Advice to Myself

1. Do it now

2. Ask yourself – What do I aspire to be?

3. Ask yourself – What do I want to create?

2. Don’t Self Sabotage (something I’m quite good at) it’s what stops you from being the person you want to be (making the things that you want to make) Comes from being scared – “What do I gain from this?” and self sabotage usually leads to short term gain

3. Don’t waste time on guilt. Get on with it and resolve to do better.

A few good little things (big things!) I’ve already picked up from reading a great book called ‘The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life’ by Twyla Tharp

Art, Interesting and Inspiring, Video

Beauty is Embarrassing – Wayne White

Beauty Is Embarrassing is a documentary chronicling the life and work of the artist Wayne White. I haven’t seen it, and I want to see it, but I don’t know how I can!

Whether he’s parading a twenty foot tall puppet through the Tennessee hillside, romping around the Hollywood Hills dressed in his LBJ puppet suit, relaxing in his studio pickin’ his banjo, or watching his children grow up much too soon, Wayne White always seems to have a youthful grin and a desperate drive to create art and objects. It is an infectious quality that will inspire everyone to find their pleasure in life and pursue it at all costs.

“art can be a 24/7 lifestyle, art can be fun”

“Do what you love. It’s going to lead to where you want to go”

Wayne White’s artwork is fantastic too. Here are a couple of his word paintings:

My favourite thing I have seen of his is the giant mask, seen in the movie poster above. I have in my pipeline, and I am constantly thinking about making excessive fancy dress costumes and too-big masks. More on this soon.

The director and team are trying to get the film into theatres. Apparently it makes people want to stop procrastinating and get on with those projects they have had in the pipe line for 20 years. Maybe you are inspired by Wayne and you want to help make this happen. Here is the Kickstarter page. They are looking for crowdfunding.

Images taken from Wayne’s Website

Art, Interesting and Inspiring

The Mapping of Jerry Gretzinger

The Mapping of Jerry Gretzinger. From 1963 to the Stopping Point

Started drawing a map, it started as a doodle. Hefinished a whole page and found himself moving onto other pages, joining them up.

One piece a day. He goes to his studio as soon as he wakes up. Spending time re-mixing paints. He’s made a deck of cards which he chooses one from, which instructs him on which of his half-finished maps he will firstly archive, and then work on. Other cards have different instructions.

This was a great video, I love how much detail there is about Jerry’s working process and the structures behind his making.

Jerry is working on exhibiting the entire project:

The concept is that the installation will be about half complete when the show opens on October 5 and will continue until Saturday afternoon, the 6th. Visitors will be able to watch the process. I will be there helping and, when the installation is done, will be working in my on-stage studio and answering questions. The show will close on Sunday the 14th or the following day. We’ll be more specific soon.

How I wish I likes in America and could see this!

Screen shots taken from this video

Animals, Bristol, Interesting and Inspiring, Silly, Thoughts

Two lovely things seen today

1. A 4-ish year old boy, holding onto the lead of his sheepdog. Mum 10 steps away and urging the dog to walk- dog is wondering why the little boy is walking him, not the mum, and is stood still. Mum plays game where she walks a bit (boy wines a bit) then turns around and slaps her thighs, tells the dog to come, in high-pitched dog voice. Dog gallops on (boy hysterically laughing) and repeat. Little kids look so cute taking care of their pets, and the dog was so puzzled. Mum was laughing hard. I told her it was cutr, she commented on the dog i was walking, we smiled and parted. Heart warming!

2. The mum’s daughter is walking another 10 steps ahead! Both hands lazily above her head, pointing roughly at the pelican crossing’s flashing light, nodding her head and bringing her arms down slightly each time the light blinks. Nearly walks into a
Grown man whilst doing this, and doesn’t notice; she is in a daze. The man laughs and smiles at me laughing.

Both these sights and interactions spoke strongly to me today. I couldn’t stop grinning. Talk more and smile more to people on the street! it makes you feel good.

Art, color, Design, Exhibitions, Interesting and Inspiring

Peter Combe’s ‘Pink Interference’ and Rivane Neuenschwander’s ‘I Wish Your Wish’

Peter Combe, Pink Interference, 32″ x 39″, mixed media, 2009. ‘Artwork created from thousands of shredded Architect/Designer size household paint swatches in ordered/random placement.’

