A long overdue account of Spike Open Studios

Back at the start of May I went to visit the Spike Island Open Studios, I posted a couple of images up here, but didn't ever get round to writing a more in depth report of the day. I've finally got round to doing that now. I went with friends and family, and totally enjoyed the experience of seeing everything via my 4 year old nephew's eyes, he asked me to take photos of him next to all his favourite pieces of art:

Angela Lizon

Patrick Haines


Rod Harris

For me some of the most exciting and inspiring bits were in the artists studio spaces:

Angela Lizon and Michael Hayter

Project 365...week 22, and i'm finally back on track

week 21

week 20

Well, I didn't like to mention it last week, but now that week 21 is well and truly out the way I think I can safely say my project 365 is back on track. Both week 20 and 21 were full weeks, which means May is shaping up to be a pretty good month despite missing 3 days earlier on.

Sometimes I wonder if i've really got the right idea with the way i've approached this project- when I look at Mithi's photos, or Claudia's I think 'damn! those are good'. Then I remember that for me sometimes getting out of bed 365 days a year is an achievement, and all I really wanted to do with this project was to see if it could be done. I fell off the horse a couple of times, and probably will do again, but i've got back up and carried on with taking those photos.

I like how my photos are snapshots of every day as I live it, some days are rubbish and feature fuzzy photos of slippers and cereals, some days feature amazing images that could stand on their own as artworks, but each image captures a little bit of how i'm feeling on the day I took it. The days with no photos- probably days it's best you don't get to see.

Bugs in Mexico

My friend Tom makes amazing things. Here's a video of Erica in Mexico playing with one- it's a nice short film that made me all happy inside.

Goodbye little one

Goodbye my little Moley friend- off to spend his 30p with the lovely Amy Arctic Circles, who is responsible for these amazing tea towels with prints of top Bristol sites, such as Colston Tower:

The Shot tower:
and the cranes on the dockside:

It's super nice to know where something's going when you sell it, and to know a little bit about the place it might end up 'living'. There's more Moles still for sale in my shop.

Seamstress Milla

Well it would seem that given a week off I am actually still able to make things. Today I sewed up this cushion cover in 20 minutes, it would have been quicker but I went wrong and had to unpick and start again with one side. I picked up the fabric from Ikea last year thinking I would do 'something' with it, and now I finally have. Another 'finally' is this little project:

Curtains for the living room. For the last 3 years I have had curtains that have acted as window dressing and not really served their proper purpose. For the last 3 years I have also had the ability and materials to rectify this situation, but I only seem to have got round to doing something about it today. I don't have enough curtain hooks, so they don't look perfect yet, but soon (tomorrow?) I will have curtains that open and close! These were made from Ikea tab top curtains that I took the tabs off and sewed curtain tape onto instead. You can also see the next project in this photo- I need to fix the sofa cover (also Ikea...I do shop in other places I promise). I got this sofa when it's original owner emigrated to Australia, and since then i've been meaning to patch it up, to cover the paint and coffee stains (and to make it a bit more interesting). Seems like this week it might actually happen.

What projects are you getting done this week?

It's hard work trying to do nothing and relax, so today I ended up in the second hand bookshop for a while (until the dust and mouldy books made my breathing bad and I had to leave)- I came home with three books, one of which I am going to start drawing in. Although I feel bad about drawing in books, at least this one already had scribbles in and a drawing of a stick man, so someone had beaten me to it.

Now...does anyone want to treat me to any of these Etsy finds?

Sun Kissed from fadefade

Joseph and Angela from This is all I know

Munch from lorena barrezueta

We got stuck in the mud

Well, that's the end of the first year pretty much. We aren't having an end of year show as we've not been working on a body of work, rather filling our time with commissions and drawings. This is my final piece for the drawing component of the course- it's about 8 x4 ft and now i've got it back home I have no idea where it's going to live. This isn't a brilliant photo, and you can't really see the detail, but i'm more or less happy with it. Of course there's always something that makes you feel a bit disastisfied with anything you produce, and this is no exception, but it was good to make a return to drawing again. Now...who wants to find the money for me to frame this monster?!

Just in case anyone's interested this is made using layers of newspaper, old book pages from Sweden, tissue paper and brown paper. I worked into it with stitch, sharpie pen, compressed charcoal, white gouache, white emulsion, water, brush pen, graphite stick and my beloved 3 in 1 pencil. I also used letraset text as a form of texture, but think that was the finishing touch, after I took this photo.

