Filed under: Ireland, Lauren Selden, anecdotes, art, gallery, personal intrests, travel | Tags: 1900, architecture, art, artwork, carvings, Dublin, Gambi, Ireland, Italy, Lauren Selden, national gallery ireland, tourist, travel, wood, Wood carving, woodwork
So as you know, the last time I visited the National Gallery of Ireland- I never made it out of the bookshop. Well I recently re-visited the gallery, deciding this time to check out the exhibitions before the retail! The gallery houses an exquisite collection of classical-styled artwork, including a beautiful wing featuring Irish painters. But, in spite of all the marvelous paintings, I was most taken with the fantastic woodcarvings in the Milltown Wing of the Gallery.
The carvings cover every door frame and are breathtakingly intricate. I spoke with one of the security guards, who told me the rather fascinating history of the carvings. Apparently they were done by a famous Italian woodcarver by the name of Gambi and his apprentice – without ever setting foot in Ireland. In 1900, the National Gallery sent off all the dimensions for the door surrounds to Sicily, in Italy and a year later all the carved pieces arrived in Dublin where they were installed. I’ve been told that they are walnut wood, and in person they give off the most beautiful sheen. The carvings are definitely a must see for those visiting Dublin!
Filed under: Ireland, Lauren Selden, anecdotes, art, craft, film and video, food, gallery, installation, travel | Tags: Dublin, study abroad, Ireland, travel, Lauren Selden, food, architecture, experimental film, Post, adventure, tourist, wagamama, st. patricks cathedral, vegan, art, national gallery ireland, IMMA, shopping, bookstore, gallery, art gallery, 4 dame lane, video art
It’s been a busy few days over here. Last Thursday I was part of a media/art exhibition at a club here in Dublin known only by the mysterious name, 4 Dame Lane. It was a fairly low tech production, as you might be able to tell from the ‘vintage’ televisions our work was shown on, but it gave the night a fun bohemian flair. The piece I had included is one from 2007, called Waiting.
After the fun and excitement of Thursday night, and a great potluck hosted by NYU students on Friday night on Saturday we did the gallery circuit. Along with some fellow exchange students we headed first to IMMA, the Irish Museum of Modern Art. IMMA is located in the most beautiful building on a hilltop just outside of the city center. The grounds are beautiful and they have a wonderful sculpture garden. The main show right now is called Exquisite Corpse- and among all the great artwork there was also a fun room where you could draw your own exquisite corpses with friends. We all had great fun drawing them up, give art students a DIY project and they’ll go wild for sure! (you can see the results in my Flickr album)
After IMMA we strolled our way back into the city, stopping at a few unnamed hole in the wall galleries (which I find can often be the most interesting). We made a pit stop at St. Patricks Cathedral and then headed for a bite. Wagamama’s is a UK restaurant chain that serves up Asian style cuisine- we all really enjoyed it, especially Aino who is vegan. The restaurant actually has its’ own vegan menu which is perfect for her, and others like her!
We did visit the National Gallery after, but I admit we didn’t visit in the typical way. You see, the Gallery Shop is right in the entrance of the gallery- and by the time we’d checked out every nook and cranny (and bought most of it) the gallery itself had closed! Please forgive us and our retail therapy. We all made a pact to go back again for a real visit. In the meantime, you can enjoy the beautiful architecture of the gallery lobby. What great shapes!
Also: a tiny little p.s. but a BIG thank you to everyone who has sent me some snail mail- I think I’ve become addicted to both giving and getting it!
Filed under: Ireland, Lauren Selden, NCAD, anecdotes, art, books, colour, food, gallery, literature, personal intrests, photography, travel, writing | Tags: adventure, architecture, Beer, Dublin, explore, exploring, food, Guinness, Ireland, Jameson, Lauren Selden, memory, Oscar Wilde, tour, tourist, travel, Trinity University, Weather, Whiskey, Writers
This past Sunday I finally became an official Tourist in Dublin. Along with my friend, a fellow exchange student at NCAD, I took a ‘hop on hop off’ bus tour of Dublin, which ended up being a lot of fun, I recommend it for sure! We started out at Trinity University, to take a look around- mostly just getting jealous that our campus isn’t as insanely beautiful. Then we hopped on the bus, and got off moments later at the home of Oscar Wilde, one of my absolute favorite writers of all time (and a born and bred Dubliner). His house is now a museum of American something-or-other which I think is a shame, but at least there is a little bronze plaque out front! Also, there is the most kickin’ statue of Oscar in the park across the street, Aino and I had a lot of fun posing in front of it. (but I’m not so sure those photos need to be immortalized on the Internet).
