenced by “Spring Fling” Open Studios on the Borders who have already adopted it.
(Incidentally I noted on their web site that they had a turnover of over £800,000 this year.
Not bad for a long weekend in the country.)
It is worth noting though that the creative industries on the Borders are both a major tourist attraction and source of employment for artists, craftspeople and all those associated with them.
We believe Open Studios empowers artists and at the same time enriches the cultural life of the community.

Digital networks
Just back from Tallin, European City of Culture, where
The Director of the Kumu Art museum, Anu Liivak, says in his introduction to “Gateways – Art and Networked Culture”.
“The exhibition focuses on works of electronic media, which use digital networks in various ways and re largely interactive.
As such the display clearly shows the paradigm shift from traditional visual art, where the artist presented viewers with a completed object.
Contemporary electronic art is closely connected with the latest developments in technology which, in most cases, are not used to create a finished object but, rather, an interactive communicative platform.”

Finally take at look at this Youtube contribution which argues that the artist’s career in the past operated in a vertical structure- art college, gallery, exhibition, catalogues, museum whereas the reality today for most artists is one of a horizontal structure, a portfolio of work where making art is just one part of what artists do.
These artists, far from being a failure because they have not become stars or household names are in fact making a great contribution to the community.


Which is right? I would hazard a guess that they all are.
For contemporary art has many different strands and in the future we are going to see an even richer diversity of creativity.

Have just joined blipfoto.com where you are invited to submit a photograph a day.

Tallinn- Kumu museum

Tallinn Wall
Artists collect words and phrases from Facebook and Twitter and publish them as standard size posters on the gallery wall.So this becomes the physical manifestation of the invisible digital city all around us.


Tallinn - European City of Culture

Just back. City was a big surprise. Had expected the medieval side but not that it had jumped straight into the 21st century.



Glad I had my ipad with me because if you wanted information on the European City of Cutlure you were referred straight to the web.



I saw some amazing stuff in Kumu, their new museum which is a cross between the Guggenheim in New York and the Jewish museum in Berlin. It looks terrific though it is not that user friendly inside.



The top floor was given over to "Click Here" and this was superb. Here we had cutting edge art where Man ( or should it be Woman) meet with computers to create a whole range of images and experiences that reveal a new world.



It was the immersive, interactive work that held peoples attention longest and opened up whole range of new art experiences.

bit.fall, Julius Popp's video installation turned water in words trawled from top news sites on the internet- as we walked in we got the London riots already turned into an art form.

The viewer is able to experience the digital world as an analogue sculptural installation.

Phew!....



Video installation bit.fall by Julius Popp in the Kumu museum, Tallinn.

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Life drawing on mobile devices

The old and the new
What is it about drawing that brings us back all the time to the studio for Life Drawing? Last night I went to the monthly class at Delta Studios expecting no more than maybe three or four people, after all it’s the middle of the holiday season and it was a very hot sultry evening.
Instead twelve of us turned up.

There is something in human nature, almost primeval that craves the desire to make marks.
For three hours I worked just using a piece of pastel and some wet paper towels- how much more basic than that can you get, not even the pretence of a brush.

Fast-forward today to the 21st century and the sharing of the images on mobile phones, Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

Forth Valley Open Studios.....the future?

(Skyscape - Bridge of Allan - Ann Shaw)

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Should Forth Valley Open Studios become a registered Community Interest Company? how do we ensure the organisation continues into perpetuity?

Wales and Essex- video performance

This is a video I made a couple of weeks ago during a video performance workshop in the Changing Room gallery, Stirling. We were put into pairs and I worked with Jon Piccolo, a young man from Essex who has recently moved to Scotland.

Interview with Andrew Bryant of A-N magazine

Ann Shaw talks to Andrew Bryant about working in the virtual realm, her career development from journalist to artist, and current concerns.


'"Forgotten"', digital. Centre for Older Adults, Chicago.

Andrew Bryant: You had a previous career as a journalist. What made you
switch to art and how difficult was the transition?

