The Jerwood Drawing prize 2010

I went to the university of Gloucester today to look at the work of finalists from the Jerwood drawing prize 2010..what an unexpected treat. If your unfamilair with this prize; in simple terms...it is a competition for whoever and whatever..art related **I mean literally anything**  the winner wins SIX THOUSAND BIG ONES; time to dust off your brushes. There were over 3,000 pieces of work submitted.

Credit where credit is due the winners piece was good, by a lady named Virginia Verran. She produced a muted colour piece of worked named 'bolus-space'. There was a lot going on in the piece and in honesty I dont even know where to begin ** sorry Virginia ** but none the less it was a talented worthy piece and pleasant on the eye.

My interest was more distracted by the work of Tom Flint, his piece being called London Bridge panoramic'...it was astounding. A black moody piece of London showing Depth, fear, real life, hostility, sarcasm and witt....it really was an amazing ** and over qualified for the position it took in the competition** Have a look on the following link to see for yourself: I hate to spoil the party but this guy most certainly was the best I saw in the final 70.

The second place was a bizarre attempt to show art, providing us with an old coffee table stained with coffee and tea cup rings and the student prize went to a nominee who produced a very small card board sculptor, painted in a salmon colour, showing a few shapes all attached with a circular roller coaster looking attachement made out of plastic **I nearly stood on it as I entered the exhibition...oops**

Check out the jerwood site to dig a little further...its interesting to see even if it makes you want to send a little something in yourself, I'm cutting my potato stencils as we speak.

starry eyed

Ellie Goulding was at the o2 Academy, Birmingham last night...she was exactly what it says on the tin..PERFECT! Her voice was edgy, raw and heartfelt, she sang, drummed and played the guitar...she certainly is no shrinking violet...

Her sincerity was sheer, her energy was infectious, not failing to mention where she was from...(Hereford to all of you non die hard fans, shame on you!). She is truly endearing.
The queen of my musical heart was dressed never to fail with an effortless envy...think topshop meet vintage....not designer stated in any sense (but I am sure she has a few pricey pieces that have slipped in..she is female after all). Her attire for the evening was a cropped military jacket,hot pants (with tights..she is no hussy) and suede studded boots from topshop...that I only purchased 2 weeks ago myself....great minds!




I think she is here to stay for a while...roll out the royal red.

Ellie Boots: http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33057&storeId=12556&productId=2038295&langId=-1&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=208544&parent_categoryId=208492&sort_field=Relevance&pageSize=200

The Coco Chanel of the Art World

Louise Bourgeois.

Im not sure if I have been completely distracted by fashion much of my life but the influences of art have skipped passed me. Time to pay attention to the art world as of...NOW. Iv found the fabulous (yes she certainly does own that word)Louise Bourgeois. (25 Dec 1911- 31 May 2010) How I have never heard of this lady before I do not know.

She is a french-American artist gone sculptor contributing insanely talented work to both. Her most attributed recognitiom today is that she is the founder of confesional art. Her collection of work is muchly related to her own life much like an autobigprahy and her later work is inspired by pornography, (yes I said pornography) which I admit is a bizarre mix...98year old women and pornography..an association lets not delve tooo deep in too. Louise Borgeouise is a big contributer to Modern & contemporary art.
I get the feeling from her work and reading about her inspirations that she was a very heartful, possibly lost woman with a facade and inner self which was quite simply soleful and fabulous.

Louise was a great contributor to art which you can recognise that from her work.

I salute you Louise Bourgeois. I am inspired.

Kahori Maki

two words...amazing talent. Kahori Maki is a subject I have been researching as part of one of my modules, the brief being to search for inspiring artists that relate to art & textiles...fortunately for me I staggered upon Kahori who is formally known as a Japeanese Illustrator. She uses only black, white, grey and the occasional brief passing colour...Her work is dark but not depressing, it is alive but not overly illustrated. UNIQUE. She uses a media range from paint, video, installations to drawing. She has worked for Levis, Macdonalds,EllE (Tokyo, Dover ST Market, Chanel & Vogue to name just a few that you may recognize.

Kahori is talked about a LOT on the net and I can see exactly why. Have a look onine at her own site..she is weaves a web of intrigue. Im hoping she is exhibiting in the UK sometime in the near future.......lets watch this space.

http://www.k-maki.com/main.html

Back to School

I am back at school.....I have just begun year one on my quest to become THE British Textile Design extrodinaire. I will be finishing in June 2012 and I have a feeling the three years are going to be tough..ouch!!
But none the less worth every headache in my attempt to evolve myself to the highest peak in the design industry..think Mount Everest (or Snowdon at the very least).

I am going to share with you all my learnings and hope to teach you (even if it is what NOT to do) and maybe a few of you may be inspired by what I do/create/make or simply appreciate my words of wisdom.