Photographed and Styled by Helen Williams

my favourite places to go in london

rough trade east

cafe 1001, brick lane

truman brewery on sundays

the city arts & music project

viktor wynd's the last tuesday society

broadway market (vintage clothes stall)

wilkinson gallery

st helens church

weatherspoons, liverpool street station

magma, clerkenwell road

leather lane market (magazine stall)

lomography gallery shop

the photographer's gallery

h&m, camden town

stratford picture house

throwaway

Our culture has been described as that of a throwaway one, where we chuck things out nearly as soon as we buy it. Buying something, using ir for a short while, throwing it away, buying something... A never ending circle. Perhaps habits we cannot get out of, or try not to. Things building up in our houses, in bins, in landfills, becoming a burden. We try filling our lives with what we think satisfies us, only to leave us more empty, wanting more and more. In my photographs I represent the building up process, and the more objects that pile on, the more hunched my model becomes. The photos will be presented in a carousel of a slide projector so once we have seen the process, it is repeated again and again, reflecting our culture.

thoughts

Is there any point?
Has science buried God?


... is the title of the upcoming evangelistic event at Central Saint Martins :)
Posters are up, the venue is booked and the speaker is ready to do this.

I'm really excited to see what God has planned for this night, and who will come and what they will want to discuss.

I have been editing my film today and also got my slides back from processing, they turned out well which is good (this is the second try). Next week is my deadline and my exhibition is in mid June. My time in London is slowly coming to an end, and it's very sad. I'm going to miss the people at St Helens as I've become really settled there. I know that I need to be doing something different next year, and God willing this will happen. I have applied for two youth internships, one at a church and another as part of a youth ministry team for a town.

a shell of a person

This is Joanie, with paper plate 'shells' on her.

A shell can be the hard covering of an egg or nut.

A shell can be the hard protective covering on the back of a tortoise, snail or crab.

A shell can be the frame or a building or other structure

A shell is the external proctective or enclosing cover. Like a house, that holds our belongings and protects our lives. This reminds me of 2 Corinthians 4:7 "We have this treasure from God, but we are like clay jars that hold the treasure. This shows the great power is from God, not from us." Here we as human beings are described as shells, that hold God's belongings and treasure. This sounds so much better and amazing than the stuff that we accumilate throughout our lives. If you have read earlier posts, you would know that my project is about consumption, stuff, things that in the end could become a burden on us, or obsessions. But comparing our bodies as shells like in the 2 Corinth passage, it is a much more exciting concept, actually better than a concept, because it is true.

rubber dress

My latest experiment using rubber gloves. Pretty cute dress I think...

initial ideas

I am sitting in my room listening to beach house and painting in my sketchbook. As you know I'm on my last project on my Foundation course, and Joanie and I still want to create a costume. It is going to be of objects, household, etc on the body and becoming a burden on the person wearing them, we have decided to film this on a beach, linking to the idea of survival, and needing food and equipment to survive.

I had a relaxing Easter holidays (too relaxing I think) and it gave me plenty of time to think about what I want to do. I will let you know more about this later.

In the mean time, I am going to an interview soon for another art publication internship. Then Joanie is coming round and we are just going to experiment with objects we have.

AnOther magazine

http://www.anothermag.com/exclusives/marioncotillard

AnOther's own performance of actress Marion Cotillard.

Am in their office right now doing research and thought I'd post here. I'm learning alot about Macs and obviously the magazine environment and it's very inspiring, I've actually had an email back from another magazine I had contacted, Next Level about a possible internship.

I can see myself doing this again next year but am also interested in going to Berlin or somewhere, especially to see a city's Biennale or Triennial.

Meeting Joanie tomorrow and we're going to watch A Clockwork Orange (I know) and Pan's Labyrinth for our project, and start being productive!

regents canal

bodily forms

I was at the National Theatre Costume Store today and check out this outfit! I was playing with bulbous forms attatched to the body and also a cage giving it a hard edge. I wore a tight corset underneath too, it hurt a bit.. So here is the photo of the day.

Looking forward to my internship with AnOther magazine this week. Also really enjoyed the Dazed & Confused party I went to on Thursday, especially when I wasn't on the guest list, mwhuahauaha...

Really tired from my trip to Bristol, was good to see old friends and party inside in the warm. Then again it is getting a bit warmer here in England.. which I like :)

Saw a new member come to CU as she had seen the posters woop. We had our last one on Thursday for the Easter holidays. At the moment though I need to organise a date for the God Vs Science talk that will probably happen in May.

