Only two weeks left! can't believe that Its nearly over. I've got five more images to do to complete the Random Bestiary. I was trying to finish another large figurative piece but I just don't think there'll be time.

We had a round up of the AA2A experience with Phil Gatenby, course leader, and my fellow intern Jean. For us its been a very positive experience and access to the resource of the print studio has been a life saver for me. Its revitalised my approach to my art. I've begun a webiste/blog for the ongoing work that will come from this experience www.andrew-dalton.com . So all in all, great - just don't want it to end.

Anyway I tyhink I'll refelect on the experience in a final blog entry in a couple of weeks.

Two more creatures to come.

Hi AA2A artists,

I hope all is going well as you near the end of your schemes!  In your remaining time please encourage students to vote for their favourite AA2A artists - voting usually closes in May and this year student voting has been particularly low so students who vote stand a really good chance of winning.  Direct them either to this site where they will find a 'Vote for this Artist' link on every artist's profiles page, or to http://aa2a.org/artistvote 

We'll be in touch soon with info about updating your profile page on the main website (www.aa2a.org) and we are also putting together the evaluation which you'll be completing online at the end of the scheme. 

IMAGE ALBUMS:  REFRESHER

As you may want to post image albums showing progress and final work we thought you might find a refresher on how to do this useful.  See below for how to create an image album, make changes to an existing album, add images into blogs and troubleshooting right at the end.  Please get in touch if you are having problems and nothing in the blog has helped, either send me a message or email   georgia@aa2a.biz

Create an image album

1. Select ‘Create new album’ from side menu:

2.  ‘Add image album’, enter a Title, Description and Tags.  You can also edit ‘access’ – to control who can see the album.

3.  ‘Save’ and you’ve now created the folder that the images will go in.

4.  Add images to album, ‘browse’ and select the images you want  (must be under 1mb and a .jpg .png .gif) select the image/s ‘upload’ and when you’ve finished - ‘save’

5.  Edit image properties - add individual title, caption, tags - Also you need to make one image the image album cover, finally ‘save’

To make changes to an existing album

1. Go to 'Your image albums'

2. click on the album

3.  You can then choose to ‘add images to album’, ‘edit album’ or ‘delete album’

Also some of you have asked about how to put images in blogs:

To do this you need an have a URL for image (this could be from another website if you have one or flickr, or similar site) or You can do it using an image in an image album on dotbiz.

As this is quite a complicated way to get round it if you have more than one image to put up I'd advise you to create an image album.  You can include text in an image album too and it would also mean you had an image shown on the front of the site in latest activity (rather than just the blog title)

But if you do want to do it - here's how:

1. On dotbiz - image saved in an album (which you can save as private, if you want to use it purely to get a URL)

2. Image size under 1mb and saved as 'filename.jpg'

3. open the album selected the image and right clicked on it to 'copy image location' 

4. In 'write a blog post' click on picture symbol (tree), paste to enter the URL into 'Image URL' the dimensions should come up automatically, 

5. 'insert'

Troubleshooting:

- album appears with ‘no images’ message although when you click on it the images are there – it says 'no images' because there's no image selected for the image album cover - to change this:

1.Go to 'Your image albums'

2. click on the album

3. click on the image you want as the image album cover

4. 'Edit image' on the left hand side menu

5. select 'Make image album cover?'  and finally 'save'

To make sure it doesn't happen next time you are creating a new album or adding images to an existing album:

After you have gone through the file upload (where you browse and choose the images you want) 

'Edit image properties'

'Make image album cover?' 

By default the first image will be selected as the cover - leave it checked if you are happy with this -  If you want to change it select one of the other images but make sure you have an image selected.

- Images are not shown in the order I put them in

This is an issue with the software that powers the site – our web manager is aware of it but there isn’t a fix for it yet.  You may also notice that sometimes tags are shown in an unexpected order.  We hope that this won’t be a problem for you, let us know if you notice anything strange – either send me a message or email georgia@aa2a.biz

Hope this helps,

Georgia

Hi AA2A Artists,

We're still welcoming comments on the 'Students and AA2A.biz' discussion in the main forum - do have a look and join in! As you might have noticed if you've read any of my other blogs, we're very keen on student involvement.... so my blog this week is highlights from your blogs that particularly relate to student interaction. Thank you to the artist's I've quoted - I hope that reading them others might feel inspired to share your experiences/thoughts on AA2A and the benefits for students in AA2A colleges.

