Make it: Colourful Paint Palette

Its a quick but fun little DIY for you today as I really wanted to use some ceramic pens that had been languishing in my craft stash for a while.  I thought what better way to use them than the usual mug or plate designs, than to make a colourful paint palette for the artist in you or as a present.

So, to start, it really is so simple, you will need: a surface to colour in (I used an old soup plate that I usually use as a palette and so it seemed to lend itself well for this project), Ceramic pens/paints or sharpies and an oven.

I decided that I wanted my plate to be the palette it usually is and so splodges of 'paint' were what I was going for.  I had these pens, but perhaps if you were using paints you could give them a curvier edge like paint splatters.

I felt I wanted to add some text too, for a little paint inspiration and so I added the 'get creative' text on the edge of the plate.

Then I popped the plate in the oven for around 30 mins at 160 degrees so that the pen paint will stay on the plate when washed.  Do remember to use a surface that will be able to withstand the heat in the oven otherwise it will crack.  I then added my handmade ceramic pot I use as my water pot (but any mug or cup will do) and its finished, told you it was simple.

You could make this as elaborate as you like with more colours, more text or patterns.  You could even have circles of colour and so your actual paint will go in the spaces.  It easier on a flat surface, painting onto a mug can be hard due to the round surface, but a bit of practice and also a cloth dampened with warm water will take away any mistakes quickly.

Hope you liked this little tutorial, these pens are so much fun for children to use too, so maybe it could be an Easter Holiday activity to keep those little ones busy if the rain keeps coming.

H,xxx

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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.

 The architecture room is always one of my favourite's.  One of my favourite things to do when I was at uni is make models and so this may be why.  I loved this colourful model, only annoyed as I didn't manage to get who it was by.  This sculpture by Tim Shaw is huge and considering it is actually made from painted foam, polythene and steel - it looks very like a bronze sculpture close up.  I couldn't do a post about the RA show without showing the stairs!  Truly the best way to enter and leave the building!

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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Live it: International Women's Day

So today is International Women's Day and if you have Sky tv, on Living tonight there is a program called Five, an anthology of five short films about breast cancer, I can't say I'm looking forward to it, that's not quite the right phrase to use but I'm sure it will be an emotional watch.

Our local Art shop A. Boville Wright in Maidenhead celebrated by filling their windows with postcards of art work by Female artist, famous and non, all of which were selected by their customers.

Did you do anything to celebrate??

Live it
Sammy xxx

Love it: The Summer Exhibition at The Royal Academy of Arts 2011

One thing that I love to do is go to the Summer Exhibition at The Royal Academy of Arts every year and today with my recovery day after Glastonbury I thought it would the perfect time to go for a little wander.


Every year people from across the country apply for their work to be in the show and some get the chance to be selected to hang their work alongside some famous artists.  My favourties are always the Photography and Architectural model rooms which show the different sides of art as just a painting form.  The architectural models did not disspoint this year, although I felt that they had been squashed into a small room.  There was not as much photography that has been previously, but I guess that as each year is curated by different Royal Academians, then they each have their own idea of art.


I also saw that some of the work that doesn't get selected, gets a second chance at a gallery over near Waterloo, so that might well be my next port of call!

Live it!
Heather