Hey everyone, so it's been forever since I updated this blog, the last time was before my solo show in Paris. I took a little rest after the show, and have been back in the studio for the last couple of months, experimenting with some new work. It's 3D work, which is a bit weird for me. I actually studied sculpture back in college, but it's been years since I made anything other than drawings. Once I get this work to a point that I'm confident with, I'll post some progress shots here. I also want to post some shots from Paris, the opening, and thank some of the people that helped me get my show together. This will all be included in my next update.
For now, just a short one. I am taking part in a group show at Neurotitan in Berlin at the end of this week, the opening reception is Friday February 10th and it runs for about a month. Neurrotitan is a really cool place, probably my favourite spot in Berlin. The front is a large art shop, selling comings, books, prints (I've been selling my stuff there since around 2008), and the back room is a large gallery. Below are links to the gallery's website (in German), and the facebook event page:
The next thing is a big thank you to James Craig, my highschool art teacher. James (formerly known, to me, as Mr. Craig), is the guy responsible for my decision to go to art college. In highschool I was always drawing and painting, but didn't realize that it could actually be a career, and I wasn't particularly talented, I just liked doing it. James told me one day that a lot of 'what it takes to make it' is just drive, and that he thought I might have enough drive to make a career out of it, and I never looked back. We have kept in touch ever since. James went through teacher's college very quickly, and got the teaching job when I was in grade 13, so he was around 22 years old, and I was 18 when we met, so we're basically the same age.
James asked me to come and talk to his classes in my hometown a couple of weeks ago, it was great to go back to my old school and wander the halls that I used to spend so much time in, and to see some of my little cousins that still go there. Anyway, thank you James, I had a great time. Here is a photo of the two of us together.
I think James has a unique way of teaching that touches students differently than any teacher I have met before. He teaches the old art history stuff that must be taught, but fills his room with examples of really exciting contemporary art and is always turning his students onto new artists. Anyway, I won't go on and on, but trust me, this guy is great. He's also become a teacher of mine again in a sense. James constructs and paints brilliant miniatures, and has one multiple awards for his work. As I said above, I'm starting to make some 3D work again, dioramas, and I'm starting to bug James for little nuggets of info. Below is some of James' award winning work:
Ok, that's it for now, next time I will finally post some Paris stuff, and maybe some pics of what I've been working on if I can make them suck a little less before then.
Best, Nicholas