My last day at CROUS.

I am sat on my bed in room 335 Crous campus, Besançon. This small room has been mine for a year, it has been cramped sometimes lonely and other so full of noisy jolly people there hasn't been room to move. it has been a fun year and as I wait for my parents to come and collect me I feel a sense of complete satisfaction of my time here and the people I have met and the things I have done. I have been to Paris, Strasbourg, I have spoken french, taught English and held my own exhibition. Exhausting. I am going to go home relax for all of five minutes before i start my final year at Huddersfield.

so long, farewell, Au revoir, Auf Weidersehen,

We have had our last lesson in school. Sian, myself and Marta had our last lesson with Didier. We have been completing the book we have been working on this term. Didier has helped us to glue all the pages together and cut out the box we are to store it in (though actually he had to cut mine out for me cos I am hopeless and cutting in a straight line). He has told us we should be very proud of the achievements we have made in our year here. I admit I am pleased with the thing that I have done here, I am especially pleased with the book I have made this term. i am sad that my lessons here have finished and that now i must pack up my very cramped room and return to England. 

Poster Exhibition.

ERBA has visiting artists in to, do exhibitions. They often have old students in to exhibit as well. This month the exhibition was about advertising 100 Beste Plakate Exhibition, it was all imaginative advertising posters by a German artist. The pictures were very inspiring and adventurous. They presented the exhibition really nicely, they had some of the posters up on the wall they layered them on top of each other on the wall and then they displayed them on the floor on wooden pallets. It was really cleverly done. I have uploaded some of the photo's I took whilst I was there you can see how they displayed them and how effective it was.

Photos from the exhibition!

these are the before, during and after the exhibition.

 

   

 

Our exhibition!

Today was the first day of our exhibition, we had chosen the room we wanted to be in January when we got back from Christmas we didnt want to be in the room that is usually assigned to the student exhibitions as we thought that it would be to big. We were meant to be sharing the exhibition space with the two English lads that were coming after Christmas. As it happens they were useless and left after a week because they couldnt get the food that they got in England and they couldn't and wouldn't try to speak French.

( can I just say to anybody who actually reads this Blog... if you are planning on going the study/live abroad  it is a good idea to actually look into the culture of the country you are going to. Don't expect it to be the same as England its not it is a foreign country, Not everybody speaks English, learn the language!!! I know for the intelligent ones who are reading this already know this. I apologise)

Ok stress over. But they were a waste of time for Siân and myself but also the school. they also made Huddersfield students look bad, the tutors at ERBA were very unhappy about it all. Getting back to the exhibition, in the end we chose a basement exhibition space. there was enough room for our work and also room to display some things about our university to show the French students how we work in Huddersfield, but also to have a table of food and wine.

As the weeks crept closer we began to form a good body of work, and a good variety of skills. not just things that we had been taught in class but also things that we had developed ourselves. I came down with a stomach bug a week before the exhibition so my work was put on hold for a bit but I Managed to get it all done.

Siân did two really good powerpoint presentations to run on our laptops for the exhibition.
Today we have just got back from setting everything up, it looks really good. the space is just big enough for the two of us it has worked out really well.

poor old me!

I was feeling lonely feeling blue
feeling like I needed you
and I hoped you'd call
I hoped you'd see meA+E

Its been my Birthday and sadly I have been nothing but ill, and to top it all my bank account has been hacked into and my stupid bank is useless not being very helpful and costing me a fortune in international calls.  

So the work for the exhibition and the book have come to a bit of stand still. Not because of the bank but because I have been sick constantly for about four days with and temperature and head aches. JOY!  I am not writing this to get sympathy but to make the point that when aboard you have to deal with so much all in one go. 

Lessons

The lessons are progressing well, as are the designs and pages for the book. Didier to us that for our assignment we had to set our books to a theme either a story or something that is continuous. I have decided to set my book to a song one of my favourite folk songs by Martha Tilson, Winter Flowers.

