De La Warr Pavilion

Sorry, long time no post! Guess no-one really reads this anymore, don't blame you, but I thought I'd post some photos I took yesterday. Trying to beat the crowds here in Brighton on the hottest day of the year so far, Rob and I took a drive along the coast to Bexhill on Sea to have a picnic on the beach and to have a look round the De La Warr Pavilion. 'twas a fabulous day!



1. Beach at Bexhill on Sea, 2. Beach at Bexhill on Sea, 3. Beach at Bexhill on Sea, 4. Sunbathers, 5. Deckchairs, 6. Hand Lettering, 7. De Le Warr Pavilion, 8. De Le Warr Pavilion, 9. De Le Warr Pavilion, 10. De Le Warr Pavilion, 11. De Le Warr Pavilion staircase, 12. De Le Warr Pavilion, 13. De Le Warr Pavilion staircase, 14. De Le Warr Pavilion staircase, 15. De Le Warr Pavilion staircase, 16. De Le Warr Pavilion staircase, 17. De Le Warr Pavilion, 18. Antony Gormley's "Critical Mass", 19. Antony Gormley's "Critical Mass", 20. Antony Gormley's "Critical Mass", 21. Feet, 22. Antony Gormley's "Critical Mass", 23. Antony Gormley's "Critical Mass", 24. Photographing the photographers, 25. Antony Gormley's "Critical Mass", 26. De La Warr Pavilion, 27. Juxtaposition, 28. Juxtaposition, 29. mimic, 30. Rob pondering, 31. Antony Gormley's "Critical Mass", 32. Perspective, 33. Antony Gormley's "Critical Mass", 34. Antony Gormley's "Critical Mass", 35. Antony Gormley's "Critical Mass", 36. Antony Gormley's "Critical Mass"

Beautiful skirt

I'm getting quite into this making clothes malarky! Following my success with the skirt for Melissa, I have made another skirt, for my lovely new Brighton friend Helen. I found some fabulous yellow 50s sateen curtains in the Emmaus charity shop in Port Slade, with no particular project in mind, but quickly realised that they'd make a glorious skirt for Helen.

Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the skirt before I gave it to Helen, but thankfully she and her lovely fiance took some snaps when the skirt made its inaugural trip abroad (they had a long weekend in Brussels). Hopefully Diarmuid won't mind but I nicked some photos from his facebook page so you can see the loveliness!

The Elephant Bed

On Saturday, Rob and I nipped into town to do some errands, and happened to stumble across a gorgeous exhibition: "The Elephant Bed", by John Grade.

It really took my breath away, so I got a bit carried away snapping on my camera phone (alas, I didn't have my decent camera with me). The shots came out better than expected, but don't really do it justice, so if you are around Brighton before 31st August I would highly recommend popping into the Fabrica gallery on Duke Street (opposite Heals) and wander in (it's free!).

Typography spotting

Rob's Dad came to stay with us the other weekend, which was lovely. On the Sunday, we headed over to Lewes for a bit of a snoop, as we hadn't made it there before. It was a surprisingly cool place! I didn't realise that Lewes has close links with Thomas Paine, so it being the 4th July there was a bit of a festival going on. I really like it when you visit a place and unexpectedly find it's got some cultural activity going on, it makes me feel more alive!

On a slightly disconnected note, I snapped this sign with my phone, as I just loved the typography! It really reminded me of the "Keep Calm, Carry On" poster font, and I just love the way they've typeset the St. Perhaps this could be a new game for me, collecting great examples of typography when I'm out and about? Oh dear, I feel a new obsession coming on....

quick craft

I have a serious pen addiction, and recently it's been threatening to take over my desk at work. I'd been keeping an eye out for some funky storage ideas, but everything I've seen has been too pricey for my current tight budget. So, one night, I had a flash of inspiration. Some washed soup cans, bits of wrapping paper from my stationery stash, and some double-sided tape, and 10 minutes later, voila! Custom pen pots!

The American Scene

We stumbled across a great exhibition at the Brighton Art Gallery on Saturday, "The American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollock" The American Scene" The exhibition "...features around 80 outstanding prints by 56 leading modern American artists, including George Bellows, Edward Hopper, Grant Wood, Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois and Jackson Pollock. The first half of the 20th century was a period of great change in America, and this exhibition examines American society and culture through the prints produced by some of the most important artists of the time."
It was a great exhibition with some really inspiring prints, and has made me doubly-sure that I really want to learn how to do printmaking. I had a look around the Brighton Independent Printmaking studios as part of the artist open houses during the Brighton festival, and they have a lino-cut/relief printing course that I may try in August. However, my real intrigue is with screen printing, and so I'm hoping that I can get onto the saturday course that the Uni of Brighton will be running in Autumn.
That said, before I get stuck into yet another creative medium (sewing, knitting, photography...) I really should start drawing again, so I have some ideas of what designs I want to print!

phone photos

I've been taking photos on my phone for ages, but only just got round to transferring them to my computer. I'm really pleased with how some of them have come out, considering there on a 2MP mobile phone camera.

1. retro wallpaper (detail), 2. Grandmother's oven glove, 3. The Book of Nonsense, 4. Tea at Otello's cafe, 5. ... judge a book by its cover, 6. (heart) don't break it, 7. loved the design in the balcony ballustrade, 8. loved this shade of green!

It's great to be able to snap things when I come across them, and makes me wish I could get back into photography. Back when I was a student I used to take photos ALL the time, but over the last couple of years I've been distracted by other things. It's such an immediate format, especially now it's a digital possibility, and I really should snap more. Maybe I should reintroduce photography walks into my routine?