Arty developments

My ideas have developed quite significantly since my last art scraps post...I have been researching Turkish tradition as I want it to feature in my work and I learnt about 'wish trees' a tradition that features in many cultures including Turkey, each with different specifics about how the tradition is carried out. In Turkey people tie a strip of fabric around a tree branch which signifies a hope or wish for the future, it is believed that the wish will come true if the fabric is tied. I wanted to incorporate this into one of my sculptures so began stringing twine in dense rows across my steel frame and tying strips of fabric to create a kind of weave that also harks back to the wish tree tradition. Initially I was using all different colours and fabrics as in Turkey it seems that nothing can be aesthetically too decorative, but then decided to refine the sculpture to being tones of blue, teal and purple which reflect the glittering colour of the Bosphorus. This sculpture will be part of a series of three using different manipulations of fabric on a steel frame.

When in Bulgaria I found a further representation of wish tree tradition. From March 1st Bulgarians often wear a red and white thread on their person called a Martenitsa, this represents the festival period of Baba Marta (Grandmother March) and is connected to the beginning of Spring season. When the wearer sees a budding blossom tree, a swallow, or a stork they tie the Martenitsa to the blossoming tree, this is supposed to bring health and luck for the forthcoming season.

A similar introduction to the beginning of Spring takes place in Istanbul on May 5th in the form of Hidrellez Festival, here this festival also celebrates the coming of a prophet who grants health and wishes, wish trees are used within the festival which I plan to attend in 3 days time...keep your eyes peeled for more blog posts on this...in the mean time have a read about it!

---> http://www.hidrellez.org/english.asp x

Bulgaria...land of the cheap everything and funny writing...

I am sorry for the neglect of the blog in recent weeks, we had an influx of visitors and uni has been getting pretty busy... However we did make time for a weekend holiday to not-so-sunny Bulgaria! We visited the very pretty town of Burgas on the Black Sea Coast, although the weather wasn't as hot as we'd have liked we had a great time and it was a welcome break from the constant hub of Istanbul.

We stayed at a really cute hostel randomly owned by one of Bulgaria's most famous rappers who ran a studio and hostel together, everything was amazingly super cheap from beer to clothes and we even swam in the Black Sea! We met up with Sara's friend Damien who is Bulgarian but also goes to Newcastle Uni and he was our tour guide for the weekend..we had a couple of nights out and loved the cheap cocktails...however no one told me a Bulgarian double is a British quadruple...there was messy times and a very hungover morning. On the Sunday one of Damien's friends (also bizarrely a rapper...never have I met so many MCs!) was filming a video for one of his tracks in a town close by on the coast so we got a lift there and explored the town which was full of beautiful old red brick orthodox churches and quaint antique shops while they filmed at a local hospital, Sara had a starring role as a nurse which was hilarious to watch....the first steps on the ladder of fame...to star in a Bulgarian rap video!

Other than that we shopped and dined for extra cheap and on Monday braved the cold cold waters of the black sea for a refreshing dip I wont forget in a while! It was great to have a break and explore somewhere new that none of us had ever been but by Monday night we were all ready to return to the buzz of Istanbul, Burgas felt like a village in comparison!

The Travis Brothers in Istanbul..

A very belated blog post....

So I've just had a very lovely few days with James and Ben visiting, it was great to see them and I'll give you all a quick run down of what we got up to on their trip to the Bul!

They arrived on Monday and we met by the ferry port in Kadikoy then headed back to my flat for a chill out on the balcony and a walk by the sea, we bought food to cook in and went out for a beer in the evening with my housemates.

