Using the subway air that escapes through pavement grilles, New Yorker Joshua Allen Reynolds takes plastic shopping bags and dustbin liners and creates these animated inflatable creatures. So simple, but with a life of their own - New Yorkers understandably love them.
On the road again on Thursday. A night in London, then down to Brighton ready for the opening of Angie's exhibition of prints at Castor & Pollux in Brighton. If you're in the area between 6-9pm this Friday (October 24th) pop in for a drink. It's going to be very tempting to see Underworld who play in Brighton the same evening.
Back to London on Saturday, then Angie heads off to the Curwen to work on new lithographs. More news on that soon.
We're just back from a trip to the South West for the opening of Angie's exhibition at Hybrid in Honiton.
Took the the opportunity to try Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage Canteen in Axminster. Located at the back of their local produce store, the Canteen showcases food from the South West, open pretty much throughout the day. I guess that knowing so much about HFW and River Cottage from the various TV shows and books, it could potentially have been a disappointment. But no such worries. Great service, friendly staff and very hearty food. I think we would have felt we'd earnt it more if we'd walked round the Golden Cap estate that day, not the day after.
Just back from the opening of a new gallery in Norwich, an addition to the Perfect Pad's design led store.
The opening show features the work of our friends Beth Morrison and Trevor Woods. Trevor has a number of paintings on show at the Perfect Pad, though his stunning 'The City Panoramic' can be seen at Doric Arts in Holt. For further examples of Trevor's work, visit www.twoodsimages.co.uk
On Saturday 27th September you’ll be able to visit the newly renovated Dovecot Tapestry Studio in its new home - a former Victorian baths in Edinburgh’s Old Town.
In August I had a chance to see the current exhibition which displays a range of the tapestries created over the past 50 years through the collaboration of the Dovecot’s weavers with a range of artists including Bawden, Moore, Paolozzi and Hockney. Dovecot Studios, 10 Infirmary Street, Edinburgh EH1 1LT www.dovecotstudios.com
'Mr Bawden's House' is another of the series of Christopher Brown's 14 'East Coasting' prints that will form part of his exhibition at St. Jude's. This opens on September 20th at 10am. Do join us if you can.
Brian Webb, of award winning design consultancy Webb & Webb, discusses Chris' prints...
“If
Chris Brown’s postcard size pictures of East Anglian landmarks were
picture postcards they would be the ones you would send to your closest
friends.
The lino cuts that illustrate East Coasting, following on from 'Cuts from Memory', are full of incident and detail - look out for Edward Bawden, portfolio under his arm, walking out of the picture of 'Brick House'.
Bawden, Chris Brown’s tutor at the Royal College of Art wrote, “you are a line chap just as I am and as you know there is nothing that gives greater vivacity to a drawing than quality of line”. Bawden could have added colour which Chris now uses with delicious delicacy. ”
The 14 linocuts are hand-printed on Konoko handmade Japanese paper, each limited to an edition of 25 copies.
A limited number of each print are available for purchase online before our East Coasting exhibition opens at the gallery on 20th September 2008.
'Southwold, Closing Time' is just one of the series of 14 linocuts prints by Christopher Brown that make up 'East Coasting', the next exhibition at St. Jude's.
Christopher Brown was born in London in 1953. He attended the Royal College of Art where he was introduced to, and eventually assisted, Edward Bawden, the master of the linocut. It was Bawden who encouraged him to explore this medium.
Since then, Christopher has exhibited at the Michael Parkin Gallery, The Royal Academy, the Fry Gallery, The Fine Art Society, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Do join us on Saturday 20th September 2008 to celebrate the opening of the exhibition.
Latitude Festival kicks off tomorrow. I'm ever so slightly envious of those lucky people attending, it's only the damp and dreary forecast which eases the envy - just a little.
But enough about the wonders of Suffolk Festivals, it's Norfolk Festivals where it's at this year. Jelly Fest, formerly Maize Stock, is being held at Compton Hall, South Creake, Norfolk (near Fakenham) on the 2nd August. It promises music in the genres of folk, reggae, soul, jazz, funk and live dance, heaps of local food stalls, beer from local breweries and entertainment for the kiddies.
Tickets cost £10 if bought in advance and £15 on the door/gate. Click here to find out where tickets can be purchased. To find out more about the history of this event, read 'The Tale of the Jelly Festival'. If you want to know who is playing, you'll find the line up list here.
We spend a good part of the year not too far from Nairn, on the Moray coast in North East Scotland.
Sod's law, we're going to be back south when the first Ballerina Ballroom Cinema of Dreams is taking place between August 15-23rd 2008.
From this weekend's Scotland on Sunday...
"Cannes it may not be, but Tilda Swinton is hoping to place her quiet Scottish hometown on the world stage.
The award-winning actress is behind a film festival which will be launched in the Moray community of Nairn this summer.
The Ballerina Ballroom Cinema of Dreams event is the brainchild of the Chronicles Of Narnia actress along with Mark Cousins, a former director of the Edinburgh Film Festival, and the Oscar-winning writer/director Joel Coen."
I thought I'd have a blog about two North Norfolk coastal hot-spots seeing as they are fresh in my memory after five relatively rain (and pain) free nights happy-camping at Stiffkey
I knew that Stiffkey Stores had changed hands last year and I'd heard very complimentary words about the new owners, Andy and Alice, but I hadn't expected it to be quite so damned attractive. With their stylistic changes, Stiffkey Stores has been transformed into a coffee shop, home wares and gift shop (no tat), book shop, wine shop, post office and grocery store selling lots of local produce. They bake cakes, make delicious tarts and pot up salads ready for take-away picnics. And they don't grumble when I turn up with a good fifteen minutes worth of St. Jude's mail to weigh and stamp. Stiffkey Stores is open seven days a week but I'm unsure of the opening times.
I blogged about Wiveton Cafe last year when it opened towards the end of July. This year it opened in May ready for the bank holiday visitors and to provide refreshments for punters picking the early varieties of home grown fruit and veg. This year, the cafe has a bigger kitchen with more chefs helping the brilliant Ali Yetman cook with produce grown and reared on the estate - a fabulous example of low food miles. A shop has also been added where you get your picked fruit weighed and where you can buy seasonal produce cooked by Ali in the months the cafe is closed. I can't recommend this place enough for families of all ages who want to relax, eat, pick fruit and savour the beautiful view. For opening times, click here.
