CHRISTMAS GOODIES

I got some sweet books/magazines for xmas.

We Make Magazines - Inside the Independants
Andrew Losowsky
http://www.magmabooks.com/content/bookshop/book.asp?disp=0&id=6030&page=1&c=&sc=3

(Thank you James : < )

Made & Sold
http://www.madeandsold.com/

The Lonesome Puppy

Yoshitomo Nara

IdN One Year Subscription

xmas present highlights: Illustrated Dolly by Jim Cereal, "To Sarah, I'm going to rape you. Love Noely x x" note from Noel Fielding on bog roll (thanks James haha), leaf broach, foxy foxy finger puppet, CLOTHES woollen jumpers, BUFFY DVD's...cashmere hot water bottle....

It's been a wonderful Christmas.

I don't want to use the word 'hate' but I dislike art, installation art, conceptual art.

Home and friends who don't take themselves too seriously are much better.

Not too fond of going back to Edinburgh.

Moan.

Alison Hayes : And When I Crossed The Wild

My sister Alison is an Abstract Landscape Painter who graduated with a First from Northumbria University. She has also won the British Airways Travel Award '09 awarded through Artwise Curators based in London. Alison works on paintings and watercolours with pastel and lilac tones and harmonious colour palettes that give her work a wonderful ethereal quality.

Alison has a Solo Exhibiton at Kings Manor, a beautiful old University of York building, http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/presspr/kmanor/, which opens to the public on Weekdays 10 - 3:45pm from Tuesday 22nd Dec until March 19th.

There will be a Preview on Monday 21st December from 5 - 7pm, with festive nibbles and drinks. If you're in York come along to view Alison's beautiful paintings in a unique venue.

http://alison-hayes.co.uk/

NHS Contraception Advert

A few weeks after I did a poster about different forms of the contraceptive pill and womens choices, the NHS has made these advertising campaigns.

I think they're really really good, and have a good young target audience. It's similar to the alcohol and drugs ones aimed at young people, using everyday situations.

Yayyy.

http://www.visit4info.com/advert/Worth-Talking-About-Contraception-NHS/80504

quick visit to london this weekend!

Popped down for one night on Saturday and spent the Sunday at the Christmas Vintage Market.

Lots of cool stuff to choose from for xmas presents, the following are the particular stalls I liked:

Zeena Shah, Printed Textile Designer

Her stall had lots of little things including hand printed cushion covers, notebooks, teddys etc. All cute stuff, but it stood out from the other stalls as being more unique and that a lot of love had gone into the work.
It seems she went to Chelsea college from this link : http://ual-chelsea-textiles.blogspot.com/2007/06/zeena-shah-print.html

Mel Simone Elliott, Artist/Designer/Art Director

I vaguely remember seeing these maps but I don't think I realised it said 'You Are My World'. That's really lovely.

From her website: "Boys like maps, girls like romance - FACT.

So why not get your other half a print of an accurate, hand-drawn world map with a soppy message subtly emblazoned all over it? It's a win win situation."

http://www.ilovemelproducts.blogspot.com/

I also thought her little colour me in zines were pretty cool...

LANDFILL & MANYMONO Prints,

 http://www.landfilleditions.com/

"LANDFILL is an arts and music publisher based in London, founded winter 2009.

Much of our printed content is produced on our Riso RP 3105ep via our sister group - MANYMONO."

These prints really stood out because of the quality and detail but also because they were bright green. I probably would have bought them if they were in a different colour, perhaps a variety of red/pink hues.

The company sounds really interesting...best do some research into them.

There was also a really nice bakery stall too called Bee's Bakery, that did nice ginger bread typography biscuits and shortbread and mini filo pastry mince pies. Mmm. They don't have a website though.

They specialise in "bespoke wedding & celebration cakes, cupcakes & cookies."

