Martin Cid's Blog: Martin Cid Magazine, page 1121

Charity Champions Award Win Heralds Strong 2016 for Teapot Trust

Laura Young at Charity Champions awards

East Lothian-based charity the Teapot Trust, which provides hospital-based art therapy to children with chronic illnesses, has received two awards at the Charity Champions Awards: Charity of The Year (income under £250,000) and Children’s Charity of The Year.

This is the latest of many awards and recognitions that the charity has received this year – Laura and John Young, co-founders of the Trust, were named Points of Light by David Cameron in June and Laura was given an honorary doctorate from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh in July.

Renowned Scottish artist and playwright John Byrne also donated his painting ‘West of 8th’ to the charity, which was auctioned by Lyon & Turnbull for a staggering £20,000 in in December.

Laura Young said, “It’s great to have the hard work of the whole team recognised, and the Charity Champions Awards we’ve been given provide us with a foundation to achieve even more in 2016.

“Our operations are steadily expanding and although we are incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved in 2015 we want to place more art therapists in hospitals further afield to help more sick children next year.”

In 2015, the Teapot Trust provided over 3,000 hours of art therapy and interacted with 5,215 children.

Laura and John founded the Teapot Trust in 2010 after seeing the gaps in the care of their daughter Verity, who suffered from Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) and also cancer before her tragic death in 2009.

The Teapot Trust provides art therapy in medical settings for children with chronic illnesses. Laura said, “Art therapy is a powerful tool and makes a huge difference to the lives of chronically ill children.

“One of the most difficult things for many children is expressing themselves verbally – the great thing about art therapy is that it provides an alternative medium of communication.

“This builds confidence, which helps children cope with their conditions.

“If children are worried about being in hospital, or for example frightened of needles, art therapy can also be used to help them to relax.”

Since its inception the charity has experienced rapid growth and is now working in seven Scottish towns and cities: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Dundee, Aberdeen, Kirkcaldy and Melrose, plus Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

The main focus of 2016 for the charity is to continue providing its current services and fundraise for a programme of research. It also hopes to begin one-on-one work in the Borders and begin a group art therapy session in the outpatients department of St John’s Hospital, West Lothian.

The Teapot Trust also hopes to raise enough funds to start providing art therapy to the remaining six NHS regions of the Scottish Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology Network (SPARN).

It receives no statutory funding and, with little confirmed year-on-year income and no investments, relies completely on donations to continue its operations.

Timeline:

1990 Laura graduated from the University of Bristol in Chemistry, BSc Hons

Graduate Trainee, Science Museum, London

1992 Junior Curator, Medical Collections & Science Box exhibition team

1995 Visitor Services Manager at Exploris Aquarium, Portaferry Northern Ireland

1997 Project manager in Visitor Attractions industry in Northern Ireland

2000 Full-time mother and carer

2005 With husband wrote the children’s book Sandy Starfish

2010 Registered charity set up: Founder and Chair of Trustees Teapot Trust, and fundraising begins

2011 Edinburgh RHSC Rheumatology Group begins 26 September (first provision of art therapy)

2012 Edinburgh RHSC Oncology Ward 2

One-to-one art therapy at RHSC Edinburgh

Glasgow RHSC Yorkhill Rheumatology Group

CHAS Rachel House Hospice

Glasgow 1-2-1 Art Therapy

Runner up in Clarins and YOU Magazine, Most Dynamisante Woman of the Year

2013 Dundee Paediatric Rheumatology Group at Tayside Children’s Hospital

(Ninewells Hospital)

Part-time book Finance Manager Starts

Winner Inspiring Volunteer Achievement Award, City of Edinburgh Council

Family Hero for Scotland 2013

4Children and Take a Break Magazine Awards 2013

Part time Project Manager starts

2014 Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital Rheumatology Group

Tayside Children’s Hospital, Ninewells, Dundee 1-2-1 art therapy

Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, Paediatric Rheumatology Group

