Carole Kirk

We are currently setting up our graduate exhibition at Dean Clough Galleries in Halifax.  We will be opening this Saturday 19th June 2010, and the exhibition runs through until the 18th July, open 10am – 5pm, 7 days a week.  There will be a whole range of exhibitions opening there this Saturday, and there is a great Cafe downstairs.  Sound tempting enough?  This is one of two paintings that I will be showing there.

Many thanks to everyone who came to see the show at Todmorden College.  We had loads of visitors, and a completely overwhelming open evening last Friday. 

As promised, here are a couple of shots to give you an idea of how my show looked. 

Press launch of degree show

Degree show - my paintings as they were displayed

Watching

Our final BA show ‘Degrees of Vision’ will run from Monday 7th to Saturday 12th June 2010.  Here is a sneak preview of how my show might look.

Collage and transfer

 This is an image from a workshop I did with the wonderful Kate Boyce at Northlight Art Studios.  We spent the day learning how to layer collage, paint and image transfers using a range of techniques.  After months of painting and intensive research for my BA course, it was wonderful to just play again!  I’m wondering about using this technique to incorporate written memoir and other ephemera to do with memory.

LiteracyHead is a new online magazine providing resources for literacy educators.  According to their website “A Literacyhead is someone who is intensely serious about exercising creative literacy, making connections across multiple literacies, pursuing thoughtful literacy as an individual and as a teacher, and constantly searching for ideas. Literacyheads may have expertise in different areas of literacy, but all are committed to children’s literacy, passionate about the arts, incessant thinkers, and display a propensity for having fun.”  On this site, creative literacy is not just about words, but also about visual literacy – the art of reading pictures. 

I was lucky enough to be approached by them, and asked to collaborate on an article in their magazine, and the article about my work is in the current issue.

 The other thing that these paintings have made me think about is working in series.  When you present a series of works to a viewer, how much time do you want or expect them to spend looking at each individual painting?  And how much of the meaning comes from them making connections between the paintings, and responding to a mood that gets built up by looking at them as a set?  These questions may consciously or subconsciously influence my decisions about the level of finish or clarity that I give each individual painting.  If I’m viewing them as a group, then I must expect the viewer to as well.  And this will influence my decisions about how I hang them.  Do I create a cluster of them, or do I space them out with plenty room around each one?   This will also depend upon the space that I manage to get for my final show.

Northlight Art Studios where I have my studio are starting a new term of art classes from 12 April 2010.  So if you live in Calderdale and have always fancied trying your hand at painting and drawing; or if you want to join a class with like minded artistic folk, take a look.  The tutors are relaxed and friendly and have some inspiring exercises to help you produce work that you will be proud of!

Dad's guitar

 Oil on paper 5″ x 7″

Another work in progress.  I’ve reached the point after a long period of not knowing what to do with these where I now want to work on them again.  I’ve been struggling with the balance between retaining the immediacy of my initial painted response to the photograph, and working it up into a more realised image.  After a period of looking at these on the studio wall, I realised than I do want to work them up a bit more.  I now have my work cut out to do this in time for them to dry before the show!