Cover Connections Winter issue
Photo: featured artist, Jim Gamblin.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Jim Gamblin - 'Elements from our World'
All it took
was the glimpse of a photograph of a racing car in a magazine at the age of 12
to start Jim Gamblin along the road into the photographic world. Later, to
further his pursuit of the art of photography and techniques of the trade he
attended Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California.
Jim started
as a commercial photographer’s assistant and ventured out into the world. He
learnt the tricks of the trade whilst working on a diversity of assignments.
One in particular, he remembers, meant he had to light a mud wrestling
competition. But his preference lay with the big studio shoots with their party
atmosphere, cast of thousands and cutthroat hustle and bustle, reminiscent of
the 1960’s film ‘Blow Up’, by Michelangelo Antonioni.
After a time
Jim began to combine working in lighting for two independent photographers as
well as becoming a location scout assistant. Contact with one of the
photographers led him into the world of commercials. This appealed to the film
buff in him, as an advertisement can also be compared to a scene out of a film,
very often requiring as much preparation and a budget to match.
Work as a
location scout took off and this meant he was often given carte blanche to find
and photograph potential locations for a film. In this way he was able to
produce his own photographic work, whilst at the same time looking for an
appropriate film location. Becoming an invaluable part of a film’s production,
his involvement also meant that on set he was able to learn from some of the
best names in cinematography of the time.
In his work,
Jim tries to capture all the elements of an image in one shot, hoping at the
same time to evoke emotion and inspire others, ‘or just to stop and see the
beauty of the elements from our world’. As an artist, Jim believes firmly
that one should always be open to change and be ready and willing to learn new
things in order to progress. A vocation is a constant challenge and does not
have a finish line. Just like the priest he saw who signed his completed
paintings at the bottom with ‘Priest in training’.
Years later
in 2003, having traded the west coast of The States for The Netherlands, to be
with his Dutch partner, Kea (who is now his wife), Jim found himself in the
near vicinity of Zandvoort. Kea, upon hearing that Zandvoort was the place
where the inspirational photo had been taken of Jim Clark (by photographer Henry
Manney), that he had seen all those years ago in the photographic book,
immediately turned the car around and headed off in the direction of Zandvoort,
thereby bringing Jim full circle after all these years back to his beginnings.
For the
future Jim is interested in branching out into portraiture as well as creating
photographic film-like stills for graphic work such as brochures. Should you be
interested in contacting him or seeing more examples of his photography his
website can be found at: Jim Gamblin
The Romanesque Beauty of the Aa-Kerk
The Der
Aa-Kerk with its characteristic yellow tower can be found in the centre of
Groningen, alongside the fish market and centre’s shops.
A little Romanesque cross church that was built in the 13th century was enlarged in the 15th century to a gothic cross-basilica. The organ it contains is of great international repute and dates back to the 17th century. For the first four centuries of its existence, the church was a Roman Catholic Church after which during the Reformation it passed into the hands of the Reformed community for the next four centuries. In the 1970’s the last of the three monumental churches in the centre of the city of Groningen (Der Aa-kerk, the Martinikerk and the Nieuwe Kerk) became too large for the Reformed community and after restoration the church became part of Stichting Der Aa-kerk (non-profit) in 1987. The church has now mainly a cultural function.
The name ‘A’ comes from the river Aa that used to have an important function for sailors and merchants in the western part of the city. The vault, which originally was not much bigger than a large village church, was dedicated to the holy Nicolaas (or Sinterklaas), who amongst others is the patron saint of sea merchants and traders.
In 1671, as
a result of a lightning strike and ensuing fire, the tower and clock had to be
totally restored, with further repairs being carried out in 1710. The new tower
was finally completed in 1718, a design of the town construction master, Allert
Meijer. Since then there has been a ‘tidy-up’, in 2006 of the church restoring
it to its former glory.
Although the
Aa-kerk hasn’t been in use as a church for more than twenty years, it is still
in use for exhibitions, congresses, readings, theatre shows, and weddings.