Tuesday was a beautiful sunny day so we got up and out in good time and caught the ferry to the other side of the city. We went to the Spice Bazaar first, tried lots of free turkish delight and had to smell umpteen types of tea that was offered by the stall holders! Then we visited the Grand Bazaar for a wander and grabbed kebab for lunch. The Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque were looking beautiful in the sunshine and the fountains were switched on and looked amazing. We went inside the Blue Mosque, we all had to take off our shoes and I had to wear a headscarf and a long skirt over my dress to be allowed in even though Ben was wearing shorts! It shows the difference between what is seen as acceptable dress for men and women, its much stricter for the girls! The boys seemed impressed by the sheer scale of the interior, it was the first time either of them had been in a mosque, the tranquility of it is really impressive. Afterwards we fancied a chill out so went for beer and shisha at a rooftop place I'd been to before that's all done up with lanterns and massive cushions, it's so comfy!

We went for a night out in the evening with my housemates and a Canadian guy who lives near us, had fun pre-drinking in the flat and dolmus and headed to Ritim Roof, a terrace club that I've been to a lot, it was pretty empty so we got a beer in and they gave us a free hazelnutty shot and snacks then we got dancing...it was amazing..we got a circle going on with one person showcasing their moves in the middle..then randomly the barman got us to stand back and poured alcohol on the floor and lit it! So we had a flaming dance floor in the middle of our circle, it was mint! Another group started dancing with us, we got the party started! We moved on to Araf, another rooftop club that had a live band playing, Ben was, ahem, slightly worse for wear and it was getting late so we headed back with obligatory takeaway kebab in hand..it was a great night though! The next morning was designated for recovery so we chilled out and had a morning around the flat then went to Kadikoy, a bustly port on the Asian side for a look around and to get something nice for dinner, we had very yummy spiced lamb kebab with a salsa salad and this special kind of bread that arrives filled with steam so it's puffed up and then deflates when you cut it! The waiter was really nice and gave us free samples of a special kind of juice and free thyme tea afterwards, we were all a bit knackered when we got back so just had an earlyish night. I had to head to uni on the Thursday morning but we met in the afternoon and got the boat to Taksim, a modern hub including a massive shopping street, we also went up Galata Tower which stands at 60 meters on a hilltop and has great 360 degree views of the city...the sheer scale of istanbul is immense, the city sprawls as far as you can see in every direction . In the evening we went for a yummy fish meal at a restaurant a short walk along the sea front from my apartment, we had fresh calamari, sole and red mullet yum yum yum!

Friday was unfortunately the last day of the boys' stay :( we visited Topkapi Palace during the day which was beautiful and offered great views of the Bosphorus as well as the biggest diamond I have ever seen! After a kebab we topped up on our local history at the archaeological museum and then ate chewy Turkish ice cream in a cafe overlooking the Spice Bazaar. Our final night all together called for some drinks so we got ready with my flatmates and went for big beers in Baba Alis then on to the reggae club for a boogie....James was wasted mwaha, there is pictoral evidence on facebook..please also take a look at the less drunken photos that accompany the content of this blog post! We had a great time all together and as far as I could tell the boys loved Istanbul!

First scraps of studio workings...

Having got my dissertation handed in I can finally start on some studio work. I'm continuing my sails work from Newcastle and for a start am experimenting with weaving my own fabric from materials I bought at a local market. I chose the fabrics for their colour which I felt evoked certain shades I'd seen in the city, particularly in the Spice Bazaar. At the moment I'm using chicken wire as a framework and am experimenting with creating texture by manipulating the fabrics in different ways throughout the weave.

I also had a steel frame made to begin working on a new sail sculpture, the frame takes the form of a minaret, a recognisable shape seen throughout the city's skyline that seemed a solid starting place for the sculpture work. Initially I've been wrapping the frame in fabric, building up layers, I particularly like the contrast of the decorative fabrics with the rusted industrial aesthetic of the steel. I will experiment further with the frame, hanging my woven piece from it and stretching material around it much like the piece I made in Newcastle...

Stumbling upon a women's rights march in Kadikoy...

So Yesterday was an eclectic one... I had planned to visit an area on the Asian side of the city called Uskudar with my friend Rosie, so we got the train to Haydarpasa and then when walking towards the port in Kadikoy came across a mass police presence, riot police with shields that looked well prepared for something big happening. We wondered whether it was something to do with a football game or something and stopped to have tea at a cafe near by to wait and see if anything developed.