Coming soon:
exciting news about Mythical Beasts

Don't forget to visit the Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe!

The Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe will be open again this Friday, if you can't make it along in person we do have some plans to make a 'virtual' Sweet Shoppe in the future, but for the time being you can buy our goodies via Edith's Website.

The Shoppe details and opening times:
Fridays throughout May 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and by appointment
3601 S. Gaffey,
San Pedro, CA 90731
Building F-10

Go here to see what it sells

Prices in USD. Buyer pays actual shipping charges.
Free delivery in Los Angeles for orders over $25.

The Periodic Table Printmaking Project

I keep meaning to post something about this email I received from Jenn, who came up with the fantastic idea to create a periodic table of printmaking, to which I contributed the element Scandium. It's pretty exciting news:

Dear Periodic Table Artists –

I'm excited to tell you about the next steps for the Periodic Table Printmaking Project. The dates are not finalized yet, but the table will be shown by the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from September 2009 until February 2010. The CHF is a non-profit organization that "serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future." They are in the process of building a new museum space to house their permanent collection, but will also feature a gallery showcasing changing exhibitions. Ours will likely be the 3rd they display. (I will have more about how this came about on the project blog soon.)

Additionally I am working with their curatorial staff to make the table into a traveling exhibit to be featured at some of their sister organizations around the US.

There's also plans afoot for a book to come out of this project, which would be amazing- thanks to Jenn for putting in so much time and hardwork co-ordinating this!

Magic Cream from Lisa Payne

A while ago I took advantage of the Alchemy feature on Etsy and made a request for someone to make me a pain relieving cream that I could use for period pain, as well as on my arthritic joints. I got lots of responses, but in the end I picked Lisa, based on the fact she asked the most questions about what I was looking for- which filled me with confidence.After asking even more questions about me and scents I liked, medication I took etc etc she blended me up this pot of magic cream and popped it in the post to me.

I now can't stop showing it to people and thought maybe I should share it with you too. This stuff is so good! One day I did an experiment and only put it on one knee - sure enough that knee was pain free all day, and the other was stiff and hurty. I've got a lot of aches today and so have smothered my knees, ankles and shoulder with the cream and it's pretty much all gone away. I feel a bit evangelical about how good Lisa is at her aromatherapy skills!

It would be a pretty good story if it ended there, but it's a much smaller world than you might think because I have since discovered that Lisa is currently in Stockholm with Miss AMP, who is a good friend of my friends Alice and Lady Lucy. In another twist of fate we worked out that I was a cats whisker away from actually visiting her house at New Year, where Alice was cat sitting.

So not only does she make magic cream, she has some of the best people as her friends too. Now go and buy something from her. Look what else she makes:

Thankyou!

Last week I posted a little Q+A for people to fill in- I just wanted to say a big thankyou to the people who've taken part, and let you know that it's not too late to send me your thoughts on the questions I asked there. I certainly wasn't expecting to get replies from this many busy people, and was impressed by the detail some people went into with their answers, considering some were cheeky ones about supplies and finances.

So once again a big thankyou to:

Edith Abeyta
Ruth Boyask
Anna Butler
Alika Cooper
Gabrielle Gamboa
Betsy Greer
Kirsty Hall
Erin Hensley
Meg Hunt
Leila Johnston
Missy Kulik
Faythe Levine
Bjørn Lie
Jenny Louie
Janet MacCaffrey
Mardou
Meghan Murphy
Motodraconis
Alys Paterson
David from Peskimo
Susan Schwake
Allyson Shaw
Deth P Sun

Go visit their websites, spend your money on them, commission them, invite them to show in your gallery, or just drop in and say hello.

Do yourself a favour...

Click on the image and go visit the site of Rafaël Rozendaal, then click on any of the links and while away a few minutes making planets ping into each other, clouds pop and colours flip. Thanks to the ever wonderful Kitsune Noir for the link.

Don't forget to visit the Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe!

The Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe will be open again this Friday, if you can't make it along in person we do have some plans to make a 'virtual' Sweet Shoppe in the future, but for the time being you can buy our goodies via Edith's Website.

The Shoppe details and opening times:
Fridays throughout May 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and by appointment
3601 S. Gaffey,
San Pedro, CA 90731
Building F-10

here's what it sells:

All items available for sale. Prices in USD. Buyer pays actual shipping charges.
Free delivery in Los Angeles for orders over $25.

Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe Price List

Art

Greeting Cards by Merry-Beth Noble (2.00)
Greeting Cards (Original Print) by Merry-Beth Noble (5.00)
I am a Unicorn T-shirt by Camilla Stacey (20.00)
I am a Unicorn Totebag by Camilla Stacey (15.00)
I Love My Unicorn Zine (7.50)
Marigold Pillows by Edith Abeyta (20.00)
Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe Flag (8.00)
Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe Badge (.50)
Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe T-shirt (10.00)
Pink Felt Unicorn Bag by Edith Abeyta (10.00)
Postcards by Merry-Beth Noble (.50)
Spoons by Edith Abeyta (15.00)
Striped Cup by Edith Abeyta (15.00)
Striped Plate by Edith Abeyta (15.00)
Sublime Stitching Unicorn Believer Kit (22.50)
Sublime Stitching Unicorn Believer Pattern (3.50)
Sumo by Edith Abeyta (10.00)
Temporary Tattoos by Camilla Stacey (2.00)
Unicorn Badge (.50)
Unicorn Ornaments by Kissing Candy (10.00)
Unicorn People by Camilla Stacey (40.00 – 80.00)
Unicorn Print by Matty M. Cipov (12.00)
Unicorn Wrapping Paper by Camilla Stacey (2.00)

Candy

BB Bats (.25)
Black Taffy (.05)
Boston Baked Beans (.25)
Bubble Gum Cigars (.50)
Candy Cigarettes (.50)
Candy Necklace (.50)
Cherryheads (.25)
Chocolate Zodiac Coins (.25)
Choward’s Scented Gum (1.000
Corn Jelly (.05)
Crispy Rice Cake (.50)
Fruity Flavor Pudding (.25)
Grapeheads (.25)
Haw Flakes (.10)
Jawbreakers (.25)
Lemonheads (.25)
Long Boys (.25)
Marshmallow Cones (1.00)
Nik-L-Nips (1.00)
Roasted Chicken Cracker (.25)
Rock Candy Swizzle Sticks (1.00)
Satellite Wafers (.25 for 2)
Stick Candy (.25)
Teaberry Gum (.50)
Unicorn Lollipops (.50)
White Rabbit (.05)

Did you notice the part where it says FREE DELIVERY within LA for any order over $25- you now have no excuse not to go shopping and stock up on candy and art at the same time.

Old School

My package of 'inspirational goodies' from Uppercase gallery arrived today, ready for me to start work on something for the Old School exhibition. I already had something in mind that I wanted to work on, but looking through the old advertising papers and flash cards all kinds of things were popping into my head. I've got two weeks left at college this semester and then it should be full steam ahead on all sorts of other projects. Also in the pipe line is a doll for Leah as part of Mee Crafty's first swap, and I haven't forgotton about all my PIF partners from last year- I do have 365 days to send them something, which means approx 150 left!

A child of four could make that!

I think my nephew really took in some of the art we saw at the Spike Open studios the other week. He spent this evening creating art in Lucy's back garden while we all ate BBQ and ice cream.

I'd rather be in the studio

I'd never heard of a 'blog tour' until I read Kirsty's blog this evening, it's one of those terms like 'blog carnival' that potter around blog land without ever explaining themselves to me. So this evening i've been visiting some of the other blogs on the blog tour that's linked to this new book and getting an insight into the thinking behind it's author, Alyson B. Stanfield. Kirsty has suggested other books to me in the past that i've found useful (Art +Fear being one) so i'm happy to trust her judgement on this book!

Having spent the last however many years promoting other people's work (to a greater or lesser extent) I always seem to struggle when it comes to promoting myself. I have spread myself all over the internet- if you google any of my assumed identities, or even my real name, you will come up with pages of links that refer directly to me, but in 'real life' I am less able to promote myself and constantly feel like an idiot who will be caught out by some unknown art police force for ever daring to suggest I am an artist.

I've hidden behind curating other people's work, because I am scared of promoting myself. I deliberately 'dumb down' what I do, because I am afraid of people thinking i'm grandiose if I talk about my work in the way I want to. Instead of explaining all the ins and outs of just why I turn things gold, I just tell people 'yeah I turn things gold' and leave it at that, as if it's nothing more that some kitsch thing I do. Inside my head is full of 'art wank' I could tell you about my work, but what comes out of my mouth is just something dumb that devalues what I do. I guess the first rule in promoting yourself as an artist is not to devalue your work, actually that's probably the second rule, the first one is probably not to tell anyone that you're doing it.

