Trading Places/CR.E.A.T.E. Programme

Third Phase Residencies

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St Michael's SNS; Cootehill, Cavan

still responding.....

Written by artist Yvonne on 13 September 2005

Well, it’s been quite a while since I finished working with Majella and the pupils at St. Michael’s Senior School. I’m happy to say that my own work has been ticking along nicely since! I packed myself off to the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig in Monaghan (just down the road really!) to gather my thoughts and begin working on my response to our time together.

I had been concentrating a lot on the theme of memory, of things, people, and times gone. In the classroom we had created a memory wall of words and attempted some video pieces with shadow and clothes that were to evoke the absence of people.
But along side this we had, with our digital microscope, been examining the raw materials of linen – seeds, pods, grasses etc. Then with the discovery of the slide projectors we carried the materials through to the creation of slides and the projection of same to act as a base for large scale charcoal drawings.
This, above most of the other creative product, was what grabbed my attention. I realised that I had, for that moment, had enough of the technology and really just wanted to get my hands and face covered in charcoal. I wanted to get back to drawing – believe it or not, it had been a long time since I had taken the time to draw. I knew too that I would be using the same source material for the drawings – small, natural items.

So the response began really with the evaluation days with Kids Own in Sligo. I stayed on after the final day and took a trip out to Strandhill beach, where I found myself filling the camera memory and I-pod memory with images of patterns and unusual shapes in rocks carved by the sea over time and of the sounds of the sea rolling the rocks as it dragged them out and pushed them onto shore.

I secured a large roll of Fabriano and plenty of Charcoal and carted them to Annaghmakerrig, where I began to work from the images, drawing from sections, enlarging, eliminating etc and finally transferring to larger scale charcoal drawings. Some of these seemed to work together and so I began to form a series of drawings. I realised that I wanted to draw more and that I needed a more direct involvement with memory.
From my studio balcony I had a fantastic view out over the lake and of the 200 year old Sycoya tree on the grounds. I took walks everyday collecting small unusual natural things on the way – eyes peeled and pockets full. I brought my collections back to the studio and began detailed small-scale drawings.

As I drew I realised that some of the items reminded me of things – of people or events that had happened. For example the shocking pink fuchsia flower I found lying on the ground reminded me of my grandmother’s garden and, in turn, of her – of her hands crossed on her lap as she sat on her small kitchen couch. A feather lying on the path reminded me of a gift from a friend – a large striking magpie feather – a friend with I had not seen for some time. And so I began to place the small detailed drawings deliberately on the small pages of my note book and add the writing alongside to complete the memory.

Unfortunately my time at Annaghmakerrig had come to an end and so I applied for a grant from Cavan County Council and have just completed a month long residency at Belfast Print Workshop. I have decided to stay on there as I have been learning a lot of new printmaking techniques and feel that I need to take the time to see how these memory drawings should develop. Perhaps as a printed book?

Clothes to Close

Written by artist Yvonne on 17 May 2005

Today saw the final few hours with St. Michael's fourth and fifth. Final touches were put to various pieces - the hanging laminated photo-strips, the printed collographs, the wall of words eventually sewn together.

Everyone grouped back in the room where all the work from the weeks could be seen. We also looked back over more work created - stills, movies, animations, sounds etc - were all viewed again on the large screen. We talked about our library exhibition.

Then we ate cake!!

A selection of the work from our time together will be hanging in Cootehill Library from Friday 27th May for a few weeks. There will be an official opening at 7.30pm that night. Everyone is welcome!!

From the rafters...

Written by artist Yvonne on 17 May 2005

With the large projection drawings taking on a life of there own during the making - projectors off and charcoal and chalk in hand (and on clothes!), some interesting pieces emerged. Very large, very dark and striking.

In another corner of the room similarly interesting developments took place. With the installation corner dismantled, printed photographs of the experimental projected imagery where laminated, cut, sewn and hung - from the rafters.

