Yesterday was my final critique of the year at University (second year of my MA Fine Art.) Was a great critique from my point of view as I received no actual criticism or even constructive criticism. Everyone (Profs and cohorts) were all very complimentary.
I was given several suggestions about how I could expand on what I was doing – most of which are ideas I’ve already thought of and made notes about. Obviously great minds thing alike!
There were several things I had talked about doing previously that I ended up not doing for this exhibit. Mainly due to space available for installing my show, time constraints, and the fact that I just don’t have room to store much more at home! I had planned to create a mobile using the same abstract painting that the four mainly black woven works were done with, and some more varied mixed media pieces utilizing a wider variety of methods of weaving, some 3D constructions, etc. But I still have next year to do all that.
I’m using print making and/or weaving in all of the works I’m presenting. I’m really pleased with how things are going. I feel inspired and enthusiastic about creating again after a few years of frustration – having to adapt to my vision loss caused a lot of procrastination in getting back to creating regularly. But with print making I can finally let loose my creativity again, albeit in completely different ways that I used to.
This is a monthly update … I find my post titles are pretty repetitive as they all are updates or recent work posts!
In my MA program I have, I think, FINALLY, found a media/technique that I can continue with! I can’t express how relieved I am! For the last couple of years, as my vision kept deteriorating, I was constantly having to change direction as I could not see well enough to continue with what I’d decided to do.
As I’ve covered previously, I have really taken well to printmaking. And now that I’ve tried all the types of presses and processes, I’m settling in. My last binge was using the offset press to make A1 prints (that’s 23.4 x 33.1 in inches) – I did five different runs (with multiple pulls) and am using those to create work from. One print MAY be left as it came off the press, but the rest are being used in other ways.
We set up a couple of tables in the spare room as I need somewhere to layout all these large prints and sort out the pieces as they are finished. And stack the frames, etc. It’s going to get pretty crowded in there as I get stuff organized and mounted.
The one I showed in my previous post has now been woven together and I am pretty thrilled with how it worked out! I’m on the hunt now for a frame that fits it and will need to get a mount/mat for it custom cut.
Continuing with the weaving, this is an A3 version. I did an A1 print but taped off the paper into four A3 sections. This is two of those woven together.
I’ve embellished some of my smaller gel prints with ink, paint, stamps, etc. and some asemic writing.
The majority of my prints from last year are getting recycled into other work, cut up to make cards and journal or notebook covers. Some are being packaged to sell as original prints at my exhibition at the end of May, along with other handmade items.
Here’s the poster for my show which is already being promoted.
On the health front I had cataract surgery on Feb 9 on my right eye, and this Thursday, Mar 21, my left eye was done! It is amazing how different the light is now that the cataracts are gone and new corrective lenses inserted. With the cataracts everything was yellow – but I didn’t know that until they did the right eye last month. The difference was amazing. Went from dingy cloudy yellow (like years of cigarette smoke staining white walls) to a bright LED blue light effect. The operation/process is fascinating – a marvel of modern medicine really. My vision is improved as the light getting in makes things easier to see, but I still am dealing with the diabetic retinopathy, macular oedema and the rest of the complications. But given how I was legally blind in the right eye and pretty close to it in the left, I am very happy with at least “seeing” out of both now, even if I am still visually impaired – I can deal with it. I can tell colours apart again! I haven’t been able to tell purple from brown for 5-6 years.
I am nearing the end of Year Two of my three year MA Fine Art program. Due to my visual impairment I’ve had to change my trajectory more than once. Complete change of project proposal a couple of times, but I think I’ve settled into something that I can continue with no matter how bad the vision gets in the short term.
Back in October I took a couple of workshops on Asemic Writing. This image is of pieces of the large work I did in the second of the workshops – it as a massive piece of heavy paper (about 42 square feet) taped to the wall and I made “marks” on it using acrylic paint, acrylic ink, India ink, charcoal, etc. I was not impressed; but I couldn’t bear to waste my whole day’s work, so I hacked it up into random size chunks to take home. I figured I might be able to use it all somehow. Literally, there are hundreds of pieces.
