DJCAD Degree Show 2011: My Highlights

Well- time really does fly and I can't believe that it has been three years since I put on my Fine Art Show at Duncan of Jordanstone. My work has changed so much since then- and I'm altogether more design-led in what I do now- but if you fancy a nosey at my expressive Fine Art roots then you can peruse the photos from my show- feedback welcome!

Anyway- less about me...the current DJCAD Degree show opened last Friday, and runs all of this week until Sunday the 29th of May. There is tonnes to see- and today I went back for my second look. Below is a list of my personal recommendations of what you should explore the Duncan of Jordanstone labyrinth to find.


Sarah Johnston - Fine Art

I really liked Sarah's whole space- it had a lovely crisp, minimal feel but with plenty of humour and character. I especially loved her "My life is a mess: Why?" book of questions. You can see more of Sarah's work here.

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Hannah Champion: Art, Philosophy & Contempory Practices

I'm not usually one for video art- but I spent ages in this space. The aerobics ladies are teamed up with a pretty repulsive eating-cake-off-the ground video. While the repetitive audio/visual of the 80's aerobics gals takes precedence at first glance, I found myself filtering the beat out to concentrate on the cake video. I'm not sure if it made me want to do any excercise- but it did put me off cake (a bit- this a pretty mean feat when it comes to myself and cake). You can see more of Hannah's work over on her blog but her space (the outdoor sculpture sheds) is definitely worth a visit! [screenshot courtesy of Hannah's Blog]

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Nicola Keir - Textile Design

Nicola Keir's work was easily my favourite part of the textile design show. I felt that there was quite a noticable presence of new technology amongst the exhibits (hello, laser-cutter!) and it was really nice to see someone going back to basics with an entirely hand-made approach. I'd happily have any of these gorgeously chunky and nostalgic floor cushions and pouffes- they are lovely!

Down-time: Baking and Haircuts

I read an interesting proverb about "work" this week: It was about how a wood-cutter's wood-chopping ability decreased over time- not because he stopped working hard, but because he was so busy working his hardest- he forgot to sharpen his axe.

So, with that in mind, I decided to sharpen my axe today, by going for a haircut, and doing some baking!

I've not had a proper haircut in about 4 months- and when I saw that there was a Groupon deal for a £14 Cut and Blow-dry at Dundee's Retro Hair, I decided that this would be a good time! If you were wondering what it was like before: it was about twice as long and thrice as straggly. Much better!

I also baked these amazing Cinnamon Rolls (this is the photo just before I added the cream-cheese frosting). Cinnamon is my absolute favourite flavour of sweet treat- and I feel quite clever that I made them all by myself- as I always thought they'd be really tricky to make. I used a No-Yeast recipe and substituted the buttermilk (which is pretty hard to get in Scotland) with a yoghurt/milk mix- and they are delicious.

Under Construction

After locking myself in the flat for the last week- I have finally started to get my head around web-design. It's a slow process but I'm learning lots and I'm definitely on my way to having my very own, built-by-me website! You can have a peep as it is at the moment over at http://www.nikkimcwilliams.com/.

I'll be putting it all together along with a nice fresh new look over the next few weeks- and will let you know when the grand unveiling will take place

In the mean time keep up with me on twitter.

The Weather is Sweet

Not only yesterday was I praying for time to move a bit faster towards my sunny holiday in Cyprus this July- and now the weather in Dundee is GLORIOUS! So, this morning I set up office on my window ledge, opened the window and caught me some rays: as this might be my only opportunity to get some sunshine:

A) In Scotland

B) In April

C) From my gardenless 4th floor flat.

I'm tryin on the garden front though- check out my jolly Daffodils outside! And seeing as the weather is warming up- it is most definitely time to break out the Ice Cream Sandwiches! The ones in my photo above are so easy to make- they're just a good vanilla ice cream in between 2 digestives- then put back into the freezer to turn the biscuit slightly soft. So good!