Kevin's Successful first photographic competition...

Joe Cornish Gallery “Photography Summer Open Exhibition” successful photo...

                                                                 "Erratic Formation."

...What a result!...

After entering my first ever photographic competition....The Joe Cornish "Summer Open Print" competition...I was so surprised that I had been chosen to be able to exhibit my work amongst the other winners, no  "gob smacked" would be a better description... what a fantastic feeling it is to be recognised. My photo can be seen at the ..........Joe Cornish Gallery, Northallerton  from the 16th July to the 2nd August 2011.

The picture in question is called.... "Erratic Formation"...taken at Saltwick Bay, Nr Whitby. Its a mono photograph of the strange rocks and winkles, with a wreck just appearing from the sea with Whitby piers in the distance.... Strange thing is that Janilaine will be her exhibiting her work at "Seafest" on the weekend of  16th & 17th July 2011......how amazing is that?!

Marine Drive morning walk...

Monday morning and the weathers glorious....typical everyones back at work after a weekend of torrential rain and the sun decides to come out!!!...

....as the doctor ordered I am out trying to de-stress, exercise, motivate myself and be positive...thats all fine and good if the weathers nice!!! so I have set myself this goal of walking 3 miles everyday this week along Marine Drive -  I think its about 1.5 miles long so there and back = 3 miles!....

....day 1 - (in a Northern Geordie accent!)...

North Bay view from Marine Drive, Scarborough

South Bay view from Marine Drive, Scarborough

...I decided not to take the dog then promptly felt guilty when I saw loads of people walking their dogs...bad start!...took some photos...mainly of patterns but also of where I was walking around ...just to put you in the picture, so to speak!...

...I had to add this photo as it made me laugh out loud...not sure if this is the bast place to park your bike!?....

...anyway...

...enjoy your day and  I'll post again on the findings from tomorrows walk...

It's official...Janilaine Mainprize website is now open for business!

...well....after weeks, and what feels like months of tweaking, adding, deleting and generally going stir crazy....we posted my official webpage for all to see!...

www.janilainemainprize.co.uk      or     www.janilainemainprize.com

....as we have never done anything like this before....its definitely been a learning curve to say the least!
I am sure over the next few months things may change....but the initial intention is there.
I feel that although the website is now up and running your comments and feedback would be very much appreciated....it's a 'tad lonely working in cyberspace so I need to keep in touch with reality!

Thanks to all of you who keep a check on my blog...glad you are finding it interesting, keep visiting...

...Many thanks, especially to Kevin (my fab Hubby) and our kids for all their support over the last few weeks....I promise to try and not be soooo grumpy and not to spend hours talking to the computer....well not for a few weeks anyway!

enjoy x

....Framed!

...I have finished one of my set of 4 Red Rust pictures to sell....it's a collage of oil on canvas and I'm quite pleased with it really. The cream frame I chose has red highlights, I wanted the image to stand out and works quite well with a light surround...

...close up of collage...

"Red Rust"

 oil on canvas collage,

(20cm x 25cm cream wooden frame)

I've got this week to try and finish another 2 ....that’s the goal I've set myself along with to walk 3 miles a day....if your familiar with Scarborough, North Yorkshire I'm walking around Marine Drive and back again....however I must admit I'm a bit of a fair weather walker and this weekend the weather has been amazing....if you like torrential rain and dramatic thunder and lightening!

...thanks for reading...I'll keep posting my progress over the week...

3rd year looms!...

.....thats it! I 've got to start and collect research and info for next years dissertation.....I wanted to read about Annette Messager and Louise Bourgeois so a trip to the university's LRC was in order...they only had two books about them and I've read most of them too! I even wandered around second hand book shops and the main local Library...alas...no books to be found and so sadly the bank has taken a hammering and I have ordered two new books...Annette Messager "Messengers" and "Louise Bourgeois - The fabric works"...I see them as investments - I love new books too! 


My main thread for the dissertation is the use of textiles within contemporary art with the added thought of how memories and history are often associated with the fabrics used. 


I remember a lecture we had on "Outsider art" and how I felt uncomfortable critiquing their work...as it was not meant solely as art but as a way of expressing their feelings, a visual personal diary, medicinal..... I have recently taken another look at their work but in a new light and realised it should be looked at on a more positive level and that they were able to express themselves in a way that is now classed as art is quite amazing.


what first blew me away was... 


...Agnes Richter, a patient in a mental asylum in austria in the 1890's, spent her days embroidering text on to the jacket of her hospital uniform in attempts to record her life story. agnes, who had been a seamstress before her incarceration, painstakingly embroidered onto every part of the surface, both inside and out, sometimes so intensively that the text was illegible....

                                                      Hand embroidered life....
...the painstakingly detailed way she transformed something institutional into such an expression of herself is fascinating and inspiring. How something as mundane as a hospital gown can be turned into such a beautiful piece of work through such horrific circumstances leaves me totally in awe.

I can see how Messager and Bourgeois are both influence by this.... 

...loads more to follow

...a summer of research to be shared with you all!

Art@41: The QR-3D Project...

Art@41: The QR-3D Project...: "...there are a few ways of trying to get your business, website etc recognised so...as I am trying to set up my own business, ok...test the..."

The QR-3D Project...

...there are a few ways of trying to get your  business, website etc recognised so...as I am trying to set up my own business, ok...test the waters as an Artist!..I stumbled across this competition to use textiles - one of my passions - and thought I'd share it with you all...

The QR-3D Project
“Make, share and exhibit textile QR codes”
www.qr-3d.weebly.com

QR-3D  is an invitation to anyone, anywhere in the world to make, share and have the chance to exhibit a textile QR code.

QR codes are traditionally a two-dimensional device used by barcode readers and camera phones consisting of smaller black squares on a larger square white background. The information contained within usually direct code readers to a website, but can also be used to hide text messages or other information.

After seeing a QR code for the first time, curator Sally Fort was instantly struck by how similar it looked to a knitting pattern graph or a patchwork quilt. This inspired the project inviting makers across the world to combine QR codes and textiles.

The project is open to everyone, people who make for fun or professionally. To get involved visit
www.qr-3d.weebly.com  Simply choose your website, turn it into a QR code (instructions are provided on the website) and recreate it with textiles. Then add it to the online gallery by July 31^st. Full details of how to do this are on the website. A guest panel of craft and digital professionals will choose pieces from the online gallery to go into the exhibition held at Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK, in autumn 2011.

...I have created my QR code of my "to be" website and I'am off to create!....enjoy