Tag / art

by shannonchance

Learning London: Celebrating St. Patrick

We’ve had a lovely St. Patrick’s weekend here in central London.

Yesterday, we visited the National Portrait Gallery to see “Only Human” by photographer Martin Parr. After lunch at Chipotle, some gelato and hot chocolate to honour my dad, and a quick break at The Courthouse Hotel, we got to the Photographers’ Gallery for the last hour (for free entry!) to view a show I’d found don Time Out and another to boot.

We ended Saturday at Backyard Comedy with four hilarious comedians.

Our Art Fund pass and memberships with Tate and Backyard are really paying off!

We learned a lot this weekend about being British, thanks in no small part to Martin Parr. Here’s a selection of photos from yesterday:

Thanks fo the ideas, Time Out!
Martin Parr!
Grayson Perry and family
Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus
Gelato and hot chocolate in honour of my dad.
Protests left and right yesterday

Today, we breakfasted beside Whitechapel Gallery, walked to the Tower of London, took the boat down to Embankment and walked to Tate Britain. We visited two photographers’ exhibitions–seeing the second half of photojournalist Don McCullin’s show (we hadn’t allotted enough time in our first visit). Then we took a double decker bus over to Trafalgar Square, enjoyed lunch at Thai Spice, and took in the last hour of the city-sponsored St. Patrick’s Day music festival.

While it feels surreal to sing Irish Republican songs in Trafalgar Square, particularly because it’s not considered entirely kosher to sing such songs in Dublin these days, we truly felt our love for Ireland by singing along–without having to love London any less!

Ireland’s Call by Phil Coulter 

Come the day and come the hour

Come the power and the glory

We have come to answer Our Country’s call

From the four proud provinces of Ireland

CHORUS

Ireland, Ireland

Together standing tall

Shoulder to shoulder

We’ll answer Ireland’s call

From the mighty Glens of Antrim

From the rugged hills of Galway

From the walls of Limerick And Dublin Bay

From the four proud provinces of Ireland

CHORUS

Hearts of steel, and heads unbowing

Vowing never to be broken

We will fight, until We can fight no more

From the four proud provinces of Ireland

Aongus and I were making the most of our last day together for a while. I’m heading home to Virginia help my Dad who hasn’t been well.

We ended the day at the Blind Beggar, site of a notorious gang murder long ago (see the plaque for further explanation). I’d not been there before, despite it being just blocks from our London home.

Photos from today:

 

by shannonchance

Irish Trad: Traditional Irish Music on Internet Radio

Photo taken while visiting Kevin Donleavy in December 2012, during my Fulbright Fellowship to Ireland, but visiting Virginia for Christmas. 

A friend of mine in Virginia delivers a radio program of traditional Irish music. Tune in 3-5 pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on Saturday, March 2. That’s 10-12 EST to hear Kevin Donleavy’s show!

Learn more about Kevin and how I met him here, about a past show here, and about our dear, departed friend Jerry Crilly here.

A chairde and pals, howreya,

Yes,  time for Irish traditional music on-line again.  The date is this Saturday, March 2,  and the program will be broadcast from 10 am till 12 noon as always. Or 3-5 pm that day in Ireland.  You need visit WTJU.net on the Web,  and then click on the Launch button. Your host, Kevin Donleavy of the O’Neill-Malcom branch of Comhaltas.  So do mark your calendar.
Here are some highlights from the upcoming show :  A couple of selections from the Sweets of May collection of music from South Armagh.  Liam Weldon singing the tremendously touching song, ” Where Is Our James Connolly ?”
Tunes from such fiddlers as Ciaran Tourish and Oisin MacDiarmada and the powerful Mick Conneely.  Lovely uilleann piping from Christopher McMullan’s new compact disc. Two songs from the woman’s band Girsa: “I Courted a Wee Girl,”  and “Mary and the Soldier.”  Cuts from the traditional groups Danu and Teada.  A political song or two, of course.  A seldom played reel called “The Nine Points of Roguery,”  played by the fine Sean Norman Ceili Band.  And more ….
This Saturday, time to wet the tea, roll back the carpet,  and get cracking!  Mi daza!
Kevin
by shannonchance

Learning London: Barbican and the Design Museum

We took things pretty slow last weekend — but in addition to reading a couple of journals manuscripts in my queue to peer review, I hit the town with Aongus en route to two design exhibitions.

