News... Its Rather Big!

It is just over a month ago that I was discussing the Collect show at Saatchi and since then I haven't published a jot - how time flies when there is lots to do! I have been busy working on several new projects and in an effort to bring them to fruition I have just been keeping my head down and working as much as I physically can - and thoroughly enjoying it too!

First project in line for readiness is a brand new website, one which I am working hard to make fabulous, and will be much more of a forum for all things art and vintage. Discussions on style, interiors, making, exhibitions, events will be happening - pretty much everything I am usually jabbering about, but much bigger and better! I am also really pleased to be able to confirm some guest writings from a selected few brilliant people on the scene- so I hope that I have managed to sufficiently wet your appetite for the launch over the coming weeks.
Stay tuned on Facebook and Instagram for upcoming dates, or get in touch if you would like to get involved.

Happy Sunday!....

SITE FEST : Polyrhythmic Snarl

Introducing Ed Lawrenson and Sam Marsh, the highly skilled duo behind Polyrhythmic Snarl who are returning to Stroud's Site Festival this year. Exploring collaboration and process, these paintings use geometric shapes, line and form to trick the eye and manipulate the sense of space.

When viewing this Magic Eye visual trickery on kite shaped canvases I get the distinct impression that I am somehow being drawn in and hoodwinked by these master painters. Attempting to locate the start and the end of these intertwining colourful forms is near impossible but that doesnt stop the viewers eye from trying to make sense of it all. In the end you can take from it what you will - I enjoy the abundance of immaculate colourways and the feeling that I cannot look away.....

This is a teaser of a show, only running from 9th - 11th May on Kings Street in the center of town, so get this one in your diary. Visit the Site Festival website for all the details. Highly recommended!

Light Reading : Slow Down Arthur

Look what dropped on my doormat yesterday! Harland Miller's novel Slow Down Arthur, Stick To Thirty.

Harland mentioned this publication during his talk at the RA last week, and I immediately ordered it.

I'm only on page 5 and its already VERY funny. I try to experience books and films without any previous knowledge of it, so all I know about this is that it is set in the 80's and that our main character is Arthur who hangs out with a David Bowie impersonator. BUY IT. 

Hot News - Angie Lewin Does Ceramics!

Angie Lewin - printmaker, painter, surface designer - a modern day Ravillious who can turn her hand to anything. She has just released a range of ceramics - two designs of porcelain plates to be exact - with John Julian Design. A match made in heaven. Available individually or in sets of 6, two colourways to choose from. Check them out immediately here.

Exhibition : What Do I Do Now?

...The time is fast approaching, when folk from far and wide flock to lesser known Stroud in Gloucestershire for the two main events of the summer - the Textile Festival and Site Festival.
Both are fantastic events, and as Stroud is bursting with both emerging and established artists there is always something great to see.

Last year I participated in the amazing Art Flea event at the Brunel Goods Shed, which was a brilliant show. This year I am back at the Goods Shed for a second time and will be part of What Do I Do Now?  as part of Site. An exhibition hosted and curated by Anna Jacob, alias Clementine Holmes - a newbie fresh out of art college with some big ideas. This years Site Fest is all about art and writing colliding so I will be contributing some new woven textile pieces which I'm really excited about.

Dates are 17th and 18th of May, with live music on the Saturday evening from 8pm.
Find the show at Studio One. Right next to Stroud Station, its easy to find if you fancy a visit.
Find all event info here.

Homage : Stephanie Cole

No, not that Stephanie Cole! No, I'm talking about Stephanie Cole, textiles designer and illustrator extraordinaire!

Take one look at Stephanie's work and you can tell that she has lived in some naturally beautiful places, and these inspirations have seeped in to her work. Lush green places with flora and fauna,  alongside sparse coastal characters depicting everyday activities are what you will find in these surface designs and illustrations.

