Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Mini Make it: Paper straw letter art
Live it: Woking College show
Love it: H's RA Summer Exhibition Adventure
I love a good gallery visit and you may have noticed (if you are a long time reader) that I love going to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition every year. Last year I was not that impressed as it was starting to feel a bit samey, but this year, thanks in part to an injection of colour from Michael Craig-Martin, they have upped their game!
Also, due to being able to take photos in the gallery spaces, I can share all the joy with you guys. You have never been able to take photographs before and they are now asking you to share, so that's another plus from me!
If you have never been to the Summer show, it is an exhibition made up from artworks that come from well known artists right thru to people who submit the work they do on their kitchen table. Every year there is an artist who takes on the overall curator role, keeping all the other artist rooms in check. This is what makes it so special and so different. So lets take a look at what I saw.
The gallery spaces at the RA flit between the small to the large and so there is always going to be a different hang in each room. This year Michael Craig-Martin had painted some of the walls in these vibrant colours, which many would think compete with the artwork on display, but I love! I think it makes the artwork look great and gives a totally different feel to the gallery spaces.
I love the way some of the artwork is hung, it is never uniform and always interesting, I do wonder how they get away with hanging some pieces quite so high, as I know we couldn't at the place I work. A good example is the way in which the pictures are hung in the middle picture above.
These are some of my favourite artists, from Fiona Rae on the left who I have loved for a long time and a new love from Frank Bowling to this Rainfall stunner from Ermioni Avramidou which is Acrylic ink on paper. It really looks like it is wet. I could sit and look at these for hours. I find it fascinating to see what people love and hate in galleries, it's all about individual taste after all.
I couldn't resist showing a few more of my favourites of the show and all by new artists - to me. Which is another great reason I love going to the show every year, finding new artists I like. I love how this piece by Gordon Cheung is hung with all the other smaller ones around it and the mysterious nature of the painting is great too. This large moon quickly got my attention and Jock McFadyen has done a brilliant job of pulling you into the picture. Lastly but by no means least was the X room which was dedicated to Tom Phillips, A Humument, this was one of my favourite pages.
Talking of Tom, here is a little more about the piece. There was a whole book, individually drawn on pages that had been worked and reworked by the artist. You can find out more about the piece here.
So all in all, I think you could say that I really enjoyed the show. If you get a chance between now and the 16th August to go, I really would check it out. But hopefully if you cannot make it, this has given you a good flavour of what it's all about.
Can't wait for next year!
H
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Make it: Unicorn Sprinkles Poster with Free Printable Template
In order to avoid another 'Sammy baking fail post' I have stuck to what I know best for this weeks DIY, arts and crafts. But it is in the baking spirit as we are celebrating the new series of the Great British Bake Off which starts tonight 8pm on BBC ONE!
Sprinkles, normally reserved for cupcakes, are the main ingredient in this super easy art work. Wouldn't this be a great DIY to do with the kids over the summer holidays? 100's and 1000's are cheap, cheerful and so much easier to clear up than glitter. You can even download the Unicorn template I drew for free!
Start by using your pencil to rub over the reverse of your design. Once you have covered the design in pencil, turn your image over and tape it in position over your coloured card then trace over your design. When you take the top copy away you should be left with a light outline of your image. It is best to open your pot of sprinkles now so you are ready, then using your paint brush generously fill in your shape with glue.
Sammy xxx
P.S. Let us know in the comments or on twitter @livelovemake what you think of the Bake Off tonight and winner predictions please!!
Live, Love, Make, Like, Share, Follow, Tweet, Pin, Add, Enjoy.
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Love it. Sammy's Art Wall
I am not the first and I wont be the last to install a art/photo wall in my home, just check out Pinterest, but I love it so much I just had to share. It may not be the straightest, or the most thought out, but having all these memories on my wall for me to be reminded of everyday is one of the best home improvements I have ever made. It makes me happy every time I look at, even if some of the frames are a little wonky and it features our old heating control that is welded to the wall, that's just how I roll. Also, yes I store my pink fluffy headphones on the surround sound speaker, Who doesn't?
I have a little felt ball garland surrounding some sketches I bought a few years ago from an artist I met on deviantart.com, Francesca aka Vampire Doll was selling off some of her originals, and I couldn't resist. I have been waiting to put these 'dark ladies' up for the longest time. In the middle of those is a piece I made with my Silhouette Cameo, a paper-cut of the word 'wonderful' inspired by a shop window display I saw in London.
If you are thinking of putting up your own photo/art wall and have been putting it off, do it. I love ours and am so happy that we bit the bullet and just got on with it. I can't wait to add a couple more photos to our collection this year with two of our friends asking us to photograph their weddings, it is always such an honour to be asked to do that.
