And now the end is near........

Today is my final assessment at Walsall, we had the Private view at the Gallery last night which went very well, a lot of people came to see us and some faces from the Foundation year which was lovely.

But what I have to do now is conclude my work, it has been a wonderful journey in many ways, the work, the travelling and the conversations on route. I feel the work has reflected what I wanted, the cocoon has become the organic shape I wanted and travelled to places that are important to me and that make me happy and also make me feel uncomfortable, I still don't like places like Digbeth and Wolverhampton but part of me will always have the memories of going to take the photographs and the giggles we had while doing it, which will make them more bearable. Memories have been created and some have been recalled as my journey to Rhyl was a look back to the HNC work and also to my childhood, as many of my summers where spent there. Rhyl is now having work done on the sea front and has had a lot of the old B&B's knocked down hopefully it is now on its way back up, the beach is clean and a lovely mix of sand and stones, and it saddens me that no one goes there, to enjoy it.

Woodlands and Waterfalls have also been visited, places I love to lie and watch the clouds and listen to the sounds that surround me, the cocoon looked so natural and part of the land, some children even thought it may be a real cocoon that a giant bug had come from, My favourite images showed the cocoon hanging from a tree, it swung around and made it difficult to photograph but it was fun.

The Birmingham photos show exactly how I feel when I'm in the town, invisible . No one took any notice to what we were doing, the Bullring was packed and we struggled to get photographs without it being concealed totally, yet no one looked at the cocoon, which was under the bull at one point, in full view. Also at the Library I placed it by the door, people walked past, one person threw their cigarette butt right by it, It was lucky it didn't burst in to flames ( would of made a good photo though ;-) )

The map on the wall shows the route, I chose where I wanted to go, apart from the Lake Vyrnwy which was a suprise visit, we travelled over 500 miles, and we didn't always take the quickest route, but it was a lovely journey.

The cocoon has now done its work, and is sitting in the gallery, its organic shape in a concrete space, to me it will always look best in the woodland.

My journey at Walsall is also over and I'm moving on to Birmingham, the cocoon has looked after me and is giving me my rebirth as a student at Margret St.

Installed and Ready to go.

Yesterday (27th June) the HNC/D Fine Art students installed at the Walsall Gallery, it went quite smoothly, a few hiccups but that is to be expected, I was really pleased with the images that had been printed, apparently they were not the first set that were printed, but thats ok. The map looks really good and we have used the twine to join the images and the map, the cocoon is on the floor looking fluid, I have a selection of photographs in a book but we are keeping those out for now, and just using them for assessment.
The Private View is tonight, so have to get dressed up and brush my hair then the following morning in my assessment , so fingers crossed people !

Mapping....

Here are a few photos of the map that will be shown with the Images to show the journey we have been on, it was a couple of loops and a fair amount of miles in Wales,

Final 6... your time has come....

The final 6 images have been chosen and printed ready for installation, the map is almost complete apart from a line going in to Birmingham, now I want to print a few more images to go with the map and discuss the places I have ventured to and why.
What a journey, so many miles, so much fun and frustration with the camera, but now its all coming to an end. My assessment is on the 29th and then we take the show down on the 4th. Then gin.

More uploaded photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wttgill/

Here are some other pictures on my flickr account, enjoy  :-) x

Alone by Edgar Allan Poe

Alone

From childhood's hour I have not been As others were; I have not seen As others saw; I could not bring My passions from a common spring. From the same source I have not taken My sorrow; I could not awaken My heart to joy at the same tone; And all I loved, I loved alone. Then- in my childhood, in the dawn Of a most stormy life- was drawn From every depth of good and ill The mystery which binds me still: From the torrent, or the fountain, From the red cliff of the mountain, From the sun that round me rolled In its autumn tint of gold, From the lightning in the sky As it passed me flying by, From the thunder and the storm, And the cloud that took the form (When the rest of Heaven was blue) Of a demon in my view.

Loopy map

Well the journey is done and here is how we did it, lovely round trips to Wales and Staffordshire and Wolverhampton and Birmingham, over 500 miles have gone into this work, but for me going to the beach on the last day was fantastic, I started the HNC on the beach and I ended the HND there as well, a full round trip, I am very pleased with the images and am looking forward to seeing them all together at the Gallery, I hope everyone else enjoys them too.

