Chilling out!

At last it's time to chill out a little.  All my major projects are finished for the year, so I can relax a bit before Xmas.

I wanted to tell you more about my time at The Edge. 

I am so grateful to Flying Arts and The Edge for sponsoring the Digital Art Award  at the recent Qld Regional Art Awards.  My prize was a  fully funded two week residency at The Edge. 

The Edge is part of the State Library of Qld, and it  allows the opportunity to experiment across the arts, technology, science  and enterprise.

You can reserve a bay window (overlooking the cityscape and Brisbane River) for solo or group work.  Book a mac to use specialist creative software and record, edit and mix music in Lab 3.

There are free beginners workshops in the basics of design, film animation, music recording and  more.   You can pay for one on-one tutoring by appointment also.

You can meet up with collaborators and a creative community. A range of meet-ups take place in the space for face-to-face networking or you can join them on Facebook and Twitter.

edgeqld.org.au

Daniel Flood and his staff do a great job and are very friendly and supportive.

During my stay I had tutoring to improve my key framing skills, and I  attended two workshops relating to Video  mapping.  I also made myself familiar with some of the best software on the market today.  I'm not yet up to learning  that software, but I will get there some day with the help of the folk of The Edge.

Since my return home, I have been trawling the net for more video mapping  information.

Attached is a video of a very basic mapping I have made with simple software on my iPad!!.    What next!!!???   This video looks to the rear of my studio, with 4 plinths close to the front.    

 cx

Even more news from The Edge

My week has been filled with long walks to The Edge…down by the river, where the 'Biomechanical Pelicans' live. Long spiky lizards abound there in the scrub, watching your every move…still as statues unless you come too close. Kids call them 'Frillys', though there is nothing Frilly about them. They should be called 'Spikys'.  I like lizards. As I child I used to keep Blue Tongued lizards.  I was a strange child.

The river is full of charming River Hoppers… small  ferries that you  can hop on and off at various docks along the Brisbane River.  The big City Cats (catamarans) glide silent and serene across the glistening water against the big city backdrop and rugged cliff faces.   I feel the temptation to paint those cliff faces, but immediately dismiss that idea as ridiculous…I am no longer  a painter.

River noises are muted by the never ending drone of traffic.  It spoils the ambience of this otherwise  picturesque scene.  There is the constant sound of heavy breathing of the ubiquitous joggers  as they pound the  riverside pavements in droves, intermixed with the ardent lycra clad streamlined helmeted bike riders, who all appear to be training for the Tour de France.  One must be as alert as a lizard on and around the bikeways or one is likely to get skittled!!

Seriously though, the Southbank walk and bikeways are a great asset and allow for interesting outings…and I love Brisbane.

Days at The Edge can swing between great and frustrating.  Great when I have learnt something new.  Frustrating when I realise how much I don't know.  I will persevere.    c x