Friends and Family Workshops - Thursday 2nd Aug - Mask Making

 

 

 

Project Ability's Summer Activities for Friends and Families have been a great success so far but don't worry if you haven't made it along yet - there is still one last chance to take part in a fantastic mask making workshop on Thursday 2nd August.  There are still a few spaces left on our afternoon class from 1:30-3pm.  These workshops are free but booking is essential and all young people must be accompanied by an adult.  Please contact us on 0141 552 2822 to secure your place.

If you can't make Thursday's class don't worry, there will be plenty more monthly Friends and Family Fun Weekends coming up - check our website here for more information on future monthly events.

Posted on 31st July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News  Trongate 103  Workshops 

Merchant City Festival

Today saw the first of our Puppet making workshops to celebrate this year’s Merchant City Festival.  This busy workshop was a hive of activity, with everyone involved creating their own wonderful and wacky creatures in paper puppet form.  All our participants worked very inventively using a variety of coloured cards and papers, and embellished their creations with coloured sticky back plastic, buttons, sequins and googly eyes!

 

Their characters were then brought to life with paper fasteners and wooden rods, helping them move and shake!  The results were fantastic, as you can see.  More puppet making fun will take place tomorrow Saturday 28th July. 

 

Please note this workshop is fully booked.

Posted on 27th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News 

Tommy Mason Horse Racing 1, 2, & 3 – Artwork of the Week #16

 

 

In the midst of this sporting weekend, our artwork of the week is Tommy Mason’s colourful Horse Racing series. Come and see Tommy’s jubilant horse scenes and more sporting heroes in our current exhibition Let the Games Begin Part 2, continues until 18 August.

Posted on 27th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: Artists  News 

Friends and Family Fun Workshops-Felting

Today’s friends and family fun workshops were a hive of activity as our participants learned the basics about wet felt making, with everyone creating their own felted picture. 

 

The end results were fantastic with beautiful images of animals such as a highland cow, sheep, a bear, a cat, sea horses, a hamster and a beloved pet budgie, all captured in felt! 

 

Other pieces included the Olympic rings, a night sky and Super Mario. Everyone enjoyed this ‘touchy feely’ workshops and the end results really reflect that they did.

 

Well done to all involved!

Posted on 26th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News 

Arts Awards Film Workshops

 

 

There are still some spaces left for the Arts Awards Film Workshops for young people aged 14-25 years. We are offering the opportunity to participate in a film making programme with a twist! Instead of just making a film you will research an arts hero, keep a log of your progression from week to week, share your findings and new skills with others and explore new areas of film making and critiquing as an audience member.

At the end of the programme your folio of research, evidence and findings will be assessed by a member of the Arts Awards Team who will be responsible for approving awards. Arts Awards is an accredited programme managed by Trinity College London. More information on Arts Awards can be found on their Website.

This 18 week Programme will require a great deal of commitment and effort but will be rewarding and good fun! Classes will run on the following dates:

14-18 years

Date: Tuesday 7th August – 11th December (excluding 16th October)

Time: 6-8:30pm

Cost: Free

18-25 years

Date: Thursday 9th August – 13th December (excluding 18th October)

Time: 6-8:30pm

Cost: Free

If you would like to book a place or chat further about Arts Awards and what to expect from the programme you can email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call on 0141 552 2822.

Posted on 25th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News 

Aspire Classes

Aspire classes restart Monday 30th July and run for eight weeks.  Places are allocated on a first come basis so please return you booking form as soon as possible.   The workshop theme is Big Skies.  Or if today is anything to go by Soggy Grey Skies. We look forward to seeing you all next week. 

 

 

 

Posted on 23rd July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News 

Lesley Nimmo - Budgie: Artwork of the Week #15

 

Next in our artwork of the week series, we bring you a painting by Lesley Nimmo. Budgie is from Lesley’s series of long-tailed tropical birds that appear to have come from an untouched tropical haven. Lesley creates her images from soft swathes of colour using a large paintbrush that solidifies the image against the white background, bringing it to life.

We are looking forward to Lesley’s solo exhibition in Project Ability's Gallery in August 2012.

Posted on 20th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: Artists  News 

Lennox Castle Stories

On Friday 29th June the Lennox Castle group went on a bus trip to the site of Lennox Castle Hospital.  There's not much left to see as a housing estate has been built on the site of the old hospital.  Although the "oval" (staff housing) had long ago been sold on as private housing the familiar layout is still there and the "doctors" house up the hill and the gate house on the Crow Road and within the grounds the roads and paths up and down the hill - so there was still plenty of material to spark off conversation. 

