Redirection

This blog covers my posting from 2010 to 2013. My current blog can be found on my website - http://www.helengallogly.com/blog-1 Please do have a look at past posts here, much of the material is still very relevant to me and current work today, 10 years later. Thanks for stopping by!

showgirls

Langside Halls, Shawlands

I was working up at Landside Halls the other week using one of the spaces and wanted to post a few pictures of the buildings interior features, as its an amazing building full of masses of lovely original features from various periods. Its a victorian building though has different phases of interior design throughout from Victorian, 30's, 50's through to 70's details.. I had meant to take loads more and have just realised the second one down is a bit crap, doesn't do the hall justice at all.

The building is full of a number of Halls and smaller spaces.. I'm sure they do gigs here, as a few of the spaces have stages and would be great for live music.

The first photo reminded me of the Aumbrys in Catholic Churches I was so used to seeing as a child, these kinds of interior inlets always evoke the same nostalgic feeling in me oddly. Despite my loathing for Catholicism..

Dance of Death

Gordon Robin Brown

I think I may have posted Gordons work before, but felt the need to again.. I really love it.
I first saw his work at the DOJ degree show...

Stolen child - W B Yeats

http://youtu.be/oh0M5SgsENo

Here below are the last two verses of the poem. I've just realised that the poem features Glencar, which is a waterfall in county Leitrim, where my dad is from.

Where the wandering water gushes

From the hills above Glen-Car,

In pools among the rushes

That scarce could bathe a star,

We seek for slumbering trout

And whispering in their ears

Give them unquiet dreams;

Leaning softly out

From ferns that drop their tears

Over the young streams.

Come away, O human child!

To the waters and the wild

With a faery, hand in hand,

For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Away with us he's going,

The solemn-eyed -

He'll hear no more the lowing

Of the calves on the warm hillside

Or the kettle on the hob

Sing peace into his breast,

Or see the brown mice bob

Round and round the oatmeal chest

For he comes the human child

To the waters and the wild

With a faery, hand in hand

From a world more full of weeping than he can understand

Captain Beefheart

While working, I usually listen to music and that got me thinking of musicians who have become Artists of another kind or simply work within one or more disciplines. I'm interested in many other art forms myself, and could happily swap artform. Though I really need to stick to one thing or I'll never get anything done.

Above is a painting by Captain Beefheart, I wish the quality was better, but thats how I found it.

Catholic girls... do you know how they go?

Hear this below... One of my favorites from Frank Zappas 'Joes Garage'
http://youtu.be/co55JSKvS_Q

Marc Dion

While I´m knocking about in Cusco and doing little creative stuff, I find myself needing to absorb myself in the works of others. I have a great interest in displaying and cataloging similar objects and just find his work delightful. While I was living in Dundee, he was hanging about at some point working on an exhibition and was using the same print studio I was, in the DCA. I never met him, but I saw all his prints drying on the racks and just wish I´d robbed a few now (kidding of course)

A warning to the Curious!

I just today rediscovered a film I havn't seen and had been searching for, for years, over 17 I reckon. Though to save ridiculing my research skills I should make it clear that this wasn't a dedicated research by far!, it was just a lingering desire to find this film again.

Part of the problem was I had the title wrong, good start eh? I realised the title was infact 'A warning to the Curious' and not 'the three crowns' - Three crowns feature in this film, that was what misled me and I was relying on the observation skills of my 12/13 year old self also, as I only saw it once.

When I saw this, it really disturbed me. I had by the way, been watching other horror films like 'Jason Lives' and Nightmare on Elm Street, so I wasn't one of those girls who freak out so easily, I was pretty hardened. The memory of this though really did the job of any really good ghost story, it stayed with me and haunted me. The film is actually a TV film for the bbc, and on rewatching, its a bit shoddy and cheesy here and there. It was made in the late 70's and I think the grainy quality adds to the unease I experienced while watching. The story is also set in east anglia, where I am from. I enjoy making these kinds of connections.

It also turns out that the story was by a Victorian ghost story writer called M R James, the Victorian origins pleasing me of course. Heres a link to a short clip:

http://youtu.be/x-GRi2FOdxM

My excitement while watching again was suddenly dampened in scene 4 by the appearance of non other than Richard Bucket from bloody keeping up appearances, I forgot he was in it, he plays some bloke in the corridor.

Goya etching

Beautifully Morbid

http://youtu.be/4ma4qEq9_28
Heres a link to a short film which is really just a collection of victorian stills photography and some moving images of excavations of Victorian graves. Its all very morbid and in some instances very tragic, but there are some incredible images which totally amazed me. Worth a watch if you like this sort of thing!

There are I should say lots of cheesy atmospheric shots of crows flying about the place and misty castles, which kind of discredit this film. Just try to ignore them! and the really depressing poetry captions that pop up..

Hand Drawn Floral of my own design

Because my style is very traditional and fairly tight! People often assume these designs are ripped right out of a decoupage source book of some kind or that they are imitations from other existing designs. This is not the case!! and its because I put so much work into this stuff, that I need to repeatedly make this point. Of course my work is inspired by 17th/18th century botanical prints, but its all my work. More details of my processes will be included on my website which is very nearly there...

Mouse Necklace!

While working in Boda Bar on leith walk, I spotted this guy in the bar playing with a mouse. Its his pet and he brings it out with him most places he goes, not sure why, maybe to attract strange girls like me!
I made a bee line for him and asked if it was indeed a mouse he had in his hands! It was and I asked if I could play with it.. please bare with me, I know how this is sounding, but as the above photo validates, it was a real mouse and I got a shot with him.

recent printing

Willow Sculpture Workshops

I am going to be delivering a course of Willow Sculpture Workshops during the Edinburgh festival this year.

I'd been looking for a venue to host a few workshops and found out that the Out Of The Blue Drill Hall, a venue just around the corner from me, were looking for workshop type things to complement their new Festival Fringe Venue this year. Its a very cool building with a strong creative buzz about it, theres lots of stuff going on there over the festival so I'm looking forward to working there.

Its a bit confusing I know, you thought I was a Textile Designer.. Well I am! I just do this also. Its really good fun and gets quite addictive! but in a good way.

I've tried to keep it fairly cheap... Its £40 for 3, 2 hour sessions, including equipment and materials. Follow the link below to the Out Of The Blue website to book tickets and for more details...

http://www.leithonthefringe.com/workshops/wicker-workshop/