Claire Platt

My lovely friend Claire Platt has a fantastic interview up over on Heart Handmade which you should go check out- it's a lovely looking blog too, so take some time browsing it when you get over there. I'm so happy that Claire is going to be back in the west country soon- she'll be starting an MA at Bath Spa University, which is just down the road from me. We've already planned to meet up for knitting and cake eating amongst other things.

I've got a friend in you!

Way back in time (April 23rd to be exact) the lovely Claudia awarded me this special thankyou:

I feel like I still don't really know many other bloggers, maybe because I am so very forgetful that it takes me weeks to respond to their sweetness, but here are some people that are important to me who i'd like to pass this award on to, some of them are 'real life' friends and some are friends from blogging.

For being a great friend, and a standby husband if I reach 40 unmarried: Chipfork
For being the kindest person known to man: Lu lu la pom pom
For being understanding when I tip her out her wheelchair: The mouth on wheels
For introducing me to the world of proper beer drinking: Impy Malting
For giving me a virtual kick in the pants: Heather
For being my American magazine supplier: Janet

Actually there are loads more that I could think of, but I think six is enough to be going on with!

To the person who found my blog today by searching with the words 'It's friday and i'm sad'

I'm sure you didn't stick around for long, and you probably won't be back. But I hope you aren't too sad.

A little Q+A

As part of my new degree I have to conduct case studies on other artists and how they work. I've been sending out this very rough and ready Q+A to people I already know and have been amazed by the responses i've got so far- seems artists really like filling in questionaires (or is it more likely they like to procrastinate?). I thought i'd post it on here and if any of you want to add your answers please do so- either in the comments or email me.

Who are you and what do you do?

What are the tools of your trade? Do you have favourite brands/materials/suppliers?

Have you made a business plan?

How do you support yourself financially?

Did you do work experience/ unpaid/paid internship-did you find this useful?

What are you inspirations and influences?

Did you train/what in/where/when?

Have you always been based in one location?

Do you set yourself goals/targets i.e. ‘if I’m not doing x by y then z’?

What problems have you faced?

Is it worth it/ what keeps you going?

What exhibitions have you had?

How does the internet aid/ promote you- do you have a website?

Do you have any links/useful contacts-materials/galleries etc?

At the moment your answers will only be seen by me and tutors, but as some of the information i'm getting in already has been so useful i'm considering making some of it into either blog posts or a mini zine- so let me know if you want to be included in any of that.

Thanks to:
Meg Hunt
Bjørn Lie
Alika Cooper
Gabrielle Gamboa
Leila Johnston
Deth P Sun
Kirsty Hall
Edith Abeyta
Ruth Boyask
Allyson Shaw
Meghan Murphy
Mardou
Missy Kulik
Jenny Louie
and David from Peskimo

for already helping me out with their answers- go take a look at their websites, they are all awesome!

Summer must be here

Last night I made a special effort to take my new chair out onto the balcony for perhaps the first and last time. I ate biscuits and drank a cup of tea whilst enjoying the feeling of sunshine and fresh air on my skin, and I wondered 'do I really want to give this us for a conservatory?' Soon my tiny back yard will be turned into a tiny conservatory and i'll be able to use the space all year round, there'll be no more leaking through to the flat downstairs, no more slugs, no more freezing cold kitchen. Instead I shall be able to sit at my new chairs and table (in the sale at Sainsbury's) and drink cups of tea in the warm and dry. I don't think i'll miss the leaks and the slugs, but i'm going to miss sitting out on warm summer evenings with nothing between me and the stars.

Redland Fair

Giant lightbulb found by Jane

lovely box for bowls to live in

Jane learning how to play lawn bowls

Jane inside her giant lightbulb

It's taken Jane and I four years to make it back to Redland fair at the same time as each other, but this year we managed it. Redland fair has been running for over 30 years and is a sort of village fair in a city- there are Morris Men and brass bands, as well as vintage clothes, tomato plants, hideous jewellery, tea and cakes and best of all the chance to learn how to play bowls from the experts. On our previous visit we had sat and watched other people play bowls, but this year Jane was determined we would have a go ourselves. Having bullied Simon into joining us we took to rink number 5 and tried really hard to get a big wooden ball to end up somewhere near a small wooden ball.

As you might be able to tell from the photos another highlight for today was the discovery of a giant lightbulb in amongst the boxes of bric a brac, Jane parted company with £3 in order to take it home with her- money well spent in my opinion, if only for the number of times we got to take photos like this:

Holy Moley!