Ann Shaw: I come from Wales and in those days it was unheard of for anyone
to go to art college – you either went to university or teacher training college.
When I moved to Scotland I found myself for the first time in a country with a
strong visual culture. This allowed me to renew my interest in art by going to
evening classes, weekend courses, holiday courses and even a masterclass
with Eduardo Paolozzi. I switched to job-sharing so that it would give me more
time to practise my art and I had a WASP studio, though I was aware that I
needed art school training.
Leaving the security of a very well paid job, which I thoroughly enjoyed, for the
insecurity of life as an artist took me several years to resolve. In the end my
desire to make art won through. I had by this time already started exhibiting
work, but it was very much a hit and miss affair. I knew that in order to progress
I needed both the training and the official stamp of approval of an art degree. So
I took voluntary redundancy from The Glasgow Herald (as it was known then)
and started a four-year, full-time course at Glasgow School of Art. Once inside
art school it became obvious that there were many different strands to art. A
year in Chicago on exchange to The School of the Art Institute opened even
more doors (especially digital video and performance).


'"The Waiting Game"', Digital. Ann Shaw says:" This was taken in Mexico after visiting some Mayan ruins. The juxtaposition of the iguana and the couple caught my eye."


AB: Francis Alys trained as an architect and Susan Hiller had a previous life as
a sociologist. Both are high profile artists with major retrospectives at Tate. Has
your background as a journalist shaped the kind of artist you are?

AS: I am curious to see your reference to Francis Alys and Susan Hiller, whose
work I greatly admire. In my own case I found that I was not taken seriously as
an artist because I was already known as a journalist (in art school I reckon I
got an extra tough time because of it). I think it’s only now, very late in life, that I
have the confidence to combine the two, to let the one feed off the other.
For a long time I tried to banish my background in journalism but now I realise
that it feeds into my current practice more and more. For example I am working
on a project ‘The Time of Our Lives’ which challenges our stereotyped image of
our ageing population. Because of my journalistic background and contacts I find
it very easy working with people. In fact I seem to be moving more and more
towards ‘social sculpture’ where the interaction between people and their
contribution becomes greater than the finished film. Having said that I have
recently gone back to a life drawing class in order to get back in touch with the
special kind of magic of putting marks on paper – something lost in computers.


Ann Shaw, '"Strong"', digital.Inspired by Moodscope.com the free online testing kit which analyses your daily emotional state.


AB: Your blog is currently concerned with preparations for the Forth Valley Open
Studios. Open studios raise the hoary old question of putting a price on art.


AS: There are many different threads to art and one of the things that organising Open Studios has taught us is that there is a role for all. Studios are not vetted. We let the public decide."

Ann Shaw talks to online editor Andrew Bryant

The other day I did an online interview with Andrew Bryant of AN Magazine.


It was a novel experience to be interviewed, to find myself at the other end of the questions, for I used to be a journalist.

Knowing how easy it is to misinterpret a persons story, to give added weight to something in order to make it more readable, a common newspaper practice ( think of current newspaper scandals) it was with some trepidation that I read Andrew's interview.

I was both surprised and delighted at his well-balanced article which summed up my work. Moreover it caused me to look more deeply and critically at my practice and what I wanted to achieve.

Blurb.com

Have created my first mini book using Blurb.com It is a very simple venture, a small gift for Kit Gow of Opening More Doors , the charity that organised an exhibition of work made by day patients at Strathcarron hospice for our recent Forth Valley Open Studios.

Once books involved an enormous and costly process. Now its possible to have one-off glossy books for less than a bunch of flowers!

Getting on a bit.....: 84 and still dancing...

Getting on a bit.....: 84 and still dancing...: "(Ipad image - Ann Shaw) One of my favourite contributions on growing older is this one: ' I am 84 years of age and still dancing!....' ..."

Transmission gallery -opening

Tonight sees the opening of the annual members exhibition in the Transmission gallery, Glasgow. I did not go to the launch party preferring to go mid week when it's possible to get a good look at the work.

I submitted some of my iPhone a d iPad images so I will be curious to see how they have hung them.

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Charmian Pollok - mirrored box of Scottish midges caught by Charmian at her home on the west coast of Scotland.
Only those of us who have suffered an evening of Scottish midges will really appreciate the significance of this box.
Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

A video of midges I made in Glencoe one evening...

