Edna Manley - Final Year Visual Arts Exhibition - 2012

I went to the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts recently for their final year show. There are some really talented young artists in Jamaica. It is clear that they put a lot of effort into the exhibition and I hope that this will be the beginning of greater things for them all. Unfortunately, I was unable to see all the student's work as some of the booths were closed on that day. However, I will share what I did manage to see.

Source: Ottoa Wilson's Final Year Exhibition

Source: Ottoa Wilson's Final Year Exhibition

Source: Ottoa Wilson's Final Year Exhibition

Source: Ottoa Wilson's Final Year Exhibition

Ottoa Wilson presented a body of work that examined the maligned nature of the Vulture (known in Jamaica as the John Crow). She utilized paint, collage and print techniques using familiar materials such as foil, linoleum and fabric to explore the subjects of dominance and subordination and the cultural practice of excessive decoration and heraldry to hide flaws. She highlights the magnificence of a creature that is often overlooked, ridiculed and ill-treated in an extremely thought-provoking way. For more information on Ottoa's work, she can be contacted at ottoa.wilson@yahoo.com.

Source: Esther Chin's Final Year Exhibition

Source: Esther Chin's Final Year Exhibition

Source: Esther Chin's Final Year Exhibition

Ether Chin is a BFA Painting student that has an affinity for flora and fauna. She seeks to utilize the delicate petals of local flowers in unconventional ways. Her process is organic and it bridges the disciplines of Fine Art and Fine Craft. Esther can be contacted at esch7@live.com. You can also check out her website www.esterchi.webs.com for more information.

Source: Nicholas Anglin's Final Year Exhibition

Source: Nicholas Anglin's Final Year Exhibition

Source: Nicholas Anglin's Final Year Exhibition

Source: Nicholas Anglin's Final Year Exhibition

Source: Nicholas Anglin's Final Year Exhibition

Nicholas Anglin is a Graphic Designer and Entrepreneur. For his final year presentation he introduced the first Struck by Gold 'SXG' pop up shop, showcasing a brand influenced by popular, youth culture. Through his vivid graphics and use of colour he aims to represent young talent in Jamaica by presenting a line of edgy apparel. See his website sxgclothing.com for more information or contact him via email at anglin.sxg@gmail.com.

To see more of the students' work, see the related links below:

http://www.petrinearcher.com/use-space

http://ayooutloud.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/edna-final-year-show-2012/

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120617/arts/arts1.html

Ok, so recently I've just been really craving Mediterranean food! I decided to try my hand at a few dishes and they came out marvelously well... if I may modestly say so (lol). If you're also a fan, you should definitely give these recipes a try!

Here's my Mediterranean Chicken Dish with pita bread and greens. (Would have loved to have done a Fattoush Salad but I didn't have all the ingredients at the time.) It was cooked with white wine and I must say that just brought out all the flavours beautifully!

....And here's my lovely Hummus Dip!

If you want to try these for yourself, I recommend these recipes:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mediterranean-chicken/

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hummus-iii/

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Salad/Vegetables/recipe.html?dishid=6977

I also considered trying this recipe: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1987/mediterranean+chicken+bake but I decided to try the one above first. I still think I'll give this one a whirl at some point soon.

Hope these recipes have wet your appetite! They certainly worked for me!

DIY Project - Fabric Covered Notebook

Last week I shared my Personalized, Glass Dish Decoupage Project with you. As promised, here's the other birthday gift project I attempted - A fabric covered notebook/journal. I drew my inspiration from homelife.com, but I ended up doing mine a little differently.

Here's the embellished finished product!

To get this look, all you will need is:

1. A notebook (preferably one without the metal spiral)
2. A piece of fabric that is large enough to cover the notebook with a 1-2 inch margin
3. Spray adhesive
4. Scissors
5. A ruler/measuring tape and pencil/chalk for precision (optional)
6. decorative button and ribbon (optional)
7. old newspaper to stop the spray adhesive getting everywhere

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Open the notebook and lay it on the fabric. 
• Cut the piece of fabric to a size that is about 1-2 inches bigger that the open notebook. You will bend and paste this margin onto the inside of the book cover later on (as if you were wrapping a gift). 

• Iron the piece of fabric so that there are no creases. 
• Spread newspaper over the area you intend to do the spraying. 

• Get the spray adhesive and cautiously spray it onto one side first - either the front or back outer cover. Then stick the wrong side of the fabric onto it, ensuring there are no creases or air bubbles. Spray and stick the fabric onto the other side next. 
• Use the scissors to cut vertical slits into the excess fabric at the top and bottom of the notebook, by the binding. This will enable you to getter a neater finish when you glue the excess fabric.

• Gently spray glue onto the wrong side of the excess fabric. Bend and stick them onto the inside of the book cover.

(Look at my chubby, little hand! lol Ignore that please)

• Miter the corners of the fabric to make it look neater. 

• Then cut 2 squares of fabric to cover the exposed area on the inside of the cover. ( I used white felt in this case because it was the only matching fabric I had at the time, but you can use whatever fabric you like, once it's not see-through.)

• If you like, you can embellish the notebook with a button and ribbon like I did. In this case, it would be advisable to sew the button on before you stick the fabric onto the cover of the notebook. Or, you can personalize it with whatever else you see fit, or just keep it simple. 

Hope you have fun with this one. 

Till next time, have a great weekend!