artist in residence

There is a first time for everything.
A bit hesitant at first when I was contacted to be 'artist in residence' because I am used to silence and solitude.  But the idea of giving workshops to young children to work with colour, shapes and composition was challenging enough to jump into a new experience.
It was great... and it isn't finished yet.
Impressions of the past two days...

A white room to avoid distraction, only two small Good Mood Lights to make presentations and show a tiny part of what I do.  Working with colour and shapes, upcycling 'ordinary' every day objects. 

and two bigger light-sculptures revealed later on

Apart from these light-sculptures, everything else here will be made by the participating children.  The second day eager adults join the party and enjoy themselves just as much as the youngsters.

revealing the coloured stock of plastic tableware to work with, flashy colours in different shapes and sizes

starting with monochrome pile-ups

I was pleasantly surprised to see a few unusual 'sculptures' popping up

more colour is added

so much fun to see how focused the children are, explaining why they used this or that item

coming up with unexpected constructions

culture coordinator and photographer Moo Laforce rescueing an unstable balance

great to see how some children focus on strong colour combinations, different personalities start to reflect in the works

testing building skills, especially the boys were very 'constructive', girls more focused on shape and colour

the first day, testing the limits of daring constructions
the second day, downscaling and focusing on colour and shape

the 'mirror' series

ending with a small scale sculpture of each participant to be exhibited

made by 9 to 12 year old kids

final (short) part of the workshop

replacing the plastic items by earthenware and porcelain cups and saucers from the thrift shop

one of the youngest artists

so is this one with a dynamic sculpture

children and adults, everybody seems to have a great time

last night I dreamed about it, and for once I didn't have a nightmare...

looking forward to the next workshops and final take-part(y)

Leren Ondernemen - community organization

most of the pictures taken by Moo Laforce - culture coordinator

related page

Good Mood Lights

feestgalanterieën

The opening of the Kringwinkel-Diest (see previous posts) was a huge success.  Never thought that on this very hot day so many people would turn up. 

A work of art was revealed.  Some time previous to the opening the whole staff of Kringwinkel Hageland - 178 if I remember well- had dinner together.  At the end of the meal they were invited to bend their forks any way they liked.  These forks were given to lighting-artist Erik Reynders to turn into a work of art that would represent the people in the company.  This is the result.

A local school had pupils working on lighting with cutlery as well, here is on of the results.

Erik Reynders is part of a collective of 6 artists/artisans called Feestgalanterieën.
www.re-lit.be/
www.feestgalanterieen.be/

A previous post on this collective click HERE

Coffee or tea?

fun project

Not fixed yet, just looking in which order the parts look best.

Tricky thing, drilling through all the parts to get the cable through.  Broke one piece, luckily found a perfect replacement for it and made it even better.

 

Almost finished, still needs a base and a shade ... and light off course.

That's it I guess.  Eventually might change the shade into a white one, depends on where the light will stand.

Design with a smile - part 1 - in the kitchen

Before going to the Jazz Festival we decided to visit the exhibition Design with a Smile at the Design Museum in Ghent. Most of the objects displayed I had seen before in magazines, on blogs or in shops, but put together this way is quite fun. And I only post pictures I've taken myself.

Strainers - 2007 - StauffacherBenz - Switserland

Throwzini - 2005 - Joöerg Adam & Dominik Harborth - Konstantin Slawinski - Germany

ooops, missed the information on this one

Fruitbowl - 2000 - Gijs Bakker - Koninklijke Van Kempen & Begeer - Netherlands

Milkmoments (bowl) - 2006 - Laura Strasser & MiliaSeyppel - Frenchknicker - Germany

BIB (table-runner) - 1992 - Anita Evenepoel - Decopur - Belgium

Evlan - 2008 - Tous les Trois - Ligne Roset - France

Eplaff - 2008 - Tous les Trois - Ligne Roset - France

HEREDrink Tray - 2008 - Martino D'Esposito - Ligne Roset - France
S-XL Cake - 2007 - Ding 3000 - Konstantin Slawinski - Germany

all posts on Design with a Smile :

Carrol Boyes' Functional Art

In the delightful shop World Design I came across the work of South African artist Carrol Boyes. Her tableware transforms the mundane into the extraordinary using pewter, stainless steel & aluminium. The gorgeous items show sensual sculptural forms, beautifully handcrafted fluid figures. Her inspiration is firmly rooted in Africa, but a look on her blog tells you other stories too.

Key Holder Woman - inspired by the movie 'Even the cowgirls get the blues'

a bottle stop I could not resist, a present for my husband (unfortunately it was the only one in the shop and the rubber ring is broken on the back)

Carrol's blogI think I could get addicted to Carrol Boyes' tableware.

here is a link to