Made In Roath Continued…

There was so much to get involved in during the ‘Made in Roath’ festival. Myself and fellow friend and fine art student, visited an open exhibition, known as the ‘Artists in Residence’, along Albany road. It was located in an old Blockbuster shop, and there were  a few gems that were enlightening and inspiring. I think it’s really important to see what other local artists are undertaking in their practice, to better inform your own. It really helps to kick start your enthusiasm to see what others are capable of…

Spit and Sawdust

On friday, i attended an all day art event at the indoor skatepark on Newport road a.k.a the ‘Spit and Sawdust’. This was part of the ‘Made in Roath’ festival that is currently ongoing. It was a really great opportunity to get involved in some communal workshops and meet some really interesting people.

We started with a nature walk whereby a group took a stroll through the nature reserve that lies in the middle of the industrial estates on Newport road. We met a park ranger called Raaj, and he told us various information about how the reserve came to be and some interesting pointers on the vast variety of wildlife that existed within the premises. Throughout the walk we would stop and discuss questions that were proposed to us to ponder upon, during our wanderings.

All the while, a group at the skatepark, had been constructing a building out of wooden crates, as well as, mask making workshops and sausage making workshops. Once we had returned from the walk, it was our opportunity to get stuck in with all the happenings back at the ranch. But that was only after the most amazing and delicious lunch prepared for us by the owners of the Spit and Sawdust.

It was a really fun day, and i enjoyed getting involved in everything. I met some amazing people with fascinating backgrounds, and it was refreshing to meet working artists who were open to discussion about their work and the practice of art generally. We ended with a group activity where we were given a brief about the annihilation of the area of roath, and we each, in our given groups, had to come up with a plan, be that architectural, or business based, to re build the lost area that once was Roath. This allowed some keen input and teamwork, which is something you become unaccustomed to usually, working as an independent artist. and it has inspired me to perhaps collaborate, either in my artistic practice or my musical interests, and work with people who i respect and am passionate about what could be brewed up between us. Over all a really great experience and i’m keen to do anything that the Spit and Sawdust puts on. Here’s hoping…

The Pitt Rivers Museum

I took the opportunity over the weekend, to travel to Oxford and visit one of my favourite museums that resides inside the Natural History Museum of Oxford. The Pitt Rivers Museum has long been an amazing source of inspiration to me and to my practice. The collection and it’s form of display is just incredible. It’s like a wonder emporium of odd trinkets from around the world, a cabinet of curiosities if you will. Every time i’ve been there, i’ve always found something to ignite some artistic enthusiasm. So it made sense to go check it out once more and dig out some weird and wonderful artefact for me to base this project on…

Trip to the Museum

On Wednesday, I took a trip to the local museum in Cardiff, to see what it had to offer in terms of inspiration in the form of an artefact, or a piece of art to study for this project. While there were many pieces that had potential, i already felt that there wasn’t anything there that would sustain my level of interest for the following months where i would be solely working on this project. I needed to outsource my artefact and take a trip to somewhere that would really get the creative juices flowing…