The Last Day: Day Ten

Last day today D: (as indicated by the title) and I’m finished everything off today. My day didn't have a great start I must admit. I had a really bossy and grumpy bus driver who didn't like me giving him money because he had to get off his arse and give me change.

I’ve managed to finish my blog and get it up to date. The afternoon has been for relaxing because we have finished and it's out last day (:I must admit, I am glad that this art award is over because it's been really stressful for me, too much work, and I get really mardy if I’m stressed. So luckily I’m no longer a mardy bum (:

Oh and can I just add...I’m not American, it's this bloody macbook that corrects the PROPER spelling of words to some American ones, so as I’m usually a bad speller I rely on spell check but as I spell the words, it corrects them into American spelling so I have no idea what I am or am not spelling correctly.

Goodbye blog , it was fun :)

Day nine :S

Soooooo much to do today, I’m having to write this on Friday morning I did so much. firstly I had to go though peril trying to get to hunters bar with Lucy for my interview with Pete Mckee. First we were going to walk, then we wanted to catch the bus because it was raining, but we couldn't find the right bus, so then we finally caught a taxi. But when we got there the staff and Pete were really nice and greeted us warmly, So I then interviewed Pete in the Kitchen area of the gallery as it was set out as a house. We then looked around the gallery and I took pictures of the work I liked and at the end of that I signed the visitors book which Pete wanted me and Lucy to do.

When we got back to Site Gallery I edited the interview but it deleted itself halfway through so I had to do that again comforted by my Maccy D's ... it was delicious... damn I want one now. So as my internet was bust and I couldn't upload my edited interview so I have to wait until tomorrow to upload it. So then I spent ages writing up my blog!

Day Eight :D

It's really not my day today, my dad decided to wash all my clothes before we go on holiday and not tell me, so I’m stuck wearing laddered tights and Hawaiian shorts teamed up with a wolf t-shirt. Attractive I know.

Before I left the house I put three more places for Bethany’s You Couldn’t Put it on a Map Project on my memory stick which I took last night when I went for a walk with my dad. So I thought of some funny reasons for those places such as the horses field. I used to go for walks here with my granddad when I was little but I have only just started going for walks here again. I came here with Tom but as he's terrified of horses he chucked his left over fish 'n chips at the horse and ran off while it was eating them, it was all very funny for me as I erupted with laughter on the floor as the horse did a goofy horse face and Tom ran off really fast... it took me ages to catch up with him, stupid long distance runner

Anyway we weren't in Site gallery for long because ... errrrm .... I’ve forgot what’s happening, but what I do know is that we were only in there for about half an hour, then we got chucked out by some arty farty people. Oh yes we went to Bank Street Arts which was actually really interesting.

We were also set a task to take some photos which matched the title "Hidden Sheffield" so I took LOADS of photo's and we then met up at peace gardens at 11 and I took some more pictures for our part D, we then walked to the gallery at Bank street and it was really nice there, we met a woman who skins animals and makes art out of them which was...interesting. We then took a tour around the gallery and did some jobs such as cleaning and re-arranging the art in some cabinets and some painting.

Day Seven (:

TODDAAYYY I have;

Tidied up my blog and edit a few photo's and put them on my memory stick. Vicky talked to us about the arts award and how we have to write loads about it so I did and I hope that I have wrote enough for it, i've been trying for ages to find out what else to write about... and to be honest i'm doing that today (:

Today has been a day that I don't really have anything to do, i'm interviewing Pete McKee on thursday for i'm going to be really busy then and on Friday because that is for both my B and C because i'm interviewing him in his gallery "a month of sundays"which ought to be fun (: and im taking lots of pictures around his gallery (i am allowed) so I can add that to my "arts award" section of this blog as proof that I have done it.

Also i will finish my powerpoint on Thursday too because we aren't allowed in the gallery on wednesday so i'm taking some more pictures then of my 'dead' people for my part D so i'll have about 15 images in my slide show for that and i also need to add some spooky and slow music for that so it should be good (:

Part D: Arts apprenticeship arts

My finish Bodies project: http://www.flickr.com/photos/site-education/sets/72157625068297038/show/

My mini project will be taking pictures of people laying down (looking dead) in peculiar places such as on steps, on Fargate ete... I will involve the whole group in the staged photos so there is a wide range of people contributing to my project. I might risk it and ask some members of the public to contribute (like students...they're up for owt), the people will follow these rules;

1. you must be laying limp and looking dead
2. be creative and do it in a really unexpected place.