About ten minutes later people started parading down the street, we could hear drumming and shouting and went to investigate, first thing that struck me was that the marchers were all women, of all ages, some were older in traditional dress and others were young students waving placards. They were split into distinct groups with their own colours and banners, it seemed like organised chaos..we gathered from their signs that some were marching for women's rights, others for sexual freedom and gay rights. Leading members of the groups were shouting into loud speakers, stirring the crowds to chant, others played drums and accordians creating a crazy rhythm. There was a kind of carnival atmosphere with people blowing whistles and jumping around but also this serious undertone that they really believed in what they were marching for, the mass police presence suggested that it was a serious event. We followed the crowds through the main street and up to the ferry port, where you had to go through police barriers and be searched for security, men were stood by the side of the road and all looked a little bemused at what was going on, I think with the city being so cosmopolitan in places you forget that there is still a lot of sexual discrimination here. I noticed very early on that in tourist areas like Sultahnamet you rarely see women working, and indeed rarely see them out at all..I left the rally on a high, the high spirited atmosphere was contagious but it also really made me think about the position of women in Turkey today and left me wanting to research a bit the rights that they are entitled to and whether its expected that there will be any change.

So there you have it...Just another completely random, vibrant, thought provoking day in Istanbul..

A mini catchup...

Hello all!

I write this from my apartment feeling a little worse for wear. We have been loving the nightlife in Istanbul and spent last night at two of our favourite rooftop bars in Taksim on the European side of town. We have to get a Dolmus (like a mix between a bus and a taxi) which costs 6 lira to get there and it takes about 40 minutes from our street, we met some friends who we got to know over the weekend at an erasmus event...a boat party that set sail from Beskitas and sailed down the Bosphorus, great fun! The night life here is very good, it seems for clubs you go to Taksim and you can find more chilled out bars pretty much anywhere. We have some nice looking places on our street that we're going to try over the weekend, I really enjoy the laid back bar culture as well as the clubs. They play some really great music out and about, it's normally latin and world music based which I'd not listen to on my own but it's great to dance to! Everybody here can salsa dance, we're going to have to learn!

Workwise I know what I want to start doing but at the moment it's critical to get my dissertation in so that has overtaken things once again, it's almost finished and I hope to get it sent back over the weekend then I can really focus on my studio work. I'm going to revisit some screen prints that I produced in first year that used light and landscape and produce some centred on Istanbul, and perhaps mosque interiors. I'm also going to continue with making fabric sail sculptures, I'm going to learn how to weave my own fabrics and my colour palette will be based on hues I feel reflect the city, I then want to install these sails around the coast line near our flat and other locations and photograph them. I also want to use found objects in these sculptures so have been scavenging for materials to incorporate.

I feel like I know certain parts of the city very well but there are so many areas that I've not been to, I just finished reading Orhan Pamuk's 'Istanbul Memories and the City' and he speaks a lot about the districts he grew up in and used to frequent as an artist and writer, I'd like to visit these areas having read about them. He writes a lot about what he calls 'huzun' or the melancholy of Istanbul relating to the fall of the Ottoman empire and how parts of the city became very dilapidated and run down, this melancholy isn't as apparent in tourist areas like Taksim and Sultahnamet so I'm intrigued to visit these more run down areas of the city to compare the atmosphere and photograph the more physical differences.

My first three weeks...

Merhaba!

