Dawn Whitehand: Visual Artist
Florence
Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon
This weeks WordPress Photo Challenge got me thinking about my travel photos from Italy, as I have not posted for quite some time about these travels, I wondered if I had finished the Italy posts? I couldn’t really remember. So back I went through my posts, and found that I had not yet written a post about Florence. So this is a mini post about Florence combined with the photo challenge.
Since the theme is ‘horizon’ I will stay on topic, and only post images containing horizons… the rest of Florence will have to be featured in a future post.
The images are a combination of the skylines from the amazing Il Duomo and Santa Maria del Fiore in the centre of Florence, Ponte Vecchio, views from the Piazzale Michelangelo and the Piazza della Signoria.
Other images from my Italy travels which included Venice, Pisa, Verona, Rome, Naples and Pompeii can be viewed here, or by clicking the Travel category to the right of the page.
Enjoy 🙂
You can check out other Weekly Photo Challenge entries here: http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/weekly-photo-challenge-horizon/
Weekly Photo Challenge: From Lines to Patterns
Usually when a creative prompt is given to me about ‘pattern’ I think of the the natural environment or the organic surfaces of my ceramics and how those two concepts blend together, but throw in the word ‘line’ and it adds a whole new dimension.
So, this weeks WordPress photo challenge immediately drew my mind to the urban environment which is quite often a combination of lines, patterns and textures – especially old and crumbling built landscapes.
I’d love to comb through my current and immediate environment for some inspiration, but am a bit flat chat at the moment, so after shuffling through some images I already have I decided to post some shots of gorgeous lines and patterns I collected while in Italy earlier this year.
I hope you think they are gorgeous too 🙂
Other entries in this weeks photo challenge can be seen here: http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/lines-patterns/
Thoughts and Abstract Meanderings About Travels Through Italy
As regular readers of this blog will know I recently travelled to Italy after being invited to exhibit in Florence by Vivid Arts Network. The exhibition went for two weeks after which we (myself and my partner) spent a further three weeks travelling through Italy… professional development!
While having an amazing time soaking up loads of art, culture, architecture (and wine) I did have some reservations about some of my travels in Italy: dirty streets, bad street signage, harsh uneven cobblestone pathways, rude pushy people – and while I understand all of these things are me projecting my own cultural perspective, it was at times frustrating (even though I had a ball).
But don’t get me wrong – I loved every moment and wouldn’t not do it again, and after spending a couple of weeks at home I have been able to digest and distance myself from some harsher memories and remember some great experiences.
I am planning to share some of these experiences in a series of blog posts focusing on different cities we visited and explore the art, architecture, feelings and general stuff of the area, from a limited “art” tourist perspective. I may throw in the odd poem or two as well which I wrote while in these environments.
Hopefully these posts will be inspiring and mostly enjoyble!
Opening Night at the Masters of Contemporary Art Exhibition, Florence.
Back from Italy
Regular readers of this blog will know I have been in Italy the past five weeks, exhibiting in Florence and then travelling around soaking up the art, architecture and culture : professional development I like to call it!
But now I’m back home and recovering from jet lag, though still enjoying some “holiday mode” days.
All good things must come to an end, however (whoever coined that phrase has alot to answer for) and work looms in the murky distance.
First are the catch up jobs… a few Etsy orders to post that were sold while overseas… and I am a bit behind with the Poem and Drawing a Day blog. The studio needs a clean, especially since I have a seven year old birthday party booked in for Saturday!
Blog posts will be slow though because my internet went down about a week before I got back and a technician is not avail till Monday! Don’t get me started on that issue – a change in providers is on the cards, I think.
I will leave you with a few pics of Italy… talk soon 🙂
Rialto Bridge, Venice
Venice
Rome
The Spanish Steps
Water Fountain with Urn detail
Artist Interviews and a Press Conference
The opening of the Cutting Edge exhibition was on the 1st December, but that was just the beginning. The 2nd December saw an informal forum held at the exhibition venue where the featured artists gave individual presentations talking about themselves and their works… artists and interested members of the public were present. Yes it was nerve wracking!
The following day was a rest day and Strobe and I wandered around soaking up the architecture and abundance of marble statues, all hundreds of years old – stuff you see in books, and now appreciate the scale of in real life. Of course we also soaked up red wine!
Tuesday was a press conference at Nardini Bookstore, a bookshop within a cultural complex which was originally a cloistered nunnery and then was converted to a jail which housed social dissidents ie anarchists, which is why it has now been converted to a cultural hub – though i do find it intriguing that a nunnery could easily be converted to a jail!! The bookshop was a great venue, and of course the event finished with wine and pastries.
