September 20 Update: So Much in One Month!

Well, what a whirlwind last month was!

As a sort of mini update I have been looking further into making lino prints, I have a few ideas of what I want to try out but I’m trying to think of simpler ones so that I can really practice how to carve the lino before jumping into more detailed works.   

With exhibitions and what not, let’s start with the amazing launch of the Alt-D website, which is an alternative site to the ECA degree show lead by the student-lead group Alt_D. They have done amazing work so far so give them a little love on the degree show site or their Instagram @alt-d.show.

“Alt_D is an alternative graduate showcase for, and by, ECA students. We felt that the ECA was not representing us adequately and were enraged by the mishandling of our complaints, so decided to represent ourselves in our own, democratic terms.”

Link for my page: https://www.alt-d.online/roisin-gallagher 

 

The next exhibition I was involved in was the Gradcurate Summer 2020 exhibition, which you can look at here: http://gradcurate.co.uk/summer-2020-galleries/ 

It was really exciting to see work displayed closer to the way that I imagined it being when I made the work for my master’s project. This virtual exhibition shows different virtual galleries which you can “walk” through and see the work in a virtual 3D space. 

To check out my work have a look at these links here: http://gradcurate.co.uk/summer-2020-artists-roisin-gallagher/http://gradcurate.co.uk/gallery-4/   

Speaking of seeing my work in an IRL gallery space, I’ll finish off by talking about Zembla! So, the previously mentioned amazing group at Alt_D organised a physical gallery exhibition for us. As a work around for our works being all over the place and to keep it accessible this was done in the form of prints.

This runs until the 30th of September so head over to their Instagram if you would like to go see it! @zemblagallery

Some sneak peak photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CE32ewIFQqe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 

So, the most exciting thing to have happened this month was the John Byrne award. This award is given out quarterly throughout the year. I got a little surprise when the shortlist was announced to find that I was in it, and it was fun to see so many comments from their Instagram page people resonating with the work.   

I got an even bigger surprise when they announced later on in the month that I had actually won the award! I was super happy to win this as it really showed that what I was doing and wanting to discuss was important, not just to myself but to others as well. Graduating in such a strange time meant I wasn’t able to share my work in the way I had imagined, so winning this award was really important to me as it meant it could be shared and discussed with a wider audience. 

Check out my entry here: https://www.johnbyrneaward.org.uk/entries/what-will-we-lose-if-we-continue-to-discourage-the-use-of-scots/?tags=editors 

After all that I had already scheduled to take a week off with my partner, so it was amazing to have this boost beforehand, but now I’m back and ready to get stuck into to making things again!

Cheers fir readin!

See ye soon 

Róisín ❤

P.S. – I’m going to start posting monthly updates about my work etc., you can read these posts a week earlier by becoming a Patreon, head over to my Patreon page if you’re interested! (plugplugplugplug)

P.P.S. – Some of my tiers include pictures of guinea pigs fyi.

August 20 Update – The Virtual World

This is getting released a bit later than I meant to, but I have been busy applying for jobs and exhibitions etc. so this kind of fell to the back burner. A couple exhibitions are being launched this month so please follow my Instagram @traces_and_initials for more info when they’re up and running. The most exciting thing to happen last month is that Visual Arts Scotland announced the line up for their graduate showcase for which I am one of the seven finalists!

https://www.visualartsscotland.org/exhibition/visual-arts-scotland–graduate-showcase-2020

https://www.visualartsscotland.org/gallery/roisin-gallagher—finalist

Click the links above to have a look at the whole showcase and see the work submitted for it.  
I’m extremely grateful to be a finalist in this showcase and it’s great to see my work getting some recognition and resonating with an audience.

Work wise I haven’t had much of a chance as I’ve been busy with other things, however, I have been missing being able to work with print so I have now invested in a lino set which I am excited to get a chance to experiment with.  

Since I am a part of a few virtual exhibitions most of my time has been invested in updating my website and uploading some of my newer work, I want to make sure that if people that find my work through my site that it makes sense with what I am doing now and that it is easy to follow and find what they want. It’s almost the way that I want it, I’ve just got a few more pages to set up and then hopefully I can go back to making.  

See you next month with more announcements!

Róisín – ❤

P.S. – I’m going to start posting monthly updates about my work etc., you can read these posts a week earlier by becoming a Patreon, head over to my Patreon page if you’re interested! (plugplugplugplug)

P.P.S. – Some of my tiers include pictures of guinea pigs fyi.

July 20 Update – Strange Times

As you might have noticed everything’s a bit weird right now, and these are definitely not the circumstances that I expected to be in when I graduated from uni, but anyway these are the cards I’ve been dealt and I’m thankful that I can at least see I’m happy and secure. Though it’s not what any of us planned, our online showcase has launched and you’ll find it here:

https://www.degreeshow.eca.ed.ac.uk/2020/

Please give it a look, everyone has worked really hard!