Life Size

Written by artist Yvonne on 17 May 2005

The Charcoal drawings were small and only of parts of the projected image. So we joined some A1 sheets together onto the projection screen so that they included all of the image. Then hands and faces gradually became black again. Some color chalk was added later.

Meanwhile, the collographs continued to be embossed. Any collograph that was an image, rather than text, was inked and printed.

Installation heaven..

Written by artist Yvonne on 25 April 2005

Some groups have banded together to have fun in our newly build screening section of the work room. Using four large dividers, white screens, two old slide projectors, a laminator and an abundance of paper, scissors and all sorts of other items. They have been creating installations, taking photographs and making movies....each new creation leads to another.

Creating their own slides using natural materials and the laminator - the children have found some interesting images occur when the slides are projected.

We have taken to drawing from some of these projections using charcoal. We are hanging these up around the workroom.

the visit

Written by artist Yvonne on 25 April 2005

On Tuesday 12th Orla and Heather came to visit. The groups continued with their explorations of animation, microscope with great technical assistance from both Orla and Heather. This allowed me some time to work with the seed sound and movement group and to video the work they had created so far. The 'collographers' and papermakers kept up the progress for the word wall.

On Wednesday, we all grouped together on floors and tables to view our work to date. For this purpose I created a screening room and borrowed a data projector so that we could see the microscope movies and animations up close. We had an open discussion about the work so far - how it was to make it, what worked and what did not, and why, and what might be possible developments from here.

Then the data projector got some attentions of its own - exploring how it managed to get the image on screen and what happened when other things got in the way!! White shirts and hands became screens and children viewed children who viewed shadows etc.

St. Micheals it seems has an abundance of old slide projectors...and a laminator too...!

Wall of words

Written by artist Yvonne on 25 April 2005

Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th saw us continuing with our collograph plates and paper making. The overall idea behind these activities is the creation of a linen memory wall. We are going to try to emboss our words and images onto our paper and then perhaps sew or fasten them together to hang as large plain columns or a wall with the words and images appearing almost as ghosts.

Some others are continuing with their explorations with the Digtal Microscope and with building and documenting with the still camera for animations.

In the background, well, in the sports hall moreso, a group are working on acting out the movement of the seed as it grows accompanied by vocal and limb created sounds.

Microscopic

Written by artist Yvonne on 5 April 2005

On Tuesday 22nd, before the Easter break we took on several projects in the classroom. For the first time, the children, Majella and I attempted to make our own paper - using paper recycled from the school shredder, petals, orange skins, grasses, seeds etc. We succeeded in making about 10 sheets, each individual. Its a good start and we will try to make at least one sheet per person. While some children continue to make more paper this week, others will prepare collograph plates to emboss images and words onto the paper.

While the processer whirred, water splashed and the iron let of steam, other children were busy using the Digital Blue Microscope to explore natural materials associated with linen and to make attempts at moving the materials to depict a journey through linen or just to make animation. This week will see more work on this as the microscope was a little hard to keep steady and there was a fascination with eyeballs and teeth!

In another corner of the room, and indeed out in the yard, other children worked with their paper garments - hanging the items on a line, adding effects of wind and movement and working more on projecting shadowed garments with the punched patterns. The movement of the garments seemed to call for sound effects and so the whole class spent the last half hour of the day creating effects of wind and rain to accompany the movies.
Other sound tracks were recorded to accompany the microscopic movies. My computer is heading into overload!

Model Museum

Written by artist Yvonne on 15 March 2005

Today was a first full day at St. Michael's. We began our day by looking at all of the documentation so far - stills, videos, sound recordings taken by members of the class and by me. During and after viewing we had an open discussion about what we had created and how we might work further - discussing the possibilities of sound recording, moving images, projection. There were plenty of ideas about how to make more objects/garments, using flax, clay, cardboard, grass etc.
Most of the class had a particular interest in creating sounds (which I was glad to hear!). There was also some discussion about animation, so back to the drawing board for me (well, note book).

