Away with the Birds

Former Lincoln Product Design student, and now managing the 3D workshop at the University, Kenny Cromar is proud to announce the opening of his exhibition Away with the Birds.

The exhibition is a celebration of photography and automated sculpture, exhibited in the surrealist style. Kenny explains "The photography on view was generally captured spontaneously, seen earlier as a flash of imagery in the corner of my eye. Conditions being just right at the time, provided an image that was so dramatic, it seemed surreal.

"I break photographic rules. I use longer than normal shutter speeds (generally hand held) to get as much light and colour into the frame before the image loses its sharpness. Directing the lens straight into the facing sun and not caring to much about depth of field, as the overall vista was usually more important.

The automated sculpture on show is deep and dark, exploring an emotional need to recreate the human form. For one minute on the hour and one minute in every half hour, the automation will be in progress, providing room for thought.

In this exhibition all will not be what it seems, or is all, exactly what it appears to be!

Exhibition will be held at Gallery St Martins, Lincoln.

Kenny Cromar Feb 2012
Artist, Photographer and Performance Poet

Opening Times

Private view: Thursday 9 February 6pm to 9pm
Friday 10 to Sunday 12 February 10am to 4pm
Email: kcromar@lincoln.ac.uk for further information

Lincoln Fashion Student Success

[image taken from 2011 Fashion Show at the Engine Shed, University of Lincoln]

Ruth Parker, 21, one of our current Fashion students has won the runner-up prize of a Samsung Camcorder in the latest Freemans Student Fashion Writing Competition after submitting a blog post styling the perfect party dress following the trend “Sparkle & Shine”.

Ruth’s entry is posted on the Freemans.com blog along with the other winners. She also is an active fashion blogger herself.

The Freemans Student Fashion Writing Competition attracted many entries from university and college students all over the country. Sukhvinder Sangha, Online Acquisition Manager from Freemans said: “We were really impressed with the quality of the entries we received from students for this competition. Ruth’s entry had a clearly defined theme and she showed good knowledge of A/W 2011 trends to help her accessorise the perfect party dress.”

Ruth said: “I love seeing the new designer trends each season, and through writing I can express my thoughts and opinions...

“I think more companies should reach out to students through competitions, as it could be inspiring and beneficial, not just for the student, but also themselves.”

This competition is one of a series of competitions organised by Freemans.com to support fashion and journalism students wanting to develop a career in the ultra-competitive fashion industry. Through giving students the chance to have their work published professionally and gain important fashion writing experience, it is hoped this will help students with their chosen career path.

Record number of Lincoln Illustration students in national competition

A record number of our BA (Hons) Illustration students have registered to enter the 2012 Healthcare and Bioscience iNet competition ‘Where Art Meets Science’. The entries will make up part of their degree course, and the pieces of work will be judged at BioCity Nottingham on 7th February 2012.

Three prizes, each worth £250, will go to the students whose artworks best reflect their chosen theme. The awards encourage artists to collaborate with experts in the appropriate field of science and to deliver an artwork or sculpture that captures the public imagination in a positive way. Lincoln entries this year include the illustrative interpretation of the health and welfare of animals, the causes and symptoms of migraine and the healthcare benefits of living in the East Midlands. The Awards exhibition and announcements take place at BioCity Nottingham on Thursday 1st March.

Students from the School of Art and Design fared particularly well in the 2011 awards as previously reported on this blog. 3rd Year BA (Hons) Illustration student, Poppy Iddon, who is pictured above receiving her award for her colourful piece (shown below),created to raise awareness of the effects of global warming on our coral reefs and the ecosystem that surrounds them. Pieces by Sally Townsend and Maggie Shaffer also made the final of the competition.

Howard Pemberton, Programme Leader for the BA [Hons] Illustration course, said: “Our decision to incorporate this competition into the degree programme has proven very popular with the students. They have worked hard in choosing the bioscience themes to depict through illustration and have researched their topics thoroughly. We are confident that we will see another awards winner from Lincoln for a second year running.”