First I went and just took pictures of people laying down at home, but on the Monday I went out and took several shots of the same place at different moments (some with dead person, some without) and merged them together in Photoshop so that it looks like everything was happening at once.

I went to the train station and near the university where most of the people look busier and more odd because on the final image there will be a person laying down "dead" on each picture and all the people that are walking around won’t be looking at them, where as in a real life situation that wouldn't happen, the people would react straight away.

I chose this project because I was interested in how you could make someone look dead but the rest of the public (strangers) don't care where as in the real world if someone was dead on the floor there would be lots of people, police, ambulance and commotion so there would be lots of attention but my project shows a kind of surreal parallel universe in which people don’t appear care. A bit like we are when we see the news.

We had a few complications when we got to fargate at lunch, one of my friends sprawled face down on the floor and a man passed her and muttering the words "faggot" which was really rude, and lots of people gave us funny looks or walked past the camera whilst I was taking a photo.

I’m really pleased with my finished work. I took a lot of photos and have created about 6 that really give the affect that I described about. Visit my project here:

Day Six ;)

I'll start with Friday night, little did I know I was still wearing my name tag when I was out with my friends, so my boyfriend nicked it and wore it and pretended to be me. Then on Saturday I went to see Eclipse with my friend Beth and we had a good moan about how Jacob’s better then Edward and that we should re-make the book. I also took some other pictures of people being motionless.

Euuuggghh that bus ride was terrible it smelt of hair remover and the bus driver thought I was 16 because I didn't look like my photo but after bending my knees a little and pushing the hair behind my ears he accepted my 40p and I sat next to a smelly old man (: what a good start to a Monday morning!

We then went to Yorkshire Art Apace (YAS) which gives artists’ studios to work in. Firstly we met Rachel Dodd who talked YAS and what they do. We saw ceramic work by Emily Tailor's who also gave us a talk. She has a little black scruffy dog called Roxy which cleaned my feet. Her work is interesting because it's based around Sheffield and they have meanings such as hoodies culture references and basically being a snob which are all on big pots, and she did individual drawings on little plates which I liked. We also met Charlotte the silversmith in her studio which is massive and smells of the DT rooms at school. She was making an interesting bowl for a competition to win £10,000!

After lunch break I Photoshopped some pictures for my part D of my arts award. We also met Ellie who showed us her work for her foundation course which was a mixture of stuff like photography and printing. After that I went out with my camera and took pictures for my D to edit in Photoshop....we got some really weird looks from people though, after getting two images from the same place; one of people looking natural and another with a 'dead' body with people looking at them like "what the hell?".

Part C: Exploring an artist

My interview with well-know cartoon based artist, Pete Mckee: http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/151005/title/BethanGoodheadinterviewsPeteMckee

The local artist that I will be interviewing is Pete McKee who got his break in his 30s after selling a piece of his work to Noel Gallagher from Oasis:

My research of Pete's has mainly came from his website http://www.therealmckee.co.uk/

Pete McKee was really nice and welcoming and happy to do the interview. I interviewed him in the kitchen area of his gallery (In a month of Sundays), where the walls were draped with drawings, sketches, and photographs.

He talked about how he has always had a passion for art and music and how his favourite piece of art he has done relates to him and his mother (who passed away when he was 7) at castle market.

He said that when you look into his work there is always a meaning and that there is always a child on their own because he was lonely as a child as all of his siblings were older than him.

I really enjoyed doing this interview and I’m proud I got to interview success an inspiring and successful artist.


These are some of the question I asked him:

- How would you describe the art that you create and why do you think people are so drawn to it?

-there's a lot of humour in your work, have you ever considered anything dark and serious or is there a bit of seriousness hidden in the humour somewhere?

-what inspires your work?

-what jobs did you do before becoming an artist and what other careers would you have considered?

- how did you come up with the name "a month of Sundays" for your new gallery?

- what do you think stops people from visiting galleries more often and have you considered that with "a month of Sundays"?

- what types of art, if any, don't you like and why?

- what is the favourite piece of art you don't like and why?

- what is your favourite piece of work you have produced and why?

- what has been your proudest moment in art so far?

- is there any commissioned work you have, or would you refuse of principal?

- what advice would you give for young artists who want to make a career out of art?