Need to do more work on my proposal, see you later.x

flesh tones

This is definitely already inspiring my thoughts for my current project, it's by Lucy and Bart. Check them out on http://www.lucyandbart.blogspot.com/ it's all about blogspot at the mo. Anyway, Joanie and I have been talking about restriction of movement of the body in a form of conceptual costume.. interesting stuff, and I just got back from Eva Hesse's Studio works exhibition, so I'm all in the 'let's go all organic' vibe.. Also i'm seeing a theme, I saw tights in a group exhibition from MA Wimbledon students at The Nunnery on Bow road (Another exhibition I have literally just got back from, part of Time Out First Thursdays where galleries in east london open later on the first thursday of every month.. nice chilled atmosphere, and the wine helps).

Yeah so in this piece called Coffee Rains, the artist Dari Bae hung nude colour tights from hangers on string from the ceiling. Coffee had been stuffed into the tights, so it weighed down the legs, some further than others, and there was a very strong coffee smell as you could imagine. I felt like coffee may fall on my head, but like the mounds fallen onto the floor, and the effect of the stained and ripped tights.

So do I copy these people and go with tights? Of course not, what would be the fun in that! I take the idea of tights and extend it further... so like femininity, idea of concealing something, tightness, being trapped, etc. The trapped one is interesting because in the Book of Sand, the character finds himself trapped phycologically by the presence of the surreal and living book, which does not have a beginning nor an end. So Joanie and I took this idea back to the costume and the body, and thought of creating something that would restrict movement. Being trapped in it. Physcologically or physically? Only time can tell...

Yay yay Chris Coldfield a staff work for UCCF can do the talk on God Vs Science! He just needs to know dates and times which we need to organise, hurrah hurrah. So excited about this, have never organised an event before but I know I'm not on my own.

It was such a nice sunny day today! I walked from Hackney to Angel via Regents Canal, both beautiful and not so beautiful scenery, ha. Really inspiring though, took some photos on my automatic film camera. And I was reading 'Jesus in College' a book Beth leant to me, about a girl who starts up a CU in her college (sounds familiar...) and organising evangelistic events and the ups and downs that go with it. Encouraging story, I am especially encouraged by the event that will happen at University of the Arts London!

Will keep you posted guys.

Helen x

Sooo inspired after CU training weekend. I want to organise with my fellow CU commitee members a talk called GOD VS SCIENCE. Wow.

A UCCF staff worker did this for a London university a couple of months ago and was a good turn out, I'm not susprised. This is huge stuff. And I believe it can challenge and get the attention from students of University of the Arts London. Yeah so this is something I can see us planning for next term!

Starting my new project (MY LAST PROJECT...) now and I am collaborating with Joanie in my class, really looking forward to working with her, she has a particular interest in costume and styling. Our starting point is Book of Sand by Jorge Luis Borges, which is about an infinite ending book, amongst other themes. So we are again at the process of reading the text and withdrawing from it themes and ideas for the project. The project proposal we have to write ourselves, and identify what we want to for the project and what we want to learn.

Also I will be having a one to one with a member of St Helens every week. A one to one is when a maturer christian meets with a younger christian and study the Bible together and discuss christian issues and debates.. Excited about this.

Hope you're all ok, take care. Helen x

Installation view of Tin Can People

Comments are welcome by the way

I saw his face! (Johnny Depp) We heard screaming and then his face at the back of the car, he had his window down, aww! Horrible weather didn't make us stay long though. Really want to see Alice In Wonderland now, in 3D tooooo.

Also visited William Eggleston's exhibition at Victoria Miro as it ends in a couple of days. Mundane but turned interesting stuff. Brilliant documentary photographer.

The FCP (Fashion Communication and Promotion) interview went soo quick today. The tutor asked who my favourite fashion photographer was, I said Corinne Day because of her personal, grungy photographs, such as the photo of her friend dyeing her hair. He also asked about Performance Design and Practice and I mentioned about my current installation, that we will be critting on monday. Will be cool to see everyone's work because we haven't done alot of that recently, and the idea of this foundation year is to bounce ideas off eachother, etc.. Can't say this is happening alot. For my final project I want to collaborate with Joanie who also tried to get onto the FCP course and failed (it is REALLY competitive though), so both of us our interested in fashion and could make interesting work together.

Anyhow, must prepare for my weekend away, chao for now.
Will let you know how it goes too man.

Take care. x

Ok so no Fashion Communication & Promotion degree for me...
Never mind, might take a gap year.. Alice in Wonderland premier tonight :) x
I'm having such a good conversation with this girl called Sam, she's going to come to CU next week.. hurrah.

There is a couple days left of this exhibition, worth going if you enjoy photography with a good sense of humour. KK Outlet is in the nice area in the East End, at Hoxton Square.

Fashion Communication and Promotion interview tomorrow at Central Saint Martins.