Saturday, we visited the Barbican’s Art Gallery for the exhibition called “Modern Couples.” It was packed with visitors since the show is scheduled to close soon. And possibly also because it was so cold outside!

I’ve uploaded photos of the Barbican complex as well as a few related to the exhibition, to give you a feel for it all. There was on display an iconic table by Eileen Gray, one of Ireland’s most-recognized designers. (I just found that a house she designed was evidently “vandalized” by Le Corbusier.)

Aongus always delights in seeing a price tag on an Eileen Gray table, since we found one in the trash one night and carried it home. It was raining that evening in Dublin, and Aongus truly didn’t comprehend the table’s value at the time I hoisted it over my shoulder to carry home. Now he does! Ours is chrome, but there’s one in black matte finish in the book store there as well as on formal display.

The things you can find abandoned in dark alleyways…. It’s always best to have a tall, fit companion when you’re transversing such places at night, I have found. Especially if you wind up carrying furniture home! He soon was doing just that — but I made a good start in an effort to convince him of my undying love for this table. Now he loves it too.

After the Barbican pics below, you’ll find videos and snapshots from our Sunday adventure as well. We went westward, to visit the newly-renovated Design Museum in Holland Park, just off Kensington High Street. It’s about time I got to the new building, especially since my Ph.D. student, Thomas Empson, has become so involved there.

We didn’t view the paid “Future Homes” exhibition as our attention was held by a free exhibition of the permanent collection and another free show on Peter Barber and company, who seek to provide affordable housing in our city and beyond. The exhibition is called “100 Mile City and Other Stories.” We also attended a tour of the building to learn about its history.

Barbican Complex

 

Modern Couples

 

Design Museum

A bit of fun

You might have to click the little arrow at the bottom left hand of the video. First, we learned to rock. Then we could spin….

 

 

The Building Itself

 

Parts of the Permanent Collection on Display

 

Architecture Exhibition

 

Urban context of the Design Museum

 

by shannonchance

Art Photos

Please see ChanceReflections (www.chancereflections.com) for examples of my artwork.

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by shannonchance

Learning London: A day of cream tea and BauBax testing

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Soho at Christmas–but it is lit this way year round!

Aongus and I aim to make the most of every free day we have in London. I’m back at Gatwick now, flying to a speaking engagement in Dublin, and reflecting on the past 24 hours.

After work yesterday (7PM Friday), we met in Covent Garden. First strolling aimlessly, for the purpose of exercise and air, we found ourselves in Soho when Aongus’ hunger pangs won out. We stopped in for Dim Sum at the Golden Phoenix restaurant on Gerrard Street, London W1D 6JE, in the heart of China Town.

Aiming to try new things as often as possible, we thus enjoyed our first dinner on Gerrard Street. The custard-filled buns at the Golden Phoenix were particularly delicious; we will skip ordering a saucy dish next time and stick to the dumplings!

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Cream tea for two at Harrod’s

Today (Saturday morning) we awoke for a trip to Kensington via the London underground. I’d booked cream tea for two at Harrod’s. The store and its surrounding streets had a festive holiday feel.

After tea, we browsed and even made a small purchase (but not Italian luxury furniture, unfortunately!).

In our photos of furniture-testing, you’ll see Aongus trying out his new BauBax 2.0 travel jacket. In a recent Kick Starter campaign, I had ordered us matching bomber jackets. Today we donned these early Christmas presents, and Aongus is delighted with his. I’m an architect and I am quite detail-oriented, so although I’m happy with several of the innovative features, I am not entirely satisfied with the overall product–at least not in the medium size for women.