Part B: Visiting an exhibition

The gallery I will be visiting for the Part B of my Arts Award is going to be Pete McKee's gallery "Month Of Sundays" because I am interested in Pete's work liking art with a humorous aspect rather than serious work with a complex meaning. I’ll also be interview Pete himself so this will help me understand his work better.

I especially like his work because he puts a piece of writing with it to explain it which all adds to the humour, but I think it wouldn't be as funny to people who don't live in Sheffield or the north because the art work is like an inside joke and related very much to being working class and has echoes of old industry like steel working and mining....well that’s how I see it.

The gallery was great. It was set up just like a house and it felt so homely and comfortable .There was a kitchen and a living room full of his art work and this spread over two floors. We were greeted by a brolly bucket which was much needed as it was chucking it down outside and the staff and Pete were really nice and welcoming.

I took pictures of the work I liked (which was practically everything!) and I also took pictures of the tags that went with them. The prices seemed to be really high for prints (anything from £300-£2000) but it was really good art so I don't blame him. On the street when you can see it you are immediately drawn to it. A beautiful pastel turquoise with a McKee dog above the sign saying "A month of Sundays", it subliminally gives you an idea of what Pete's work is about. Check my interview out to hear with Peter had to tell me about his brilliant work:

Day Five

I came in late today because I went to the doctors whom gave me a prescription for a mass of pills to take.....I'll forget about them. I had a chat to Sammy C (Mr. Cawthorne) about working here I was like "errrrrrrm" I didn't really know what to say, but on the bright side ITS FRIIIIDDDAAAYYYY! the only day of the week when I can act like a complete nutter and get away with it (: I'm interviewing Pete McKee next Thursday and also going to his gallery "A Month Of Sundays" as part of my arts award. In the morning all I basically did was update my "The arts award" piece of my blog.

At lunch I went out and took a few (literally) pictures of people flopping over for my art project and then edited them on Photoshop.

After that we spent ages looking at facebook groups for Josh's part D which was to get some facebook titles and take pictures of the text next to where it would fit in around town (:

Day Four :D

Sooooooo...

Today I was a little late...not because I overslept..but because I couldn't find a key for my house, my mum kindly stole my key away from me so i was rushing all over my house trying to find one, so I resulted in using the front door which hasn't been opened in about ten years so that was fun trying to open that.

And yesterday after work when me, Bethany and Tom (my boyfriend who looks hilarious in a suit I may add) were walking to the bus stop, we got harassed by some guy trying to persuade us to do kung fu, so I gave him a Chinese burn and a drop kick...


.....not really.....



Film editing is a real winner of passing the time, literally. It takes ages to upload a video I drunk my own weight in tea! so we watched video's of LED sheep, a flying lawnmower and a death metal rooster.

What I’ve done today is edit a video, write some questions to use in an interview, eat a cupcake, feel sick after eating the cupcake and sort out which gallery I’m visiting and reviewing and what I’m doing for my arts award.

Day Three (:

Okay so there are some photo's that are nice of me anyway that we did in the studio (: I got into town really early this morning so I got a caramel macchiato (...I think that how you spell it) from starbucks (: so now I'm more awake then yesterday too which is a bonus ;) I’m not usually early for anything so I’m finding being early really weird.
Oh and luckily there were no talks today yayyy :) so my brain is relaxed so ideas can flow into my head easier so that I can organise better and now I have a better idea about what I’m doing.

Firstly today Vicky talked through Photoshop with us and now that I have really got to grips with it I LOVE it so I think I’ll get a macbook and Photoshop for myself at home... if I beg...

So I edited some photos that we shot yesterday so they don't look too bad anymore, my hair still looks horrible from last weekend though :/ but my eyes are bigger than I thought, I like photography on a plain white background because I think that it has a really good effect when you only concentrate on the detain of one thing

Vicky went through the "taking part in the arts" ideas and I came up with some good ideas. She also gave us ideas about artists that we could interview and personally I LOVE Pete McKee's work, it makes me laugh and I basically like ANYTHING that will make me laugh, I also like Maurizo Cattelan's work too because most of that makes me laugh :) So today I’m mainly trying to think "outside the box" and come up with a REALLY good idea, I have a few good notes so I'm torn.

I like the idea of doing some stop motion or a slideshow and Photoshop because that something new that I have never worked with before and I think that I could do some good stuff with it :)

Part A: My challenge

For my challenge I have learned and experimented with Photoshop making serious and subtle changes to photos and merging them together for my final project. I also wanted to create a final slide show learnignt o bput my images together using panning and music in a piece of software called Photo Magico.