Also, I recommend the Chicken Fajita wrap from the Mexican stall in the Truman Gallery, it will feed you for a good day or two...even though I carried on eating...haha.

even better...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8409188.stm

crazy old bitch

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8409246.stm

Really beautiful music

Kaki King and her album '...Until We Felt Red': spotify:album:30WhcR5ZIZ9FvT9LwMV9Pw

It was on a playlist I found spotify:user:flynnduism:playlist:3qczv5X0kxC8blol156yL7 which has some of my favourite songs on.

Bliss

POW and New Banksy Print

Apparently people are camping outside POW on Commercial St in East London, as there are some new Banksy prints inside...http://www.hookedblog.co.uk/2009/12/banksy-ball-games-prints.html

Pretty boring though, street art should be on the streets for everybody to see it, not on a limited edition print that's going to make someone sweet bucks in the future...It's a difficult one.

Smack My Kitsch Up, FYS Xmas Market :)

Awww I loved loved loved today. Kim hired out the Wee Red Bar http://www.weeredbar.co.uk/ for this weeks project which was 'Production'. We had to make the best thing we've ever made, reproduce it 6 times, package and sell it.

I made Nigella's Choc Fudge Cake and packaged them individually with 6 different designs. The designs were pretty random, involving a background of packaging e.g Silver Spoon Icing Sugar package or a Chocolate wrapper or Butter wrapper.. and a photo coinciding with the colour scheme and some text.

They turned out pretty well! Although the quality of the print isn't as good as it could have been as they were colour photocopies...anywho.

I loved everyones stalls, there was so much random stuff. I particularly like Sophie Cunningham's little monster teddy bears with beans and lavender in.
Once I had sold my cake I went to buy a teddy which will be made this week! Yayyyy!

Here's a few photos...

boom

There weren't any tables left. Pretty sweet armchair though.

Yeah they LOVED it.

Graze box and cake and shiny mother of pearl pear from the British Heart Foundation and Buzzcocks downloaded on iplayer and James and seeing friends next week and being home and seeing my dogs and eating free food...happy.

cake

Templates for individual cake slice boxes. Pretty untidy scanning. Soz.

Prints from Berlin + cake making today :)

Fleamarket in Charlottenberg

  

Then my flat in Edinburgh...

cake

First template for my cake slices.

FAIL

This is the worst version of this cake I've EVER made. dooooom.

Tomorrow I'm going to make it again with the caster sugar instead of granulated, bournville cocoa instead of tescos own, and i'm gna go get some scales that actually work!!

Also, it's pretty dry, so think i'll have to turn the oven down.

Eleanor Jane Parsons

http://www.eleanorjane.co.uk/

This lady has made me want to make my own fanzines.
Bought two of hers at a Christmas Vintage Market at the Free Range gallery in Shoreditch.
The zines include beautiful colour prints that appear to be scanned in and photocopied.
Gonna take my film cameras with me everywhere. It's so wonderful getting the prints back and nothing can beat the quality and grainy texture of film.
mmmm.

I've made a cake today for my project 'Production'. We were asked what the best thing we've ever made was. Mine is Nigella's Chocolate Fudge Cake...although my scales bailed on me and my student digs cooker is filthy and after tasting a crumb of the cake, I'm worried I put too much oil in and it may have acquired the smell of all the crap in the cooker....hmmmm.

We shall see.

Anyway, I'm going to design the packaging for it which will be 6 designs for a wedge shape box. Hopefully I will sell some slices by the end of the week.
Then that is college done for this term! Crazy.

eelus

This photo is from the MuTATE outdoor exhibition in London.
Really love the first few pics I've seen of this street artist http://eelus.com/#/originals/?id=23.  I haven't seen it in person, but heard the whole thing was an amazing sight to see.

little red corvette

BOOM
loving a bit of Prince – Little Red Corvette

Got my photos back today :) love them. I love colour film. I bought 3 Fujifilm Superia 400 today for £8 woop woop.

I wasn't allowed to take a photo of James with his work...hahah deary me, they wanted us out!

These photos are from early Nov or end of Oct I think.

My messy messy room..

An amazing building they're tearing down in Edinburgh. Sob. I'd love to live in a converted old warehouse/hospital/whatever it is. There's some really cool flats in a converted hospital down the road...mmmm.