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Harrods interior stair. The building is a-maze-ing.

It seems to me they tested the BauBax 2.0 design on the large size for men. Several of the features promised–most notably the interior iPad pocket–are too small in the version for ladies. My iPad is a few millimeters too long to fit, and they now say the ladies version will only fit an “iPad mini” which I have not found to be a useful tool. Nevertheless, there’s still a pocket for the iPad pencil. Not too useful if you can’t bring your iPad! It’s important to have pockets when Ryanair won’t allow baggage aboard without add-on fees. I like to travel with as few bags as possible!

So, while the garment does have several nice design features, the final product appears to have been rushed out of the factory. Many of the seams and details in mine are of poor quality. I’ll need to bring it to a tailor to remedy its shortfalls, and I’ll not buy clothing online again.

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Giving an Italian recliner and a BauBax 2.0 bomber jacket a test run

I guess it boils down to the fact that when it comes to buying cars, computers, and clothes, I’m not an Innovator according to Rodger’s Adoption model–those folks bought the BauBax 1.0 on Kickstarter. I’m also not completely comfortable as an Early Adopter, as I’ve ended up with second-iteration products that still needed some refinement–including this BauBax 2.0 and a 2004 Nissan 350Z.

I really loved my Z car but it, and its 2003 and 2004 siblings, came out of the factory without its tires balanced! They didn’t realize that tire-balancing issue until they’d rolled 14 months or so of these two-seat sports cars out of showrooms. Tires started failing at 16k miles and had to be replaced. So now I know definitively–I need to wait for v3.0. Just be an Early Innovator and enjoy the benefits of having a refined design rather than a cutting-edge showpiece.

I am, however, very happy with the smile on Aongus’ face and the fact that he says the shape of the jacket is flattering. Fortunately, with time and use, I’m beginning to identify which pockets can fit which items–which doesn’t exactly align with the BauBax info sheets that we studied meticulously–but I’m finding systems that work for me.

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Comptior on Exhibition Rd

So as you see from Aongus’ reclined testing position at Harrod’s furniture showrooms, we rested a bit on some cozy chairs, identifying ideal options for our future. After discussing chair designs with a furniture rep, we viewed some women’s fashions. We enjoy seeing the bizarre clothing designs on offer here and at Harvey Nichols, but we quickly had our fill and headed out and down to the street.

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Enjoying a chicken tagine

Following a zesty Lebanese tagine at Comptior on Exhibition Road–a cafe we had previously enjoyed with my cousin Kaitlin–we headed over to the Victoria and Albert Museum to absorb some art and history. We particularly enjoyed the stained glass and the new section for photography. You’ll see photos of the building and also from the Buddist, metalwork, and photography sections.

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Cameras on exhibit in the V&A’s new photography section

The sun had set and there wasn’t much time before my flight to Dublin, so we dashed to the South Kensington tube station and jumped onto a District line train.

We said a quick but heartfelt “goodbye and see you Friday” as I disembarked at Victoria Station and climbed the stairs to the National Rail station on the ground floor. Despite construction works around Gatwick that delayed the train 15 minutes, I arrived and cleared security with plenty of time for a browse at Dixon’s and a healthy salad from Pret before I hit the runway–putting my travel jacket to work.

Ciao, Britain. See your other side on Tuesday!

My strikingly handsome partner, Aongus Coughlan, enjoying a chicken and green olive tagine on Exhibition Road near the V&A
by shannonchance

Drawing Conclusions in Paris

Sketching in Luxembourg Gardens

Sketching in Luxembourg Gardens

Pam Eddy and I attended the World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology (WASET) International Conference on Higher Education yesterday. We each presented a paper. When the activities wound up, we headed out in different directions. Pam went to hear a lecture at UNESCO that she’s received a special invitation to attend and I went to study the architecture of Paris.

I sketched in the Luxembourg Gardens and in a church that I’d discovered two days before.