Wooden Hare Necklace

I first met Stephanie a few years back while at a small but excellent arty crafty type event in deepest Gloucestershire - and then promptly wondered why I didn't already know about her work, it seemed so established and professional. At the time I was managing a craft gallery that was in desperate need of newer, fresher, younger work - just like this - so I instantly set about trying to convince Stephanie to become a stockist.Years have passed and her brand has continued to grow, she has relocated to Finland and has even been voted by Channel 4 as one to watch.

Farmers Market Tea Towel

Stephanie's range is broad but everything has her signature aesthetic to them - screen printed textile wares, paper goods - my current favorite is the wooden hare necklace. I'm always interested to see what Stephanie has been up to, and where she'll go next as there is always something exciting up her sleeve. Keep up to date with new products and events on Stephanie's blog.

I shall leave you with some of my favorite postcard paintings from her Postcard A Day series....

Homage: Harland Miller

After coordinating the launch event Tea with Harland for a new limited edition print with Harland Miller and Other Criteria a few weeks ago, the team and I then scooted down to the Royal Academy last night for a talk with Harland about his work. Sadly the lighting wasn't good enough to get any decent shots of the night - other than the ceiling - and Harland assured the audience that he had put the slideshow together amidst a fever, so there were some low res images, and some fantastically hand scrawled bulletin pages.

Harland is a writer and artist and the two are often inextricably linked and inform one another. 

He grew up surrounded by books and worked with them in a variety of ways for years before he rediscovered the Penguin Classics again as an adult and then began using the designs and layout, inserting his own text, with his name placed on the piece as the author of the book. 

Although I was already familiar with Harland's work, it was great to learn more about his practice.

Some of his words are quotes from his personal life, dreams, events or things he reads or hears which have some resonance with him, and it was great to hear a personal account of how he had arrived at some of my favourite lines. I also didn't realise that Penguin colour code these books to indicate subject matter; brown, green, orange, cerise, which Harland then used to indicate the subject matter of the piece, in relation to the text and intention of the piece.

Sadly Harland's Overcoming Optimism exhibition has now ended at the Ingleby Gallery but you can still visit Other Criteria on Hinde Street to see his new print The Me I Never Knew and watch a short film screening about the creation of this edition, which should be showing until the end of the month.

I definitely recommend seeing some of these works in person - they really are fantastic. But if you can't get to town there are a couple of books about the artist which are also well worth a look. 

Images from Ingleby Gallery

Love Your Walls - Art on a Budget

This is a bit of an early one for me - now that the sun is up bright and early these days, even on a day off after a full on week at work I still want to bound out of bed (OK maybe not bound, but perhaps flop and then slide slowly)  and get writing on all the ideas I usually have piling up in my brain, many of which basically consist of wanting to tell all you lot about the cool stuff that people are making out there.

Today what is on my mind is loving your own space - your home, your interiors, your walls.
As one of my favourite bloggers Abigail Ahern said recently in her post entitled Happy Homes '...when you create a connection with objects and buy stuff that you love it’s a no brainer that its going to make you happy...' and I totally believe Abigail's philosophy on this one. As an artist it is probably a given that I find aesthetics and tactile qualities important in general, but honestly I dont want to surround myself with things that lack integrity, a patina or a positive use. How will cheaply produced, badly designed stuff add to my sense of wellbeing when at home? I get much more pleasure out of even a tea towel  handmade by a designer than by a mass producing blob with some meaningless branding, right? Im not saying I get this right all the time, but its definitely what I strive for. 
And the thing is, that having cool, meaningful things all around you - whether we are talking found objects (vintage, antiques and so forth) or handmade by artists and designer-makers- is not out of anyones reach. I think I could discuss this point for several more posts, and can feel myself teetering on the edge of a tangent here, so I wont mention the umpteen junk shops and brickabrac sales where glory is to be found in exchange for some light rooting and a few pounds. Instead the main thing that I really wanted to point out and share with you today, is that there are some really amazing print designers out there who really have great work at such accessible price points- there's no excuse to keep staring at a plain magnolia wall anymore! I won't give you advice on how to hang your prints - head on over for advice from Abigail, she's the pro on that one. What I will tell you is to check out these good eggs below - it's really worth considering their work, even if it isn't really your cup of tea, but opens your eyes to what fantastic-ness is out there.

