i like to make

An online sketchbook of work in progress, inspirations and experiments.
thisbelongsinamuseum: In honour of International Museum Day, I will take a Lufthansa flight to Germany and visit a museum there, then get on another flight to Paris, or maybe I should just buy a train ticket around continental Europe and visit all the museums…yeah, in my dreams. Anyway, HAPPY Museum Day! Here’s a kid’s drawing of what an art “musseme” looks like. That’s a big door. Lots of windows too. Has that kid ever heard of conservation? (Image Source)

thisbelongsinamuseum:

In honour of International Museum Day, I will take a Lufthansa flight to Germany and visit a museum there, then get on another flight to Paris, or maybe I should just buy a train ticket around continental Europe and visit all the museums…yeah, in my dreams.

Anyway, HAPPY Museum Day! Here’s a kid’s drawing of what an art “musseme” looks like. That’s a big door. Lots of windows too. Has that kid ever heard of conservation?

(Image Source)

‘Los Indignados’ have been appropriating the space (and the statues) in the Plaza Catalunya.

Hola de Barcelona!  One of the perks of going back to uni to do this Museumy Masters, is that I’ve finally managed to get to do the Erasmus exchange thing and I’ve bagged myself a three month placement in Barcelona, interning in the Study Centre at the Museum of Contemporary Art aka MACBA!  As part of my internship I’ve been researching some of the work of Ian Hamilton Finlay, and to be honest even though I’m Scottish I’d never really paid a huge amount of attention to IHF’s work.  Fine, I passed his bridge installation in Glasgow on my way to and from work quite frequently but I never really ‘got it’. Turns out, I am now a bit of a fan, so when I read that there was a permanent installation of his in Barcelona I decided to go on a pilgrimage. Unfortunately, no one feels the need to provide any more information on its whereabouts than ‘on a hill near Park Guell’, ‘in Park Guell’, ‘near Park Guell’.  So after a couple of hours wandering through, over, behind Park Guell on a rather warm Sunday, I finally found it! It was sitting quietly, sure enough, on a hill behind Park Guell.  There’s nothing near it to tell you who it’s by, no signs or explanation, but I kind of feel like that’s kind of fitting with Finlay’s work. It just inhabited the space and patiently waited for someone to stop and look.  Although I do hope people actually do stop and look and see, as when I went there was only me and some sketchy looking dude with a plastic bag digging about in the bushes.

Hola de Barcelona!  One of the perks of going back to uni to do this Museumy Masters, is that I’ve finally managed to get to do the Erasmus exchange thing and I’ve bagged myself a three month placement in Barcelona, interning in the Study Centre at the Museum of Contemporary Art aka MACBA!  As part of my internship I’ve been researching some of the work of Ian Hamilton Finlay, and to be honest even though I’m Scottish I’d never really paid a huge amount of attention to IHF’s work.  Fine, I passed his bridge installation in Glasgow on my way to and from work quite frequently but I never really ‘got it’. Turns out, I am now a bit of a fan, so when I read that there was a permanent installation of his in Barcelona I decided to go on a pilgrimage. Unfortunately, no one feels the need to provide any more information on its whereabouts than ‘on a hill near Park Guell’, ‘in Park Guell’, ‘near Park Guell’.  So after a couple of hours wandering through, over, behind Park Guell on a rather warm Sunday, I finally found it! It was sitting quietly, sure enough, on a hill behind Park Guell.  There’s nothing near it to tell you who it’s by, no signs or explanation, but I kind of feel like that’s kind of fitting with Finlay’s work. It just inhabited the space and patiently waited for someone to stop and look.  Although I do hope people actually do stop and look and see, as when I went there was only me and some sketchy looking dude with a plastic bag digging about in the bushes.

I managed to get along to see the exhibition Intertial Frame by Bob Levene at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art on Tuesday which is part of the AV Festival.  The film is made up of five shots of the same stretch of Finnish coastline, at different times of the day, which the film travels backwards and forwards along.  It’s quite an interesting experience to sit down and make yourself watch the entire thing, which I did, and ‘make myself’ is the operative word/phrase.  I actually found it a little tricky to stay and watch the whole thing, as I really had to fight against the feeling that I shouldn’t be spending 45 minutes of my day just sitting watching a landscape go by, when there were emails to send and meetings to get to and other exhibitions I probably should be trying to squeeze in a look at.  It was a great demonstration of the AV Festival’s theme this year, As Slow As Possible, that you actually have to make a real effort to convince your brain that it should chill out and watch the world go by and try to take things as a slightly more relaxed pace.  In the end, I stayed for the whole 45 minutes at the expense of cramming in a trip to any other exhibitions, and I’m glad I did.

I managed to get along to see the exhibition Intertial Frame by Bob Levene at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art on Tuesday which is part of the AV Festival.  The film is made up of five shots of the same stretch of Finnish coastline, at different times of the day, which the film travels backwards and forwards along.  It’s quite an interesting experience to sit down and make yourself watch the entire thing, which I did, and ‘make myself’ is the operative word/phrase.  I actually found it a little tricky to stay and watch the whole thing, as I really had to fight against the feeling that I shouldn’t be spending 45 minutes of my day just sitting watching a landscape go by, when there were emails to send and meetings to get to and other exhibitions I probably should be trying to squeeze in a look at.  It was a great demonstration of the AV Festival’s theme this year, As Slow As Possible, that you actually have to make a real effort to convince your brain that it should chill out and watch the world go by and try to take things as a slightly more relaxed pace.  In the end, I stayed for the whole 45 minutes at the expense of cramming in a trip to any other exhibitions, and I’m glad I did.

I’m still trying to get the glitter glue out my hair, but I had a great time running my Crazy Crystals workshop in the Centre for Life’s Make It Zone yesterday.  There certainly were some Crazy Crystals being created!

As seen at Byker Metro

As seen at Byker Metro

And more library days.  I translated 15 pages of risk assessment from Catalan into English.  The final section was about mental fatigue.  Apparently I’ve to stay calm and tidy my desk.

And more library days.  I translated 15 pages of risk assessment from Catalan into English.  The final section was about mental fatigue.  Apparently I’ve to stay calm and tidy my desk.

Library Days.

Library Days.

Sunderland Beach Finds.  Someone says it’s flint.  It has faceted beautifully.

Sunderland Beach Finds.  Someone says it’s flint.  It has faceted beautifully.

Not the message I was expecting

Not the message I was expecting

This is amazing! mineralia:Anatase with Brookite, Quartz, & Chlorite from Pakistan

This is amazing!

mineralia:Anatase with Brookite, Quartz, & Chlorite from Pakistan

I like this building for the Alesia Museum in Burgundy alot.  Although one commentator did mention that it looks like an ‘all weather tyre’ and I can kind of see their point. Image: Bernard Schumi Architects

I like this building for the Alesia Museum in Burgundy alot.  Although one commentator did mention that it looks like an ‘all weather tyre’ and I can kind of see their point.

Image: Bernard Schumi Architects