In this two weeks I have managed to learn most of the tools and how to use them such as the filters, contrast, selections, layers, colour correction, sharpening and blurring, cloning tool and how to merge layers. I have had the focus of my final Part D project images which has really helped me improve and apply my skills.

I’ve also improved my general photography skills taking into account the "rule of thirds" in composition and this is reflected in my final project too.

I’m pleased with how my new skills are reflected in my finial project work. Both the set of images I edited and the slideshow I created. I feel confident I’ve learnt some solid new skills for the future.

Day Two :)

i'm tired and cold :(

im happy to listen to people's stories don't get me wrong but I’ve had about 3 hours of it today! I want to do stuff cause when I do stuff I’m being creative but at the moment I’m doing nothing :/

When we went to the exhibit downstairs and we entered a room with just a little video thing the first thing that came to my mind was "oh my gosh" my back hurt and being stood up bored for 15 minutes isn't good. I like photography...actually no, I LOVE IT, but I don't like Photoshop as I have no idea how to go about using it. Vicky says I’ll get to grips with it. We’ll see.

We met a producer guy called Rob Sparanza from SYFN (South Yorkshire Filmmakers Network) who produces short film's which are often scary and action packed. The one he showed me WILL give me nightmares as I hate scary films and in the middle of it, it made me want to cry it was so scary; I was scared watching "Shaun of the dead". I’m that bad at watching them.

WE also met artist Richard Bolam who did an abstract video of the big wheel in Sheffield and he might make it into a video for the 2013 Sheffield city of culture in the future.

We did some filming and some photography (which I looked horrible on!) I had previously dyed my hair so it's a horrid colour because I usually dye it lighter for my holidays. The filming was good because I've done some filming previously with my granddad and I was hoping to see my boyfriend wearing a suit at the train station so me and Bethany could laugh at him but unfortunately we didn't :( oh well we got some great shots of water and pigeons ;)

Day One :)

Woke up in my drowsy surreal state at 7.30 in the morning and casually glanced at my blackberry to have received a text from my boyfriend "Waiting outside the bus stop in the pouring rain on the way to the train station to get to chesterfield, where are you?" hahaha, I smiled at the thought that I only needed 2 hours to get to my work experience and that I could have a lay in :)

After dealing with wet feet and taking ages to find an umbrella; I was on the bus filled to the brim with old people and shady looking characters (great start to the day), I decided to pick up a metro so I fitted into this "work" lifestyle. Ahhh 15 minutes early I thought to myself BLOODY BRILLIANT! the traffic wasn't as bad as I first anticipated :/ so I went to get a nice cup of tea (:

Once I was in the building with people whom I have never met in my life! we were all sat in silence not making eye contact when Bethany called me ....."I’m lost!". Typical, the only person I know on my work experience is lost; so I gave directions and she arrived 20 minutes later :)

Walking up a mass' of steps later; 'Oooh macbooks! Ain’t this place posh!' my brain said to me as I walked into a big white room at the top floor of Site gallery. After meeting Vicky we all received lots of paper, folders, and best of all NAME TAGS! we then went through the boring task of learning about health and safety; we then took a little tour around the gallery :) I then interviewed Lucy and got to know her better :)

At lunch I went to starbucks with Bethany and Harriet :)....that about it for lunch... Oh we met Hannah too who is also doing work exp in town.

We then met artist Lesley Guy who talked about different artists (Berini,John Stezikar, Susan Hilliar, Michael Borremans, To Maraz,Chris Ofilli, David Altejd, Mark Manders and her own work) I learnt about contemporary art and how it is basically art which is going on now (modern) and reflects on many different things by taking an everyday object or way of life and twisting it such as Altemejd who used a childlike aspect of someone's imagination and used cheap materials, and Borremans who used art to express how people use their hands in a magical way. I also learnt that many pieces of art are based on religion such as Bernene's piece of sculpture which was commissioned by the pope and Stezikar's art also has a religious affect by combining a Jesus story from the bible mixed with an aspect of the 21st century.

After receiving a mass amount of information and a headache we edited our interviews and I was surprised how many times I said "uuuuurrrrmmmmm" so I cut them all out :) so now I sound like a celebrity on Alan Carr Chatty Man who knows they're life story off by heart :)