I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do now
I don't know what to do about my love, It seems his heart is a-turning
Where once the white water flowed was stagnant now is my yearning
& I don't know what to do about my love, the cards he deals keep a-changing
Where once he placed me as a queen well he shuffles now rearranging,
Oh I see it, Mmm... and I know it, Mmm

What's he hangs his roses upside down he says he keeps the last love and then yeah
The great thing about winter flowers is they look alive when they're long gone
So hang your roses upside down yeah & keep the last love and then
The great thing about winter flowers is they look alive when they're long gone

So I don't know what to do bout tomorrow with the promises I made now seem hollow
I dream of moving to Galway and I'm not sure I want him to follow
Oh but then he rolls me over in his arms
and when he rolls me over in his arms I adore him, ohhh...need more of him, ohhh
So I don't know what to do, and I don't know what to do now

Hang your roses upside down and keep the last love in yeah
The great thing about winter flowers is they look alive when they're long gone
So hang your roses upside down yeah, & keep the last love in then
The great thing about winter flowers is they look alive when they're long gone
The thing about you and I my love is we keep it going though it's long gone
The thing about you and I my love is we keep it going though it's long gone

So I don't know what to do, really don't know what to do now
And I don't know what to do, really don't know what to do now
I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do


I have been combining an technique of layering images on Photoshop and linking in the text from the song. i am pleased with the progress of the book.

whistle while you work!

Since I got back at Christmas and booking the exhibition room, I have started working on my designs and ideas for the exhibition. We have had a tutorial with Joscelin and Joel they seem impressed by the work we have done, Joscelin took us for a walk around the third and forth year studio's the work that they do there is fantastic, yes some of it is a bit out there for example dipping dead birds and animals in paint is a bit weird and grotesque for me but Joscelin seemed impressed by it. She stood in that section telling us all about the work process and the meaning behind it for ages ( all in french a good percentage of which I fully understood). Other than a few weird pieces the work was brilliant all to a really high gallery standard, most of which put me to absolute shame but I keep telling myself that I am a designer not an artist, but the way in which they work over here does make me more relaxed and more open to ideas than it does in England. I feel that my way of working is changing for the better from having this time here.

Learning about cheese

On the 9th December we went to a pretty little village in the hills getting close the the Swiss boarder. The village is called Mammirole, it is very picturesque when we went it was 8o'clock in the morning and the country side was frosty and crisp much colder than it was in the Besancon which is lower than Mammirolle. We were driven to the village by a mature apprentice to the school, he was very informative speaking very good English, he told us about the region Franche-Comte, spoke intelligently about travelling and the other countries he had visited but mainly he spoke about the village and school we were going to visit. 

The school we visited is called ENIL it specialises in the dairy industry biotechnology and water. We were taken on the tour of the cheese factory, we had to follow all the correct health and hygiene regulations which involved wearing a white plastic apron that covered you neck to toe, then a hair net over every inch of hair, and then just to finish off all that glamour we had to take off all our jewellery and cover our shoes with blue plastic socks. thankfully no photos were taken. The Factory was interesting very nearly put me off cheese for life the smell was appalling at some points making most of us poor English students wretch. After that we got to try some of the cheeses and then we were shown around the school by the students and taken to the local bar and had lunch at the canteen. after that we sat in with a couple of classes and helped the students with their English. it was really good getting some experience working within a school environment. Over all the day was really good. 

This is my group in one of the lessons, we were spilt into groups and we had to decide amoungst us what we were going to perform in front of the rest of the group in English (basicly we played charades) I know it is on one side but my computer refused to turn it the right way round.

Lessons

The lessons are going well this term. Didier is getting us to design and make our own books. We have experimented in with making basic books such as ordinary bound books and a japenese type binding for a book which is very interesting, but this time we are going to make a book by printing and creating our own pages and then we will bind them by glueing them together the way they do when making proper books. 

come fly with me, lets fly, let fly away!

Dealing with flights to and from home for Christmas was quite easy. Siân and myself decided that we should book well in advance because of the rush of people flying to and from France to get home for Christmas. We used Airfrance for flights, they were very reasonable and the flights were regular so we didn't need to worry about getting stupidly early trains to make it in time or have to sleep in the terminal at the airport. 

http://www.airfrance.co.uk/cgi-bin/AF/GB/en/common/home/home/HomePageAction.do

The flights were from Charles de Gaulle airport, it is a big international airport there is no need to worry about getting lost and there are a lot of security and staff to help you. At the same time we booked the flights we booked the train tickets, the trains from Besanҫon are quite regular from the main train station and go straight to the Gare de Lyon. Then from there you get the Airfrance shuttle bus which collects from just outside the train station. It is about 45 mins journey on the bus to the airport, it also drops off at all the terminals so you just have to make sure you know the right one to get off at, but it is very clearly sign posted so it is easy.  We made sure that we allowed ourselves plenty of time to get from the station to the airport and then enough time to check in and have time to relax before the flight. its best to allow yourself plenty of time and to allow yourself to eat something because it is an all day journey. 

