I’ve got a new project on the horizon which involves painting. I’m throughly enjoying mixing paints again and there’s something very nostalgic about it. Feeling very excited about art again and want to do more of it starting tonight!
Data Protection
I am working on a project at the moment where I take templates or existing spreadsheets and I remove all the information. I think spreadsheets can be very attractive, and as someone who works as an analyst as a day job, I use spreadsheets on a day to day basis. I think the colours/lines used are important to the over all meaning of a spreadsheet (and in some cases can be distracting too!). I want to create images that are abstract and no longer provide the viewer with data, but instead only visual information. This is my first one:
Here is a section of it:
Not only am I enjoying the process for the final image created, but I find it extremely therapeutic to take away all of the words, numbers, explanation and simplify it. I think people might imagine what it was previously used for when looking at it and wonder why there are certain colours/lines used.
Overwelmed and organised
Lately, I have been overwelmed by the sheer quantity (and quality!) of the furniture being spotted. I recieve emails/picture messages on (some good weeks) nearly a daily basis. I am always photographing furniture myself too, so the collection is growing and fast. I have been talking to a handsome web developer about creating a mapping system and we are in the process of building it. I’m trying to do some forward planning and have been logging the locations on a spreadsheet, but it’s a mamonth admin task. It is great to revisit the ones I haven’t looked at for years and reminisce, and I believe it will be worth it when it comes together.
One of the things I’d like to do is have an archive consisting of all the photos that have been taken to date, as a starting point. I shall start to look into the best way of doing this over the next week.
Very almost perfect job description
1) Someone who feels physical discomfort upon seeing an incomplete spreadsheet.
2) Creative thinking is a must.
3) It’ll also help if you have a laptop.
Okay, so there’s a few bits missing to make it the ‘perfect’ job description but these sentences made me smile and I want to work for the person who wrote them.
Wonderful weekend
I had a wonderful weekend at our open studio as part of Sherwood Arts Week. We had 200 people through our gates and we met such lovely people. I’d like to thank everyone who came and showed their support. I am looking forward to us hopefully having more events in the future.
As part of the exhibition I had a computer set up with excel open so people could make their own spreadsheet art.
It was a very straight forward idea. I just wanted to give people the opportunity to use a piece of office software for a different function than it would usually be associated with. Here is what was created:
Collaborative Spreadsheet Art
When looking up spreadsheet art I found that the Google docs team had made a collaborative spreadsheet to demonstrate how you can use Google docs. Brilliant idea!
One article from a site called suite 101 said ‘Watching the art emerge from a source usually associated with business is entertaining and inspiring.’
All the colours
I have just had my second attempt at spreadsheet art and I have realised that I like the idea of giving myself rules. This came as no surprise! This one I had to use all of the colours and I could only use them in certain orders. I am in the middle of creating one called ‘All borders’ where I have to used only borders to create a pattern. It is harder and less satisfying but I shall persevere.
I have so much to do and make for ‘Finding Time’ which is very ironic. I am currently making a 4 week action plan. It reminds me of how much I used to thrive on making the revision timetable (colour coding and all), always at the expense of the revision. You would have thought I’d learnt.
Spreadsheet art
My first attempt at spreadsheet art. I want to make abstract images using excel after realising that within my job role, choosing the colours is my favourite bit of building a spreadsheet.