First up is Inaluxe, a creative Australian duo who have been doing fabulously well, including a recent collaboration with Ikea on a small range of brilliant affordable prints (not to mention their glorious new cushions with urban outfitters - grab these while you can, they are already selling like hot chips!)
I forget how I found their prints, probably on some internet adventure, but I absolutely intend to purchase a print of theirs very soon. Often inspired by nature, flora and seasons, with a riot of colour and forms, I don't think you can go wrong here. Take a look:

Inaluxe Print Flora, a personal favorite

Inaluxe - The Shipping News Print

Next on my list are the fantastic and perhaps understated Calm Gallery. Based in the UK and created by a young husband and wife team (very inspiring!) Lucas and Hayley - I don't know them personally but based on the high standard and swift success of their business they do seem rather like a young couple with some gumption. They have so many good pieces on their website, including work by fabulous artists such as James Brown and Helen Lang, that I don't feel I need to go on any more. Suffice it to say, they are great and I challenge you not to find the perfect gift to fit any budget amongst their range. A couple of my top picks below:

La Lune - could be yours for a mere £50!

One of many prints by James Brown - this might be the one for me!

Finally - although Im sure the list could just keep going on and on - I would like to make a shout out to Antlers Gallery, a nomadic and dynamic group with frequent pop up shops and an online store. Based in Bristol, I first saw one of their shows in nearby Stroud, and they seem to be going from strength to strength, featuring at this years London Art Fair and recently made it in The Guardians Top 10 best culture venues in Bristol. Their work is dark, conceptual and varied.
Follow them on Facebook and keep up to date with all of their upcoming shows so you can see them next time you pop up! I leave you with a couple of their images - the more you look the more you see:

Sarah Jeffs at Antlers - read all about Sarah's practice here

Rose Sanderson - Seriously love this piece, read an interview with Rose here

Homage: Wanderlust Life Jewellery

Recently, while shouting about the brilliant jewellery designs of Wolf & Moon, I mentioned how difficult I find sourcing jewellery which I really like but which also fits in to my budget.

I like things with weight, with clout, with sustenance - and by this I don't mean FSC materials (although having a sustainable company is of course a great potential side effect of any business) - no, I mean in terms of its sound design, and subsequent timelessness. Vintage works because it is often classic and timeless. Finding modern pieces which I can equally afford but will also stand the test of time was - for me - a tricky affair. But check out handcrafted jewellery design label Wanderlust Life. Created by colleague and friend Georgie Roberts, I saw her pieces before I ever met the lady herself, and was instantly in love.

Faceted semi-precious stones in amazing colours are strung on a natural tone thread, so that they just 'float' on the skin.

This is a well executed, understated and super chic concept. Wear one or wear three - I find it hard to imagine getting these pieces wrong. The idea that they are so small and delicate also makes me think of a nomad travelling light.... Take a look:

Georgie lives on the coast of North Devon in Britain but is a wanderer at heart, often fleeing seaside life during the winter months in search of far flung destinations. It was whilst on these travels that the idea of Wanderlust Life was born. Her pieces play on the romance of travel and the magic of carrying a little jewel from a far away place. Every stone or charm is unique, with its own meanings and properties inscribed on the packaging. 

Wanderlust Life was established only a year ago, not that you would ever know if from the way in which this small business has blossomed and developed over this short period. Georgie's next big move is to begin sourcing other products by like-minded designers by travelling the globe, and continuing to reaffirm her wander lust. She is also about to launch her website next month - Im really excited to see it all up and running!

At the moment you can purchase her pieces on her Etsy page here, and let her keep wetting your appetite for new designs on the facebook fanpage in the meantime. Like her page and keep up to date with new releases and the website launch. Happy choosing!