Charles de Gaulle airport with it being a international airport it flys to a lot of the United Kingdom airports. 

Now we have come back from Christmas we have already booked our flights and trains back home for Easter. For trains we have a railcard you get up to 60% off prices and it costs 49euros. 

http://www.sncf.com/fr_FR/flash/#/SEARCH/ZGlzY291bnRz/ 

Tut tut!

Ok! I have been very bad with updating my blog... to be honest I forgot all about it. From now on I am going to be much better at keeping it up to date. 




So I have had time home over Christmas, which was fantastic it was so good to be home and see everyone and catch up. the journey to and from Besancon to home was easy enough to do. we caught a direct train from Besancon train station to the Gare de Lyon in Paris, then got a shuttle bus to the correct terminal at Charles de Gaule and from that point onwards it was fine, just checking in and waiting to be called for the flight. we were so lucky to be able to get home because the very next day all flights were canceled due to snow and several of our American friends were stranded in Paris until it was safe again to fly. The return journey was much the same other than a very cold and tedious four hour wait at the Gare de Lyon for our train to leave. 

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

Oh the weather outside it frightful,

but the fire is so delightful,

and since we have no place to go,

let it snow! let it snow! let it snow!

It doesn't show signs of stopping,

and i have bought some corn for popping,

the lights are turned way down low,

let it snow! let it snow! let it snow!

Ok its not quite Christmas but it is getting there and the weather certainly is set for a white Christmas. Sian and myself have just been to collect the post. I took my camera with me because we have had load and loads of snow and it looks like a winter wonderland. It is very crisp and fresh out, and it is defiantly the sort of weather when you need to wrap up for. I have up loaded some of the photo's I took, they are just from around the campus but very pretty.

Workshops.

Whilst I am here in France I intend to do very different workshops to the ones I am doing in England., I have opted to do Photography, engraving and bookbinding.


For Photography, I am taught by a lovely man called Gabby. He speaks quite good English, we occasionally teach him English words he doesn't know and he teaches us practical French words. the course teaches us Black and white SLR photography. So far he has taught us, how to do Pin hole Photography and photograms, both of which I have already done before but I enjoy learning the skills again.

Engraving/bookmaking.

For these workshops we are taught by Didier, he is speaks very good English, but he pushes us to speak French when we can which can be very embarrassing at times. At the moment all we are being taught is engraving but soon we will be taught bookbinding too. so far we have done engraving in wood and then printing with the engravings. I have also done fine point engraving which I found really interesting.

 

Here are some images from our class as we are working. 

Paris

This week Sian and myself visited Paris, we met up with her two sisters Luisa and Nina. we stayed in a nice hostel in Montmartre, called the Vintage Hostel. The rooms were clean and tidy, the en-suit was ok a little grubby but not to bad. It was a quick minute walk to the metro station. It was also situated near the Sacre Coeur, which we visited the first night we were there. It is a beautiful building there is so much detail and beauty in the architecture, the interior is absolutely stunning but sadly because it is a church you aren't aloud to take pictures of the inside. We pottered about Montmartre for a while having a really nice ice cream, then we went to the Eiffel tower. I had never really understood the fascination with it before but now I have been I can appreciate the amazing structure of it and the genius of the construction. I went right to the top of the tower and was stunned by the amazing view, though didn't really like it when I look straight down felt rather ill.

The next day we went to Notre Dame, it is a fascinating building it is stunning to think that people built it before there were any electric machinery or heavy duty cranes. it is also disturbing to think that people may have lost their lives to build it. it is such a beautiful and serene place. the interior is amazing, it is so vast and elegant. when we entered there was a choir singing it was such a gentle atmosphere. Even though I am not religious myself I found it very inspiring and peaceful. We then walked around the island near Notre Dame, it was very rich and the shops were expensive but lovely. After that we had lunch in a nice cafe then we took a boat tour along the river looking at all the buildings along the river side.