Administrator and Community Fund-raiser employed

Clinical Manager Employed

CEO role created

Laura named Tesco Charitable Mum of the Year

Teapot Trust celebrates its fourth birthday party

Teapot Trust operating in 6 Scottish cities and expansion plans announced

2015 Grants assistant employed

Laura and John Young named Points of Light by David Cameron

Laura Young awarded honorary doctorate from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh

‘West of 8th’, donated by artist John Byrne, sold for £20,000

Teapot Trust named Charity of the Year (income under £250,000) and Children’s Charity of the Year at Charity Champions Awards

Exhibitions. The Image Underneath: Mel Keiser, Diane Meyer, Krista Wortendyke Opening Reception Friday January 29th

Diane Meyer, New Jersey II

The Image Underneath: Mel Keiser, Diane Meyer, Krista Wortendyke. January 29th – March 29th 2016.  Opening Reception: Friday, January 29th 5:00pm – 7:30pm

Schneider Gallery is pleased to invite you to The Image Underneath featuring work by Mel Keiser, Diane Meyer and Krista Wortendyke. The artists in this exhibition distort, draw, stitch and or layer on top of photographic images to redefine the meanings of self (Keiser), history (Wortendyke), and family (Meyer).

Mel Keiser investigates the malleability of self- identity through the repeated manipulation of a single self-portrait. The added and excavated layers encased in encaustic and acrylic boxes result in the pieces to resemble artifacts. These assemblages become evidence of how the slow accumulation of time and experience can create a fragmentation in self-understanding.

Diane Meyer focuses on how the photographic image is able to substitute memory by detaching the actual experience from the representation.  Meyer embroiders on family photographs using the technique of cross-stitch to parallel the structure of digital pixels. The areas of pixilation distort the context of the image, like memory loss and digital file corruption. What remains are small comprehensible remnants of the family image.

Krista Wortendyke obstructs historically significant horrific photographs to emphasize the disconnection that has developed due to the over familiarity of the gruesome image. Wortendyke compels the viewer to have a more emotional response by forcing them to envision the masked redrawn gestures.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Dallas Exhibitions. Joseph Havel: Spill. January 16 – February 20, 2016

Joseph Havel: Spill. January 16 – February 20, 2016. How to Draw a Circle

Talley Dunn Gallery is pleased to present a new series of drawings and sculptures by Joseph Havel in his upcoming solo exhibition, Spill. The gallery will host an opening reception for the artist on Saturday, January 16th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., and Havel will give a talk beginning at 6:00 p.m. The exhibition will be on view at the gallery through Saturday, February 20, 2016.

Spill is the third in a series of three exhibitions of new drawings and bronze sculptures that respond to a poem by Dean Young entitled “How to Draw a Circle.” Through a chance meeting during an awards presentation, Havel and the Texas State Laureate began a friendship and later an unconventional collaboration. After receiving Young’s poem, Havel began his first set of mixed media drawings that map the formation of circular forms coming into being. It is the third series of drawings, “How to Draw a Circle 4,” that will be featured in the gallery’s show. These nine pieces show how the round forms have begun to break down and fall apart into loose, expressive, dark forms.

In addition, a second group of drawings entitled Thistle and many of the bronze sculptures also show the influence of Havel’s interest in the theory of entropy, in which all matter changes from a state of order into a condition of disorder. Yet, instead of ending or becoming lost, the disorder allows for an endless number of new combinations and a cycle of re-generation. The drawings depict Havel’s recognized collar forms as they play out different abstract configurations and then split apart to create new patterns.

After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Minnesota in 1975, Havel received his M.F.A. from Pennsylvania State University in 1979. Havel’s work has been shown in recent solo exhibitions at Anthony Meier Fine Art, San Francisco, and Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston. The artist is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2010 Texas Artist of the Year, Art League of Houston; the 2008 Dallas Contemporary Legends Award; the 2004 Artadia Fellowship; the 1999 Cultural Arts Council of Houston Artist’s Award; the 1998 American Institute of Architects, Houston, Artist’s Award; the 1995 Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award; and the 1987 National Endowment for the Arts, Artist’s Fellowship.