Celtic Football Club let the group park the bus in the carpark of their training facility and from the top of the hill they could see the ruins of the old castle and in places the original red stone walls which still surround the site.  At the foot of the Campsies, on a wet and windy day it was an atmospheric experience! 

For some in the group it was their first time back to Lennoxtown in years while others return quite often to walk in the hills.  

The group continue to meet at Project Ability on Friday mornings. 

 

Posted on 19th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News 

Create Summer Studios

This month, a group of young people aged 14 to 25 yrs have been accessing supported studio days at Project Ability.

 

Michael spent last week drawing some ideas for making a movie, he then used items he found around the studio and space in our project room to begin to film some sets.

‘It has been good fun figuring out how to build a movie set with found objects and then experimenting to get the right camera angles. The camera equipment and software is great as I don’t have anything like that at home.’

 

 

 Kevin has also been attending and has been experimenting with acrylic on canvas and with shells and clay.

‘It is good being able to use my hands to feel the texture of the shells, the clay and the paint on the canvas’

 

 

Michael attended today with big brother Shaun and has been using coloured pens to create Manga inspired drawings,

‘It’s been really good fun and I’d like to come again’

Shaun has been busy painting cartoon characters,

‘The art classes are great and I am painting The Simpsons’

 

 

 

Terry is working away on large colourful drawings on acetate which are inspired by a computer game and which he is going to use in an animation,

‘I love being here and I love painting’

 

Posted on 19th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News 

Film Makers Fundraising Campaign

Please help us raise money to purchase up-to-date film making equipment. 

Since the campaign was launched last month we have been making lots of application to Trusts and Foundations to help us raise the funds we need to buy a new lap top, HD camera, animation software and ipads. 

You can help the campaign by donating cash and remember if you are a UK taxpayer you can claim gift aid, which allows us to increase the size of your donation by 25%, or through our secure justgiving site.

We have a terrific amount of film making projects in the pipeline; Introduction to Film for 6 to 12 year olds starts 22 August, the Arts Awards Film Programme  begins on the 7th August and last week we received funding from Young Start to support older film makers deliver a new film festival in 2014. 

Please help us reach our target of £7500.  All donations will be thankfully received.

Posted on 18th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News 

We have lots of great arts activities for children and young people starting in August

 

 

 

 

Art Matters: Project Ability is pleased to offer our "older" young people an exciting new Saturday Class. In addition to our Saturday Visual Arts workshops, which will now cater only for 5-21 year olds, Project Ability are launching their new ‘Art Matters’ Saturday classes for 21-28 year olds.  Art Matters starts Saturday 18th August 2012.

Current participants who are over 21 will now join this exciting new class at the slightly later and longer time of 4:30-6:30pm.

This 2 hour class will run in 8 week blocks on the same days as the Saturday Visual Arts Classes. It will provide a supported environment to meet other young people, socialise and create great artwork - whether you are interested in painting, film making, ceramics or any other visual arts.

For further informaiton please visit our programme section on the website by clicking here.

 

Saturday Visual Art Classes 

 

 

The Saturday Visual Arts classes for children and young people aged 5-21 are back from 18th August. If you are on our mailing list you will receive your booking form through the post shortly. If you are new to the Saturday workshops and would like more information please click here.

If you are over 21 and normally attend the Create Saturday Classes you can now attend the new 'Art Matters' group.

 

Introduction to Film Workshops

 

 

Project Ability's ever popular Introduction to Film workshops are back in August! So if you are aged 6-12 and are interested in film making and animation why not come along to our Wednesday evening classes. More information on the workshops can be found here.

Posted on 17th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: Film & Animation  News  Trongate 103  Workshops 

Lachlan Mulheran & Vincent May ‘Masks’ - Artwork of the Week #14


Today is Friday the 13th and with the day’s foreboding reputation for widespread superstition we bring you these two mysterious characters, masks made by Lachlan Mulheran and Vincent May. These two intriguing pieces, one red-purple by Vincent May and the other blue-green by Lachlan Mulheran, are made from ceramic and layers of acrylic paint to obtain their rough appearance. The masks’ ‘painted skins’ share a varied viscous surface but have their own hauntingly allusive characters achieved through a splendidly untidy reworking of paint.

Don’t miss your chance to see the masks and all the other innovative works by Create’s children and young people in the exhibition Young Talent. Continues in Project Ability's gallery, tomorrow Saturday 14 July 10-5pm. 