So pretty, so feminine and so simple. Even an absolute fuss pot like me can wear this and feel content!

The first of many new out-sourced items from Georgie's travels around the world - coming soon!

Goodness This Week - Tiles

Since returning to London I felt that everything I saw was getting filed away in my head, dilapidated Deco architecture, train stations, commuter style (running trainers with sharp tailored work suits!) subway tiles - my head was rather filling up! Enter - Instagram! Obvious to the masses, but not so to me, as I was contemplating carrying around my large SLR camera in an unlikely effort to quickly capture things I was seeing. Follow me on Instagram and keep up to date here

Something that has been catching my attention is the beautiful Victorian tiles that - once you begin to look for them - you see everywhere. Sadly there doesn't appear to be a wealth of knowledge readily available about where this fashion really originated from, however we all know the Victorian's penchant for over-decoration. Shades used for ceramics were largely dictated to by which raw materials were readily available to create pigments, which then direct the colour palette.  I leave you with a selection of tiles walked on during my recent travels.....

Marylebone

Islington - new posing as old

Cheltenham - The old court house

Soho

Wigmore Street

St Giles Street - seemingly old but what a colour palette and design!

Girl About Town : Chelsea Art School Fashion Show

If you say that you are paying a visit to a college but are not a student this may give a rather dull impression of an outing. Not so with an art school, and certainly not so with Chelsea art school. This week I had the pleasure of having an elusive invitation to the First Year Textile student's first fashion show at Chelsea School of Art, very exciting. You dont have to twist my arm to visit Chelsea as the grounds are just lovely, and there is that un mistakable vibe of excitement and creativity to be found in all good art schools - I just love it - so many young people crammed together, just gasping to be given the tools to do something amazing (can you tell I miss it?). Anywho, I was front row, and managed to grab some great, if albeit fuzzy, photos of the show - you get the idea.

There was so much good work in this show - really interesting uses of materials, making unlikely sucessful unions. A few that have really stuck in my head were a recovered lampshade as headwear, and white wadding foam (the kind found inside oven gloves) worked with some kind of hard plastic in to a tailored garment. Other students had gone for a traditional process but had really pushed it further - most memorably were the coral skirt which was pleated in such a way that it appeared to take on the form of a huge tulip and the pleasts waved at you as the model walked by, and of course the knitted horn headwear  piece - strange and wonderful!

The great thing about first and second year is that this is the time when students are able and encouraged to take risks, you are still finding out your own creative identity so you end up moving in new directions and testing the waters. It is in the final year that you have to hone things in, tone it down, and start putting your work in an marketable 'box', so it is just great seeing shows at this level - it really is what you would call raw talent.

I leave you with said fuzzy photos - I defy you not to be inspired. Enjoy!

Homage: Wolf & Moon

OK so you know that I love, love to share what and who I know about designers, makers, artists - creative people doing cool stuff - right? The thing is since I discovered this absolutely gorgeous jewellery brand I have found myself jealously guarding it as a treasured secret. Two reasons; one, I should not alert my loved ones to this brand so that I can spend the rest of the year buying all my gifts for them from Wolf & Moon, and two...because I want it all to myself! (I do realise that point one and point two dont really correlate, I really do). Wolf and Moon is the brilliant work of Hannah Davis, and is based in Hackney, London. What might be at present a modest size company, is I am sure destined for world domination.

Kaleidoscope Necklace

Crystallized Earrings

I cant quite  remember how I stumbled across this brand, and I immediately purchased a necklace and a pair of earrings. And this wont be the last purchase, of this I am sure. 

I actually find it really hard to find jewellery that I like which is also less than my years salary, and these pieces are affordable and yet so well made and presented. I am hoping I can persuade them to accept a commission for a brooch or two....

I leave you with a couple more lush images from their site, prepare to fall in love.....

Sun Burst Bangle

Crystal Collar Necklace