Objet Trouvé – Found Objet

No, this entry is not about the water bottle your daughter left at the last drawing class!I thought I might show you how some artists have been re-using objects in their sculptures way before he word “recycling” had ever been invented. It’s about serendipity. The most famous sculptures that come to mind are Picasso‘s Bull Head and Marcel Duchamp‘s Bicycle wheel. Marcel Duchamp even coined the term “Objet Trouvé“.

In his website “Understanding Duchamps”, Andrew Stafford explains that Duchamp was making a new kind of art: one that engages the mind rather than the eye.

I don’t think the artists new what their sculpture was planned. It’s an example of “top-down” design: you do with what you have. I enjoy working with recycled objects, and using them in children’s workshop. The difficulty is that you cannot really plan the workshop…. things just happen. But things really happen when you put unlikely objects next to each other. You see the world differently. You might want to go and see what children do with clay and found objects. It is one of my favorite workshops because it’s all in the hands of the children. The clay is really just coloured plasticine and can be used as “cement” or “glue” as well as bona fide material to build with.

I urge you to try this at home! Put objects together that don’t usually belong. And if you think you might need a little help, why not sign up for the Easter workshop.

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Announcing Postcards from Seletar

 

It is time to put up some information about my latest project: the Postcards from Seletar project. My role there is to provide the images for the 4 notebooks that will come out between now and the end of 2008 (also known officially as the end of Seletar Airbase). The pictures produced are meant to capture the spirit of the Airbase, as it still is in 2007. The 4 themes chosen will be: Nature, Architecture, Community and Heritage. In my point of view (and the point of view of many residents and Singaporeans at large), the Airbase is worth preserving in its actual from for either of the 4 reasons cited above. So, I am involved. As the illustrator. I will produce images for the 4 volumes. The postcards will be available as either a notebook (with tearable postcards) or greeting cards. If you would like to know what’s inside, click here.

And to celebrate the publishing of the notebook, there will be a party on the 29th of September on the Airbase, complete with a nature walk and makan under the stars, and with the Owls and Bats as witnesses. The complete program, together with registration, can be found here. 

So, here’s how I suggest you spend your 29th of September:

 

• Come to my workshop and make polymer beads (2 to 5 pm). You need to register and pay a fee for that one ($50). Information can be found in the Art&Craft section of this site.OR
• Go on a Nature Walk (4 to 6 pm). This is led by the Nature Society. They have listed 80 species of birds, including 10 endagered ones. As you walk through the streets of the camp, you will be able to spot many, familiar or less (they do tend to come out at dusk), and maybe see a snake or 2, a monitor lizard, recognise some of the trees… Spaces are limited, so you need to register (free) here: nature@postcardsfromseletar.com All details (location, exact timing…) will then be sent to you.
•  Go throw a pot! Resident potter Steven Low is opening his workshop for demonstrations and for hands-on clay experience. Email him at info@ru-rac.com or just show up at his studio, 13 Brompton Road, to see his work exhibited in the garden and more.
• Go and visit a very special garden. 4 Lancaster Gate (2-4 pm). Keng Seng is a very special gardener and will be happy to show you all sort of exotic plants growing in his garden.

 

After that…Come and enjoy a Makan Under the Stars. On the list of events then:

 

• View, Reserve and/or Buy the book. To reserve your copie(s) now, email Sue: sue@postcardsfromseletar.com
• Listen to poetry recital by award-winning poet, Daren Shiau- Listen to live music- Enjoy food, drink, and laughter with residents and friends.
• Meet other nature lovers.To enjoy all this, you need to register at garden@postcardsfromseletar.com The details of the location will then be sent to you.These events are by invitaion only, so do RSVP if you’d like to attend!

For now, it’s back to the drawing board, as I am preparing the next edition of postcards… Architecture. For a preview, come on the 29th. Alternatively, keep an eye out on the blog!

Art on the Go has moved!

This is Isadora’s Workshop’s new official blog. This is where all the information relating to the Workshop will be posted regularly so that you can keep up with what’s happening: new classes, workshops, registration deadlines, but also information about ongoing projects, links to students’ galleries.