Havel’s sculptures and drawings are included in the permanent collections of the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis; The Menil Collection, Houston; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Contemporary Arts Museum, Honolulu; the Dallas Museum of Art; the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; Musée Arte, Roubaix, France; S.M.A.K. Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Ghent; and the Whitney Museum of American Art. The artist lives and works in Houston, Texas, and currently serves as the Director of the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Dallas Exhibitions. Sarah Williams: Area Codes

Meadowmere Street 30_x18_ 2015 (1)

Sarah Williams: Area Codes. January 16 – February 20, 2016

Talley Dunn Gallery is pleased to present a new series of paintings by Sarah Williams in her exhibition, Area Codes.  The gallery will host an opening reception for the artist on Saturday, January 16th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., and Williams will give a talk beginning at 6:00 p.m. Area Codes will be on view at the gallery through Saturday, February 20th.

In her first exhibition with the gallery, Williams presents a series of small oil on panel paintings. Each depicts a quiet, small town scene in the stillness of night, curiously devoid of human interaction. All of the works come from photographs taken at night of ordinary, rural sites around the Midwest with an early, first-generation digital camera. In her studio, Williams transforms these images into painted nightscapes illuminated with the unusual glow of street lamps, house lights and strings of holiday bulbs, all casting their glow onto surrounding objects.

The straightforward nature of the paintings is deceptive, as the works evoke different moods depending on the quality of light and context of the site presented. For example, Meadowmere Street offers a simple food truck with an amusing hula dancer form atop its sign, as the glimmer from the neon and service window lights illuminate the surrounding spaces and imbue the simple cracked lines of the street with a mysterious quality. In contrast, the isolated house depicted in arine Drive glows with an eerie loneliness, its shadows filled with reflected somber colors that show the influence of American painter Edward Hopper. Williams fills her everyday tableaus of small town America with equal parts of mystery and moody reverie.

After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from William Woods University, Missouri, Williams received a Master of Fine Arts degree in drawing and painting from the University of North Texas in 2009. The artist now serves as professor of painting at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.

Williams’ paintings have been featured in one-person exhibitions at the Nicolaysen Art Museum, Casper, Wyoming; the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont; the Galveston Art Center; McMurtrey Gallery, Houston; and George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles. In addition, the artist has been granted numerous awards, including residencies at Willapa Bay AiR in Oysterville, Washington (2015); the Ucross Foundation Artist Program in Ucross, Wyoming (2013); artist’s grant and residency at the Vermont Studio Center (2010); and the Muriel Braeutigam Memorial Prize from the St. Louis Artists’ Guild (2004).In the fall of 2015, the artist’s work was included in New American Paintings (no. 119, Midwest Edition).

Diverse Thinking is Key to Corporate Success in 2016

Rina Goldenberg Lynch

The call for diverse thinking in the workplace is a hot topic surrounding corporations. Voice At The Table, a London-based diversity and inclusion consultancy focussed on women in business, is holding a lively panel discussion on diverse thinking in the New Year.

The event, which will feature speakers including renowned TV star Kathryn Flett, takes place on Monday January 25 2016 at the City law firm Addleshaw Goddard, Milton Gate, 60 Chiswell Street, London, EC1Y 4AG. The event starts at 6:00PM and ends at 9:00PM.

Voice At The Table’s primary focus is to support and represent women at all stages of their career and provide them with the necessary tools to progress and deliver their unique skillset.

Founder and Managing Director of Voice At The Table, Rina Goldenberg Lynch, explains how business leadership is experiencing positive change. “The era of command and control leadership is largely in the past and we are now experiencing a collaborative stage. However, the future demands purposeful management and leadership, which is something that requires authenticity and a vision beyond the bottom line.”

“This event will give senior female and male executives at corporate organisations the opportunity to learn about this huge shift and explain the ways in which they can gain a positive advantage.”

The consultancy’s passion for increasing both cognitive and social diversity in the workplace is echoed through its courses. The agenda for the January 25 event, titled “Being Authentic: What’s the Big Deal?”, will include the topic of authenticity, what it means to be authentic, why it matters and how women can develop authentic approaches to work. The panel will also discuss how the topic fits into the early stages of a career and the associated risks and pressures.