"Alongside the work itself I have been able to meet with MA students and discuss a range of issues surrounding fine art and current practice which is in itself a positive aspect of this scheme. I have also worked at the University with students from the academy where I teach and was able to instruct them in some of the techniques that I have developed and now feel more confident with."
January 8, 2010 by Annette Pugh

"I'm getting to know some of the first year BA students as well and Its interesting watching them take their first steps in printing."
November 15, 2009 by David Henckel

"After a tour and induction I spent the afternoon in the print room, working alongside printmaking staff and a few new MA students, who were creating an etching as part of their induction. When they heard about the AA2A scheme and the Arts Council, some international students said they thought artists in the UK seemed to have more opportunities and support here than in other European countries!"
November 9, 2009 by Caroline Underwood

"Spent some time in the photography dept yesterday, and met some of the students. An ex-student was giving a demonstration about using 5 x 4 cameras so I joined that, which was good."
November 5, 2009 by Kay Goodridge

"Met with the other artists today and had a tour of the college facilities and staff. Some students were hanging around and it was great to meet some of them too.
To discuss art! This is something I always didn’t do whilst in college, in pubs or in any situation. I’m not sure why this is? Maybe I needed a break from thinking about it. Maybe others didnt find it interesting. Does anyone ever talk about art?

Anyway, Im looking forward to finding out if this new generation of art students talk about art, and to find out what they know, and perhaps, for me, to remember what I know too."
November 7, 2009 by David Symons

Best wishes,
Georgia

Had a few frustrating weeks not being able to get in the studio for various reasons.  Waiting for porcelain pieces to be fired, although some are so fine they are crumbling when air dried.  Holding them together with wire, which is giving some beautiful effects.  Varnished some parts before firing - the contrast between the varnished and non-v is obvious - some subtle tones. 

Also fine-tuning wax bricks - making in layers, plunging them into cold water before pouring hot wax - trapping lint between, then piercing with soldering iron.  

Hello, i'm a late comer to AA2A. Sean at Derby University kindly let me jump on the scheme last minute so I can make a wooden automatic teller in their wood workshops!

It is a wooden version of a cash machine type of thing I made out of cardboard for several performances in Leeds and Nottingham.

Woodworking is so different to working with cardboard and tape - it's a lot less immediate which I am finding a challenge. I'm used to rustling up a structure in an afternoon. This is taking a lot longer.

It is going to be portable and hopefully have moving internal parts - gears and things.

I'm trying to challenge my normal way of working. My reasons for using cardboard and tape are that they are easily available, lo-fi and immediate. It has a bit of a sci-fi and post apocalyptic look about it. I was concerned though that I might be using it in some situations because it is easiest for me rather than what the idea/piece calls for. So making this wooden contraption will hopefully exercise those demons a little bit - and expand my palette.

I learnt last week how to use the laser cutting machine - which is really brilliant. I'm not quite sure what to use it for yet. You can draw with the laser on to wood so this might be a good idea for the numbers on the automatic tellers face. Although I'm trying to stick with things looking very handmade. So everything might end up carved. I'm using a really softwood for the face that's really enjoyable and easy to carve.

goodness, i really can't believe how the time has passed. it has been a very busy time, lots of reading and sketching and very luxurious research time. the aa2a has really given me the chance to think about my practice in a much more probing way, has got me thinking about where i am as an artist and i have just found out that i have a place on the mfa course in slade starting september that i don't think i would have been ready for without the rare opportunity for thinking that northumbria has afforded me. i just posted some work that i made last month, now onto something quite different, a collaboration again, I am becoming quite enthused about working in this way, proposing a series of works with Dan Wild, who I met through this residency, challenging the idea of the advert.... more to follow!

A collaboration with Newcastle based artist, Dan Wilde, proposing a series of new works challenging the idea of the ‘advert’.

I have arranged an exhibition for the four AA2A artists (Claire Morris-Wright; Jennifer Smith; Helen Saunders and Phil Redford) working at Loughborough University to exhibit a selection of their work produced on the project at the Changing Room gallery at Charnwood Museum, Loughborough, from 14th August to 5th September 2010.

Carried on with the animal images this week, really getting up a head of steam and finished three new images - frog, newt abd dragonfly. I'm getting the idea together to create as eries of around ten random and apprently unrelated animals to form a sort of bestiary. The longer term idea is to combine the animals and the figures in some kind of composition, but while I'm letting that idea compost in my sketchbook I thought i'd produce a set of animal images. In some part of my mind they represent differing emotional states but I don't want to be too prescriptive about what they mean. I'll let the shrink do the interpretation.

After all my playing, things are starting to come together!