I hope this has inspired you to have a go at putting up some of your favourite art and photos. Have you got a photo wall already? I would love to see, tag it #livelovemake on twitter or Instagram so we can see yours too!
Sammy xxx
Link for the week: Saatchi Gallery
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| photograph courtesy of www.saatchigallery.com |
Last week I sent a friend over to the Saatchi Gallery on her week off to check out a new exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London called Paper and so I thought I should extend the invitation for you to go visit too, before it closes on Sunday 3rd November.
The exhibition celebrates the use of paper in contemporary art and the paper sculpture above is by Marcelo Jácome and was what first made me want to go see the show.
You can have a look at a great review of it here.
If you do go, please let me know what it's like as with Half Term next week at work, I don't think I am going to have the time to go see it.
Live it
H
Link for the week: Excel Art (yes really)
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| Photo courtesy of http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2013/05/28/tatsuo-horiuchi-excel-spreadsheet-artist/ |
I am constantly amazed by artists all over the world with their skill and enthusiasm for their work and then someone comes along and really makes me rethink how art can be made.
Using a different tool of the trade and some huge imagination the artist Tatsuo Horiuchi uses Excel to make art. Yes really! He sat down one day and thought I can make something really amazing with a very mundane office tool. You can see more about his work on the link below:
I know you won't believe your eyes and so I thought I would add another picture from the article, so that you can see that he uses the autoshapes tool to make mini works in each of the cells, so that when combined they make beautiful pictures!
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| Photo courtesy of http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2013/05/28/tatsuo-horiuchi-excel-spreadsheet-artist/ |
His work may not be the most unusual of subject matter but the way in which it is made really shows what can be done with alot of imagination and a programme people use everyday for spreadsheets and accounts. As one of the people who commented on the original site said 'Just imagine what the guy could do with Photoshop!'
I am going to give it a go the next time I find myself doing some life admin, so if you try it too let us know in the comments below as we would love to see what you get up to.
Make it
H
Link for the week: Niki Feijens
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| photo courtesy of www.dailymail.co.uk |
I found this article while I was looking for something else - like you do.
This artist takes photos of abandoned places, places which could entirely be lived in, if it wasn't for the fact you know that it has been years in which they have been lived in.
A bit of blurb from the article: "His Disciple of Decay series features abandoned family homes that must once have been filled with conversation and laughter, but now house only the crumbling belongings of their former occupants.
One picture shows a bedroom that remains almost exactly as it was left, from the paintings hanging on the walls, to a television on a chest of drawers and a lace covering on the dressing table.
Another reveals a darkened living room with ornaments lining a sideboard, and a pair of shoes resting on the floor in front of an empty armchair.
Other images capture buildings in far worse states of repair, from the crumbling ceiling in a once-grand piano room, to a rotting table and chairs in an abandoned farmhouse."
I think they make some very beautiful pictures, if not a bit eerie. But sometimes that's what makes them so intriguing right?
Anyone else I should have a look at? let me know in the comments below.
Love it
H
Love it: Illustration
Illustration has to be one of my favourite artistic genres. It is beautifully diverse and encompasses so many different techniques and skills. 'Illustration' is traditionally used for books, magazines and print copy, but are often beautiful works of art in their own right.
I have a couple favourite artists right now and recently I have discovered a few new crushes.
Katie Rodgers is the artist behind the blog Paper Fashion and has been commissioned by some of the best designers around including Kate Spade, Coach, Alicia Keys, Stuart Weitzman, Paul Mitchell, Target, Nabisco, and Lucky Magazine among others. Her Fashion watercolours are just stunning, she also uses textural touches like glitter, crystals and tulle to embellish her work. You can view her work and sketches on her blog and shop her originals and prints here too.
Esra is a freelance artist based in Oslo, I found her work whilst searching Instagram and fell in love. Her dreamy watercolours in rainbow tones are beautiful. You can purchase her work at her on-line shop. Her newest skull paintings are Amazing!
She has worked with Vogue (China), Nylon Mag, Levi's, Nike and Glamour to name a few.
I found Ella Masters through her blog. A self confessed creator of pretty things and novelty jumper collector, she is a young talent who is destined for great things. I simply adore her tattoo'd men with their burly beards! You can buy her pieces through her Etsy store and her blog
An illusive artist who goes by Mr Peebles, is a new discovery of mine but I already own one of his prints, 'Keeping it reel' is up at my shop, just too cute for words. I know H is a fan of this guy too as she was literally jumping up and down when she got 'Owl Capone' in her goodie bag from the 'We Make London' party we went to a few weeks back.
You can find his work through his website and through independent stockists worldwide, as well as currently in the We Make London Pop up shop in Camden Lock Market.
