Tag: creative mind
Thank you…
I have some very exciting news!!! Earlier today I found out that I have been accpeted as the 2014/2015 Resident artist at the Wollongong Art Gallery!! I applies several weeks ago, I was notified that I had been short listed last week and had an interview yesterday. I wanted to share the good news with you all and send out a very big thank you to everyone; friends, family, peers, who have supported me thus far in my journey as an artist and creative practitioner. Thank you for buying works, your kind and constructive criticisms, words of encouragement, drinks, beers, coffee’s and food that so many of you have selflessly shared with me over the years, and not to mention the loaning, sharing and donations of various art materials and supplies. I would even like to extend a thank you to the people who did not support me, had only negative things to say about me and my work. Thank you to you because you taught me that no matter how many set backs you have, how many rejections, how many negative comments are made, no matter how hard it gets; or how hard people choose to make it for you, that you should never give up on your dreams and aspirations.
As many of you will know, art and painting are more to me than just a hobby, more than just a passion or something I am keen on. It is a way of life, I live it, I breathe it every day. An additional thank you to everyone who wished me luck and sent their congratulations today. I only say sorry to those who I didn’t get to text only because my regular phone is in for repairs and I have been trying to get everyone’s numbers back. But I hope this status reaches you, once again a big thank you to all.
Now I will be committed to sustaining a regular practice through the gallery’s residency program; much like I have been practising full time. However, this opportunity will afford me my own creative space; a studio within the Wollongong Art Gallery itself. Over the next 12 months I will be working and producing work to go towards and exhibition. I will also be engaging with gallery patrons and members of the great public through the gallery’s community engagement programs; giving artist talks, studio visits, workshops and more.
As some of you may know I am already painting towards an exhibition at the Wollongong Art Gallery called “Fractured Beauty” which will be in September, and I also have a commission to complete for a charity fundraiser in October. I will be quite busy over the coming few months and even busier over the coming year. So I will apologize in advance if I don’t get to spend much time with everyone of my friends, family and peers. I hope that you all understand the great commitment that I will be making over the next twelve months. Though I think that you all do. To the 2000+ people who follow me through my artists page, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr etc. I will definitely be continuing my posts on a regular basis. Posting progress shots and updates about my work and my working practice.
I’ll leave it at that for now, since I’m guessing this might be turning into a bit of an essay to read. But I really want to say thank you one last time; even though it could be said a thousand times more, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Archibald Prize Winner 2014 – Fiona Lowry
Photography Friday
Art This Week-At the McKinney Avenue Contemporary
Art This Week-At the McKinney Avenue Contemporary…: http://youtu.be/G8nTHsC5k6o
Constructive criticism
When criticizing any creative work, whether it be visual art, music, film, dance, performance. You should be firm, critical and constructive. Be honest, but don’t tear the person apart for their work. Suggest where they need to improve and highlight the positives.
Now I’m not saying that you need to baby them, be very honest about what you truely think, but so brutal that you bring the person to tears and completely turn them off creating work. Ensure that whatever your criticism is, make sure you help them to improve, grow, strengthen. Rather than break them down and leave them in a crumbled heap.
Followers milestone, my absence on WordPress, my practice.
Well this blog originally began as a course requirement for University, however it morphed into something else. It became another place for me to share my thoughts on art and my own art practice at length. Although I have not yet posted anything of academic substance I feel that I have been able to make my voice be heard, however soft it may be at this time.
I recently achieved the 20 followers milestone on my blog, kinda feels like unlocking an achievement in a video game to be quite honest. 20 followers is definitely a solid milestone, considering that at the beginning I did not intend to use this blog anymore than I felt that I needed to, and here we are, just over a year later and I am still posting content as regularly as I can. I know that I have been quite absent, I have given up on the artist of the week feature, it felt as though it was a bit of a waste, I was merely copying and pasting biographical text from the source site (with proper references and acknowledgements) as well as images. It didn’t feel as though I was contributing anything besides a digital regurgitation of an artists brief bio and some examples of their work. I want to create pieces of writing in my own words about the artists that interest me rather than just cutting and pasting some info on them. I am aiming on creating more critical pieces of writing, however, as many writers; art writers in particular, will know it isn’t an easy job to just pop out any old bit of critical writing. Much like my paintings and other work it takes time to construct, edit and refine. So bare with me.
I am also wanting to produce reviews on shows that I have seen, although history will prove that art critics aren’t always the most popular people when they write negatively about an artist or their work. Well whatever I may write will be my opinion, it doesn’t need to be taken as “God’s word”, and I encourage feedback and correspondence from my subscribers (constructive and thought through).
As for my practice, I have had a rather fruitful year. Producing somewhere in the range of 50-60 works in total (should really do a count). I have been involved in a solid number of group shows and I finally had my own solo show as well as being involved in a group show in a Sydney gallery. I accomplished more than I thought I would in a year. I have grown my Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram and I am actively trying to further my blog/website; raising the bar on how well my social media outlets perform and how well they’re going at helping me get my work out their and grow the audience for it. As I will be seeking paid employment in the new year, I imagine my production of paintings and works on paper may slow down somewhat. Though it may slow down, this does not mean that it will cease completely, now way!!! I am aiming to be involved in more group shows this coming year; 2014. And I also am aiming to have another solo show; I will be trying to make it a regular event every year; of course some years I may not be able to produce a substantial amount of work, but group shows will always be a staple in my exhibiting schedule.
Many thanks to everyone who has supported me for the last seven years. Who would have thought that I would have become what I am today; even if that isn’t much. I am doing what I love, people are responding to it positively and constructively for the most part. For those who only know how to respond negatively, I am reminded of some people’s inadequacies and I keep my head up and my feet moving past your ignorance.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Regards,
Nik.
Place and Memory.
Place and Memory: An exhibition of recent work by Nik Uzunovski
So it is just around the corner, my first ever solo exhibition. I am excited, nervous, anxious, happy, sad, relieved and all the rest. I hope that everyone is able to make it. I of course understand that there are people who follow my blog who are from other countries and I am sure that you will be with me in spirit, for those who are in the state of NSW and more specifically the Sydney, South Coast and Illawarra areas I encourage you to come along to my exhibition and show your support for an emerging, local, young creative. Thank you.Â