Part D

Final project: http://www.flickr.com/photos/site-education/sets/72157624934295883/show/

Plan: My own project involves taking small train figure models of people and place them around Sheffield, imitating real life situations mixed with scenarios which might happen between tiny people in a giants world. To lead a project that involves the whole group I will ask my group for ideas to try out with the models I have. Also to help choose final photos.

I got inspiration from a picture book called 'Little people in the city' by Slinkachu, where he takes figurines and places then around London in their own little narratives. Slinkachu’s work is classed as ‘street art’ and he uses super glue to get his little people to stand up. Looks like tricky work!

These little people and their scenes could represent human interests and just typical life, mimicking us. I’ll build my photography skills with this project too. As the people are so small, it can be difficult to get them into focus. I have to think about composition too. I will try and do my shots when the weather is nice but so far for 'July', the weather has been rubbish. I’s the better the light, the easier it will be to take photos and get the images in good focus.

Doing my project:
I had Emily Foster - Site Young Apprentice Scheme volunteer - and Josh, assist me The first time I went out. They suggested ideas and what angle to get them at. I became what Vicky calls a ‘creative opportunist’ with the builders outside :) I made a fantastic photo next to them with my builder figurines with their tiny jack hammers, shovels and a bright blue porta-loo .

After evaluating my photos for the first time I went out I thought about how I could improve them. I looked at cropping, backgrounds and composition and could see how I could have improved them by moving a bit to the left or right and changing my focus. Getting these types of photos is incredibly hard as there’s so much to consider. Not only that, people stare at you when you sit down in the street and point your camera at what could be ants!

My next plan was to go out again but this time with Vicky guiding and assisting me. She really helped me spend the time to get better shots. I also added little cards as little signs to some of my pictures to experiment with something a bit different. It turned into a really good idea and added a new ‘surrealness’ to some of the imaginary narratives.

I think this project has been a great idea and I’m really pleased with what I’ve done. I had to think on my feet (or whilst lay on the floor!) and think carefully about getting the best shot. Sheffield’s great scenery is art in itself so that combined with the little people and then the signs, really got me to be very creative. I love the humour of it too - that deep inside us all we feel tiny and vulnerable and ant-like in a big city.

Part C

PART C:
My interview: http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/151018/title/LucyRatcliffinterviewwithEmmaattheOldSweetShop

I organised an interview with Emma Toss, founder of 'The old sweet shop' - a small store set up in a quiet area of Sheffield [Nether Edge]. The former sweet shop sells pieces of art and creative craft stuff by local artists. Emma is not an artist herself but I chose her because she has the skill and creativity to do something good for art – supporting and bringing together the work of local artists. She’s sold and exhibited many local artists such as Phlegm and Kid Acne. I saw plenty of their work when I went to do my interview. I even bought phlegm's Comic Issue 8.

I really enjoyed interview Emma. She was lovely and down to earth and it was inspiring to see something like that work in a small neighbourhood. Also it was a cross between a gallery and a shop and I liked that. It’s like an old curiosity shop and might appeal to more people than a normal gallery because it’s also a corner shop (it was a sweet shop before!)

Interview...
1. This is Lucy Ratcliff interviewing creative entrepreneur Emma for Site Young apprentice scheme.
2. so...you are the founder of 'the old sweet shop' in nether edge, firstly...what is it?
3. What's the story of how it came about? (why a quiet area like nether edge? did you worry it was too quiet?
4. How important do you think it is for local artists to be given the chance to have their work in a local gallery?
5. How do you choice the work you show and is it all personal taste?
6. How do you price work?
7. What is the most common genre of art in your gallery?
8. What types of things sell the best?
9. What is your favourite type of art and why?
10. What's the weirdest piece of work you've had in the shop and do you limit the weirdness?
11. What price brackets do you sell in?
12. Do you make your own art or get creative and does the shop inspire you?
13. Do you have any funny or weird stories around the shop that you can share?
14. How would a young or new artist go about seeing if they can exhibit their work in the old sweet shop?
15. Are you happy with the way it's going and what would be your wish if you could make any changes?
16. You offer the chance for visitors to have work commissioned by an artist? What's that all about?
17. Can you sell the gallery as a place to come and visit to people who haven't been in...3 sentences?