Pam and I met back up for dinner with Pam’s husband Dave. After dinner, we strolled through central Paris–discussing things we’d concluded about the city on our earlier explorations.

A discussion group at the conference, lead by Pam.
Luxembourg Gardens
The Pantheon in Paris… feels like Rome.
Sketching in St. Etinnene du Mont church
caratids
Shannon Dave Pam pre-dinner
Dave Pam Shannon dinner
book benches
Passage Vivian by night
by shannonchance

Purchasing a Reflection

Circa 1835, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011

Circa 1835, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011

I’m posting the images from my photography show, for all of you who didn’t get to attend the opening and take a catalogue home. The title of the show is “Inter-Changes: Reflections from Dublin and Beyond” and it is on display at the O’Connell House at from 9-5 weekdays at 58 Merrion Square, in Dublin 2, from May 8-31, 2013.  I’ll be there next Monday, May 27 from 12-2 for one last “Meet the Artist” session.

If you’d like to purchase one of the works, please contact me via email at shannonchance (at) verizon (dot) net.  The images are currently selling for 80 Euros or 100 dollars each, plus shipping and handling.

The copyright for these images belongs to Shannon Chance.  If you want to use them for commercial purposes, please contact me. You may use them for personal or educational purposes as long as you cite me as the author.

My most sincere thanks to all who attended the launch of this exhibition.  You have helped make my time in Ireland memorable and worthwhile!  Thanks for reflecting on Ireland with me….

Portofino Telescope, Portofino, Italy, May 2009
Hipsters on the Green, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011
Reflecting on Henry Street, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011
Ode to Monet, Dublin, Ireland, February 2013
Life on the Liffey, Dublin, Ireland, February 2013
Symbols of Trinity, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011
Pen Corner, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011
Aspiring, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011
Office Lingo, Dublin, Ireland, March 2012
Distilling History, Kilbeggan, Ireland, September 2012
Another King, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011
On the Move, Dublin, Ireland, February 2013
Disbelief, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011
The Dame and St. George, Dublin, Ireland, February 2013
Grafton Skyline, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011
Eyes on Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, February 2013
Changing Tides, Roberts Cove, Ireland, February 2013
Regal Marks, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011
Shipping Out, Cobh, Ireland, February 2013
Morning Stillness, Clifden, Ireland, September 2012
Window Dressing, Dublin, Ireland, February 2013
Westmoreland Yellow, Dublin, Ireland, March 2012
St. Johns Lower, Kilkenny, Ireland, September 2012
Attitude, Dublin, Ireland, February 2013
Quay of Tall Ships, Dublin, Ireland, August 2012
Classic Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, February 2013
Modern Trinity, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011
Bald Barista, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011
Illumination, Dublin, Ireland, March 2011
Open on the Liffey, Dublin, Ireland, February 2013
Essence of Beauty, Toulon, France, June 2010
Parisian Isis, Paris, France, June 2010
Madrid Shadows, Madrid, Spain, March 2009
Leaning Madrid, Madrid, Spain, March 2009
Dalai Lama, New York, USA, July 2009
Reflections of Life in Trastevere, Rome, Italy, June 2009
Modern Time Warp, Dublin, Ireland, March 2012
Towering Chicago, Chicago, USA, August 2008
Ripple Effect, Torno, Italy, June 2009
Chicago Remix, Chicago, USA, August 2008
by shannonchance

Showing Off

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Joe Dennehy and Brendan Kennedy dropped by O’Connell House to see the photo show today. That really brightened my spirits (I lost a hard drive this morning and was having it replaced at the time).

Joe teaches Business at DIT and Brendan is an Engineering Technology student who helped me iron out kinks in the identity survey I conducted in collaboration with Mike Murphy.

While I was at O’Connell House, Lisa Caulfield purchased a photo. That was another highlight of my day!

