Recent work.

I still haven't had word back from the University about my studio space so I have been trying to create smaller works that I can do in the flat, although it's great being able to work at home it's just not the same as having your own studio space.  My boyfriend Tom has kindly made a space for me in his studio at Tin Roof so that I can work without feeling like I'm making a huge mess.

The University, as a lot of people know has been going through a bit of a face lift recently and has acquired various new skips which is great for me. Due to the fact that I still don't have a lot of room to work in I couldn't pick up big things so instead I salvaged a few gems that were one the floor. I made these very small mixed media pieces, I got the frames from charity shops. It's been fun making them and it has got me in the mood to make more.

I also found some new textures from cooking pans and frying pans. I like the scratches in the metal and the shapes that the fat has left behind and also the different marks and textures from the burnt herbs.

To conclude I have done two graphite drawings, I haven't done any fine drawings for a long time and I wanted to see if I could still do it. I'm rather happy with how how these drawings came out, they were just for a bit of fun.

Job placement at Egan, Matthews & Rose.

A week after I came off from University I had a job placement at Egan, Matthews & Rose which is a restoration and conservation company. The people that run the company have a studio in Edinburgh and also Dundee. My experience there was really enjoyable. I spent two days observing, I also got to repair a tear in a small painting, mix powdered pigments and I also learnt how to restore an old gold gilt frame. During my time there I also got to observe how to repair damaged paintings, most of which were very old Renaissance  paintings. Most of the repair work at Egan, Matthews & Rose are for museum collections and sometimes private collections. I found it fascinating to watch the paintings being restored to their original state, I also learnt that pretty much any piece of ruined or damaged art is fixable. A lot of Chemistry is involved in restoration and conservation. If I do decide to do restoration in the future I would have to spend two to three years in a University at either London, Oxford or Newcastle. There was so much information to take in during my time spent there. It takes so much patience to do this job. I'm still not entirely sure as to what I will do after University yet, but I would seriously consider it. The people there also kindly photographed myself and my friend Allan Davies who is also in my year at University studying fine art who decided to do the same placement as me.

I still haven't had word back about my summer studio yet. however I have been doing a few sketches so I will hopefully be able to upload them soon.

Summer holidays.

It's nice to finally have a break. Although it's a holiday there is still a lot to do over the summer such as, finding a job, moving out my house in to a new home, writing my dissertation and working on my studio work. 

I am still packing my room away at the moment, everything has been super stressful for me and rather emotional. However on a good note this weekend will be the last weekend that I have to spend in my room, thank goodness! I have found the time to create a few small A3 paintings, they aren't anything special but I'm working on my technique of painting like a child but still having a small presence of myself still visible, the paintings are only tests. I have so many ideas for fourth year that I have written down and the list keeps growing. This time I will do everything a step at a time. Here is what I have been doing. 

I plan to try doing a few more of these child portraits soon but with textured and burnt backgrounds.

The final third year post.

The term is over and now my work has been taken out of my space and put in to storage. It's strange to see my work off of the walls but it is also a good feeling to know that I got through it all and I can now enjoy some free time while I wait for my results. I managed to get a decent photo of my final set up with out my support work on display and I also remembered to take a photo of my burnt print. This semester has been an enjoyable one and now I really look forward to entering fourth year.

Photo Taken next to my work.

One that's not so serious 

My work space without my work in it anymore.

I have applied for a studio over the summer so hopefully I will be able to keep posting up my progress on new works. I already have an idea for a massive painting that I want to do over the summer and I have already got a board prepared for it. I will also continue to create mixed media pieces through out the Summer too and I have other plans for when fourth year begins, I don't want to give too much away. I will have a lot on my plate this summer, finding a new job, moving away from home for the first time, writing my dissertation and working in my summer studio space. I have been packing my room away and it's amazing to see just how much rubbish that I have held on to over the years. I came across a lot of old pieces of work that I done when I was younger and I can see how I got to where I am now. It's nice to see the progress of work developing organically. 

Box sculpture is finally done.

The three textured pieces have been hung now.

Supporting work for the assessment

My partner kindly made me this great print holder too.

Its good to see my slide box sculpture finally being displayed properly

I thought I'd finish this post by sharing my personal statement that I wrote for this semesters body of work.

Yasmin Davidson

3^rd year Fine Art

Personal statement

Our perspective changes as we grow into adults, as children we look at everything through innocent eyes.

I remember I was always attracted to areas of danger; I enjoyed playing in decaying buildings, abandoned houses and factories. Me and my friends despite the risk would treat these buildings as playgrounds. We would make little boxes with objects in them and hide them for others to find or draw on the walls leaving trails and invented stories. I recall even the most mundane of objects having the potential to transform itself into something new something exciting. Here we could create our own worlds, ones that no one else could ever see or understand. To me this was a kind of freedom.

The attraction of these decaying environments and the thrill of possibly getting caught, still drives me to visit these places today discovering them anew. For me they hold a certain and unique kind of beauty.

In my work I hope to amplify these childhood memories through expressive, naïve and innocent gestures.

The physical materials I use to convey these places and emotions are often sourced directly from the spaces themselves and In doing so I want the viewer to feel the same excitement and urgency that I experienced in these places myself as a child.

Quick update.

Just a few more quick prints...

Setting up.

Third year is nearly over, there are only three weeks left until assessment and I'm now beginning to feel the pressure to finish things. I will be busy touching up pieces of work and hanging them. I have also started a few more pieces, I have been told by my tutor that I have too many things and that I have to choose what to show and what not too, some of the things that I first made at the start of this semester were test pieces so they can sit at the side and be shown as back up works and works of experimentation. 

I finally got round to making a small shelf for my book.

Another new piece of work. It's made from a scrap piece of metal, wood, putty and paper. I'm not too sure about this on at the moment, it doesn't look finished and I'm not that I even like it, I'll leave it aside and come back to it. 

I got round to making the screw covers for my wall hanging, I made them out of  plasticine. 

I made two new pieces of work using cushion foam, paper, felt and Lino. I'm really happy with how they have  turned out too.

 

I have also built a plinth this week in the workshop for my burnt boxes sculpture. I am planing to have dirt on top of the plinth so that the boxed look more like they have been found. I was also contemplating on planting grass seeds and leaving fag butts and glass etc on it too. I'm still not happy with it just now, I'm not sure how to have the boxes positioned but I think I will feel better about it once the dirt has been added.

Here are another set of new things that I have created this week, they still aren't finished yet.