Now in its fourth year, ‘Where Art Meets Science’ is sponsored by Pennine Healthcare and the Healthcare and Bioscience iNet, a project managed by Medilink East Midlands.

Dr Darren Clark, CEO of Medilink East Midlands says: “It is encouraging to see how one of the region’s universities has wholeheartedly embraced the art competition as a learning opportunity. This year’s awards has seen a 20% increase in the number of registrations for entry, and we look forward to seeing the finished pieces as they arrive at BioCity in time for the judging.”

The 2012 Judges will be Elizabeth Fothergill, chief executive of Pennine Healthcare, scientist-turned-artist Dr Linda Dearden, Dr Christian Thode, senior lecturer in Pharmacology at Nottingham Trent University, and Dr Ian Barr, former director of the Healthcare and Bioscience iNet.

The Healthcare and Bioscience iNet is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and managed by Medilink East Midlands.

Big Toy Factory and Designer Talk at the National Centre for Craft and Design

Following the success of their BIG TOY FACTORY last year, the Product Design team is to run a series of BIG TOY FACTORY workshops at the National Centre for Craft and Design from February to May 2012. There are 4 workshops planned for key stage 2 students and these are to be supported by some of the Product Design clients.

The Product Design programme is also due to give a lecture at the National Centre on Friday 4 May 2012. The lecture is based on the book 'Idea Searching' and is due to be an interactive lecture and the event is supported by the Faculty, the Product Design programme and AVA publishing.

Dave Bramston is the Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Product Design and co-founder of the international design group mbrela, as well as author of Idea Searching, Material Thoughts and Visual Conversations for AVA publishing.

The Designer Talk will look at the many ways that ideas can be generated from everyday practices and a range of simple tasks throughout the session aims to engage the audience.

Supported by AVA Publishing and the University of Lincoln.

BLOP goes live for 2012

Bristol Live Open Platform (BLOP) opens Saturday 25 February 2012. Presenting new and emergent work by live and interdisciplinary artists, BLOP is all about experiments and unpredictability. It's an opportunity for artists to share new ideas with an audience, and for audiences to experience all kinds of live encounter: previous platforms have included live art, contemporary dance, socio-political activism and sound art, and this year will offer an equally imaginative mix.

Tutors Ang Bartram and Mary O'Neill from BA (Hons) Fine Art at Lincoln will be taking part, creating a (low-fi!) programme for the platform. They can be seen between 4.30 and 5.0 pm.

For artist updates and live tweeting follow them on Twitter using #BLOP2012 or visit the website.

Contemporary Lens Media graduate on Autumn Watch Unsprung 2011

Julian Clune graduated in 2011 from BA (Hons) Contemporary Lens Media. Since then, he has started his own photography business C&G Photography, based here in Lincoln.

On 25 November last year, his photograph of a red squirrel taken in Scotland earlier in the year, was shown on the BBC’s last show of Autumn Watch Unsprung 2011. In fact his image was one of fifteen images selected from over 10,000, for this particular show's montage.

You can view the montage of images at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00m60kg (Julian's image is shown between 40-44 seconds.)

If you like Julian's image and would like to know more, please contact him at the following:-

Tel: 07791 028550
Email: Julian@clune.org.uk
Web: http://www.candgphotography.org/

Visit the School of Art and Design...in Lillestrom, Norway

Academic representatives from the Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design, will be present at the Norwegian Recruitment Fair this week in Lillestrom, Noway, as guests of Norwegian student recruitment agents, Across the Pond. The event, which moves across Norway throughout January and February, will take place 17-19 January in Lillestrom, near Oslo.

Professor Michael Healey and Senior Lecturer John Stocker will be on hand to answer any queries with regard to applying to the University of Lincoln's School of Art and Design and School of Architecture. They are also looking forward to seeing portfolios should students wish to bring them along.

The University of Lincoln will also be present at the Oslo fair 14-16 February 2012. For further details, visit the fair website at http://www.fairs.no/