We then formed groups to get ideas together for making. The groups noted down objects that they would make to put in their own Linen Museum, what materials (mostly natural) that they would use to make these, and what sounds their objects would make, or what they would say if they could speak.
And then it got ‘hands-on’ and messy!

punched patterns

Written by artist Yvonne on 13 March 2005

Sorry for the delay - I was learning woodcut printmaking in Belfast. Lots of embossing - which is on the list of ideas for St. Michael's (without the wood and chisels i think!)
Well, on tuesday March 1st we took another look at the paper garments we had made. We recalled the Jacquard cards at the museum and some of the patterned metal plates on display there. We gave the garments a new lease of life by creating our own punched patterns on them - some with hearts and words, some with hieroglyphics. To see what effect they would have, we projected light through them and cast up shadows of the garments and their patterns on the wall. Taking them outside into the corridor and holding them up against the windows cast beautiful shadows along the white walls, fading and defining with the unpredictability of the sun. They seemed to me, like ghosts.
We documented in still and short video clips.
Then we had an unexpected visitor, who gave a short talk on the growing of linen in Cootehill and tried to show us how to tie knots from rushes to bind the flax stalks together - I tried so hard I broke mine.
For the remainder of the day, some of the children explored various materials - seeds, pods, fibres, rush knots and such under the microscope and made some short videos of moving materials. We may use these later to project on to made objects or garments. Others drew from the textures and patterns they saw through the screen.
More still worked on reconstructing the sounds of Lisburn Museum with their voices, hands and stomping feet. Luckily at St. Michael's we have the use of the gym for such noisy explorations - and so while we could not disturb the rest of the school, we had the freedom to create plenty of noise, with the added bonus of great echos - more ghostly still, I think (but then I'm the only one in the class that believes in ghosts!!)

Reminiscing & then bringing to life

Written by artist Yvonne on 22 February 2005

Today we had a look at the kind of work that I make, talking about printmaking and looking at copper, cardboard and acetate plates - feeling them and examining the printed results.
Then we got to work - trying to recall, discuss and describe what we had seen in Lisburn. Once we managed the verbal side of this, we knuckled down to some charcoal and pencil memory drawings.

After a recovery break we viewed some of the video recording that some of the children captured at Lisburn and took a look at some of the photographs that I took as I wandered around the Museum. These were mostly of fabric - pleats, folds, creases, gathered material, pattern.
Armed with brown paper, scissors and some cellotape groups got together to create their own items of "fabric". Manipulating the paper to create pleats and folds and punching holes to create pattern. Some were made to size and were modelled!

Next week we may explore making with other materials - fibres, papers, seeds and who knows...

New ventures to old places

Written by artist Yvonne on 21 February 2005

On Wednesday, pupils from St. Micheal's Senior School, their teacher - Majella and I took an eventful trip up to the Linen Museum in Lisburn. As we prepared to make our way through the Museum, our guide informed us that we were the most highly equipped group he had encountered. Indeed we were armed with still cameras, video cameras, i-pods, high-tech mobile phones, dictaphones, even pencils and paper! There was no end of clicks, flashes and bleeps as we traveled, leaving nothing undocumented!

This Tuesday we will return to the classroom and sit down together so that we can reminisce, find common interests and find out a little more about eachother. I'm excited to see what will result.

Back on track

Written by artist Yvonne on 27 January 2005

Its been a long break since the first residency in the Darley N.S. in Cootehill. Its a fresh start with the third residency in St. Michaels Senior School in Cootehill this year. The Artists'Creative Exchange and this week's Winter School have been a great memory boost - reminding me of the great work that was created in residency one, an update on the work continuing in the other schools and as new inspiration for this years residency. Valuable time was spent getting to know my new teacher/partner and working together on visualising the eight week residency - discussing the possibilities of planting our own flax on the school grounds alongside more classroom based activity. With new equipment, new ideas and some extra time response work - i'm ready to go.