It’s amazing to think that we’ve made it through another academic year already. In LIT Clonmel, that means a few things: it’s deadline season, it’s exam season, and it’s almost time for the annual Pen & Pixel exhibition!

So for the past little while, I’ve been busily curating some of my favourite works from the past year, preparing to make my submissions. It’s a fun process; going through the archives on my blog and scanning my hard drives, picking out the work that I’d most like to see hanging on the walls in college. And I’ve had a really, really busy twelve months, filled with a myriad of very fun projects, so there’s a lot to choose from! 

This year, I’m hoping to submit work in a few of the categories; of which, my favourite is illustration. From the digital painting set, HeartBurn and BrainFreeze, to self-portraits and film-inspired art, I’m excited by the possibility that some of those projects might be seen by a wider audience. I’m also incredibly excited to see what illustrations my fellow classmates have been working on too; there are so many talented people here, and Pen & Pixel is a great opportunity to catch up with people and discuss all the creative endeavours that people are involved in. 

I also hope to submit work to the photography category this year, which is something of a change for me. I got myself a DSLR last summer though, and I’m happy with quite a few shots I’ve managed to take with it. So, why not submit some of those too? I can’t wait to see the other photography on display though; we’re a creative, digital media college, and there are countless talented photographers walking these corridors. And it’s always fascinating to see what other people see through the lens.

Finally, I’m hoping to submit to the video category. I’ve done a lot of little video projects this year, in many cases with music by Ruth Butler, and I’d love to see some of that work on display too. It’d be a strange – but very welcome – experience to watch those videos as part of an audience! I’m even more excited though, to see the other video work! This year, for the first time, there will be graduation films on screen! Next year, that space will be occupied by the work of my class group; so I’m really looking forward to seeing how those turned out!

Overall, it’s been a crazy busy year, both inside and outside of college. Pen & Pixel is my favourite way to wrap everything up: sharing and seeing so much personal work and course work from people in every year group, from all different kinds of backgrounds. It’s a brilliant way to connect with fellow creatives too, and it’s a great indicator of all the great things to come! The doors are open to everyone too, so if you are free on the 25th of May, anyone with an interest in media should absolutely consider coming along! Be sure to keep up with the college Facebook pages too: FB.com/AnimationLIT and FB.com/creativemultimedia. And of course, if you like my work, be sure to check out: www.facebook.com/onecuriouschip too!.