Yours truly is right here 🙂 

https://www.degreeshow.eca.ed.ac.uk/2020/roisin-gallagher

So, I haven’t actually done much creation wise, I’ve taken this time since my hand in to focus on applications for jobs, awards, online exhibitions and my social media. (I did have time to draw this guy though)

Instead of creating I’ve been looking at making up portfolios and posts and thinking about how to make myself a little bit more well known and expand my horizons. Lately I’ve been focusing on my Instagram, which you can follow me @traces_and_initials (plugplugplug) to keep up with my posts and see some of my post grad work. 

One thing that I have been having fun doing is actually making a youtube video on a video game, yeah, I know that’s absolutely nothing to do with my art practice etc. but it has been a fun little side project. This has actually been quite refreshing, it’s creative, I still get to do the things that I enjoy doing (writing and video editing) and planning it has given me a little motivation boost I didn’t know I needed. Plus there’s no pressure, it’s just something I want to do. 

I’m going into July with a feeling of excitement and happiness, the last few months have been hard going with trying to finish my MFA and also keeping up a job that became a lot more demanding at lock-down, but now everything is starting to feel a lot more relaxed and I’m hopeful for what’s going to happen. 

Stay safe, 

Róisín ❤

P.S. – I’m going to start posting monthly updates about my work etc., you can read these posts a week earlier by becoming a Patreon, head over to my Patreon page if you’re interested! (plugplugplugplug)

P.P.S. – Some of my tiers include pictures of guinea pigs fyi.

Prague Fringe – Day 1

So I think this was probably the calmest flight I have ever been on – even if my bag did need checked at security. Didn’t manage to get much sleep which was annoying but I got a few hours before I left anyway.

When we arrive at the airport our taxi man was no where to be seen – turns out he was waiting in the wrong terminal. We eventually get in the taxi and we set off for out accommodation, he gives some friendly chat about Prague and also describes a statue of a “flew” on our building which turns out to be a fly. And if that’s not the cutest mistranslation I don’t know what is. We arrive, check in and get settled into our rooms.

The first part of day one of a holiday story is never exciting, especially if you’re on a flight in the early hours of the morning. So I will sum up the first half in one short sentence. Ahem. We went to tesco, we bought and tram ticket and then napped. The end.

After a quick freshen up after our naps we then head off for some drinks – in the same place we had prosecco in last year. I had my first cheap beer of my time in Prague and was served in a proper pitcher glass.

After that we take a walk up to a park and grab a carry out from one of the local shops. We spend the rest of the night chatting with other people doing the Fringe until 10ish, roughly until my body decided it had had quite enough of this “being awake” thing I had going on for the past 24 hours. The beds at the hostel are super comfy and even though I didn’t feel too great during the night (because I hadn’t drank enough water – good one me) it was one of the better sleeps whilst away from home. Even if the lassie sleeping above me dropped her foundation on me in the middle of the night.

So it was a chill day but I was more than a little exhausted, here’s to the rest of the Fringe!

See you soon
Róisín -x

Life Update – The Squeakle

So it’s been almost a year since my last proper blog post – sorry. So where have I been? What’s been happening? Well I am currently writing this blog post on a flight to Prague, ready to volunteer as a Prague Fringe Voluntary Assistant (which I will keep you updated on throughout my stay) and so I will start with the last time I was in Prague about a year ago.

I was on holiday with my friends getting a bit of culture and sun when I get an email from one of the members of the Arts and Humanities department of Stirling uni say something along the lines of “oh if you want to find out your grade for your honors degree please reply to this email and we will send them 9am tomorrow morning”. My stomach drops. Now here was me thinking “well we’re not getting out results until the middle of the month, may as well enjoy myself a bit, relax, drink cheap drink and not think about uni or anything”. Wrong! I send the email as quick as I can saying that I would quite like my results yes, in some vain attempt to make them send the reply quicker – this does not happen. So the rest of the day I try to relax and enjoy my Prague experience but the niggling feeling that in less than 24 hours I would know what my degree grade would be still lingered with me. Four years of hard work with a pretty tough time in the middle had all come to this moment. I wake up early the next morning because I never sleep on holiday and check the time. 7am. Two hours to go. Wait the Czech Republic is an hour in front. Three hours to go. Crap. I try to sleep and fail and end up finishing one of the audio books I downloaded. After a long wait to until 10am when the emails will begin to send. I refresh my emails roughly every second and then finally, I see it. My stomach does a back flip and my hands shake as I tap the email. God I feel really sick. I see the number.

1:1

A first. A FUCKING FIRST. I could cry. Jesus Christ I did it. There was a point that I couldn’t even see myself passing and here I was sitting with the best grade. I couldn’t wait for the future, I really found my art style and where I wanted to be in the last two years and now I could really go onto a Masters. I tell everyone and we get prosecco later in the day to celebrate. It was probably one of the best days of my life, getting to celebrate a great result with great friends.

After my result I decided to take a break from education, get some experience with different things and hopefully save up a bit. It’s been a pretty great year and has gave me a good amount of time time to relax and really clear my head to be ready to move on.

During the summer I take on three volunteering jobs. One was a workshop aimed at working with children with disabilities from ethnic minority groups. This was pretty chill, it was really fun to go along with some of the kids imaginations and stories they would create whilst creating their own art pieces. Unfortunately this had to be cancelled due to a problem with securing a space for the workshop. Though it was short I really enjoyed my time workig with the kids and helping them to create their work.

