New necklace

New painting

Men’s Jewellery

Wow! Men’s jewellery is really hard to make, not so much constructing it (although you do need muscles-something I’m lacking) but putting together a design that, well, doesn’t look a bit girly. I’ve tried here to apply the same eclectic variation of texture and tactile materials as usual, something that is central to any of the pieces I create. Muted tones can be as effective as vibrant flashes of colour, there is always something of the surfer look about much of the pieces and maybe this comes with the materials used-earthy materials-wood, amber and beach style glass amongst others…

New jewellery

A note on creativity

What is it about a burst of creativity that I just can’t let go? Be it piecing together a brightly coloured outfit, wearing something outlandish in my hair or finally getting back into drawing. Its a way of expressing that I’m getting back into the swing of things. Today I got a few chords right on the guitar, made an effort to wear nice clothes to work, drew a picture of myself that for once didn’t make me look like the exorcist and made some artistic jewellery. Creativity is fast paced and often short but sweet, sometimes it hides away, but its always there waiting to be unleashed. A creative expression is an expression of confidence. I suppose being creative in one guise or another each day, is my way of brightening up the day, even if it is tipping it down outside

Feel free to throw up now

T-shirt designs

Have a look at some t-shirts etc I have for sale

I’m not one for four-four

My question is whether there really is such a thing as true improvisation, can music ever really move beyond all rules and regulations? Can it surpass conformed key and  tempo, rhythm, harmony and melody?  Is our reaction to music innate or simply conditioned by our environment?

If we begin with one extreme, let’s say traditional Japanese music. Here  there is no standardized notation, especially when we consider Kabuki drama, or Noh theatre, where the voice takes centre stage and instrumentals take a step back. However it remains that even within this seemingly free music, there is always a beginning and an end and even if the voice should lead the way and is a form of improvisation, the fact remains that the voice leads an by doing so, is providing order within chaos.

Both Japanese and Western music types rely on the twelve pitches of an octave , there are seven notes in a scale, there is just differing importance placed upon these notes. Within Japanese music, only 5 are seen as ‘important’. In Western music, a scale can begin at any of the twelve notes. In Japanese musical scales can only begin at 5 of the 12 pitches. The fact that both these musical traditions rely on knowledge of some form of musical regime makes any true improvisation a questionable idea, because in the end we may question the rules and language of music, but by questioning them we are recognising the importance of these rules and searching for recognition that we are knowledgeable of these and have chosen to disregard them.

I think that when man first used a found object that by chance, happened to make a sound, this could be considered true improvisation. It was after all an experiment. However whether this was music is another matter altogether.

Can there really exist a truly unadulterated involvement in music? Free improvisation suggests an ideal of total freedom. However improvisation is conformed by the need to perform and, improvisation is often measured by its success. Can a musician truly escape from their musical knowledge. Alike in art, ideas are rarely orignal. In Jazz, for example, we often refer back to improvisation techniques, this suggests that improvisation can be taught.

We assume than when we improvise, we are entering the unknown, but alike in science, there are always constants. In the case of improvisation, we know that we make an active choice to improvise, however fear by nature causes us to react, even to hold back from our natural inclinations, we halt our true spontaneity.

Improvisation, by definition is to fabricate out of what is readily available. It is usual to then draw upon existing ideas and it may just  happen that new ideas are born of this process. Being truly uninhibited is difficult and if we define something, or label it as ‘improvised’, we are admitting that the music we are listening to or are playing has fallen within a category and therefore is not truly free.

Foreign films-journeying through the moving picture.

I have a passion for foreign films and I’m not talking just talking about Arthouse films (which are a whole other cerebral experience!) and am not an avid watcher of B movies. I love to immerse myself in anything from love stories to comedies, moral tales and more political films. I think I literally love to become lost in translation-however much of a cliché that is.