The panel will be made up of five expert businesswomen, including:

Kathryn Flett, TV star and author.

Vanessa Vallely, motivational speaker and founder of WeAreTheCity, a leading women’s network, job board and website in the UK and India.

Kaela Fenn-Smith, Head of Commercial from Land Securities, the UK’s largest commercial property company.

Amanda Gill of Deutsche Bank, a worldwide banking and financial services company.

Clarissa Coleman, partner at Addleshaw Goddard, the international law firm.

Moderating the discussion is Greg Young, co-founder and CEO of LeaderShape Ltd a leading business leadership development firm.

Voice At The Table, runs workshops, presentations, coaching and mentoring focussed on three key areas; confidence, resilience and initiative. The company also helps organisations to better deploy diversity and inclusion resources through its consulting services.

There are typically between three and six events held each month and are run by one of Voice At The Table’s experienced team of associates, trainers and facilitators or include a panel of experts.

Tickets for the event cost £30 and are available online from Eventbrite.

Links:

Voice At The Table: http://voiceatthetable.com/

Addleshaw Goddard LLP: http://www.addleshawgoddard.com/

Event Tickets via Eventbrite: http://bit.ly/1NSTNjn

Poldark season 2. Aidan Turner, Charlotte Moore and Debbie Horsfield speak about the show

Poldark season 2

Everybody is excited about Poldark season 2 after the success of Poldark season 1. The first series was considered to be a compressed story of Book 1 and 2 of Winston Graham’s 12 historical novels of the same title. How about the upcoming season? Today, listen to Aidan Turner, Charlotte Moore and Debbie Horsfield speaking about the show.

Yes, Poldark returns for 10-episode second series scheduled to be released in 2016. The new series is written by Debbie Horsfield and will cover books three and four of Winston Graham’s series.

Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark

Thus, Charlotte Moore of BBC One revealed: “Aidan Turner will return as Ross Poldark and Eleanor Tomlinson as Demelza,” and co-executive producer Polly Hill recently shared their thoughts about Poldark in a post on BBC, “It’s exciting to be bringing this wonderful cast back together as we continue the story of Poldark. Debbie has done a magnificent job once again, bringing the next two books to screen.”

Maybe you also like this post: What To Expect From Ross Poldark, Demelza and Elizabeth?

Showrunner Debbie Horsfield said, “It’s really exciting to be back in Cornwall for the start of filming on Series 2. Needless to say it will be another rollercoaster ride for the Poldarks and we’re thrilled that that the BBC have given us an extended run of 10 episodes so that we can really do justice to books three and four of Winston Graham’s saga.”

And finally, actor Aidan Turner, who plays Captain Ross Poldark, has also shared his opinions about Poldark extended 10-episode Series 2, “I love playing Ross Poldark and am proud to be a part of this production. The second series of 10 episodes presents a whole new set of challenges for both him and me and I can’t wait for it to kick off again.”

Filming for Poldark Series 2 started last September and is expected to be released in 2016.

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin. One Damned Soul Looking at The Gates of Hell

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin. The sculpture was part of a commission from the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris to create a monumental main door, called The Gates of Hell, based on Dante’s Divine Comedy. Thus, each of the statues would represent one of the main characters of the allegorical poem.

The Thinker represents Dante looking at The Gates of Hell. Then, The Thinker was initially both a being with a tortured body, almost a damned soul, and a free-thinking man, determined to transcend his suffering through poetry.

Museum of Rodin in Paris

Auguste Rodin made a first model in plaster in 1880. The first large-scale sculpture was completed in 1902 though it was not showing to the public until 1904. In fact, there are more than twenty versions of the sculpture in museums around the world, including the one now in the gardens of the Musée Rodin, a gift to the City of Paris installed outside the Panthéon in 1906, and another in the gardens of Rodin’s house in Meudon, on the tomb of the sculptor and his wife. The Thinker is cast in bronze.

The Rodin Museum is in the seventh arrondissement of Paris. It opened in 1919 in the old Hôtel Biron, where Auguste Rodin lived. It’s a jewel of Parisian rocaille architecture, with its park that covers nearly three hectares, adding to its immense attraction and explaining the museum’s very high attendance. In total, it welcomes over 700,000 visitors every year.