My shop has just become over run with moles! Whilst searching for something very important that i've lost, I found these monotype prints I made in 2006 and decided I should do something with them, before they get lost too. So now they are all at home in a special section of my shop, ready to buy for just $20 each (£10).

Beth Carter and Philippa Lawrence

Beth Carter and Philippa Lawrence
Originally uploaded by crunchcandy

I spent the day at Spike Island Open, with my sister, niece, nephew and a whole lot of friends. Here's two of my favourite pieces from today.

A proper write up tomorrow I hope!

Mythical Beasts ready to sell you stuff

The Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe opened it's doors last weekend during the Angels Gate Arts Center open studios. I'm happy to say that Edith has decided that during the month of May the shoppe will be open every Friday. We have some plans to make a 'virtual' Sweet Shoppe in the future, but for the time being you can buy our goodies via Edith's Website.

The Shoppe details and opening times:
Fridays throughout May 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and by appointment
3601 S. Gaffey,
San Pedro, CA 90731
Building F-10

here's what it sells:

All items available for sale. Prices in USD. Buyer pays actual shipping charges.
Free delivery in Los Angeles for orders over $25.

Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe Price List

Art

Greeting Cards by Merry-Beth Noble (2.00)
Greeting Cards (Original Print) by Merry-Beth Noble (5.00)
I am a Unicorn T-shirt by Camilla Stacey (20.00)
I am a Unicorn Totebag by Camilla Stacey (15.00)
I Love My Unicorn Zine (7.50)
Marigold Pillows by Edith Abeyta (20.00)
Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe Flag (8.00)
Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe Badge (.50)
Mythical Beast Sweet Shoppe T-shirt (10.00)
Pink Felt Unicorn Bag by Edith Abeyta (10.00)
Postcards by Merry-Beth Noble (.50)
Spoons by Edith Abeyta (15.00)
Striped Cup by Edith Abeyta (15.00)
Striped Plate by Edith Abeyta (15.00)
Sublime Stitching Unicorn Believer Kit (22.50)
Sublime Stitching Unicorn Believer Pattern (3.50)
Sumo by Edith Abeyta (10.00)
Temporary Tattoos by Camilla Stacey (2.00)
Unicorn Badge (.50)
Unicorn Ornaments by Kissing Candy (10.00)
Unicorn People by Camilla Stacey (40.00 – 80.00)
Unicorn Print by Matty M. Cipov (12.00)
Unicorn Wrapping Paper by Camilla Stacey (2.00)

Candy

BB Bats (.25)
Black Taffy (.05)
Boston Baked Beans (.25)
Bubble Gum Cigars (.50)
Candy Cigarettes (.50)
Candy Necklace (.50)
Cherryheads (.25)
Chocolate Zodiac Coins (.25)
Choward’s Scented Gum (1.000
Corn Jelly (.05)
Crispy Rice Cake (.50)
Fruity Flavor Pudding (.25)
Grapeheads (.25)
Haw Flakes (.10)
Jawbreakers (.25)
Lemonheads (.25)
Long Boys (.25)
Marshmallow Cones (1.00)
Nik-L-Nips (1.00)
Roasted Chicken Cracker (.25)
Rock Candy Swizzle Sticks (1.00)
Satellite Wafers (.25 for 2)
Stick Candy (.25)
Teaberry Gum (.50)
Unicorn Lollipops (.50)
White Rabbit (.05)

Did you notice the part where it says FREE DELIVERY within LA for any order over $25- you now have no excuse not to go shopping and stock up on candy and art at the same time.

New old paintings for sale

I uploaded some of my old paintings to my Etsy shop today. These were paintings that I completed in 2006 as part of an installation I did. They are all gouache on hardboard and range from $40-$80 (£20-£40) which is pretty super affordable if I do say so myself.

All the paintings are based on old photos of myself, I also projected slides onto a screen I made from vintage hankies, and did some embroidery using hair on hankies. Maybe I should post some more images here soon.

May Day- a fresh start!

Well- my project 365 took a distinct downward turn over the last week or so, but today I vowed to start again and get back on track. We'll see how well that goes shall we...

Thanks to the people who wished me well- my ankle is much better now. I hobbled around the V+A all day on Tuesday, so by the end of the day I was pretty battered and bruised, but I had a really nice time there with my Dad so it didn't matter. I now have a mysterious ganglion in my wrist, but as that doesn't hurt i'm just going to try and ignore it and hope it goes away.