Part B

For my Part B of the arts award I combined viewing the exhibition and artwork at ‘The Old Sweet Shop’ with an interview with the founder, Emma Toss (see part C and my interview here http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/151018/title/LucyRatcliffinterviewwithEmmaattheOldSweetShop)

Vicky wasn't messing when she said it was just a corner shop - it was tiny! But when we went in it was a bit of a tardis, jam packed and we were greeted by the fragrant smell of burnt incense sticks that hit my nose and a smiling Emma sat at a cluttered wooden table with a bell and a black sleek laptop. The place was filled with paintings, prints, tiny treasures and nic-nacs. I wanted them all! While Vicky and Emma had a chat, I set about enjoying the show and taking pictures with the great Site Gallery camera. There was everything from big pieces of artwork hung up on the wall to tiny little canvases, handmade jewellery, tiny wooden draws and clocks, handmade cards, pots, cushions, soft toys, table cloths, notebooks, t-shirts, bags and even soap. The first thing that caught my eye was the neon pink sculpture of a human skeleton on a neon pink dogs body, with two ice cream cones for horns - the most talked about thing in the shop apparently. I can see why :)

I specifically chose this gallery as it wasn't just an exhibition. It sold the artwork that came in and has changing exhibitions. Emma also brought up the subject of money and how you should find out some knowledge of how much a gallery would charge an artist for exhibiting their work or you could be tricked into paying more than you should be. It also just wasn't based around one local artist, or one type of artwork - there was such a wide range and that made the store so interesting. Phlegm Comic, Kid Acne, Craww, Plain Jane, Faunographic, Pixelwitch and so many more artists and photographers work was displayed around the shop. Phlegm Comic's picture books are amazing and it was nice that I could actually buy what was being exhibited! I bought issue 8.

This was one of the most enjoyable exhibits I’ve ever been too. It was really relaxed in the shop and I felt I could enjoy the work at my own pace. It also made me feel really proud and inspired by Sheffield’s creative talent. I didn’t know these type of shop and gallery mixed places exist and I think there should be more of them! I loved the atmosphere as it was cosy and there wasn't a blank part of surface in the store. It had no main theme so it would appeal to a wide range of people, and the lighting gave the store a warmer, relaxed atmosphere and so the photos I took were lovely.

Day nine

THURSDAY - DAY 9
INDEPENDENT WORKING ALL DAY AGAIN, which is good as I needed to finish everything. Kim helped a lot with discussing the Arts Award writing up and I edited my interview with Emma but left a lot of the 'ums' in as it sounded more natural. Got a lot of writing done but it stressing me out that the internet isn't working though (as it helps if i can listen to music while I’m working). Plus I need to be able ot post my work up!

Day eight

WEDNESDAY - DAY 8

We were on the computers for 40 minutes before we set off on a mission. We had to take the cameras that Vicky had given us to take photos of 'hidden Sheffield’. Whatever we wanted that to mean.

We all met up in the peace gardens at 11:20 with Vicky and a Apprentice volunteer called Lucie (journalism student I think) to help out. We were then led through the cathedral cemetery to Bank street gallery - where we greeted by twelve very peculiar and different themed deer heads :S mounted on the walls..........now I know what you’re thinking......these weren't some random deer heads that just hobbled up to the door to say hello and welcome, I mean, they were beautiful and not so beautiful 'deer' heads. Made from everything you could possibly imagine. Even rubber gloves!

My favourites were the ones made completely out of seashells, one with taps for antlers and one decorated with rope and lace. One made of bits of wood and another made with a gorgeous turquoise material with a gold embroidery and dangling off the antlers were pieces of pretty thread with pieces of broidery and sequins. Some of them made me laugh to myself though.

After lunch we came back and went into a room full of taxidermied rabbits, foxes, ferrets and badges, and a video of the artist (Susanna Gent) doing taxidermy on a fox while she was swigging away on a can of lager. NICE. We all laughed a bit at how gross and how forward she was being regarding the dead fox, just flopping it about. But then she took off the foxes head using pliers........I think we all gagged a little then. She then decided to pass round one of the rabbits that had been a road kill, that was half flattened. I almost dropped it. I admired her for it though, I wouldn't have the guts (haha guts).

We then saw an artist who was using a projector to help him draw twelve favourite postcards pictures on to a wall. Very cool I thought. Then me, Josh and Bryony then went down to the riverside gallery with photographer Jacqui Bellamy a.k.a Pixelwitch herself to show us her 'Latrino Gals' work (women photographed in toilet cubicles!). I loved the staged one as they were neater and the lighting on them was better.

Day seven

TUESDAY - DAY 7
INDEPENDENT WORKING !! ......ALL DAY !!

Quite relaxing day to be honest. Just mainly writing, writing writing.