Now I’m not fluent in any language other than English and perhaps that is ignorant. I admit I usually leave the subtitles on, however these eventually merge into the moving picture. After all it is the way that a language is spoken, the nuances, the innottations that are often so central to the film’s interpretation. This could be compared to the enjoyment of foreign music, really listening to the beat, the timbre, the tonal variations, the mood of voice-aspects that work alongside language and are equally important to the listening experience.

When I am not familiar with the context in which the actor is speaking, I find I have to concentrate more so on what they are doing physically, their movements, mannerisms, tone of voice. I become subconsciously involved in dissecting the environment in which they exist. I ask myself questions: Why is the camera at a certain angle? Why black and white? Why is the picture so gritty? What is the music telling me? I think that there is a beauty in this. It remains that maybe I should just spend all day watching silent movies?

When a film is watched in my native language, it is all to easy to be led into the film, to be spoon fed a story. When I watch a film in another language I actively have to make an effort to understand it, to interpret what it is the director is trying to show me – be it seduction, struggle, horror or so on.

Of course some films are left open to interpretation and simply exist to be provocations. Others are simply surreal. This is not to say that I may lose some of the film’s meaning by not facilitating subtitles. They are a good support, but by no means, in my opinion, should they be solely depended on or viewed as necessary to crossing a language barrier or fully enjoying a foreign film. I think of them maybe a starting point for experiencing life and imagination through another cultural perspective.

Films I enjoy subtitles or not:

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Guillermo Del Torro

The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Guillermo Del Torro

Water (2005), Deepa Metha

Caché (Hidden) (2005), Michael Haneke

City of God (2002), Fernando Mereilles

L’amour les apres midi (1972), Eric Rohmer

Music:

Cepa Analuza (2005), Gold, Paco De Lucia

Je Ne Veux Pas Travailler-Various artists

The Voyager (2008), My Music Is Your Music, Makoto Kuriya.

Japanese Koto Harp

Something to start with anyway

Thankyou!

Just a big thanks to everyone who came to my exhibition opening last night and to Terry who did a great job with the framing! Still plenty of time to see it-its on til start of may and also don’t miss the fab ‘Resonant Colour’ exhibition currently showing in the main gallery, curated by Laura Thomas. Also the cakes in the cafe are absolutely lush! xx
Robyn

Exhibition Time

Friday, March 18 at 5:30pm – May 7 at 4:00pm

Location

Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre
St. David’s Road
Cwmbran, United Kingdom

Oriel Cafe Gallery

“Through this series of watercolour paintings, I aim to depart from the traditional perspectives of landscape painting, i.e. foreground, middle-ground, background. Walking through the natural landscape, I find myself not looking in one direction but in many, constantly absorbing shape, texture, colour and light (the organic make-up of the landscape). Rather… than portraying a snap-shot scene that could be attributed to a specific time and place, I have chosen to focus in on aspects of the landscape, particularly things that have caught my eye, such as the rushing water of a stream, the pockets of colour in a rock pool, or the labyrinth of woodland undergrowth. These mini-landscapes, or microcosms, naturally become abstracted though the process of magnification, and so are largely dependent on an emotive use of colour and line to portray a felt or experienced landscape.”
- Robyn Hobbs, 2011

Monday to Friday 9.30am – 5pm
Saturday 9.30am – 4pm
Admission is FREE

Free Parking: Glyn Dwr Carpark (right next door)
Bus Station: Cwmbran (2 minute walk)
Train Station: Cwmbran (5 minute walk)

Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre is situated right on the edge of Cwmbran Town Centre (‘Cwmbran Shopping’) next to the VUE cinema; just follow the brown tourist signs showing the symbol of a ‘POT’ to find us!

Please note: The Oriel Cafe Gallery will stop serving at 8pm but is perfect for those coming straight from work who would like to grab a bite to eat and view the artwork.

01633 483321
info@lgac.org.uk
http://www.lgac.org.uk

Also don’t miss out on the last chance to see the current exhibition ‘Resilience’ at LGAC!!!