Posted on 13th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: Exhibitions  News  Trongate 103  Workshops 

Create Summer Friends and Family Workshops

The young people at todays's Create Summer "friends and family" workshops were making beautiful, colourful kites, with a little bit of help from friends and family. We look forward to seeing all the other wonderful creations being made at these workshops.

Workshops are held in Project Ability's centre every Thursday through to Thursday 2nd August.

Posted on 12th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News 

Young Start

 

We are delighted to announce that “Young Start” have awarded funding to Project Ability’s Create Programme.   

The Project Ability Film Makers will be spending the next 18 months working together to develop and promote the first ever Project Ability Film Festival.  

The Project Ability Film Festival will be run by young people with disabilities. In 2013 the group will organise an event to launch an international call out to young filmmakers with disabilities to submit their films for The 2014 Project Ability Film Festival.

Project Ability Film Group will work together to select films for their festival and devise themes and categories for the screenings. The group will use their vast film experience and quirky filmmaking approach to promote the festival by creating new film works and designing posters and logos. 

The Festival in early 2014, will be the first of Project Ability’s 30th anniversary celebrations. 

Watch this space for further news on this exciting opportunity!

 

Posted on 12th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News 

Volunteer Opportunities

 

 

Project Ability has new volunteer opportunities for graduate artists, to contribute to our forthcoming Autumn Workshop Programme 2012. 

We are looking for an artist with skills in ceramics and an artist with skills in printmaking to support our ‘Aspire’ participants, starting the week commencing 27th August through to the week beginning 26th November 2012.  Volunteers for these roles should be able to commit at least 2 hours per week. 

We are also hoping to recruit six artists for our ‘Create’ Saturday Workshop Programme.  We have two opportunities from 10 am to 12:30pm to volunteer with our youngest artists aged 5 – 12 years and two opportunities from 1pm to 4pm to support young people aged 12 - 21 years.  We also have a further two opportunities to volunteer with “Art Matters” our 21 – 28 year old artists, in a new ‘studio time’ slot from 4pm – 6pm.   These volunteer positions will run from Saturday 25th August until Saturday 15th December 2012.

All these positions are based at our workshop in Trongate 103.  Travel expenses will be paid.

If you are interested in volunteering in one of these roles please complete the application form and return it to Tracy Gorman at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Closing date for applications is Friday 10th of August 2012.   Informal Interviews will be held the week beginning 20th of August.

If you have any queries regarding these positions, please feel free to contact our Volunteer Co-ordinator, Tracy Gorman.

Posted on 12th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News  Recruitment & Volunteering  Trongate 103  Workshops 

Booking is now open for Aspire classes : July to September 2012.

 

 

The Aspire programme restarts Monday 30th July 2012.  There are two classes a day, Monday to Thursday and one class on Fridays.  Classes run for eight sessions.  Charges apply.

For further information please contact 0141 552 2822 or check the website for further details.

Posted on 10th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News  Workshops 

“On Your Marks”

 ...........and the race is over!

Camerons' weight lifter has raised the bar!

Edwards' cyclist is heading for the finish line.

Steven's motor cyclist emerges triumphantly from the pit stop!

These paintings will be on show in the gallery in "Let the Games Begin part 2" from the 21st July 2012

 

Posted on 6th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News 

On Friday 29th June, Project Ability attended Common Wheel’s “Tea in the Garden” at Gartnavel

 

A partnership between Common Wheel and the Glasgow Jazz Festival to bring professional jazz musicians into the grounds of Gartnavel Royal Hospital saw a live performance by Danish Jazz pianist Helle Lund and Scottish saxophonist, Raymond MacDonald.  The event was attended by professionals in the field, participants in Common Wheel services, NHS staff from across Glasgow, carers and patients from the Gartnavel Royal wards.



Project Ability artists Joanna, Janette, Celine, John, Malcolm and Simon were on site to sketch the action.  Click here for more images

Posted on 6th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News 

Martin Sloss Untitled – Artwork of the Week #13

 

This week, we are pleased to bring you this interesting painting by Martin Sloss – an artist from our Aspire programme and a recent addition to our artists' directory.

Martin works from photographs and his painting is reminiscent of a Californian streetscape painted with unusual yet harmonious chromatic reality. Plentiful amounts of thick paint give Martin’s paintings an object-quality, repeating compositional formats that show only part of the picture or scene creating landscapes that have an abstract and a stylized quality.