This is illustration on another level. Yulia, aside from being an amazing artist with conventional materials, she is a paper quilling WIZARD! The first image is one of her traditional works but the other three are all created with thin strips of coloured paper, painstakingly curled and pinched to create these amazing images. I love her use of negative space, her use of colour and typography. Yulia has created commissions for some of the worlds largest corporations and publications including Starbucks, Westfield, Orange, Cadbury, Time Out London and the New York Times magazine. If you only click one link today make it this one and check out her website to see soooo many more of her beautiful works.
I hope that this has inspired you to search for some artist that you admire and to check out more works from these super talented lot. Tell me about your favourites, I would love to check them out.
I'm off to get my quilling supplies out of my mums loft!
Sammy xxx
Live it: Art on the Street June 2013
It's that time again, for me to gush a little about my little town and the amazing event that is:
Art on the Street. A couple of weeks ago our High Street was once again the place to be, a beautiful array of artists from near and far, filling our town with artwork, music and community spirit.
With over 120 artists displaying their work at this outdoor market, the weather was totally on their side as the sun came out and shone all day for this years event. It is a spectacle to behold as the highstreet is filled with gazebos housing everything from acrylic paintings to watercolour to photography and the list goes on.
A full day of music organised by our friend Carly of Maidenhead Live and a second stage this year featuring the best talent from one of the event sponsors Claire's Court school.
Another brilliant feature of this years event was the amazing work of mural artist PHILTH who spent the whole day creating a beautiful female inspired work on a blank space at the end of the High Street. The piece sponsored by Maidenhead's branch of Bovilles art shop and Liquitex paints is a beautiful addition to the town. It is placed on a wall that can be seen from one of the main roads, I drive past it everyday to get to our shop.
The most lovely thing about this artist working on his piece during the event was that people were coming up and chatting to him all day long, kids and adults were having their picture taken with him. He even had a visit from a local resident and artist some of you may know, Mr Timmy Mallet.
One of the things I love most about taking photos at this event is that I get to chat to some of the amazing artists that take part. I got to have a chat with Georgina Adby, who I first met at last years event, I am always drawn to her pitch because of her vintage suitcases that she uses to display her pretty prints. I loved her new gemstone outline print, another addition to the wishlist.
A couple of our friends had their work on show, the lovely Gemma Collins had her floral acrylic paintings up for sale (I know that she sold her foxgloves painting to another of our friends Maria formally of Happy cakes) and the gorgeous Laura Spires had some of her stunning HDR photography from her recent trip to France on show. I had a great chat with Laura and fellow shutter-bug Rob Of Rob Percy Photography. We were discussing the idea of putting together a collective of young local photographers, all with different skills sets and styles.
This year more than any other I felt that the mix of artists was so diverse, there was every kind of technique and style represented. It was a feast for anyone's eyes, art lover or not.
I also had a lovely chat with Nicola of Betsy Blu, she had some of her beautiful butterfly paintings available to buy. they looked so pretty in the sunshine.
An empty shop unit was put to good use, housing ceramics and even more works of art. The piece above was the work of Janette Crouch. It caught my eye because I recognised the pattern, she had used a lace trim (that we sell at Sew Crafty) to make impressions into the clay, then painted, glazed and gilded the bowl. I loved the touches of gold and the raw quality of it.
I really liked this sewn art piece by Ramandeep Bhamra who is a part of the Long Close Art Space a group of young artists based in Slough. I also discovered a new ceramic art crush in the work of Jane Schneider of Petits Carreaux. Her comic book and tattoo themed pieces are firmly on my wish list.
These ceramic busts are the work of Suzanne Nedham I really liked this beautifully hand-painted bust form.
The Students from Claire's Court (aswell as entertaining the shoppers on the High Street) also had a home in the Nicholson's Shopping Centre where they had their art work on display alongside running art workshops thoughtout the day, making use of another, usually empty shop unit.
The team behind the Fuhaar Indian culture event that also take's place in the town, showed off their rangoli skills in the shopping centre with this beautiful piece of sand art.
It is always so amazing for me to see my town looking so busy and full of happy people. It is sometimes very sad to walk down the high street with all the empty shops and not many shoppers, but days like these remind me of how brilliantly vibrant our town can be.
The five women who organise this independent non-profit event really do deserve medals for the work they do for our community with this event, Marie, Harri, Steph J, Steph G and Carly are, as they say themselves 'on an unstoppable mission to fill our town with art!'
And a jolly good job they do of it too!
I will leave you with a full view of how PHILTH's mural looked before I headed home. He carried on until it was complete and it is stunning. If you want to see what ended up being painted in that glowing ball, you will have to pop down and see it for yourselves <3
If you are local, or ever find yourself in the area go check out the Enjoy Maidenhead website, full of all the info you need about the town and details of all the events that take place here and if you want to find out more about Art on the Street and their next events, check out their website, or like them on Facebook, or follow them on twitter.
Very proud to be a Maidonian.
Sammy xxx
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