Maybe you also like this post: Auguste Rodin and his most beautiful sculptures. ‘The Kiss’ is the rebellion of love.

“Man’s naked form belongs to no particular moment in history; it is eternal, and can be looked upon with joy by the people of all ages.” Auguste Rodin.

Enjoy your day, Yareah friends. Art is everywhere and up to you!

Little Mix Sign With USA Pro

Little Mix: new ambassadors for USA Pro

Chart Toppers to Front Female Fitness Brand

Little Mix are the new global ambassadors for USA Pro – the fashionable sportswear brand, designed by women for women.

The former X Factor winners will star in a new TV advert, due to air in January, and work with USA Pro on their very own collaboration, which is due to release in Summer 2016.

The band, made up of Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jesy Nelson, will each work on collections that reflect their individual personalities and approaches to fashion and fitness.

Commenting on the partnership, Jade said: “We’re so excited! The USA Pro range is ideal for our active lifestyles, as well as those of our fans. It’s not just about gym gear; we wear USA Pro during rehearsals, on photo shoots, when we’re out and about or even just on the sofa!”

Leigh-Anne added: “We can’t wait to be involved in the design process. We’ve got so many ideas! Each one of us has our own individual style, body shape, and approach to fitness so we’ll be incorporating all those ideas into our own range.”

The global deal represents Little Mix’s first move into the fitness world and it was USA Pro’s combination of fashion and functionality that appealed to the girls.

Perrie said: “I love keeping fit by dancing and taking classes but, like a lot of girls, I actually hate the gym! Everyone’s individual in the way they exercise but we all want to look good whatever we’re doing. I’m as likely to wear USA Pro when grabbing a coffee as I am in the dance studio. I really like that!”

The new USA Pro TV advert, due to be screened early next year, is the first time Little Mix have starred in their own TV commercial and marks another milestone for the band on their meteoric rise.

Jesy added: “Filming the USA Pro advert was amazing. We had so much fun! It’s the first time we’ve had our own TV ad so we’re all really looking forward to seeing it when it first airs. We’ve not decided who’s going to host the ‘screening’ yet though!”

Known for its stand-out stylish collections, fun and colourful advertising campaigns, and strong social media community, USA Pro is inspiring and motivating women to join the fitness revolution via #JoinOurMovement.

Brand Manager Rebekah Walker adds: “2016 is going to be a huge year for USA Pro and we’re delighted that Little Mix will be at the forefront of our #JoinOurMovement campaign. They’re all young, beautiful and stylish but, like all girls, they have their own personalities, tastes and body shapes. Those values of individuality and inclusivity fit perfectly with USA Pro. We’re really proud to have them as global ambassadors.”

The USA Pro range, designed by women for women, is available at usapro.co.uk and sportsdirect.com. Follow @USAProUK to #JoinOurMovement.

Accentuate: the app – guess-the-accent party game launches on iOS

Accentuate iOS app

The brand new Accentuate app launches today (Monday 21 December) on iOS. The app ingeniously captures the hilarious guess-the-accent gameplay of the party game that secured investment in the BBC Dragons’ Den earlier this year, and is currently free to download until Boxing Day.

The Accentuate app lets teams of players compete live against each other in a race to be the first to score 15 points. Pick a film quote, repeat it in an accent randomly-selected by the app, and see if your teammates can guess which region or country you’re trying to mimic, before the timer runs out! There are bonus points for teams who correctly guess the movie and year of release too.

Dave Brown, CEO of Apposing, the creators of the Accentuate App, comments, “The Accentuate App perfectly and uniquely dovetails into the ingenious and comical gameplay of the Accentuate card game such that we are convinced it will broaden the hilarity and appeal of the concept of the game.”

Accentuate prides itself on being the party game that curls toes, induces blushes and twists tongues: and the app makes the whole experience even more social with a Team Selfie option and the functionality to film the accent attempts and upload to social media. Get the relatives squirming as they fail to copy a Cockney, mimic a Manc or ape an Aussie. Featuring 30 different drawls from around the globe, a third of which are home-grown British accents, it’s perfect for the tipsy, the uninhibited and the fun loving!