There are also educative programmes available for the first two years of
primary school.
Pacific Restaurant Review
For their ritual monthly night out together, the
Ladies of Connect met at the Pacific Restaurant & Café, in the centre of
Groningen, which opened its doors in in June 2006..
With an Australian style interior and matching cuisine, the lunch menu offered a variety of dishes to choose form. For a starter, instead of pumpkin or oriental soup
one could choose Carpaccio Aboriginal with kangaroo meat followed by Ozzie
Ostrich a ‘tender Ostrich steak served with a delicious roasted garlic
sauce’. For dessert, chocolate features heavily on the menu (not that
we were complaining), but also includes a couple of fruit desserts as well.
For groups of 15 or more it is possible to
experience the Pacific Food Adventure with a three-course menu featuring flavours, herbs and spices from the
Pacific region.
There were varied reactions to the restaurant and
its food resulting in the decision to start up ‘The Connect Gourmet Guide’.
Each Connect lady present has given the restaurant a mark on a scale of one to
five. Areas judged were food, atmosphere/staff and value for money. At the end
of this article you can see the results of our first Gourmet Guide. So a word
of advice to all restaurants – if you see a large group of ladies approaching
your premises, it may be worth your while to pull out all the stops!
The Pacific Restaurant & Café can be found Oosterstraat 65-67, 9711 NS Groningen.
Website here
View all issues of Connections HERE (editor, designer, illustrator: 2006-2013)
Featured City - Zwolle
The
name Zwolle comes from the word Suolle, which means ‘hill’. Zwolle was founded
on a hill between the three rivers surrounding the city, Ijssel, Vecht and
Zwarte Water. The hill was the only piece of land that would remain dry during
the frequent flooding of the rivers. The oldest known written mention of Zwolle
is from 1040. A document mentions the existence of a parish church dedicated to
St Michael.
The
city is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel,
Netherlands, with about 115,000 citizens. Found 80 kilometres northeast of
Amsterdam, it is the logical centre and link for all the different regions in
the Netherlands and Germany. This is due to good accessibility via road, rail
and water.
Citizens
of Zwolle are colloquially known as Blauwvingers (Bluefingers). This dates back
to the rivalry with neighbouring city Kampen. When the local government was in
need of cash, they saw no option but to sell church bells to Kampen. To make
sure Kampen did not make too much profit form the deal, the local authorities
asked a high price for the church bells. Kampen agreed to the deal, on the
condition that they could choose their own way of paying for the church bells.
Zwolle consented and Kampen paid in cope coins of four duiten (the equivalent
of 2-and-a-half guilders). Because of their distrust, Zwolle wanted to be sure
Kampen had truly paid the entire price. The local authorities therefore counted
the money until their fingers had turned blue from the copper.
With
a variety of historic monuments, some of which date back to as early as 1399,
the city is worth a visit. There is the church tower, known as the Peperbus
(Pepperbox). This is one of the tallest and most famous church towers in the
Netherlands. There is also the Sassenpoort, which was built at the end of the
14-th century, but wasn’t completed until the beginning of the 15-th century.
The restoration of 1894 and 1897 meant that the pointed neo gothic clock tower
was added. Originally the Sassenpoort was the gates to the city and part of the
old city wall. It is the only part left over, but an impressive sight none the
less. Other buildings include the Mosterdmakerstoren (the complex where local
mustard used to be made0, a guild-house dating back to 1571, a Dominican
monastery, and a museum of antiquities and natural history.
View all issues of Connections HERE (editor, designer, illustrator: 2006-2013)
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Crete the Final Frontier
I
had absolutely no qualms about leaving behind what must have been one of the
wettest Augusts on record for a two-week holiday on the island of Crete in
Greece.
My
friends Kate and Luc, who emigrated there a couple of years ago, picked me up
at the hot and chaotic airport of Heraklion and we sped off in their jeep in a
westerly direction to Rethymnon, situated on the northern coast of the
island—cans of ice-cold beer in hand.