As the charcoal was smearing all over the place I sealed every piece with matte Mod Podge, which actually worked really well and the paper has a really nice finish now. Took me over a week to get all the pieces sealed!
This stack of stuff was sitting in my room for months. I then decided that maybe I could cut up some of it to weave… so I grabbed some of the long chunks and cut into rough strips. This was the result… which I am really happy with!
We framed it already! Definitely will be in my year end show.
The next thing I will do with these is build a mobile – using grommets and black silk to connect. I’m still playing around with the scale of it. How big do I want the pieces, how random, etc.
Meanwhile, I’ve been weaving other work. This is a stack of square mats I’ve woven using gel prints on A4 paper. These were cut straight (unlike the previous work) in one inch strips Each is 8×8 inches (once I trim the edges.) I will be sealing these with Mod Podge too, and plan to cut up to create other things. Since they are all printed on both sides I am brainstorming ways to use them where both sides will be visible – maybe small mobiles or stand-up paper sculptures.
I’ve so much work to recycle – monoprints, ghost prints, gel prints, sketchbooks, etc. that I have an almost unlimited supply of options. I want to try to create 3D sculptures with just woven paper – I’m currently playing with ideas and figuring out how to create armatures out of paper.
Another work is an A1 (23.4 x 33.1 inches) offset press print – I pulled four off this one. What I plan to do with it is weave the first and fourth press of it together in alignment. This image is of the third pull. This was the first time I’d used this press and discovered that the roller and paper plate don’t line up – the paper plate has clips to hold the paper in place on one side (where the wide white border is) and the other side actually bleeds over the edge.
I’m doing more offset printing next week so will be taping all around my paper before printing as I want an even border on the actual print – I don’t want to deal with trimming A1 work!
This year we all have to plan and execute our own year-end shows. We were told we could go solo or do it together, but that we had to find our own venues and do everything ourselves. I opted to go solo and am well into planning – date set, venue booked, starting promotion by end of February. Show is May 30/31 – private invitation only reception on May 30th and open to the public on May 31st. I am pretty excited. Show is called “BLINDSIDED: My Transition from Visual Artist to Visually Impaired Artist” and will feature works from different stages of my vision deterioration, up to my current body of work from this year.
I have a hunch that we had to do our own shows as there wasn’t space available on campus/related venues for us… just a hunch. As I do not believe that previous cohorts had to do this. But, frankly, I’m happier organizing my own show – in previous careers a massive part of my responsibilities involved planning and executing events as varied as galas, door-to-door campaigns, national conferences, workshops, meetings, festivals, as well as running my own business. So I’m in my element.
Prompted by hitting the maximum capacity of my media storage on this blog, I’ve spent a fair number of days purging, culling, and editing. This blog started in the Spring of 2009. That’s a pretty long time and I was up to 675 posts, and kabillions of photos which, my bad, I did not resize before uploading. So… a lot of stuff taking up storage space.
I figured the easiest way to deal with this was to go back to the beginning and delete irrelevant posts, things that were no longer valid in my life, posts that were personal/family things that I don’t really want out there anymore (yes, I know they never really disappear on the net, but that’s not worrying me) and repetitive posts (things like six long posts about one show – I did that often for big productions,) stuff like that.
After I did that purge is was easier to go through the media folder and delete the images related to the deleted posts by date. I’ve still had to do a fair amount of editing to remove invalid links to the removed things, but It is now a lot more streamlined and I’ve got my media storage down to 40% capacity. So far I’ve deleted 427 posts, with 248 left.
I discovered in the older posts that things I had linked too – other websites, shops, images from other people, etc. were broken links… I guess after 15 years some things were removed.
I checked my Pages to make sure all the links are still valid, and I think I’ve now got them all updated. I edited the information to update to how things are now in my life as well.
I still have some checking to do on links on the posts that remain. If you happen to be looking at my older posts and see a broken link do me a favour and leave a comment so I can get it fixed! I’m steadily reviewing the 248 posts remaining but not with any urgency.