On The Web: Britain's National Art Collections AKA "Your Paintings" - Real Clear Arts

On The Web: Britain's National Art Collections AKA "Your Paintings" - Real Clear Arts

Forth Valley Open Studios

Praise continues to pour in for our Forth Valley Open Studios brochure from unexpected quarters .

They all praise us for the high professional standard we have set. Others point out that this is the nearest to a complete directory of all artists working in the Forth Valley.

Members exhibition - Transmission gallery

Work came back yesterday from the Forth Valley Open Studios exhibition at Delta Studios, Larbert and went straight into Glasgow this morning for the annual members exhibition in the Transmission gallery in the Trongate.

It consists of 100 images created on both my iphone and ipad and I have called it:"From the other side".

Here's a sample.

Transmission gallery

It is that time of year again - annual exhibition of members work at the Transmission gallery in Glasgow. Well, as soon as my "stuff" is back from the Forth Valley Open Studios exhibition in the Delta Studios, Larbert I will take it in tomorrow to Glasgow.

Are you a proper artist?.....

It happened again yesterday.
An aquaintance I have known for years said :
"Are you a proper artist?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, do you sell stuff?"

I took him into my studio and showed him my drawings on iphone and ipad.

He didn't know what to say.
He wrote in my Visitors Book:
"Amazing!"

Getting on a bit.....: Chinese .....approach to ageing

Getting on a bit.....: Chinese .....approach to ageing: "Image: 'Contentment' drawn on ipad - Ann Shaw During Forth Valley Open Studios I launched my inter-active ' Time of our Lives...getting..."

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Ipad drawing made by sixteen year old Sarah Holliday - her first drawing on an ipad.
Impressive.

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

I had intended to keep a running blog on the Open Studios only it turned out to be too hectic. As soon as the studio closed there were special events and private viewings to go to plus Glasgow School of Art Degree show.

Well, the dust has now settled and it’s Monday. All the feedback is very good apart from a few hitches like council officials taking down our notices (seems it is illegal to put up notices on the road). This was a real pain for one artist because they had decided to close the main road leading to her studio for repairs and the only way she direct people to her studio – was to put up new directions.

I had a fraught couple of hours trying to sort that lot out.
Oh yes another complaint was over opening times. This is a real problem in rural areas where people might have driven a great distance to view work only to find that some of the studios in the area have decided to close that day. We did attempt to persuade artists to co-ordinate with their neighbours on this buy it didn’t work so I guess we have got to be a bit firmer next year.

On a personal level I am more than pleased with this years Open Studios because I made a conscious decision not to sell “stuff” and concentrate instead on giving people an experience and something to think about. It worked better than I expected but the downside was that at the end of each day I was totally shattered. Everyone stayed between 1-2 hours and some even came back with their families!

Most popular were the inter-activity sessions where people were given my ipad to draw on and I sent it on email to them so it was waiting when they got home. The teenagers who visited went straight to the electronics – no surprise there. As for my box, which became known as the “old age” box, this proved surprisingly popular too and led to many animated discussions. I asked people to write down on a small piece of paper what growing old meant to them. The only person who refused was a doctor!

Challenging ideas of older people - rock group

This is a clip from Steamer Lane, a soft rock group of retired professional men who performed recently in Stirling. They are my first participants in my project Time of our Lives which challenges how we view older people and the expectations people have of us.

Are gardens works of art?

Dominic Clare | Image | Artists talking | a-n

Ann Shaw | Image | Artists talking | a-n

"Strong" image inspired by online emotional testing kit Moodscope.com
Ann Shaw | Image | Artists talking | a-n


Waiting for the winds of 70mph ripping through Scotland to drop off before I go over to Delta Studios with work for the Forth Valley Open Studios exhibition.

I am submitting an installation, “Mobile Art”, of 100 images created either on on my iphone or ipad .

Last year I sold my iphone images for £5 each.
They proved to be very popular but they were certainly not cost effective considering the work that went into them for they were individually printed and mounted on foam board.

Also I was very uneasy with this arrangement then for I seemed to be trying to stay with one foot in the traditional print world and the other in the digital.
And succeeding in neither.

So this year I have freed myself from the tyranny of trying to produce conventional art for sale and I am giving the images away for free – in digital form sent either to peoples mobiles or computers.

