Farmily prints and Japan

I'm pretty happy with these experiments - flocking on photographs :) I had a bit of trouble with it because the glue kept sticking the photographs to the screen...then tearing...then the flock didn't stick everywhere...then I blocked my screen with glue..I guess it takes some practise :) I like it so hopefully I'll get it right next time. Its lovely to have flock on a photo. The sillhoettes are me and my family...I'm gonna take them as gifts for my relatives in Japan.

Off to Japan tommorow! Exciting! I haven't seen my sister for a year or everyone else for 4 years...we'll all be different people... I've been reading Japanese for Busy People on the bus. And for now I guess I'd better pack!

Lactaid Dreams by Kozyndan

This colouring book looks amaaaazing :D i NEED it.

"Kozyndan are Los Angeles based mad scientists/artists/ illustrators/lovers/ dorks who appreciate and revel in the absurdity of the contemporary world. Their digitally painted pencil drawings reflect the dichotomy of being at once in love with and repulsed by the rampant urban sprawl, technology and the disconnection with the natural world so many people are faced with today."

Ah that is so true...<3

http://www.kozyndan.com/lactaid_dreams_pages.html

http://www.magic-pony.com/gallery/kozyndan/index.htm

Freud

Earlierb in the week I was walking down Shaftesbury Ave when these caught my eye. The shop is called Freud and they have this stylish tableware. (mmmtableware) Stu would love that cafetiere (but probably not with a blue handle, he'd like wood...ooh i'd like one with a yellow handle i wish they did yellow)

http://www.freudliving.co.uk

Drinking some cider...

...spotted delicious shadows.

A week ago...

I found this amazing dress in a charity shop and gave it to my mum :D I love the print :D

Summer Fair

I popped in here on my way home from Sheffield to have a quick look...too tired to look properly but here are my highlights:

http://lualua.net/

http://www.rentaro.co.uk/projects.html

http://www.aroundthewall.com/

http://www.studiovertu.com/index.jsp

http://www.95percentdanish.co.uk/
http://www.louisecampbell.com/ http://www.xilocart.it/

http://www.jerseypottery.com/

http://www.lindaclifford.com/JerseyPotteryHistory.html

Lampshades, Curtains, Atoms and Insects @ Wellcome Collection

Saturday, Stephanie and I had Wellcome Collection fun :) It was their first birthday so there was music and origami glee and mini cakes and lovely goody bags :D Plus the talk we went for in the first place. Twas about science inspiring design starting with Da Vinci, William Morris to Modernism to Timorous Beasties who did a window for Wellcome a while back. It was good hearing about how they designed the window and stories behind some of the prints...with mosquitos and veins etc. Oooh and Christopher Dresser got a mention cuz he started as a botanist. I love him...I don't know why exactly. But I went to the Christopher Dresser exhibition a few years ago at the V&A about 3 times.

http://www.timorousbeasties.com/about/projects/wellcome

http://www.wellcomecollection.org/

Vivienne Westwood @ Millenium Gallery

I was in Sheffield this weekend with my wonderful gran who took me to see the Vivienne Westwood exhibition thats on there atm. So much wonderful tailoring and luxurious fabric :) Also a dress with I think real garden snail shells attached to it with fake shiny snails :) My favourite bit was a collection from 1981/82 all browns and peasanty with hoodies :) I'd also quite like an enormous silk taffeta ball gown with dramatic bows and the occasion to wear it. Thank you.

A Vivienne Westwood quote from the exhibition that I really like:

"When you analyse where the glamour is in clothes, the romance, it is, I believe, in something that people have seen before. It's like a perfume. You think 'I know that smell. It's reminding me of something else as well.'"

http://www.viviennewestwood.com/flash.php

http://www.sheffieldgalleries.org.uk/coresite/html/millennium.asp

Hey while checking the Millenium Gallery site I just spotted this: http://www.sheffieldgalleries.org.uk/coresite/html/exhibitions.asp?id=935 but I didn't see it at all! Rubbish :(

Central Saint Martins Degree Show

First some Textile Futures.....

Jo Angell's Solar Sanctuary. Shades to encourage people out of the sun with layers that shine through in the light.

Amelie Labarthe's Home Creature Comfort, interior pieces that encourage warmth and affection. Very cute :)

And then others...

Christina Chong's lamps made from shredded paper...recycling and a textured shadow. I really want to play with paper now!

Yunju Lee's fun jewellery of ink spots, ketchup stains and iron burns. Her website doesn't do her work justice but I guess it isn't finished yet.

Hiroka Nakano's Personal Landmark project...cutting sections out of photos and looking through the space. I believe it is to do with how we see landmarks and what they mean to different people. There's a proper explanation on the website though.

St Martins Degree Show - 1st year MA Textile Futures

Wow the busy never stops! It's the end of term now and we have just taken down our little first year section of the degree show. First years wouldn't normally be in it but thanks to Samsonite we were. Our Samsonite sponsored project was Future Travel in relation to the five senses. We displayed in a big wooden globe that Ruiari designed..which I was initially sceptical of but it looked really nice in the end :) Everyone did such different concepts and beautiful work. It's exciting to be on a course with such talented people.

The last picture is my work :) Concept was transparant luggage due to paranoia following terrorism. I looked at ways to maintain privacy or a sense of it - 2 way mirror, windows that open/close, electrochromic film that switches from opaque to transparent with the flick of a switch! And moire/optical illusion to distract from seeing through. It really learnt alot and could probably continue furthur. I think I will be taking some stuff furthur in my final project where I'm taking forward my shadow, light and storytelling while not forgetting sustainability.

Esther Coombs

Just discovered Esther Coombs via Print&Pattern and she has also made cake stands with old crockery :) only hers are actually stuck together and printed :) Her drawing is loveliness. I really want to do more drawing.

Epigenetics

A couple weeks ago we did a week group project combining science and design following an intense day of talks about epigenetics and model organisms - Fabrics of life, marrying design to discovery. It was so interesting! My group were focusing on my favourite talk as well which was by Jim Smith ( Molecular basis of mesoderm formation, Gurdon Institute, Cambridge) about frogs and how cells cleave and organise themselves into what they need to be. We made a concept animation thing about self repairing plates much like how newts can regrow lost limbs :)

My favourite part was thinking about mutations and playing with all the crockery. I made a cake stand out of plates and a wineglass. And of course I needed to bake cupcakes to go on it...any excuse to bake cake :D I've always wanted a cake stand and now I can create a makeshift one whenever I may need then take it apart again for easy storage. Eggggs.

You can see our work here and what all the other groups did over here.

Moo and Print&Pattern

I read the Print&Pattern blog and a couple months ish back it mentioned that Moo were having a sticker competition. I entered and was one of the winners :) yaay. So you can buy a sticker book and one of the stickers will be my crocobird. Moo said the winners would get info and a link on their website though and then changed their minds, which is annoying. But yay sticker :) And yay to my sticker being one shown on Print&Pattern.

Muto - wall animation

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

I'm on the innocent smoothies mailing list cuz their smoothies are best and they send out good links...the latest had this link....it's amazing! So much time and effort!