The Accentuate app is available to download now for iOS, free of charge until midnight on Christmas Day (£1.49 from Boxing Day). An expansion pack of additional film quotes is also available for 79p.

Visit www.accentuategames.com for further information.

Pocket App CEO, Paul Swaddle, “Hired” to Judge Finalist on The Apprentice

Paul Swaddle

• Industry mobile expert, Paul Swaddle was part of the team who fed back on the business plan of runner-up, Vana Koutsomitis, in the final of the popular BBC One TV programme

London, 21st December 2015 – Paul Swaddle, CEO ofPocket App, the UK’s largest independent app developer, was part of the guest judging team in last night’s final of the BBC’s hugely popular series, The Apprentice. Paul was part of a panel of industry experts who last night at London’s City Hall, put forward questions and critique on finalist, Vana Koutsomitis’ idea for a new mobile dating app. Vana unfortunately lost out to her competing Apprentice finalist, Joseph Valente and his idea for a plumbing business which also had an app element to it.

Rounding off its eleventh series, The Apprentice follows 18 budding businessmen and women across the course of 12 weeks, as they undergo a series of gruelling challenges that test their commercial and business skills, all under the watchful eye of global business magnate, Lord Alan Sugar. With the number of candidates gradually narrowed down each week, all face the daunting possibility of being “fired” based on their performance. The overall winner receives a significant investment of £250,000 in their own business plan and has the opportunity to become Lord Sugar’s new business partner.

Lord Sugar is often joined in the final stages of The Apprentice by various industry experts who provide valuable insight to enable Lord Sugar to accurately judge the candidates’ business ideas. An expert with a long career in mobile, Paul Swaddle has helped brands such as Kellogg’s, Barclays and Loaded magazine develop first-rate mobile strategies. A widely respected businessman, Paul co-founded Pocket App in 2011 and has led the business to great success as CEO. Off the back of this reputation, Paul was headhunted to be part of this year’s ‘industry expert’ team as an app specialist who grilled finalist Vana Koutsomitis on her ‘gamified’ dating app.

Following the team’s close scrutiny of her concept and business plan, Vana was named runner-up of this year’s Apprentice. Her app, ‘Date Play,’ matches users with mystery partners and encourages them to play online games together. As two users play together, they are gradually allowed details of the person they have been matched with. Paul recognised the potential behind this idea, as it combines two of the biggest current trends in the mobile development space today – online dating and the gamification of daily activities. Facing tough competition, Vana was narrowly beaten by her fellow finalist, 25 year-old Joseph Valente, owner of a plumbing and heating business, who claimed the winner’s title.

In the wake of the announcement, Paul commented, “Making it to the final of The Apprentice is no mean feat, and Vana should be extremely proud of what she has achieved. She has a great business idea and performed very well under considerable pressure in last night’s final, and throughout the series as a whole in fact. It was a real privilege to be involved in the show and I thought Vana’s idea was a great concept but the £250K investment from Lord Sugar was not enough to develop the app fully and turn it into a commercialised product to take too market. In my experience another round of funding is normally required. In fact, we help a lot of app entrepreneurs, not only develop their concept but also raise the money they need to take the app to market, and I am certainly keen to work with Vana to do this if she wants to progress her idea and am already in talks with her about how we might support her.”

Paul is no stranger to judging business pitches, having recently sat on the judging panel of a ‘Best Startup’ contest at Apps World, in which he heard business pitches from 15 new startup companies before naming helpfulpeeps, a new social media network, as the winner. Paul also regularly offers thought leadership on the mobile and app development industry, having appeared previously on BBC News, BBC Radio and Sky News to provide expert comment on trending issues. He writes regular articles and often speaks at leading mobile industry events such as Enterprise Apps World and the GoMobile Congress.

To learn more about Pocket App, and particularly its exciting crowdfunding initiative as the business expands its products, services and team, visit www.pocketapp.co.uk