Hello there...

After my brief holiday obsession with old signage I am back at college again.  For some this may seem like the start of lots of work, and it is, but it is work that I enjoy so much it feels like fun!

So...

This year we have a much quieter studio space as it is only us 3rd years coming and going from the  studio we have.  I much prefer it quiet like this, with the exception of radio 6 playing away behind us, I think it makes for a more productive place, for me anyway.

The first week of work started right away, not like any '2 weeks to get back in the college mindset' we had previously been afforded.  I thought this was great because I absolutely don't want to waste any time on projects this year.  I am trying to become a more organised and professional person, especially when it comes to my art practice.  

Our first project that I am working on is a live brief...which is quite exciting really!

It has come from the MacRobert Arts Centre in Stirling and they would like us to design a christmas themed piece of art to take the place of the massive christmas tree they normally have just outside the theatre entrance...the only thing is they have asked for it not to be a christmas tree.  Hmmm...

Some initial ideas were to look into the panto they have on in the theatre and take some inspiration from that, as well as looking into other areas of the MacRobert Centre that could be utilised by me for the purposes of this project.

I have been really enjoying creating stop motion films...I quite like that they seem to be a cross between mixed media and painting, only they move which I am still fascinated by.  The filmmaker Norman McLaren created many stop motion films in his lifetime and I am massively influenced by the work he has done.  At the MacRobert Centre they also have a cinema which is appropriately named The Norman McLaren Film House.

I liked this connection and have decided to look into stop motion with cut paper for this piece.  Here is one of Norman McLaren's cut paper stop motion films La Merle 1958...

http://vimeo.com/19545301