Posted on 6th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: News 

Residency: Simon McAuley June 2012






Following Simon’s third residency, we trace his thoughts and production from the first drawings in 2009 to where his practice is now. This most recent series of works represent a recent transition from drawing to painting and demonstrate a reworking of painting's conventions at their most radically reduced. In the artist’s own words, it is apparent that he is a painter for whom painting is an uninterrupted personal investigation. Simon tests painting's material and conceptual possibilities with the attitude “learning as you go along”. The prospect or outcome of his practice remains an open question; answerable only through the production of new works.

This is your third year as artist in residence in Project Ability. Did this particular time reveal anything to you about your practice that you didn’t know already?

Yes, year three. It is strange really, a number of things have changed. This is the place I have been spending most of my days and I have completed the first wave of paintings. I decided not to do any painting before I got here, one of the first days I was working, there were sparks coming from my head.





Can you tell me a bit about your transition from a drawing tradition to a painting one?

Things have taken a considerable leap in a painterly direction; I had anticipated for a while that would happen. I like that space between drawing and painting; it feels like a very ambiguous place. I think it was a seamless transition - I started to make a number of paintings and tried not to think too much about how the materials were going to fit into the previous work, into my previous drawings. I feel that I wouldn’t have known how successful I could be as a painter, until I had actually done a painting.

I am interested in the starting points of your paintings. Are you able to tell me where the line comes from, do you use any kind of systematic procedures?

I always have in mind minimalist ideals and also how I can push paint. On the other hand, a lot of my decisions are quite personal; they operate as part of a more intuitive process rather than a theoretical one. With regards to a lot of the drawing I have done in the past, I enjoy making marks with paint a lot more in a way that didn’t with the drawings. There is much control involved in drawing, you can be free with paint and I like the idea that it is not a repeatable mark that can ever be reproduced again.





Your work has developed links with traditional painting. Are you happy to be seen as a traditional painter?

Looking back now I understand the drawings more and with painting, I have reached a phase where I don’t need that preliminary drawing stage. Even though I consider the paintings and the drawings to be different, I still consider the thinking to be the same. I work with happy colours. I like to be playful and really enjoy painting colour. When I make decisions it can be about happiness. I have deliberately used a lot of white to achieve a very pastel, saccharine, sweetie effect. When I think about colour, I first like to see how they behave with each other, think about what it is that I want the colour to do. I haven’t used oils for 20 years; oil gives me more control over the manipulation of the paint while I get a feel for my palette.

Your works are always untitled, is it because they have no representational meaning?

Not at the moment. Landscape is still important in my work, I have still held onto that but that’s not to say that in the future those references won’t fade as the painting comes to the fore. Rather than thinking of a title, I work towards getting to a point where I think that a work is finished.





What are your influences?

Artists, Richter, Monet. I am interested in Monet because of the way he handles light. Not only painters, I am influenced by concrete poetry, minimalism, I have always wanted to be that kind of painter.

Where will you go from here?

I will continue painting.








Simon will be exhibiting in the residency exhibition, Project Ability Gallery in early 2013. 


Posted on 4th July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: Artists  Exhibitions  News  Recruitment & Volunteering  Residency 

Meet the volunteers: Edward Henry

 

 

Edward Henry has been attending Project Ability since 1994 having previously attended The Renfield Day Centre on Bath Street, where in recognising his talent for drawing and painting they recommended he come and join us.

Edward’s artwork is influenced by television, books and more recently he has been learning to use the internet at some of Projects Ability’s blog workshops, where he also finds inspiration. He likes to work with acrylic paints as it dry’s very quickly and changes can easily be made.

Edward say’s

‘I am inspired by the things I see around me and my imagination. I have been painting since I was 5 years old. I have had exhibitions in Sweden, the South of France, Ireland, Wales and all over Scotland. In 2000 I had an exhibition in Japan of my sunset paintings which are my favourite subject. Project Ability has done a lot for me over the last few years and has helped me to get my work in to lots of exhibitions.’

As well as attending Project Ability’s Aspire  programme once a week, Edward also volunteers in our Gallery manning the reception desk, providing our visitors with information about our exhibitions, workshops, artists and selling goods from our shop.

‘Helping in the gallery is a good volunteering opportunity. There is lots to learn and I like meeting and helping people. I have made lots of new friends’

Posted on 3rd July 2012 by PA Editor : permalink
Categories: Artists  News  Recruitment & Volunteering  Trongate 103