I feel a lot happier with this arrangement since the images were designed on an electronic device and should be viewed on one.


David Hockney recent exhibition in Paris abandoned canvas altogether and he showed work created and shown entirely on electronic devices. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11666162

No sign of winds dropping so will video the storm instead and go to Delta Studios tomorrow.

Tracey Emin - on radio

Heard Tracey Emin talking about her work on radio this morning. Whatever you think of the quality of her work you have got to admit she is sincere about it and she connects with the public.

She's a strong woman and I have got a lot of time for her. And she is usisng her art to make serious social comments.

Her high public profile owes a lot to her communication skills - yet another example of how important it is for artists to be able to talk about their work. Gone are the days when you could sit back and say " I am an artist. The work speaks for itself."

Today art is about a lot more than selling decorative work to hang on walls.
If you want that then go to Ikea.

A-N interview on email

I mentioned to some friends that I was doing an email interview ( for A-N magazine) only for them to be very dismissal. They do them all the time. Seems these are common journalistic practise these days.

Interviews conducted over long boozy lunches have long been consigned to the history books but I had not appreciated how virtual interviews have become the norm.

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Steamer Lane ( from left to right) David Martin, Alex MacCambley and Alan Forrester

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n


Time of our Lives…challenging perceptions of older people

We were just about to start filming the soft rock group Steamer Lane on Saturday in the middle of Stirling when they started: the South American pan pipers with all their amplifiers going full blast.
Try competing against that!

I had this tremendous sense of deja- vu. Ten years ago in my Degree show at Glasgow School of Art I had installed a sound installation “Duet” of birds singing and a cat purring. It was a lyrical piece and it was set up in the Loggia, top of the Macintosh building.

Suddenly from the “Hen Run” adjoining I hear shots. The student next to me had installed a Western style shooting gallery as his degree piece…. I had to find a new space sharpish.

Well, we did get the filming done, once the South American players stopped for an early afternoon siesta but this is one of the problems when you are working with sound and in a public space.

You have got to be prepared to think fast and find solutions.

Forth Valley Open Studios -brochures

Our brochures have arrived and they look fantastic. Committee members went away tonight armed with box loads of them. We have worked out a distribution list for the whole of the Forth Valley plus Edinburgh and Glasgow.

All studios will each receive 100 copies too so hopefully this will help raise awareness of our event and encourage visitors.

Now the publicity ....

Rosy Naylor of Platform Designs | Image | Artists talking | a-n

Rosy Naylor of Platform Designs | Image | Artists talking | a-n

this is our new poster to advertise our Open Studios event in June. It is with the printers and we hope to have it back along with the brochures by the end of next week.

Open Studios poster

New project - "Best of Times"

I thought it would be a good idea for this year 's Forth Valley Open Studios to give myself a project with a tight deadline. Well the deadline is certainly tight - it's only weeks away - because I have dithered about the best way of doing an " art and ageing" project.

So, I have decided on a blog that looks at the many positive ways that people these days approach this time of their lives often in ways that challenge the stereotyped images that surround the subject .
You have only got to open a newspaper to see the ageist language used : " oldies" " old folks" "old age pensioner ".

The blog "Best of Times" invites contributions from mature bloggers .
Also I am doing a photographic /video installation showing positive images of those who are 60+

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Diary of an artist writer online | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n
Ernest Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea in this observatory/writing tower he built for himself next to his home in Havana.
Visitors are not allowed inside so I took this photo from the doorway while getting drenched in a tropical thunderstorm.

GMAC and Cafe Flickr

Just heard that Cafe Flickr, the monthly open cinema for new film makers run by Glasgow Media Access Centre in Glasgow has closed for at least six month.

GMAC has let the space out as offices!... seems they have got some serious financial problems.
In fact they have even let out their editing suites.

Travel blog- caribbean

Hi! Check out my new multi-media travel blog based on recent visit to the Caribbean.
I have used text photos and video. Bit of a struggle for a non-geek like myself but did manage it.
If I can anyone can ...

Ann's Caribbean travel blog

Why the peculiar name? As a child I was known as Titch and in the last year I have taken twittering under the name of Titchtwitter.
Thought you would like to know. Or maybe not...