The next one I started working at was Six Foot Gallery, which is run by volunteers. I’m still there and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time there, it’s really exciting to be in charge of making sure the whole thing runs accordingly. Curating and administration were things I didn’t really have experience in and with being thrown into the deep end here I got my experience and I got it quickly. This job has given me a full range of new experiences which hopefully lead on to many more in the future.

Lastly I took on a voluntary position at Project Ability. I help out at a workshop aimed at attendees of other Project Ability workshops to give them a chance to meet some of the other members. This has also given me a range of different experiences as everyone seems to work in different areas of art and have different abilities and experiences. I’ve met a lot of fun and friendly people here to share my thoughts, abilities and experiences with them to help progress their artwork.

So where am I now. Over the next couple weeks I will try to note down my Prague Fringe experience everyday and keep you updated with the goings on over there. I’m really excited I loved Prague, the buildings the food and the drink are amazing and of course it’s another great addition to my CV. So stay tuned!

It’s really nice to look back on at where I was a year ago and how well it compliments what’s happening now. I found out yesterday that Edinburgh College of art have given me an offer to do my Masters, I’m over the moon. I can’t wait to see where the next two years will take me and meet a whole bunch of new people! AHHHHHH EXCITED!

Adventure is out there!

Until next time,

Róisín -x

COM munication – GOSSIP group exhibition

16/02/2018 – 21/02/2018

I was invited to take part in an exhibition at the Tolbooth, Stirling organised by a Stirling based art group ‘G.O.S.S.I.P’. With the theme of communication in mind, I pinned forms of written communication that I had found on previous works in a frame.

This exhibition was a collaboration of different artists from a range of different backgrounds.

 

Artist Statement

“Gallagher explores found objects and their connection to their previous owners. Her recent projects have investigated a variety of objects that can be found in different areas. Gallagher then reflects on the connection between the objects and the residents of the found area. Gallagher’s work has a key focus in portraying these objects as artefacts of evidence of human activity, inspired by museum displays and exhibits.

Artefacts are often discussed in the context of the past and are described as being a way of bringing us face-to-face with an ancient civilisation or culture; the intention of these works is to bring the viewer face-to-face with the people that exist now. The objects displayed in museums are often the most mundane and ordinary types of objects as they are a reflection of the everyday life of historic or foreign cultures, Gallagher’s work intends to use the same regular types of objects to portray them as evidence of who we are today.”

 

2018 Showcase – Six Foot Gallery

23/11/2017 – 08/01/2018

My work was previously featured in Six Foot Gallery’s 2018 Showcase.

This exhibition is a showcase of 22 artists from a variety of different backgrounds and artistic mediums. Click here for more information on the showcase.

 

Artist Statement

Róisín is a recent graduate of Stirling University whose work explores found objects and their connection to their previous owners. Her recent projects have investigated the varying range of objects that can be found in different areas and how these objects can reflect on the residents of those areas. She is most interested in portraying these objects as artefacts or evidence of human activity, inspired by museum displays and exhibits.

Artefacts are often discussed in the context of the past and are described as being a way of bringing us face-to-face with an ancient civilisation or culture; the intention of these works is to bring the viewer face-to-face with the people that exist now. The objects displayed in museums are often the most mundane and ordinary types of objects as they are a reflection of the everyday life of historic or foreign cultures, these works intend to use the same regular types of objects to portray them as evidence of who we are today.

https://sixfootgallery.wordpress.com/roisin-gallagher/

Life Update!

So, where have I been?

Well when I stopped posting I was up to my eyeballs in dissertation work, which was as you can imagine verrrrry time and energy consuming. So everything else kind of took a back seat, but all that hard work and stress was worth it in the end because… I got a first! I’m so happy as I put in a LOT of work into it and I’m glad I got a grade I can be really proud of.

Anyway since then I’ve celebrated by chilling and going on a few holidays and enjoying the summer. Besides my part time job I volunteer at a couple of places now, a small gallery and at an art group, both in Glasgow. I’ve revamped my website to fit more with my professional art image and branding, and I think my Blogger page is next, just so everything is consistent. I’m now working towards setting up an etsy store to sell drawings and also looking at a masters for next year. So writing up C.V.s, proposals and personal statements is what I have to look forward to the next couple months.

Art wise I’ve been practising and playing about with photography as I’ve been taking one photo a day for the first few months and plan to print them and stick them into a sort of scrap/sketchbook thing. I’ve also been working on a watercolour/ drawing for a present and I think I might play about with this style to sell on Etsy.

I’m also working on building up concept, workshop and artist folios. This is to help me with research for further study and my goal of working in community art. I also plan to write up my artist folio on this blog and also include some exhibitions that I’ve attended reviews.

So I’m looking forward to what the rest of this year might bring – so watch this space for what I’m working on 😀

Byyee!!

Róisín -x

Survey!!

As part of my dissertation I am conducting a survey based on how we view certain objects. I would be extremely grateful if you took the time to fill it out. Thank you!!

https://risn.typeform.com/to/DsVJCx