Going forward I really need to start resizing my photos before posting!
I have been procrastinating on things I should be working on. It got me thinking about what I really enjoy doing. Things that I get busy with and don’t realize how much time has passed. The activities where you sit down to do one thing and 13 hours later the rest of the family comes looking for you as they think you must have died or something.
I think my biggest hobby is organizing my stuff, and then reorganizing it, and then starting over again. It is a process. I get new stuff, and if I need to make room for it, I start moving things around as I like things to be with the same things – like all my jeans and leggings in the same place for example. This also applies to my art and craft materials, my books and mementos, etc.
I don’t like clutter or messes. I like to stay on top of what I bring into my space. So if I bring home a bag of stuff – new clothes or a haul from the scrap store for crafting – I need to get it sorted out and put away immediately. My room isn’t all that big so it is important to keep it neat.
When I get new stuff I have to go through the existing of the same category and either up-size the storage containers/method or cull or move it all to another space or use up the old stuff. As I do have a limit to how much room there is for things, I have to be imaginative with where I stash some things.
I’m also pretty ruthless on occasion. But that usually happens when something hits the maximum space available – like the large bin for fabric samples. When that is full I have to weed out what isn’t practical to keep/use in the short term. Or… the 6th set of soft pastels, that i don’t use anyway, arrives from god knows where… I donate excess art materials to a local activity centre. They love getting “new” art supplies. And clothing and household items go to local charity shops/thrift stores. I will occasionally try to sell items, but usually can’t be bothered.
I like playing with stationery, always have. I remember as a 5 year old, getting my first school supplies and handling them to death before school even started. I loved my school supplies.
My other current hobby is filling shopping carts online. Not buying. Just filling shopping carts. Man, that takes up a lot of time! LOL In the mornings I have a routine – take out the dog, feed her, make my pot of coffee, clean up the kitchen, sometimes bake and sit down at the computer in the dining room to drink my coffee (the whole carafe!) and wait for the baking to be done, before continuing on with my plans for the day.
I don’t use that computer for my personal stuff, but I get into Amazon or other sites and start looking up things I’m into… then just keep adding things to the cart (or wishlists) that I might want, or want to be able to find later for reference, etc. I think I’ve got about 30 things on the Amazon wishlist and 98 on one of the other “cheap” sites. I also put stuff in carts on the sites I regularly shop like Dr. Almond (low carb baking mixes) so I don’t forget when I place my next order.
I not always aware of how long I’ve been sitting at that computer until I realize my coffee has gone stone cold!
I’d say 99.99% of what I put in the carts is never bought. I do clean out the carts too so I don’t just abandon them. Some sites delete them, others don’t. Some sites, that I bought from before, start sending reminders about “don’t forget your cart!” and offer additional discounts, etc. And even if I delete the cart, they keep sending the reminders!
So that’s my top two: organizing my stuff and filling online shopping carts. Fun eh?
I am always saying this, and will continue to, but man… time goes by faster the older you get. I really have a hard time registering the passing of time now, unless I happen to be specifically concentrating on a deadline and even then I have to continually double check the current date!
I missed a workshop on Tuesday this past week as I was completely oblivious to it actually being Tuesday… it felt like the weekend and I was busy (we are getting the house organized to move in 101 year old Nan…) I was mortified as I really was excited about that workshop.
My trip to Prague and Vienna was amazing! Prague is stunning. I would have loved to have been there a lot longer and may go back. Totally walkable city and in autumn was gorgeous. I love history and historic sites so was in my element. Our hotel turned out to back onto Vysehrad Bastion, a massive fortification… I spent a day there – walked around the ramparts, explored the cathedral and the graveyard, enjoyed the autumn weather the magnificent views of Prague’s Old Town and Castle from the top. Amazing place.
We visited the Castle, the Mucha Museum, the Alchemy Museum, the Castle, saw the Astronomical Clock, the Dancing House, and other things. I did a lot of walking on my own.