Does sound like a degree that would really interest me and keep me focused...
And our christian union are going to see the Alice in Wonderland premier tomorrow at Liecster Square, really excited!

ALSO I am going on a weekend away in Otford this coming friday for UCCF's training scheme for Christian Union leaders which will be teaching that will help me for life. It's really convinient too because I can pop home then my father can drive me there woop. Lois, Catherine and Tessa are going too so I will know them, thankfully. But that sort of thing doesn't really bother me, weekend/weeks away are made to get to know new people in a comfortable surrounding.

Pretty happy with my portfolio, didn't get to print the image from my previous post on tracing paper, that would have looked so good...

Also gutted that I'm not going to see Hot Chip at Brixton this friday (oh, i wouldn't have been able to... Omy gosh so God's plan pieced together there! And I'm not going to work on sunday because a friend is covering my shift hehe). But I did see Chew Lips and New Young Pony Club on monday night as part of the NME awards, I have to say Chew Lips were exceptionally good as a support band, I am slightly biased because I know more of their songs but still. You should check them out if you like experimental dance beats intwined with indie style melodies.

I'll leave you with a photo by me, as always. God bless. x

I am learning alot, especially about myself.

Hey guys been really busy with organising my portfolio for interviews and stuff. This poster I created for the Tin Can People project, overlaying two images on Photoshop.

Went to Broadway market this morning, it is amazing! There are food stalls and a vintage clothes stall and I got the best coat ever, I love it, I got it cheap too :) Wanna go to the Camden Crawl too, fun fun fun..

Also, I may be getting an internship with underground fashion/photography AnOther magazine for a bit in easter holidays, so that's cool!! yah wanna do it.. :)

I'm watching Take Me Out, the modern day dating game show, at home, so apologies if this blog is a bit all over the place! tata for now.. Helen x

Christian Union went well :) was good to see Aram, Lizzy, Natalia, Beth and Luci who turned up. I'm in that phase currently where I am thinking of what to do with my life. I've been looking at visual merchandising vacancies and at art festivals.. hmm...

The time-based work of Paul McCarthy consists of food used as bodily fluids and in grotesque ways. Despite this, it had influenced my painting of tin cans for my current project. I will have my friends eat from them in messy ways with spoons and their hands, to represent greed of human beings. They will read from the script I mentioned in my earlier post and it will be about two people singling out another. I will film the two people who want to get rid of the third person, then film the third person seperately so it represents lonliness.

I'm very busy at this moment with the workload, and I have portfolio reviews and interviews for degrees coming up.. eeek. We'll see what happens.

God bless, Helen.x

As a devoted fan had noticed I hadn't posted for a while haha, I thought I should write here now. Thanks Martyn!

Well lots has happened to me in the past few weeks.. I am happy to be at home this weekend to see my mum back from hospital and well. She is now speaking very loudly in polish to her sister who she hasn't spoken to for ages.. I wouldn't have it any other way :)

My progress tutorial went well last week with my tutor who has given me loads to do, I was complaining to friends that I wasn't achieving much for my portfolio, but now I have loads to do. I'm looking forward to the next project which is based on the play The Tin Can People by Edward Bond, it's a dystopian setting based on death, quite depressing, but an interesting start anyway. I can either create a performance installation or live performance piece, a film or photographic narrative. I'll keep you posted on this. I must. It all sounds so exciting.

Have put up posters for the Christian Union around the CSM campuses and we officially start this Thursday, Luci will join us and we will study the gospel of John. I have a bible study book to organise the meetings around which is sooo helpful, Luci gave it to me.


I have not yet sent UCAS off but I'm thinking of applying to Performance Design & Practice, Photography, Fashion Communication, Fashion Photography and Fine Art. We'll see what is God's plan for me, I have peace within this situation because of Him.

I mentioned in the post earlier that I would upload the performance I created over christmas, well even better I'm giving you a still, haha. I may give more later. The stills look cooler than the film because they give less of the picture and leaves more to the imagination, I think anyway.

Anyway time to get on with work, God bless, oh and do tell me if you want more posts when (i should say if) I slack again. Hehe, thanks. x

i'm really rubbish at this blog writing thing, i'm sorry that my posts do not come regular enough. Merry Christmas everyone :) ok now i need to do research for my performance. I'll upload it here when I have finished.

What a snowy Christmas it has come to be :) but my prayers go out to the people who are unfortunately suffering from the weather conditions...

God bless, Helen x

Jennie and Lydie will ask around this week at their college at Southampton Row for a room we could use on a weekday evening. We are hoping to get one soon to start Thursday, fingers crossed, because it would be our last chance to start before Christmas.