Day Six

MONDAY - DAY 6

Tired. Half - asleep. MORBID - As I found out Jessy had called us on Facebook, hahahaaaa : ) . About half ten we literally went down the road to Yorkshire Art Space where we were shown around the exhibit and studios. On display were the ceramic works of ceramicist Emillie (I can’t remember her surname!). There were plates and vases with paintings of local places around Sheffield. I liked the vases because they were big and chunky, not slim and tiny like you’d expect a vase to be. We also went into a silversmith’s workshop which I’d never experienced before. She was taking part in a contest where the prize was £10.000 but she wouldn't be paid for doing it. So it was all or nothing.

Later a student from Doncaster called Emily came in. She did the ongoing side of the Apprentice Scheme and was about to go to uny to study photography in Sheffield! She was witty, funny and was very talented. She showed us her work and it ranged from photography to sketches of nudes. As me and Josh were gonna focus on photography, Emily supported us around town but mainly around the winter gardens and just around the streets, seizing any possible opportunities that we could use to do our project work.

One idea of Emily's and mine was to place a tiny post box and a little person that looked like he was putting something into the post box, on top and next to a real post box, while I got Josh to appear to be posting something. We took a close up shot of the figurine and the post box, then a wide shot of the real life post box next to the figures. It looked absolutely tiny in comparison, and seemed very comical. Some of my shots weren't really focusing on the little people, but more on the background, but that's okay as Vicky said she'd be taking me out again and it’s all part of the learning process to see how I can improve.

Day Five

Day Five in the Site Gallery Tower...
In the morning it was really relaxed as we were working independently for most of the day. Yesterday and today was better with the rest of the group as we were getting to know each other better and didn't necessarily feel as if we had a ton to do so we chatted more. THANK YOU GOD. For lunch I nipped out to town to get some stuff which is handy that the gallery is close to the centre of town and the train station.
Ben Moon, an artist who was assisting with the placement joined us in the afternoon to help us attempt a project like Darren Solomon’s ‘In B Flat – www.inflat.net, but as only Bethany, josh and billy could play an instrument - apart from Briony who can play the triangle ;) - we won’t sure what to do. Bethan had loads of ideas with just the objects out of her bag like rollers, the zip on her pencil case, pressing the keys on her phone, stuff like that.

I also prepared my questions for Emma, the owner of the old sweet shop- a shop which showcases local independent artists from a range of genres and provides an alternative to mass produced high street shopping. I don’t know what to expect, what she looks like, or even her last name. When we arrived, there were a wide range of different artists such as Kid Acne, Phlegm Comic, Craww, Plain Jane, Pixelwitch. And so many different pieces like picture comics, jewellery, t- shirt designs, photography books, even soap.
There was one peculiar pink sculptor of the body of the dog, with a human skull head. Attached to this skull were two ice cream cones for horns. Pretty amazing. It was like marmite - you either love it or you hate it. I personally loved it but I wouldn't have that in my bedroom! There was a smoky smell through out the shop - like a million incense sticks had been burnt. My interview with Emma went well, but all the interesting nick- nacks were distracting. But I seemed to do a pretty good job. I even bought a phlegm comic.....comic ! A good week so far, but I'm knackered! :D

Day Four

THURSDAY - DAY 4
The Mac Book is really good, if not at times confusing as it came with all these applications. We went on one called iMovie, where we edited the movie we'd made from Tuesday. Deleting unwanted bits like when the camera was wobbly or when it got a bit boring if we'd focused too much on one thing for too long, adding music and words to it, or just speeding it up or slowing it down. Ben was in today, and he showed us exactly what he did through his work in a video about sound and installation. Then we were shown different pieces of media art that was just amazing. Like the project by Darren Solomon where there are 20 youtube videos all next to each other of people playing an instrument, talking or just making random noises, and you choose which order you play them in and you end up making your own music in a way :)

Day Three

WEDNESDAY - DAY 3

With the photos we took yesterday that were already downloaded into our fancy MacBooks we used the photoshop ap and had a good couple of hours messing around with that. I gave myself dark brown hair and purple lips, messed around with the contrast and exposure. We had Kim for today and she was helpful with it as I got confused with all the different tools and layers. In the afternoon we were all brainstorming our arts award ideas - my heart was set on placing little people around town. *_*
WATCH THIS SPACE ! ;D

Part A

PART A : challenge within experience
To improve my photography skills

My challenge within experience (for my Arts Award Part A) was to improve my photography skills

I did this through: studio portraits, photoshop editing, my final Part D project and through advance from artists, cool photography books, discussions and training from my work supervisor Vicky (Photoshop, competition and using cameras)

The first thing I learnt was, how to frame a photo and to take into account the rules of composition - I have learnt that when taking photos of people’s faces that you should focus the camera on their eyes as this is a key feature and one of the first things you look at. Most photos are taking into account where in the photo the most important parts should be - this is called the rule of thirds - and so photographers avoid taking pictures of the main subject of the photograph in the centre (most of the time!) Then we did some studio portraits where I thought about composition and how I wanted to to use the frame a bit differently (like using people hands and chopping off some of their face :) The studio work was also spontaneous photography which is just taking photos at any random moment that you capture, so it's not staged. It's an instant free style image. However as a photographer, you have to be able to relax your models.