In Vienna I got a transit pass and made my way around – with written instructions from the desk staff at the hotel! Not walkable really. Very urban sprawl. My hotel room was on the 16th floor with windows across the entire room – I left the drapes open and enjoyed the view at all times of day. I visited the Belvedere – both Upper and Lower, the Natural History Museum, the Art History Museum, the Leopold Museum and did some roaming around in the museum district. The transit system there is excellent. I was nervous, but it was very straightforward. And people were so nice and helpful when I would ask them if I was at the right stop – showing them my written instructions.
I have to say that those Hapsburgs were definitely hoarders – amazing what you can accumulate with unlimited wealth and massive palaces to put it all in. I’m not complaining! I got to look at it all.
I had camera issues again – I must have the settings messed up. Good shots are few and far between, but here’s a few from Prague…
Apparently I’ve run out of room for photos on this blog… wow. I need to do come culling of my archives before I can post more. I probably should have been resizing them … but I just post as the come out of the camera. Oops. After almost 15 years, I’ve a lot of photos on here!
Trip was awesome. I’m planning my next jaunt – just deciding where to go next year. Dublin or Copenhagen?
I’m seeing lots of posts about Halloween. Lots of my friends are face and body painters/make-up artists so they’ve been kicking into high gear. Halloween used to be my biggest money making week of the year – I could earn a couple of months worth of mortgage payments in one weekend. Ah well… times moves on. I haven’t done Halloween make-up for anyone since 2018.
Lots of memories showing here…
As a matter of fact, I haven’t done any make-up since February of 2020. We went into lockdown barely a month after my last theatre production closed. I ceased all personal services because of the pandemic and have never started up again. Plus, my vision is now so bad that close up work on people’s faces just isn’t safe for either of us! I still wear masks in public spaces.
But, while I do miss all my great friends/clients and enjoying the creativity involved, I can’t say that I miss the physical stress of the work (on my knees, back and eyes.) Now that I’ve been “dormant” for almost four years I don’t think I’ll ever get back into it, at least not at that scale.
Pursuing my art degree has been filling my time now! Working on my MA Fine Art, which actually was only supposed to be a BA… but hey, when opportunity knocks! I have nine post secondary diplomas/certifications and figured it was time to step it up, academically speaking. I’d always wanted to get a fine art degree, it just didn’t fit into my life until it did.
My latest obsession is creating junk journals. What a load of work and fun! Combines my art (I include my prints in what I make), bookbinding, paper crafts, fibre arts, sewing, etc. I finished my first major one of my own design a week ago and have it up on my socials for sale. I love it myself, but won’t make use of it like someone else would. I say it is finished… but I still keep finding or coming up with things to add to it!
If you’d like to see the journal I posted a flip-through on YouTube:
I’m starting another one in a couple of weeks (*between postgrad assignments and work!) as I’ve had a special request. Won’t be as fat as this one, but should be very elegant.
This week I’m getting ready to head off on a short vacation – leaving Saturday to meet friends in Prague where we’ll spend four nights, then the high speed train to Vienna for four more nights, then I’ll fly back from there. I’ve got Klimt and Caravaggio on my list, and as many others as I can cram in. Our museum schedule is pretty intense.
Tomorrow I’ll be a Student Ambassador for the MA Fine Art program at the University for the Postgrad Open House, then Thursday our MA cohort is heading off on a fieldtrip via train to Exeter to visit three museums there. Friday I have to pack and submit my MA proposal online, do any last minute running around to prep for the trip, pack and Saturday we head up to Bristol so I can catch my flight.
After a very hot late May and scorching June we’ve reverted to what we, from the rest of the planet, consider typical English weather. Most of my garden seems to think it is autumn and lot of things are dying off, going to seed and basically just giving up!
My zucchini plants stopped blooming and turned yellow… I’ve got SIX plants and have only had five actual edible zucchini from them. That’s simply not right. The parsley and cilantro bolted immediately, the dill died off completely, lots didn’t even germinate. My mini cucumbers at least are still maturing – I managed to get two jars of pickles made and in the fridge. There are almost enough ready to make another jar (even though I had to buy the dill since mine didn’t survive.)