We started out fairly early, which meant that a lot of the museums were still closed, so we carried on with the tour and planned to double back later on in the day. We were both disappointed to learn that IMMA, the museum of modern art, is closed until later on this week.
Our next stop ended up being the Jameson Distillery, makers of Irish Whiskey. I wasn’t sure that I would enjoy the tour, but I really did, our guide was great and the distilling process is actually quite fascinating! I’d also never tried Whiskey, so it was fun to discover that I actually enjoy it. Aino had hers straight up, I had mine with ginger-ale and we both had a nice lunch afterwards at the restaurant in the distillery.
We headed for the writers museum next, which was fun but didn’t allow photos. I’ve been told that they are planning on shutting down the museum, which I think is a shame. But the place certainly needs some TLC, the plaster was cracking and things were actually sellotaped to the walls! Apparently there is no funding, and unfortunately it shows. (although the artifacts are fantastic to see, especially the original handwritten pages)
Next we booked it over to Guinness in order to make their last 5pm tour. We arrived at the factory at 4:45- just in time. The factory is insanely huge, it covers blocks and blocks of land, and even just the part open to the public is enormous. If Willy Wonka made beer instead of chocolate- this would be the factory he designed. Aino and I got to wander up and down 4 floors of beautifully designed exhibits, including a fantastic indoor waterfall of EPIC proportions. We were both impressed by their masterful usage of old barrels as presentation structures, as well as some fantastic glass screens that switch between transparent and opaque. Very cool.
Okay, here is the part where I let you in on a shameful secret- I do not like Guinness. Yes- despite my spending far too many euros in the (most amazing!) gift shop I barely touched m
y free pint. I just find it far too bitter tasting, I’m a Granville Island Honey Lager girl at heart. I had a little chat with my taxi driver on the way home and he informed me that its actually very difficult to get a good pint of Guinness in Dublin anymore, apparently the company has been using more and more preservatives and other various chemicals which tends to leave that bitter taste in your mouth. However I’ve got to give them this, I love the way a pint of Guinness looks in it’s glass, all dark black amber with creamy white foam- it’s definitely an attractive drink. You’ve got to hand it to them, the people at Guinness sure know how to put on a show! And even though I haven’t seen all there is to see in Dublin, by any means, I have to say I feel a little closer to Ireland than I did before our tour.
Filed under: Ireland, Lauren Selden, anecdotes, art, aura, film and video, personal intrests, photography, travel | Tags: abandoned, adventure, architecture, Clouds, derelict, Dublin, experimental film, Ireland, Lauren Selden, ruins, rural, travel
I was discussing my desire to venture into the Irish Countryside with my tutor here, and she mentioned a website which charts all sorts of abandoned structures throughout Ireland. Immediately upon clicking the link I fell in love with all the locations, and myself and some fellow students are planning to venture out into the country side to see these amazing structures in person.
The website is called Abandoned Ireland, and it looks as though a group of brave adventurers have explored all these little nooks and crannies in order to share these fantastic locations with all of us. I’ve been told that Ireland has such a strict historical restoration policy that many of the buildings will always remain empty and abandoned. A precious few have been turned into luxury hotels, but really- I’d prefer they remain in their natural state. It’s much more poetic. Many of the buildings were set fire to, and burnt to the ground during Irelands’ rather complex and terrible history with England. What is left now, are some of the most beautiful, and creepy structures I have ever laid eyes on.
I’ll be the first to admit it, I’ve become obsessed with this website. I’ve even begun dreaming about these amazingly beautiful ruins. I know I would be able to get the most amazing footage, and I can’t stop thinking about how well these locations will lend themselves to super 8mm film.
Note: all photographs that appear in this post are co. Abandoned Ireland
Filed under: Ireland, Lauren Selden, Whimsy, art, aura, colour, personal intrests, photography, travel, writing | Tags: architecture, Book of Kells, Clouds, Dublin, Ireland, Lauren Selden, Mail, memory, NCAD, Post, Post Card, study abroad, travel, Trinity, Trinity University, Weather
One thing I’ve noticed about Ireland is; the clouds move faster here.
Lately the weather here has been gorgeous every morning, only to turn to rain and wind the second I set out the door. Today there has been a break in the cycle of bad weather and I’m sitting in the classroom keeping warm from the sunlight streaming through the windows.
On Sunday, however, I was not so lucky on the weather front. I was determined though, after two days of hiding inside fighting with my washing machine to venture out into Dublin. So I braved the howling winds and headed for Trinity University which- even in the drizzly rain and howling wind was beautiful. Everything here is so full of character, but especially the buildings in and around Trinity. I’ve fallen in love with the architectural details- the rope trim, the carved flowers, and oh, the doors. The doors! Dublin as a city is famous for it’s elaborate and beautiful doors, and whenever I mention them to my classmates they just roll their eyes and go ‘yeah . . they’re nice’. I hope I never get so accustomed to Dublin that the beauty of these doors is lost.
