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

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.