Following the press conference all the artists headed off to a restaurant in the hub which featured walls inscribed with messages of freedom from visitors, which of course we added to!
It was a great day, and has been a great experience…many thanks to Vivid Arts Network and Viviana Paullo 🙂
Thanks to Strobe for the photos too 🙂
Cutting Edge: Masters of Contemporary Art
Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday I was invited to exhibit in the Cutting Edge exhibition, and now I leave for the airport tomorrow night at 10pm – and I’ve not even started packing yet!
I intend to post images of my time in Italy on both my Facebook page and this blog, hopefully my ‘intention’ happens!
I am spending five weeks in Italy: the first two weeks in Florence for the duration of the exhibition, and then off to Rome. We have friends in Rome, and we will use this as base to do day and overnight trips elsewhere in Italy. We will also have Christmas and New Years in Rome, so that is exciting!
Below are images of the works I am exhibiting. The exhibition is a group exhibition of twenty international artists.
All works are for sale – so hopefully… fingers crossed.
Planet Earth: handbuilt earthenware ceramic.
Collage: mixed media wall piece
Nature: wheelthrowm and handbuilt pit fired ceramic
Voyage: Mixed media wall piece
I have been invited to Exhibit in Florence in December
Creating Sculpture in situ on Beaufort Lake
I have been invited by the director of Vivid Arts Network to exhibit in the International Exhibition Cutting Edge Masters of Contemporary Art to be held Auditorium Al Duomo in the heart of Florence in December 2012. Only 20 artists are being asked to participate. I did not apply to exhibit, but was invited, so feel very honoured, and would love to be able to be involved.
In order to help facilitate this goal I have set up a project on Pozible – a crowdfunding website.
So what is CROWDFUNDING? It is a platform for creative minded people to raise funds and realise their aspirations. In return project supporters receive a “reward” based on their pledge. I have a project on the crowdfunding website Pozible, which you view here.
WHAT ARE THE REWARDS?
Supporters who pledge between $15.00- $49.00 will be publically thanked and acknowledged on my website, Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin accounts, with links back to their websites if applicable.
Supporters who pledge between $50.00- $99.00 will be publically thanked and acknowledged on my website, Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin accounts, with links back to their websites if applicable. AND you will ALSO receive a collection of ‘happy snaps’ taken during the exhibition.
Supporters who pledge between $100 – $249.00 will be publically thanked and acknowledged on my website, Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin accounts, with links back to their websites if applicable. AND they will ALSO receive a Limited Edition Print of one of the artworks exhibited in Italy on archival paper and personally signed by myself. You choose which artwork you would like. These prints will ONLY be issued to supporters, so are unique.
Supporters who pledge more than $250.00 will be publically thanked and acknowledged on my website, Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin accounts, with links back to their websites if applicable. They will ALSO receive a small sculpure, unique and handmade by myself, about the size of a tennis ball and similar in style to the image below.
AND FOR ANY CORPORATE SPONSORS : I am offering a creative teambuilding workshop for staff members where participants will make coffee cups for each other – this will encourage listening, consideration and co-operation in the workplace environment.
A BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE SUPPORTING:
Participting artists will be included in an extensive catalogue, receive international media exposure, be individually presented during the exhibition and be involved in the local arts community, and be interviewed in a special artist presentation film featuring each participating artists which will be distributed in more than 65 countries. This would be an enormous opportunity for me, and greatly benefit my international arts career. The exhibition will provide an international media exposure through the broadcast of the opening reception, artist interviews and a special artist presentatios film featuring each one of the participating artists which will be distributed in more than 65 countries.
The exhibition aims to promote cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue by establishing bilateral cultural exchanges and promoting contemporary art in the city of Florence, an more information about the exhibition can be found HERE. ( http://www.vividartsnetwork.net/#!__exhibitions )
Any funds raised will contribute to the exhibition entry fees, cost of transporting artworks, and personal travel and accomodation costs to attend the exhibition opening and artist interviews.
I am not solely relying on this project upload to help facilitate my ability to participate in this exhibition – I will also be applying to funding bodies, such as Regional Arts Victoria and the Australia Council… but, being governement funding initiatives these funding bodies are very competitive, with many more applications than they have funds.
I have exhibited nationally and internationally during my career and have a strong background in the visual arts, so following through on this project is assured. Please see my Curriculum Vitae for evidence of my dedication to my arts profession.
This work by Dawn Whitehand is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.