The final few photos .

Well, the last few shots have been done, the journey to Rhyl was lovely, the weather was mixed but that really didn't matter, the idea of my work going full circle, from the Musselflies to the cocoon maybe the musselflies come from the cocoon.

The beach is the most wondrous place, I love the smell, the textures and the sounds, to sit and watch the waves as the crash, learn the rhythm and feel the salt against my skin. leaving the beach is always the most difficult, it whispers to you to come back as you walk away.

Cocoon hits the town

Cocoon first spotted in Birmingham with the Ironman, and then its lying around with the Birmingham Bull.

The town was incredibly busy for week day, and a food market was on around the fountain area by the gallery making it harder to move around without being jostled by  people eating bizarre burgers. The  people at the Bull were all having there photo taken or taking photos and no one looked at the cocoon,  it was invisible to them.

Cocoon route

Not the greatest of pictures but you can get a rough idea of the journey the cocoon has been on, aprox 500 miles, through amazing countyside of Wales and Staffordshire where I grew up, Rhyl is its final place for taking photos as this was my first destination on the HNC, my travels have taken me in a circle. Whatever the weather Im sure it will be a fine day for fish and chips by the sea.

The HNC/D has been an amazing course for me and it is coming to an end what a way to finish.

The Power of Pointing !

Tutbury Castle

Digbeth is scary.

Digbeth in Birmingham, somewhere I feel very uncomfortable, its a very built up area

 industrial and full of warehouses, its like a warren, I would be lost very quickly if left alone there.

we have walked around going to art galleries its very unnearving

Ferns and twine

We took the cocoon to Cannock Wood today for an outing, sadly the Nokia didn't want to take any photos so it was down to mobile phones to save the day, I do feel some of the pics have come out quiet well, and I'm taking it to Walsall on Thursday for town and college pics, hope it doesn't rain !

Cocoon creation.

The reworking has progressed, Im not sure its finished but I am very happy with the results so far, the organic shape that has been created and the natural twine has been stitched loosely in a blanket stitch and looped together.  The stitching has been influenced by the honeycomb from a bee hive and the bees pupa grow inside the hexagons, while taking photographs in Wales the other day a child though a bug had come out of the cocoon.

Cocoons, Lakes and Waterfalls........

A selection of the photographs taken over the last 36 hours, many more to edit, then choosing the ones for the final show, lots of work to do, and lots done.

Reworking...........

After two weeks of working on the cocoon, I had come to hate the one thing I though I would love. Decided it would be a good idea to share this with my tutor, I sent a facebook message which he recieved at 11pm, saying that I hated my work and no longer wanted to do it. He is not an old man but apparently I nearly gave him a heart attack. He calmly replied that we should have a chat the next day.

so we have chatted and have made some different ideas work , taking the monster I had created into the organic piece I wanted.... he can smile about it now ;-) 

so reworking the duvet in to more of a natural cocoon shape, and having it done by Wednesday for a trip out and photographs. fingers crossed chaps and chappesses

'I have created Green !!!'

A panel of green to go with the flower panels, I love the way the greens intensify.

Working like a women on a mission

Work is well on the way for the end of year show, things keep altering slightly but Im still heading in the right direction. I am now going to use a single duvet as the basis of the nest and put flowers and embrodiery on to it, the cover is green so ties in nicely. I am using fake flowers for practicality.

Im  hoping that people will see my nest as a piece of nature transported in the town, maybe feel a little sad that we are losing woodland and green belt land frequently to building sites that could be in Brown field sites in towns, or just enjoy a sit in the nest while the rest of the world hustles and bustles around them. The idea of the cocoon is to feel safe and secure, in the woods its would be a true hiding space, to sit and watch the natural world go by.

and more....its not letting me load them as one today...

More flowers

Flowers for my Cocoon.

More photos...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wttgill/

A few more photos have been added to my Flickr account some are from the Ivy work I have been doing and some are just for fun :-) 

And on to bigger things....

Well back to college and back to work, now is the time to start creating the large nest, it is going to be more patchwork looking and less football like. Well hopefully ;-)

We had a group crit and hopefully all the plans will come together, if not there is the photoshop back up option, which I really dont want to do, but who knows, I have the ideas the places and the people to help so all is well....