Hope the link works. I am doing this on my iPad and it lacks some functions like being able to highlight sections and paste web links.
That said the iPad is the best gadget I have had for years . It allowed me to make an easy digital diary while in the Caribbean - bigger screen than an iPhone and not as heavy as a laptop. In fact the ideal travelling companion.

And I no longer have to carry books and magazines around . It's all online. In my handbag.

Video - Havana, Cuba

From hot to cold
Here's another piece of work based on my visit to Havana. This time I have mashed the video in my computer to create a film with a totally different feel.
Yet another experiment on my part.

guests.future.mov

Youtube link to Cuban dancers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAKnULKLstk


Still trying to figure out what it is about my work that suggests some folk may be upset by it. For months now when you google my Youtube channel it comes up with a warning.

What can I do about it? there's nothing there that could offend anyone.

Tropicanna nightclub- Havana

My channel on Youtube carries a warning that the site contains material which some people might find offensive.

I cannot figure out which videos they might be referring to since most of them are simple recordings of everyday events at which I happen to be present. The rest are either quirky or fall into the "arty" category.

This video, made on a recent visit to Cuba, was made using my new Flip camcorder which I bought online for less than a £100, its in high definition, dead easy to use, slips into my handbag but the sound quality is lousy.

Mexico- Mayan ruins

"The Waiting Game" - Tulum, Mexico
I took this photo on a recent visit to Mexico. It was terribly hot and it was the last photo I took at the end of a long and exhausting day exploring some Mayan ruins.

Only when looking through the files on my return did I realise that it had some unexpected qualities like the repetition of the curves of the iguana with that of the two figures and likewise the shadows replicated in both.

But it was the sense of something eerie and sinister about to happen that caught my eye.

Most of the stuff I shot in Mexico was video which turned out to be a disaster because I was using the much hyped Flip camcorder yes it is easy to use but it lacks a stabiliser and the sound quality is dreadful. Oh yes it is in HD and the colours are amazing.

Forth Valley Open Studios- Delta exhibition

We have has a meeting with Craig McKechnie, director of Delta studios and he has again very generously offered his studio space, one of the biggest exhibition spaces in Scotland , for our taster exhibition in June.

This allows members of the public to view work en masse from the studios before planning their itinerary .

Kissing stingrays in the Caribbean

Well, I guess I have been off line for a couple of weeks...touring the Caribbean and swimming with stingrays. Also popped into Mexico, St Lucia and Cuba.

Forth Valley Open Studios

drawn on my ipad using Brushes app


Last Saturday we held our first agm in the Smith museum and gallery in Stirling and we had a good response from the public.

A year ago Forth Valley Open Studios was just a bright idea …we had no database, no public money and a very tight deadline.
Just a bunch of enthusiastic and dedicated artists prepared to work their socks off.
The result? Last June 73 studios and over 100 artists participated in the first ever Open Studios nine-day event across the Forth Valley.

A subsequent survey revealed that it brought in over £44,000 to these studios.

Not bad for a first effort… now we are busy planning our second Open Studios for June 11- 19.

Our chair, Lys Hansen, pointed out that FVOS is now part of the cultural scene in the area.

Old media versus new media

view of Ben Ledi in the Trossachs from my kitchen window.

I despair of our local newspaper, the Stirling Observer.
It is read widely in the area so any coverage, however small, is welcome. Yes the reporter promised the paragraph I sent in on email about the agm of Forth Valley Open Studios which takes place this Saturday in the Smith Art gallery and Museum in Stirling would get in.

Open the paper this morning. Nothing.

Fortunately new media comes to the rescue. Have put it on Facebook, Twitter and emailed all artists on our data base.

'Appy New Year

Under the oak tree ...at the bottom of our garden


After Miro ...drawn on Brushes app


Guess the most sort after present this Christmas? my iPad! everyone from six month old baby to academics wanted to get their hands on it.
Why? because of the apps.
Here are some of the favourites: Brushes,(painting) Angry Birds ( game), LaDiDa ( reverse karaoke app), Myfry ( Stephen Fry's e-book) and of course the Koi pond HD and Virtuoso keyboard ( both interactive).

Is this our digital future for newspapers, books, magazines, music, films, shopping?