Monday 29 March 2010

☼ lazy sun:day

the clocks may have gone forward an hour:
but I made the most of some spring sun:
grabbing grasses and herbs:
keys and seeds:
to use up my cyano paper before it was past it's best:
after lunch we dawdled off to the
lazy sunday 
hosted by level 4 magazine:
a family day, humming with children of all shapes and ages:
parents and grandparents:
friends and new faces:
with something for everyone to enjoy:
sticking and glueing:
and a colouring competition:
adults included:
yAy!
then we grabbed a seat:
we listened to the 'poet laureate of Southend-on-Sea'
who made us smile with his ditties of his local
village, where the only gun crime was the squirting of a water pistol
on a badly reversed car:
we laughed very loudly and interacted with the
superbly amusing improvisationists
'the house of people':
then we sat outside in the sun for a while:
eating a huge plate yummy veggie chilli with couscous and tzatziki
from the delicious mykitchen:
the electro sounds of bearcraft wafted outside
so we popped back in to listen:
lots of dads liked this:
so did we:
the sun still shining, the sounds of chatter and
children squealing and some bubble blowing:
ended with a disco of 'songs your children should know':
the kids fascinated by the camera trickery projection:
yes Madam Diva, I saw you shimmying:
and so did I:
dancing on a sunday afternoon?
you betya:

Friday 26 March 2010

Ж chit chat

last night Libbie and I went to a Pecha Kucha night:
what's one of those I hear some of you think:
it's an event for designers to meet and show their work in public:
the name comes from the Japanese term for the sound of
chit chat:
the presentations are quite simply
20 images x 20 seconds
*a sweet 6 minutes and 40 second show*

this is our 4th Pecha and last night saw my 
quietly modest and talented friend
Paul Siggins up on stage:
as well as the fabulous Amy and Emma of
then someone new for me ~  Kidda :
this is him talking about a film he worked on with Noel Fielding :
he skipped along slipping in names like
FC Kahuna and Cadbury's:
another modest artist talking with passion about something he loves:
but it wasn't all commission:
he has time to play with Hama beads and create an
identity for his own music:
I like Kidda:
after a beer break we listened to the wildly inspiring
Holly Murray:
her costume designs are gorgeous:
we particularly loved her collaborative work with the anarchic dancer 

Holly talked about the demands of a costume and how
she enjoys the challenge each one brings:
we love their construction and elegance:
after the presentations we ate cheesecake from a cup:
drank a glass of wine and talked to friends:
all this on a Thursday night!

Tuesday 23 March 2010

∞ a thing to make me go Ooºℴ

a treat arrived in the post today:
green green with recipes from Paris:
savouries as well as sweet:
can't wait to make this with 7 eggs, turmeric, cayenne 
and curry powder:
tastier trees I've never seen:



Monday 22 March 2010

┇┃valleys and mountains

we couldn't resist this invitation:
a Sunday afternoon of folding?
you bet!
rolls of paper to be transformed into giant creatures:
foxy and friends:
printed paper ready for colouring pens:
and nimble fingers:
a heap of blue triangles:
young and old chattering as they fold:
slotting and creating:
amazing shapes and symmetry:
chocolategirl loves origami:

Sunday 21 March 2010

°。◦ wanderers

kicking our heels on a drizzly saturday afternoon:
it's a feast for those who stop to see:
☝ painted white then chipped away:
on corners:
brick walls:
up high:
on doors:


Monday 15 March 2010

βɓʙlue blue for you

a Saturday workshop at CoExist :
creating cyanotype prints using a solution of iron compounds:
it's a recipe introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842:
distilled water + potassium ferricyanide:
distilled water + ferric ammonium citrate (green):
the two solutions are mixed together in equal parts:
in a daylight free room, coat some paper or
fabric in the solution and leave to dry:
place objects or negatives onto the paper:
expose to sun or uv light:
rinse in water:
or first in white vinegar, then in water to increase the tonal range:
this is a negative I found behind a photo in my Nannie's
photo album:
it's a picture of my Mama aged about one:
I gave her this print for Mothers Day:

Sunday 14 March 2010

〒 toku chan likes to look up

another super show at the Tap 
brought to us by Metal :
Toku Chan is a character created by the Brighton based artist
he uses Toku to show us his vivid prints, music and animation:
his inspiration = many visits to and fascination with Japan and it's culture: 
Toku Chan and his friends are like many characters that Western 
children and adults have embraced:
manga books and anime dvds have never been so popular:
*puts hands up ~ big Miyazaki fans here*
Lee Bakers cuddly heart shaped toys and animation are not all:
Kite Fight = a collaboration with St Marys School:
a festival of paper and string in the Winch Room Gallery:
gets our vote!
*click the images to view them larger*
lushly coloured giclee prints are steeped in traditional Japanese
colour, pattern and historical narratives:
we are introduced to the Samurai through Toku:
 geishas wear skull kimonos:
our favourite = gorgeous Chrysanthemums:
these beauties were a treat for our eyes:

Wednesday 10 March 2010

✴ thrift

yesterday I bunked off work and spent the day with
my gorgeous friend Sandra:
charity shop find of the day for me = these ☟
I have a weakness for buttons:
their colourful shapes and differing sizes:
silver or gold:
old and new:
but that wasn't all within in the big polythene bag:
there were these ☟
Elegant buttons indeed:
my heart skipped a beat when I saw a little piece of folded paper:
thinking it was a shopping list for my collection:
no disappointment though ☟
birds nest pattern and sample:
I know someone who would like that:

Monday 8 March 2010

ↂredyellowpinkgreenorangepurpleblue

I ❤ the colour green:
it calms my soul:
it sings to me when I look:
it calls to me when I buy things:
not just clothes:
if it's something to smell 
then green is pleasantly fragranced:
it's the colour of nature and healing:
good for the heart and slows breathing:
helps concentration:
apparently wedding gowns in the 15th-century were mainly green:
in some cultures green means danger:
who would have thought one colour could do so much?
what's your favourite?