I feel it's about time to update everyone on what's been happening here in Istanbul, I'll have been here 3 weeks tomorrow, which in some ways feels like a long time and in other ways feels like no time at all. For the first two weeks I hostelled in the European side of the city and stayed on both sides of the Golden Horn, in Karakoy for four nights then in Sultanahmet. In the first hostel we met some great people from all over the world and for my birthday a big group of us went for a meal in a gorgeous restaurant under the Galata bridge which crosses the Golden Horn, the views were fantastic and we ate fish that had been freshly caught off the bridge that day. It was our first experience of haggling too and we managed to wangle two free bottles of wine and thanks to my blonde haired blue eyed friend also managed to get free tea, coffee and dessert! We followed that with silly games and a few too many Raki's at the hostel..It was a great evening and the first night that we started to feel really at home here, definitely a birthday to remember!

My expectations of what the European and Asian sides of the city would be like are actually reversed in reality. The European side is much more bustly and has all of the sights that make you think of Istanbul, the impressive mosques, grand bazaar, spice bazaar and hundreds of kebab vendors! We get a lot of attention as a group of girls, especially with Lucy being blond but it's not threatening, more tongue in cheek...we get called Spice Girls a lot...and Charlie's Angels..they really need some more up to date references! We decided to live on the Asian side of the city which is a lot more laid back, we hardly get any attention here so it's a much more relaxed place to live. We have an apartment in Suadiye (near Fenerbache) and are 5 minutes one way from a massive street of shops, cafes and bars which has a very European feel to it, its like a big tree lined boulevard and many of the shops are recognisable brands from home. With the yellow taxi's it also has a very American aesthetic. 5 minutes in the other direction we have the sea which is beautiful, there are a lot of little harbours and a big promenade which is great for walking/running or biking along. Practically opposite where we are on the coast are the Princes islands which are apparently great for beaches and watersports in summer and are easily accessible by boat. From here it's easy to get to the other side of the city so I feel like we have a good balance of somewhere homey and safe to live but still being able to experience 'real' Istanbul.

I start university properly next week and have enrolled in 3 main classes, glass work, applied arts and painting which give me good scope to continues with my current projects as well as learning to use materials not easily accessible at home. Our tutors speak very good English so the language barrier shouldn't be too much of a problem, although I am trying very hard to learn as much Turkish as possible...I'm loads better than I was three weeks ago!

My favourite discoveries since being here have been the friendliness of the locals, who really will go out of their way to help you in any way they can and Salep a hot milk drink made with sugar and cinammon and nutmeg..yum.

The food is lovely, we have had our fair share of kebabs (which are miles better than the you'll find at 3 in the morning in Newcastle) and also a lot of hummus, tsatsiki, kofte and olives! The sweet delicacies here are baklava, small pastries stuffed with pistachios and soaked in syrup, they're beyond sweet!

I'll try and keep this updated much more often now, both to document my art work and keep track of my movements but for now...hosca kalin..

Latest work and thoughts for going away..

So I'm due to leave in less than two weeks, scary stuff, the dissertation is at a bit of a sticking point and all I want to do is go away and soak up Istanbul.

In my studio practice this year I've been sculpting, a new venture for me since last year I focused very much on projection/film/installation. My initial pieces were small moquette sized works made from wire, latex and paper, focusing on colour and sweeping forms. Colour in particular I neglected last year in favour of clear light and reflective surfaces so I'm loving working with it again, my palette being strong, blocky primaries and secondaries.

When it came to working on a larger scale my materials changed, partly due to what I could source (latex is very expensive!) and I ended up creating a piece based on one element of a moquette, in steel rod wrapped in fabric. The finishes of these new materials were quite different to the clean cut aspects of the smaller works and opened me to looking at a new aesthetic. The use of fabric gives the piece a sail-like appearance, lending itself to folds and drapery rather than the taut flat appearance of the stretched latex.

It is from here that I want to focus my work on in Istanbul, a major port in itself and famous for its traditional fabrics. I'll stick with the idea of creating more of these 'sails', using forms/shapes I discover in Turkey, adapting my colour palette to suit my surroundings and especially looking for different fabrics to use.

First blog post of my life...

So I thought I'd set up a blog to keep while i'm away in Istanbul for 4months working and playing, I've never kept a blog before so here goes nothing...