It’s
fifteen years since my last visit to Crete , and
of course during this time there has been a lot of change and restoration. As a
tourist attraction Rethymnon manages to cater for the wishes of its
visitors without compromising its customs and traditions. The old town of
Rethymnon for example, has still retained its charm, with the local butchers,
bakers, and corner shop all still in existence. This is no mean feat in a day
and age of the larger supermarket and mass production breathing down their
necks.
Historically, Crete and
particularly Rethymnon has a broad history dating back as far as the Neolithic
period. Modern day Crete only became part of Greece
The south coast of the island is
easily accessed by moped, motorbike or car. Driving through the mountainous
regions on the way is more than impressive. The roads twist over and around
dry, orangey coloured rocky hills, daubed with green vegetation, which has
managed to escape the heat so far; through gorges with sheer rock faces on
either side. Village signs are shot full of holes in celebration of the birth
of a child or just for sport. Locals sit in the shade on wooden chairs
discussing life and the universe; the men often stripped down to their vests in
an attempt to keep cool. Every bend in the road with an alarming drop
seems to have a shrine in memory of someone who managed to misjudge it.
As with most places in the world there
is also an expatriate presence on Crete ,
who meets regularly for coffee mornings and lunches in small tavernas by the
sea. There is the CIC (Cretan International Community of Chania) in Chania and
the Rethymnon group, whose members I found to be very open and friendly.
View all issues of Connections HERE (editor, designer, illustrator: 2006-2013)
The Body Beautiful With Mandy Kierans
Having
always been interested in make-up and its application to transform the human
face or body, Mandy Kierans studied special effects and make up for TV and
Film, in Dublin. This led to a position as assistant make-up artist for a
production company, Paradox Pictures in England and her love of decorating the
human body.
As her
reputation grew, by word of mouth, she was often sort after in her field.
Giving workshops to under privileged children; doing make-up and hair for
television, as well as films and children’s TV programmes. She did the special
effects make-up for the crowd scenes in the film ‘Saving Private Ryan’,
directed by Steven Spielberg, as well as the make-up for the crowd scenes in
the film ‘All for Love’, starring Richard E. Grant and Miranda Richardson. A
lucrative four-year contract with Schwarzkopf hair products meant that she
created the make-up design for all the Schwarzkopf events (fashion shows, TV
adverts and magazine spreads) held in Ireland and England during this period.
Her
inspiration comes mainly from the ethereal world of angels and fairies coupled
with the elements of earth, wind and fire. She likes to convey beauty in her
work and colours are always bright. So much so that when she was learning how
to reproduce, wounds, scars and bruises at college, her teacher found it
strange that even in the most gruesome wound, she had incorporated glitters!
For private commissions, when’ decorating’, a person for a party, the
inspiration for her design comes not only from her interaction with that person
but in finding out what their favourite colour, drink, or time of the year is.
In such a way she comes upon a design that is unique to that person.
As well as
make-up Mandy uses other materials to enhance her creations such as
papier-mâché, foam latex, and hair by a process known as ‘knotting’, where the
hair is painstakingly attached to gauze with a crochet-like hook implement,
hair by hair. One creation, a body painting of a swan incorporated flowers and
animatronics wings that threw confetti and glitters into the air every time
they moved.
Mandy
Kierans was born and bred in Droghead, Ireland but moved to Groningen in 2002
to live with her Dutch boyfriend, who she met whilst on holiday on the island
of Crete. Since moving permanently to Groningen she has taken part in various
events, workshops and festivals, where her body painting skills have been
enthusiastically received.
For the
future, Mandy would like to go into party planning, for anyone wanting to throw
a fabulous party. She would manage and market the event, organize the entertainment, catering, right down to the smaller details, such as hair and
makeup for guest or entertainer.
First published in the Connections magazine #13 Autumn 2006
View all issues of Connections HERE (editor, designer, illustrator: 2006-2013)
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