I'm interested in the context of how something is taken. I'm also interested in the work of 'Little People In The City' the street art of Slinkachu, who places tiny figurines in everyday urban situations, like stepping in chewing gum, mixed with extraordinary situations, such as being attacked and eaten by a giant bee. He takes an ordinary everyday occurrence to the extreme in miniature. This type of work became my Part D, where I really put everything I’d learnt about photography into practice! (see part D! or http://www.flickr.com/photos/site-education/sets/72157624934295883/show/ )
From looking at Slinkachu’s work and others through talks and the great books at Site, I’ve learnt that there can be so much to photography. It’s endless the ideas and how you can use it.

What I've learnt about photography...
Using narrative –
The way photos are taken to make us think something is happening, or the way it's been taken to make it seem like you're seeing through the eyes of the person witnessing it all. It tells a story, you're imagination helps picture it all.
Contextualising images –
where the photo is taken can ‘contextualise’ an image. A good example of remembering what context is is the work of Banksy. He makes street art and the context of where he makes the art is very important. Pictures of that art in urban locations add to this idea about context. His work in a gallery setting wouldn’t have as much impact as the context wouldn’t have to impact an more.
Rule of thirds – as above!
Focus – when you are nearer the thing you are taking a photo of (close up) the ‘depth of field’ – (what’s in focus) is very limited. This is why I had to take ages getting good photos for my part D!

Day two

TUESDAY - DAY 2
the weather was much better, but still extremely bleak. i was more excited for today because i knew that we would be having a more hands on approach. firstly a producer of short films called Rob Spranza from south yorkshire film makers club came into to discuss what exactly he does and what it's been like so far. It was very interesting and i asked quite a few questions. He showed one of his films which was a horror film that was 6 minutes long. His american accent made it even more interesting as i just LOVE accents :} (he was originally from new york but moved to sheffield for a giiiiirl and a degree). i was still wondering where the Art was in this GALLERY, but then vicky, Richard, and this woman led us into a long dark room that had 4 projectors playing quite random recordings that were always on a loop. (PASSAGE OF TIIIIIIME!) Palms trees moving in the breeze, chinese objects, a car pulling a tree around in circles with dogs watching, and one of houses on a hillside and birds swooning in and out of view some of the time. I felt lost in this randomness, it didn't really make sense, but then we were taken into another white room with the tallest door i had ever seen, atleast 3 times the size of a normal one. in this room was one single projection of a circus that included alligators and elephants being tamed to do tricks. the picture itself was grainy and so looked atleast 30 years old, which i liked. We then had Richard Bolam, who said he didn't know what he did for a job. as soon as i heard this i was thinking, "well.... that's not good, why are you here then ? : / " but then he went o to tell me he did an aray of things, but they were all quite random and all of them didn't always link to one another. He did time lapse videos, which was fun to watch. and he told us that 'Branding' can be really hard to avoid - where you get someone's company logo or name in a shot/video. and that the banks especially hate that. I couldn't wait to get more hands on with stuff, and it was getting close to the end of the day. Vicky finally said that who hasn't had a go yet at photography, can go now in pairs. So me and Bethany - who's very nice - went down to the studio and messed around with camera, pulling different poses but mainly focusing on our faces. Soon after Ben took us outside to the train station around the corner with the video cameras so we could record moving objects like the fountains and people walking past while keeping the camera still on a tripod. i was different and ran through some pigeons which looked AMAZING when played backwards or sped up XP it was an attempt at what Richard does with his time lapse videos.