Filed under: Ireland, Lauren Selden, NCAD, art, colour, photography, travel | Tags: amsterdam, antarctica, architecture, Dublin, Ireland, Lauren Selden, Lufthansa, NCAD, study abroad, trap doors, travel
It was the most beautiful day today in Dublin- It’s hard for me to even put it into words. The main thing is the score, which now is: Lauren: 6 | Umbrella: 0
4 Things About Today:
1. Bright blue skies, loads of sunshine, crisp air and beautiful cold grey green stone.
2. Dublin sidewalks are filled with trap doors and glass brick skylights- today I saw a restaurant receiving a supply delivery through their trap door into a basement kitchen. I think there is a whole other city underground.
3. Hanging out in the Media department with my soon-to be friends, now classmates. Talking about making cocktails and going to Amsterdam.
4. A lecture given by the head of media. All the students call him daddy. He showed us video from his trip to Antarctica and photos of penguins. He is organizing an artists’ trip there next Christmas. Only 6 grand for two weeks!(Free Parka)
Tomorrow I will venture out to a luggage shop in hopes of replacing my poor busted suitcase. Lufthansa has a deal where you bring the broken suitcase to a certain shop and exchange it for a new one. Sounds good to me!
Please Enjoy these photos of my new home, NCAD. The school used to be a distillery, which is where they make whiskey- but now it is home to a lot of generally hungover art students. A nice balance, I think.
Filed under: Ireland, personal intrests, travel | Tags: Dublin, study abroad, Ireland, travel, Lauren Selden, emily carr institute, NCAD, architecture, Luas, Dublin Castle
Today was the first day of classes at NCAD, I took the train in to school and, after getting slightly lost, I made it there at 10:20. The school seems tiny from the street but today the big gate was open and when you walk inside you realize the school is huge! It’s probably 3 times the size of Emily Carr University.
I met with my tutor for the semester, as well as some of the students in my year. Their system is much different from ours at home, instead of having classes with separate teachers each year is assigned one tutor who keeps tabs on you, mostly though bi-weekly meetings. There are also lectures you are able to attend, as well as technical seminars (so I gather). The media department seems quite small- I think there are only 16-20 students in my year. There are only 11 fourth year students. This might be because the media department here is fairly new- I think the program is about 6 years old.
The students seem very nice, I was surprised to learn that there are no other students on exchange from Canada- I think there is one girl from the US though. Apparently most students come here from Europe only- because its closer to home. I had lunch today with two exchange students from France, they were both very nice, and hopefully I will meet more people from school as the week carries on. Our café at the school is downstairs in the basement, the food is pretty gross- mostly potatos and beans and sausages- so I think I will be bringing my meals with me or eating somewhere else. The café looks like it’s a subway station- pretty cool. It’s all brick and there are little oval alcoves with glass block skylights above- you can see people walking on the street up above.
After school, I walked back to my Luas stop, taking my time and enjoying the sights. I stopped for a bit at Dublin Castle, which is beautiful and also right in the middle of the city!
Like my school, from the outside, the castle doesn’t look like much, but once you walk through the gates . . .
. . . you realize how huge the place is! It’s really beautiful just to walk around outside and admire the architecture. What I like about Dublin is that there are loads of beautiful old brick and stone buildings, and then right next to them you can see brand new, modern glass and steel structures. It’s a great combination, I think. Walking around Dublin is really nice, but I’ve been having a lot of trouble crossing the streets. It’s tough remembering which way to look for oncoming traffic- even though at some crosswalks they have arrows painted on the streets to show you where to look. There are walk/dont walk lights at the crosswalks- but they take forever to light up- and no one seems to pay attention to them. Everyone jay-walks and crosses whenever they can, I felt like a bit of a dork standing at the corner waiting for the walk sign. As if crossing the streets weren’t bad enough, the buses here are double-deckers and its insanely terrifying to watch the bus come hurtling towards you on the road, especially as it turns sharp corners onto the tiny little one way streets that cover downtown.
Tomorrow I think I might go on a bus tour of the city, maybe it will help me get my bearings a little bit more. I’ll leave you with some photos of my walk to and from school to my house in Milltown. Today started out grey and windy but by mid-afternoon the sun was able to peak out of the clouds! I haven’t even had to use my umbrella yet! If you would like to see more photos of my trip you can visit my Flickr page, here