Luci who oversees the University of the Arts London Christian Unions is really excited about us starting the CU and also suggested that we start the first meeting about new life in Christ, which fits in with this new CU. So I have been browsing through the Bible as you do and also looked at my concordance (I have a topical concordance at the back of my youth Bible! I have just discovered - that's quite bad..) for verses on new life. 1 Peter 1:3-9 really inspired me and it has lots of visual descriptions in it too, which is always good for creative students. My youth Bible version goes like this:

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In God's great mercy he has caused us to be born again into a living hope, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. 4Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children. These blessings, which cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty, are kept in heaven for you. 5God's power protects you through your faith until salvation is shown to you at the end of time. 6This makes you very happy, even though now for a short time different kinds of troubles make you sad. 7These troubles come to prove your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold, which can be proved to be pure by fire but will ruin. But the purity of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is shown to you. 8You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. So you are filled with a joy that cannot be explained, a joy full of glory. 9And you are receiving the goal of your faith - the salvation of your souls.

What Luci did for the CU leaders meeting was print a chapter or a bit less from the Bible on paper and gave it to us for us to highlight visual things, ideas, repetitions, to encourage us to draw and really get into the verse and try to discover the meanings, which led to discussion. I'd really like to do that for my CU this week and I think the verses are uplifting to start the meetings with. What do you think? Is is a right passage to represent new life? What would you encourage to discuss in a group about this passage? Would like to hear your feedback, thanks x

Update is that a few people from the Central Saint Martins christian union are meeting up tomorrow to organise the start of the meetings. It's great because I have met a few unexpected christians from my course - you know when you see them at church when you had actually met them at school or at work etc, it's cool. So God is really working there and I pray that we get a good number tomorrow and that we advertise the CU well to reach out to others at CSM.

On the course front, I got accepted onto the Fine Art Performance pathway :) Although I actually went into the assessment saying I wanted to do Graphics Photography, but Marie (the lead tutor for performance) felt I had the fine art approach and that I would love performance, so I thought it through in that session and changed my first choice to performance! I really like Marie and it is great that she was excited about my work (pictured is a still from my mapping video of my dad watching tv, which Marie was particularly fond of), I am looking forward to getting to know her better. For monday I have to see the Linbury Prize for stage design at the National Theatre and write notes on what I think, which is exciting. Speak soon x

Assessment next week and I think my first pathway choice will be Fine Art Performance Design and Practice, second Graphics Photography and third Fine Art Video & Photography. We'll see who will accept me...

More exciting news myself and Jennie Hah, a student studying on BA Fashion Design at CSM are going to start the Central Saint Martins Christian Union. Because the last leader had graduated and no one has been arranging meetings, so we thought we'd do it instead. We're going to attend a University of the Arts London Christian Union leaders meeting at the Royal Festival Hall on Monday evening. They would discuss what events should be organised and how the CUs run, etc. I'll tell you how that goes and keep you updated on the CU :)

I tell you, I haven't read a novel in so little time like this one. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers was recommended to me by a friend, and I will not hesitate to recommend it to you now. I felt like I was living in the emotional love story, the descriptive words are so powerful that I clearly pictured the scenes in my head, as if I was there. The novel retells the book of Hosea, from the Bible. It makes me think that I will just have to wait until I get my own Michael Hosea! Other than it being about a beautiful romance, it challenges where your intentions lie, with God in your life, or without. Do you ever wonder what your purpose in your life is? This book may help you find it...

Gillian Wearing

What are you thinking right now?

Rosalind Nashashibi

Francesca Woodman

Welcome

I must say, I was listening to Tim Hughes when I named this blog. It's great though because it links creativity with faith. Which I am hoping this blog will be about.

So before I start, I will put myself in context. I am studying a Foundation Degree in Art and Design at Central Saint Martins in London. My name is Helen Williams, I'm a young adult and I am a christian.

At the moment on the course I have specialised in graphic communication and fine art. I am currently doing graphics and today we asked a partner questions about themselves to get information, and make a piece of work from this information. I sat with Liza, a girl from russia and she was telling me that she is friendly and kind, wants to learn new languages and meet different people bla bla. I didn't have enough time to ask her my good questions like are you secretive and what are you self-conscious about!! She did tell me that she spent alot of her childhood playing on her own, which I thought was interesting, so I used it.

We had to either make an objects, a set or a costume. I like creating sets so I chose that, but I also wanted to (stereotypically) dress her as a russian doll, so I would create a costume too. In the end I didn't have enough time to create the costume, but I went for the headress using coloured paper and card. I'll let you interpret my photograph...

In terms of degrees to apply for next year (if that is God's plan for me) Performance Design and Practice

http://www.csm.arts.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/performance-design-practice.htm

sounds interesting the more I think about it. But so does Fine Art, I know I would enjoy Fine Art but it's well not very academic? I don't know... We'll see.