To me, this is perfect. The colour – a mix of sickly sweet and delicious – all mixed together, erratically but completely organised neatly, rows and grids, staggered and making the diagonal line in the lower half. How I want to touch it, would it feel like one of those butcher’s curtains? A piece of art where it’s so delicate, it’s only attached at one point, each paper could easily be torn.

This piece seems very similar to Rivane Neuenschwander’s ‘I Wish Your Wish’ where ribbons are silkscreened with one of 60 wishes left by previous viewers. Visitors can take a ribbon to take home, from a hole in the wall, in return for writing their own wish on a slip of paper and inserting it (in the ribbon’s place) into one of 10,296 small holes within the walls.

Rivane Neuenschwander, I Wish Your Wish, 2003. Silkscreen on fabric ribbons, dimensions variable. Installation view, St. Louis Art Museum.

“Rivane Neuenschwander is like a conductor of invisible orchestras: she engages external forces to make ephemeral art with sensuality and rigour but also with the lightest possible touch.

‘Ethereal materialism’

Secondary Stories (2006) consisted of brightly coloured tissue-paper circles of varying sizes that were blown by fans inside a false ceiling made of translucent plastic, creating kaleidoscopic compositions as they drifted about.

A lingering resonance that was hard to shake.” Kristin M. Jones (Frieze.com)

Drops of water, bubbles, sprocket holes, hole-punched confetti, eggs, moons, constellations, and cascading zeros all play a role, sometimes as soundtracks or symbols of fragility. Much of her oeuvre is also about measuring passing time: calendars, both marking the past and rushing to the future.

Her maps, whether tracking visitors’ paths through the exhibition or presenting the blurred boundaries of those exposed to the elements during the rainy season are about creating new geographies for new explorations. New Museum.org

Peter Combe’s Blog,

Peter Combe’s Twitter

An Article about Rivane Neuenschwander’s exhibition ‘A Day Like Any Other’ which contained ‘I Wish Your Wish’

Interesting and Inspiring

Gary Schott

Gary Schott’s film about his work has inspired me. It shows a lot of the artist at work in his metal smithing studio. Very exciting to see someone making like this. He is Mechanism based, but a huge importance is on the mechanism being aesthetically pleasing and also that there is humour withiin the work – it’s quite rediculous and also intimate. A contraption which caresses your nose. Ephemeral and physical. I like the goggles with his name on. “My goal is to create an object that is seamingly simple.” Me too Gary, me too.

Gary Schott’s website / Wonder Object – his blog

Walley Film’s website

Interesting and Inspiring

Pica – an appetite for substances non-nutritive

Pica is a medical disorder characterized by an appetite for substances largely non-nutritive. The name of the condition originates from the Latin word for magpie, a bird that is reputed to eat almost anything. Pica is seen in all ages, particularly in pregnant women, small children, and those with developmental disabilities.

metal, clay, coal, sand, dirt, soil, feces, chalk, pens and pencils, paper, batteries, spoons, toothbrushes, soap, mucus, latex gloves, ash, gum, lip balm, contact lenses, tacks and other office supplies.

Pica is more common in women and children. In addition to poisoning, there is also a risk of gastro-intestinal obstruction or tearing in the stomach. Another risk of dirt-eating is the possible ingestion of animal feces and accompanying parasites.

Picture – 1,446 items swallowed by a patient and removed from her intestines and stomach. She died during surgery from bleeding caused by 453 nails, 42 screws, safety pins, spoon tops, and salt and pepper shaker tops.

3D, Interesting and Inspiring

Simple way to create text artwork

I just found a brilliant tutorial over at the Wicked & Weird blog (A good’n for a variety of creative inspiration) The blog post was a re-post, originally taken from A Beautiful Mess, and the blog post has detailed steps and lots of images to help you with this DIY project.

This is what you’ll make:

And this is how you’ll do it:

Find a crap old painting
Use sticky letter stickers to spell something out on-top of the painting
Spray/Paint it all white
Then peel the letters off.

3D, Art, Interesting and Inspiring

Regine Ramseier – Windstille

‘Windstille’ An installation by German artist Regine Ramseier.

The following is taken from Ramseier’s website. Thank you Google Translate! Although it doesn’t make all that much sense.

“I have focused this work on the small room in the art laboratory. Around 2000 withered dandelion flowers alive and easily commute from the ceiling. A symbol of life and birth. A symbol of vanity. A moment to pause. Hold your breath and turn to the transient of a breath. Marvel at the miracle chamber.