After that we got the metro back to the hostel, nipped to a supermarket and got a picnic to have in the room. After eating we walked back to the louvre, and to pictures of it in the dark. Then strolled down to the Opera House (couldn't help but hum songs from phantom of the opera) then walked back to the hostel.

The last day we had to get up really early to go to the Gare de lyon to make sure that there were trains running regularly because it was a day of national strike (another one).  We then visited all the other places we hadn't yet been too. it was a very busy day but fun. I had a really enjoyable time in Paris it is a lovely city and i will defiantly want to visit again.

Getting organised

The preparation for the sandwich year was, for me reasonably stress free. I knew pretty much from the beginning of the second year that I wanted to have a break before I went into my final year, I wanted to be able to relax for a year really become focused on what I wanted my work to be like and develop a style I would be proud of and wouldn't get distracted from. 


I had initially look at going to Finland to study but when I heard of the school in Besanҫon and looked at the teaching plans, really liked it. But to give myself options I applied to both schools. The applications were simple enough. The French application was a little more complicated than the one for Finland but mainly because they wanted a lot of information about qualifications and coursework grades. Both of the schools required an portfolio of work as a type of interview process. i photographed my work and created a Powerpoint presentation burnt to a disk to send with my application. 

These are an example of the work I sent on the disk.

 


I was accepted into both schools but by this time I had done some research into both cities where to schools were based and I decided that I wanted to spend the whole year in France. Now I had made my decision i had to go about preparing for the year ahead of me. the most important thing was arranging the accomodation, the english tutor at ERBA actually helped arrange it for us.

Week 4: I was a bit late setting up the blog! Ooops!

Brief information on Accommodation.  I this to come out really negative but they initial part of moving into to the flat was a nightmare. my parents brought me to Besancon in the car, we took the ferry from Dover to Calais, then stayed a night at a hotel in a place called Whisques, we then gradually made our way through France to Besancon staying over another night in Dijon. We travelled from Dover with my friend Sian and her parents, both of our cars absolutely full to bursting. When we arrived at the accommodation reception, we had to fill out a stupid amount of forms and my parents had to give evidence of their household income etc... 

 After we had filled out all this information we had to pay the deposit, which was a month and a half rent. Their card machine was down so we had to pay in cash, which obviously we don't carry that much cash on us so we had to go and come back again. when we got our flat keys it was a relief. Because by this point I was getting a little panicky and considering going home. The impact of what I was doing hit me, living in a foreign country, speaking the tiniest amount of the language and being so far away from home. I think it stunned me a bit, I don't think it helped that I had a really bad cold. We got to choose what block we wanted to live in and also what rooms we wanted, we chose the rooms with en suit, otherwise you had to share bathrooms with 30 other people ( worst nightmare). The rooms are small but comfortable and the en suit is tiny a bit like the bathrooms you get in ferry cabins. The only down thing about the flat is the kitchen, it is small with no ovens and just 4 hot plates, between a flat of 30 not very good. Its a good job that me and Sian both brought kettles and toasters. Sian's parents brought her a microwave , which we share thank goodness. I have made my room cosy, covering it in posters, postcards and pictures. the view from my window is good too.

Sian from her bedroom window.

Who I am, what I am, where I am and where I am going!

My name is Emily Lorna. I am a textiles student from Huddersfield,UK, but I am currently studying in France in a city called Besancon. I am based at the Ecole Regionale Des Beaux Arts De Besancon, the school is very different from the structure of an English art school. The set up of the courses are far more relaxed and easy going than those of English ones. Which is good in some ways but also for English students coming over to study confusing because it is such a contrast. The range of things you can study is very good, with things such as Sculpture to typography, the options are mind numbing.
 Whilst I am here I will be studying Photography, Etching, bookmaking and also learning how to set up exhibitions professionally. The tutors here are very friendly and helpful, for those who come to France not speaking much French (me included) they are very patient and willing to speak to you in English as long you make an effort with the French too. The student's are friendly most of the time sometimes you get the odd person who, doesn't want to bother with you because you don't speak much French but that is not the general rule at the school. When in town it can be difficult to communicate with some of the locals because they can be a bit particular with the way you pronounce the words in French, if you say it a bit wrong they can be rude and refuse to speak to you but it doesn't happen often. Usually people are polite and happy to help.