We had a monster wind storm over the weekend which blew the hydrangea pot completely over which in turn, knocked over a cement statue (breaking her torso off) and my terracotta pot of thyme, completely shattering the pot. No idea how the wind managed that as that hydrangea is huge and heavy. Took me until yesterday morning to get the garden put back together – which involve a lot of pruning of broken plants and picking up branches, and repotting the thyme.
on the art side of things, I’ve been continuing to explore different print making techniques. Discovered gel printing and am really enjoying it. I’ve got three different sized plates now and have been using them all. A lot of experimentation is involved. Getting the feel for the process and trying out things until I can get them to work is where I am currently at.
This is the first time I have used YouTube as a learning resource. I’ve discovered a couple of excellent artists working with gel plates that are exploring methods of incorporating it into fine art – as opposed to crafters who use it more for printing backgrounds for cardmaking, etc. There is an overlap with a lot of the techniques, of course, and I watch all sorts of videos to get ideas to try.
I’m building up a very large stack of prints to find a purpose for. Mixed media is one direction I’ll probably go in, also, creating art books with them would be interesting.
These are just a few of what I’ve done – the ones I think either worked or are somewhat interesting. Many are the scrap paper that I used to lift off leftover paint from the plates as I worked. Print making is fun that way – the blotting paper ends up being the interesting art!
Yesterday I officially enrolled online for year two of my MA. I believe the first session will be the third week of September. I still have research to compile as we need to make a presentation on our project/research in October.
When I moved to Ajax, Ontario in 2017 I discovered that I would be living next to the Pickering Nuclear Power Station – I posted about that at the time Guess who is going nuclear?
Now that I’ve moved to Plymouth, England, UK – Devonport to be precise, I have upped the ante! Not a mere nuclear power plant, but nuclear naval assets!
We received this in the mail yesterday…
“Radiation Emergency”… hmm, well I guess that has better optics than “nuclear disaster.”
That pink tag I placed on the cover is pointing at our house. We are between naval yards/contractors.
Black scrible is where we live.Photo is the drydock directly to the north of us.
Above are some excepts from the booklet. I am always reassured by bureaucracy telling me not to panic, aren’t you?
Our year end show opens today at the University of Plymouth. I’ve got 11 framed monoprints and a series of 10 from the same run on a rack on display.
First year is over… two more to go! This is a part-time program – we go on campus one day per week (when the instructors aren’t on strike…)
After having to scrap my original proposal, I am now happily learning and experimenting with print making. I am incorporating my skills from other media into the process and am getting some pretty awesome results (in my opinion!)
I’ve bought my own A3 press and am collecting the other bits of kit required, and will be spending time in the campus Print studio over the summer (post-grad and doctoral students can continue to access in the summer.) I’m planning to use the massive offset press to create some A1 prints.
I’ve been frustrated with the scheduling of my regular eye treatments. I am supposed to be getting my injections 6-8 weeks apart. Since last December I’ve had to wait for 16 weeks, then 13 weeks. My vision craps out at 6 weeks – I just can’t see. People’s faces are blurs with no detail, it is like I’m looking through a thick fog all the time. Even magnifying doesn’t help me to read. So making art can be extremely challenging when I get “waitlisted” to get what is supposed to be a regularly scheduled appointment.
My last treatment was last week… and I was promised to be back in six weeks for both treatment and to see the consultant as there is an issue with my right eye (more than the regular issue…) The injection nurse told me to call the scheduling office at four weeks to make sure they are getting me in for six weeks, but I have done that the other times and it did nothing to get me booked in at the time I should have been.
I am grateful to have accommodation for the vision impairment at school, my tutors are great and extremely helpful, and the studio technicians are fantastic with helping me out (I can’t read the labels on the inks and have an issue with colour identification – for example I can’t tell brown from purple anymore!)
I am going to get this MA done through adaptation and perseverance! My research component will now be looking into art by the visually impaired, seeking out artists to network with, find out what services and aids/equipment are available, and any writing on the topic that I can find.
Shannon Fennell's Blog 
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