All the exam work is done in The Expressive Arts. Now time to display and tweek to ensure you all do the best you can! Across college the rest of you are preparing to begin or to complete those precious last few hours before you can continue with the rest of your life. Exciting times. With that in mind, I have some more calming activities. Some creative insight, recommended to you by a peer, a Boltonian fashion mogul and community thinker, a couple of cool TV and Film opportunities and reasons to visit Liverpool and beyond. I hope you enjoy it! Remember, everything is interesting when you look properly!
LAST CHANCE TO SEE: BLUEBELLS
These images are all taking in Roddlesworth Wood last year. However this weekend will be a great week to get down yourself as they should be back in full bloom again. They are short lived so you only have a week or so to get the full carpet of bluebells effect. There are plenty of other places to see them too but Roddlesworth is local and easy to access, with plenty of walks. I saw loads in the lakes a fortnight a go and they were just appearing in Aysgarth, North Yorkshire, last weekend. A regular visitor said last week the bloom was just about to start. That was last weekend, so this weekend is your opportunity to see one of the great spring spectacles. Very social media friendly and remember to look but don't touch they are an increasing rare sight in the UK.
KIAN PATEL: AT95
Boltonian (West Houghton) Kian Patel has set him self up as the go to Gorp Core stylist and creative. He has worked with many brands but his Hike Society Project with collaboration with outdoor brand Columbia has given him a broader platform.
During the evening he is a chef but he spends his days out in the hills taking photos and trying out walking gear. (showing your job doesn't have to be an excuse for not getting work done)
He is this week's guest on, much featured, My Own Garms. It's fantastic to hear how he researches and scours the internet for cool and rare clothing. Then takes his friends and colleagues on walks to photograph them, searching for locations that fit the colours of the clothes. Then documents in all with features in SideTracked amongst others. and All inspired by Tavis Scott's Fit pics.
"Get your outfit and go and match it to the background and see how crazy you can make it! Test yourself whilst your doing it, testing how to find your locations or how long it takes to get the outfit together."
WATCH THE INTERVIEW BELOW!
Kian started taking photos of his mates with disposable cameras and now uses similar techniques for brands such as Merrell, Barbour, Columbia, Size, Manchester United, Gander Gander, Purple Mountain Observatory and loads of others. It's well worth a follow on the socials.
FILM: TOVE
A crtically acclaimed film about Tove Jansson, who created the Moomins. It's a story of standing up for yourself against an oppressive parent and discovering who you really are. In the film you see Jansson's ideas for the Moonmins be undermined with a focus on more traditional art forms, but the stories were her passion and she develops those ideas whilst practicing her more traditional art, until it's the Moonmin's that get her the creative acknowledgment she deserves. (The film is a 12 rating but there is a bit of nudity as a heads up.)
BBC 4: THIS CULTURAL LIFE
TV, Radio and Podcasts. Insightful interviews with some of cultures greats. See what inspires them and how they navigate their own creative practise. It's a fantastic insight into creative practise so you can see how despite different career paths many of the processes and habitats for best practise are the same. This understanding is a vital skill Universities are looking for.
A FILM FAN'S GUIDE TO..... LIVERPOOL
These are great short clips where Ali Plumb explains why and shows us the locations of some of the most iconic films and series. Often to make a world more believable filmmakers work in real locations and then transform them into a space port of Gotham City. In the post about The Creator from earlier in the year, Gareth Edwards explained beautifully why locations are better than Green Screen. Recent Star Wars films also use locations such as Cleveleys to make the action more lived in. This series shows a wide range of places, but I chose Liverpool as it's easy for you to visit if you are interested.
"BBC Radio 1's film critic Ali Plumb explores the UK’s most iconic and unexpected film locations across the UK in "The Film Fan's Guide To...", a new series all about the movies you never know were shot just down the road. Ali provides cinemagoers with a guide to this ‘film location nation’, stepping into the scenes themselves to bring the magic to life. In this episode, Ali travels through the silver screen sights of Liverpool, including The Batman, Fantastic Beasts, Nowhere Boy and many more..." BBC Website
The whole series is also available on YouTube.
PODCAST: TALKING WITH PAINTERS
Recommended by Eira, because it was really informative about the creative process and the development of ideas in Episode 114, artist Kim Leutwyler explains how their ideas and styles can transition from one place to another.
"I found it first from a clip on youtube and listened to the rest on Spotify,"