Hermann Hesse has expressed my feelings into words. In the poem, momentary flashes. The small white room contains a large window, which locks out the green of the park. The dandelion sky slopes from the door to the window and it seems as if the flowers worn out from the room, the light and the day to meet. But still they hang in the room and are permanent. Captured in my memory. They will not return. But the golden meadows, this I know, the dandelions, they will return next spring.”

Art, color, Design, Interesting and Inspiring, Text Project

Exciting Christmas Gift Ideas

You’d like to give out exciting Christmas gifts, correct? I’d love to have the money and time to buy everyone something which will be special to them for Christmas. Something they’ll use, or that will excite or inspire them, or simply make them laugh. It’s tough at Christmas, gifts become thrown to the back of my mind and at the last minute I’m worrying. Or forgetting people. Or getting resentful that my family is so big.

I usually make things, which I enjoy and keeps it cheap. BUT I know I’ll be searching for those few special presents for those special people, so here’s some things I’ve come across recently which I think would make brilliant gifts, and maybe you will too.

Banter Banner believe we should celebrate the everyday. “no longer only for holidays, but for the everyday. As art. As design. As inspiration”

‘Good Times’ banner. Loads more sayings available: Joie De Vivre // Sweet Dreams // Celebrate The Everyday

$10

Buy it here at BanterBanner.com.

‘Wild At Heart’ Rosette. Hot pink ribbon with gold text: ‘Wild At Heart’ A quote from Lula, in Lynch’s 1990 Wild at Heart: “This whole world’s wild at heart and weird on top.”

$16

Buy it here at BanterBanner.com.

Fake Poo

Makes for a brilliant present. Nearly everyone ever finds this funny “This pile of brown doggie doo looks so realistic you can almost smell it.”

Cheap from Amazon/Ebay/Jokeshops.

‘Coast’ by Marco Suarez: “These photos capture the beauty of Northern Ireland. Framing this photo in a circle creates an awesome composition that is sure to be a highlight in any room. The circle has a diameter of 13″ and is printed on Somerset Velvet watercolor paper with archival inks. This photo is part of a limited run of 50 and each print is individually signed and numbered.”

$60

Buy this print and others at Marco’s Etsy shop.

Hand painted geometric pendant. Painted on wood with a silver chain. By Vickygonart

$24

Buy this and other jewellery at Vicky’s Etsy shop.

‘Crap’ Text Artwork. Shamelsss plug here! I made this. Each piece is completely unique, with the fine lines drawn freehand and each letter individually hand-cut.

£23

No Etsy shop at present, but email me if you want to buy this- hello@lucybarfoot.co.uk

Mountain Δ Triangle Necklace by Adrienne Wroath. (made-to-order with love and care.) Adrienne makes handcrafted precious metal Jewellery. Her inspiration for is drawn from simple lines and shapes found within her environment, often focusing on geometric forms.

$42

You can buy this and other pieces from Adrienne’s Etsy shop. And here is her blog

Art, Interesting and Inspiring

Surrounded Islands shape

This shape, I can’t stop drawing you. It’s taken from a sketch of Christo & Jeanne Claude’s ‘Surrounded Islands’ which looks like this:

“6.5 million square feet of material was stretched over seven miles and used to surround a series of uninhabitated islands off the coast of Florida. The resulting work was visible from all around and visually augmented through the use of a shockingly bright pink.” See more of this incredible installation here. Lots of sketches and photographs.

Design, Interesting and Inspiring

Adrienne Wroath Handmade jewellery

“My inspiration for my designs come from simple shapes found within the natural and man built world, most often being drawn to geometric forms.”

http://adriennewroath.co m

http://adriennewroath.blogspot.com

View her Etsy shop here

color, Interesting and Inspiring

Preserved Flowers

Hello Spring! The blossom is everywhere, I want to cut some and put the branches next to my bed, but the little petals fall off so quickly.

Today I found this lovely Etsy shop – Flores Del Sol – from the Cup of Jo blog. They’re so beautiful. I love thistles!

Here’s a little site about drying flowers.

Design, Interesting and Inspiring, Light Box, Photography

Lomography 10 Golden Rules

Just made this, a poster of Lomography’s 10 Golden rules to use in the Light Box shop for the Appreciation of Beauty workshop, where participants get to use Lomo Cameras (Fish Eye, Mini Diana and Actionshop Flash) to take photographs. I aways knew of the 10 golden rules, but making this here poster just refreshed it all for me, feeling very inspired! Click here for a lager size and to zoom.