I installed dots on the photos that have sold — a total of nine to date.
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by shannonchance

Photo Launch Fun

Dave Chance did a delightful job documenting events at the opening of my first photography exhibition, InterChanges: Reflections from Dublin and Beyond.  Thanks to all my fabulous friends and colleagues for coming out to support my work!

By the way, I’ve sold six photos to date.  If there’s one you see on the wall that you’d like to purchase, please let me know.  They are selling for 80 Euro each and sales are helping me recoup the cost of producing the show.

This is when things were just starting to roll….
My mum with Fulbright Ireland’s Courtney Cokley.
with former Fulbright Sinead Murnane.
with former Fulbright Sinead Murnane.
with (DIT engineering lecturer) Kevin and (his photographically inclined wife) Olive Gaughan.
Head of Fulbright Ireland Colleen Dube, her mum, and dean Mike Murphy.
Guests mingling.
with architect Patrick Flynn.
with architect Patrick Flynn.
Guests mingling.
Colleen Dube and Mike Murphy — my Fulbright hosts!
Sarah Conroy and Ted Burke.
with Dr. Mike Murphy.
with DIT engineering dean Mike Murphy, engineering lecturer Ted Burke, and web designer Sarah Conroy.
Mike Murphy, Sarah Conroy, and Ted Burke.
My co-teacher at DIT, Orla Hanratty.
Patrick Flynn and Eileen Goold.
Cara Delay and her husband, Paris.
with Fulbright Cara Delay and Paris.
Architecture lecturers Patrick Flynn and Jim Roche.
Former Fulbrights.
My mum, Cynthia Mara recited one of her poems about Ireland.
with Courtney Cokley.
My (former Fulbright) mom and me!
Architect Mairtin D’Alton and Marie Curie Scholar/former Fulbright Nancy Stenson.
Orla Hanratty and Kevin O’Rourke — both from DIT’s Learning, Teaching and Technology Centre (LTTC).
with Mom and Richard Hayes.
Tom Kelly, (Fulbright) Cara Delay and Paris.
Mike Murphy, Eileen Goold, and Notre Dame’s Lisa Caulfield.
A current Fulbrighter.
Orla Hanratty and her friend.
with Christine and (Fulbright) Scott McDonald.
with Colleen Dube.
with Colleen Dube.
with Jim Roche.
with architect Jim Roche.
Musicians Frank Cullen and Jerry Crilly.
Musicians Frank Cullen and Jerry Crilly.
Musicians Frank Cullen and Jerry Crilly.
Musicians Frank Cullen and Jerry Crilly.
Musicians Frank Cullen and Jerry Crilly.
Jerry Crilly
with Arcadia University’s Tom Kelly.
with Frank Cullen and Jerry Crilly.
Musicians Frank Cullen and Jerry Crilly.
Musicians Frank Cullen and Jerry Crilly.
with musicians Frank Cullen and Jerry Crilly.
with musicians Frank Cullen and Jerry Crilly.
with musician Jerry Crilly.
Christine McDonald and architect Mairtin D’Alton.
with Fulbright Nancy Stenson.
with Fulbright Nancy Stenson.
withFulbright Nancy Stenson.
Jerry Crilly and Eileen Goold.
with Fulbright Ireland’s Joanne Davidson.
with Fulbright Scott McDonald.
Jerry Crilly and Dr. Eileen Goold.
by shannonchance

Inter-Changes: Reflections from Dublin and Beyond

Lisa Caulfield, Shannon Chance, Colleen Dube, and Kevin Whelan

Lisa Caulfield, Shannon Chance, Colleen Dube, and Kevin Whelan

Shannon Chance, Cynthia Mara, and Dave Chance

Shannon Chance, Cynthia Mara, and Dave Chance

The staff of Fulbright Ireland and Notre Dame’s O’Connell House organized a spectacular event for last night. The opening of the photography exhibition was a highlight of my year here in Dublin.  So many people were there who have been instrumental in making this year a success.

Fulbright hired Conor McCabe Photography to document the event, and purchased the photos posted on this page.  I hope you’ll enjoy the photos as much as I do!