Day One :)

MONDAY - DAY 1
Walking up the street with an umbrella in hand after dad dropped me off in his white van, I was feeling nervous and imagined what 'types' of people I would meet that would be doing the exact same thing as me. You know, like in the films or books. Would there be those people dressed head to toe in black with blank expressions, cups of coffee and cigarette in hand? (even though the people who were doing work experience were the same age as me , you never know what I mean). They could be truly dedicated to their style and the image they were trying to give off :]). Would they be the techy people – geeky, arty? ? Or like how there mothers dressed them since they were 5. Either way, they were all here for the same reason I was. ART <3

Even though we all shared an interest in this subject, NOTHING could break that AWKWARD SILENCE. There was polite chit-chat as we greeted each other and told everyone our name. I would try my hardest to bring up a topic of discussion - what schools they went to, the location of the gallery, I even had to admit to a last resort and talk about the WEATHER ! ! But to be honest I was feeling so anxious inside as well. Thank god Billy was on his work experience as well or I would feel completely alone. Vicky led us all the way to the top floor, into the room I had my interview. The room had all white walls, floor and ceiling, with a white table in the middle of the room. The room was bland, with wooden chairs and a projector on the wall.
But there was one thing I love about this room - The view. It wasn't much, and was very industrial but the entire wall was a glass panel with a balcony and a white screen would come down at twilight. I watched buses go by and people striding past in the rain, you could even see the 'cheese grater' building. On the table were even whiter laptops - fancy Mac Book ones. Vicky talked about health and safety, signing in and out of the building and what skills we would learn and what were needed for this work experience. I liked the way she talked to us - like we were adults, like we were individuals, not just a 'class' or a 'group'. Like we're on the same level as her. She took us on a quick tour around the building. After giving us all the information that we could possibly take in on a monday morning we had a small break where some of the girls made me 'rayt good 'cuppa' :) .

But there was a little voice in the back of my mind and I think Bethan even asked - where was the art ??? We went off in pairs and did an interview in separate rooms with little mics and mp3s. We learn how to interview and ask the right questions and how to use the mp3 equipment and mic. Then we CLIMBED the MOUNTAIN of steps back to the top of the TOWER.........bit of an exaggeration but, oh well. It was 20 past 12 when our lunch break started and Vicky told us to sign out and be back by 10 past. I went round town with Billy who then meet up with some of his friends.

Walking round with Billy helped clear my mind of any doubts I had of any places uncharted and blurred in my mind. It made me realise that this town centre is not as huge as it is, and that it all easily links up. After Lunch we came back to a presentation by a woman called Lesley Guy, who showed us lots of different and interesting pieces of contemporary Art, Some by artists like David Altmejd. Mark Manders and Susan Hiller. We were then told we would be keeping a blog, :) With our interviews that we uploaded on to our fancy laptops, we had a go at audio editing. That was really funny as we could change the speed, pitch and the length of the interview.




ART <3

even though we all shared an interest in this subject, NOTHING could break that AKWARD SILENCE. there was polite chit-chat as we greeted each other and told everyone or name. i would try my hardest to bring up a topic of discussion - what schools they went to, the locaiton of the gallery, i even had to admit to a last resort and talk about the WEATHER ! ! but to be honest i was feeling so anxious inside as well. thank god billy was on this work experience aswell or i would feel completely alone. she led us all the way to the top floor, into the room me and vicky had the interview. the room was had all white walls, floor and ceiling, with a white table in the middle of the room. the room was bland, with wooden chairs and a projector on the wall. but there was one thing i love about this room - the view. it wasn't much, and was very industrial but the entire wall was a glass pane with a balcony and a white screen would come down at twilight. i watched buses go by and people striding past in the rain, you cold even see the 'cheese grater' building. on the table were even whiter laptops - fancy MacBook ones. Vicky talked about health and safety, signing in and out of the building and what skills we would earn and what were needed for this work experience. i liked the way she talked to us - like we were adults,like we were individuals, not just a 'class' or a 'group'. like we're on the same level as her. she took us on a quick tour around the building. After giving us all the information that we could possibly take in on a monday morning we had a small break where some of the girls made me 'rayt good 'cuppa' :) .
but the little voice in the back of my mind and i think Bethan even asked - where was the art ??? we went off in pairs and did an interview in separate rooms with little mics and mp3s. then we CLIMBED the MOUNTAIN of steps back to the top of the TOWER.........bit of an exaggeration but, oh well. It was 20 past 12 when our lunch break started and she told us to sign out and be back by 10 past. i went round town with billy who then meet up with some of his friends. walking round with billy helped clear my mind of any doubts i had of where any places uncharted and blurred in my mind.it made me realise that this town centre is not as huge as it is, and that it all easily links up. After Lunch we came back to a presentation by a woman called Lesley guy, who showed us lots of different and interesting pieces of contempary Art, Some by artists like David Altmejd. Mark manders and susan Hiller. We were then told we would be keeping a blog, :) With our interviews that we uploaded on to our fancy laptops, we had a go at audio editing. that was really funny as we could change the speed, pitch and the length of the interview.