Art, color, Interesting and Inspiring, Process

Ian Davenport

One of my favourites! His use of colour / performance aspect / loss of control / control / huge size

Interesting and Inspiring, Sound

Clifton Demolishment

I happened across this scary crane demolishing the old ‘Church of Science’ by Christchurch School in Clifton. Scary crane arm. I recorded the children’s screams and chants too.

Design, Interesting and Inspiring

Billy Bride Jewellery

“shine forth from cradle of night translucent diaphonous passage of light”

I am very very picky when it comes to jewellery. I am re-blogging this after seeing it on the Wit+Delight blog and deciding that I have never seen such beautiful, mesmerising rings.

Billy Bride Jewelry is individually handcrafted using the highest quality naturally occurring materials. Each distinctive piece possesses unique properties – no two stones are alike. Irregularity in the appearance of each stone is a testament to their natural strength and individuality. All jewelry is designed and created in Australia, using indigene Australian materials.”

They have a rather nice picture-heavy blog too: billybride.net

Found Images, Interesting and Inspiring

Big Inspiration from found images

This is going to be a big one… I have bought a new sketchbook and wanted to start this new burst of creation with taking a look at my inspirations. I’m forever saving images to the ‘Nice found images’ folder on my desktop, but never really take the time to look at them, so I’m putting them up here, reminding myself and sharing them with you. I’ve tried to reference the images, but mostly I don’t tend to make note. If you own anything and want a link to you on here, no problemo, just email me or comment.

Balloon lady on the beach. My dreams sometimes look like this

Wu-Tang album art

Your breakfast is looking at you

Blissful photo by Sophie Robertson

All signs should look like this

Amber colors in jars

Big hairy/leafy window. They must have a big spider problem though, yuck

I think this came from Sophie Kern

Inside cover of a book

Breakfast themed poster

Big bear

Amazing colors on a floor. I can smell it from here – Marcus Linnenbrink

Peep hole

Alerted dog. I love his little face

Smily dog

Awesome puss

French Vogue interiors, as found by Adrienne Wroath

Bentleg Bentley aka Let’s Do Nice Things made this

French Vogue interiors, as found by Adrienne Wroath

Fairy lights photograph well

Big post-it installation

Cosy lions

Llama man

Old fashioned tennis

Zoomy eyes

Cracking colors

A nice color for a bedroom, with clouds too

Phillip Low – he makes diamond sculptures

Phillip Low – he makes diamond sculptures.

Sweet

Flat-roof jumping. Nice prism

Sexy Scarlett shaving her legs

Little man-boys with big heads

Karni and Saul

Sophie Scaplehorn as Xmas tree decoration

Truly flowery wallpaper

Hue + Saturation

Color!

Found this on the ‘Things Organised Neatly‘ blog. The next few things below were found there too:

MARTIN BOYLE. SWEET WALL RELIEF. 17 x 17 x 17 Rowntree fruit gums.

Tony Cragg

Abril Lamarque, 1930

Soap bubble popping – image by Joanna Goddard

Baby animals print by Sharon Montrose

This woman has a trapeze in her living room

Adrienne Wroath‘s Ink printing

Muji

fredericksandmae.com

Scaryyyy

Viktoriya S & Karlie Kloss by Patrick Demarchelier

Abbey Lee Kershaw by Max Doyle

Joshua Scott photography

Fenk

Rorschach test

Jessica Stockholder installation

Pandas

Cyclops Squid made from Super Sculpty by Psticks

series of illustrations by André da Loba

Max Bill

Equilateral Necklace by Garnett Jewelry

Bowl found by from Debbie Powell

Shark teeth

Dyed cats

Blurry lines

CARL KLEINER for IKEA.

Interesting and Inspiring, Photography

My Week in Pictures

So I’m now back to work! The family I nanny for a bit are home from their month long holiday, and Light Box is back after it’s month off too. I had a lovely week back home in Bournemouth, seeing my brothers and parents.

I’m really happy that I took my camera and focussed on taking lots of pictures last week. I had a lovely time on my dad’s boat, snapping away and making us super-noodles whilst he fixed something, and I took some shots of a very old greenhouse at my brother’s next-door-neighbours in Wimbourne.