Viva Las Vegas

So I've just got home from a week long trip to Vegas and, oh golly, it was amazing!
One of the highlights was visiting the droog shop/gallery at the cosmopolitan hotel and casino. There was so much amazing stuff, the most inspirational piece was this - the come a little closer bench.

Designed by Nina Farkache, this bench has thoroughly inspired me to make a piece within a theme i've been interested in in a long time; function vs decoration

Minimum wage machine

Loving this by Blake Fall-Conroy!


Minimum Wage Machine (Work in Progress)

2008 

Custom electronics, change sorter, wood, plexiglas, motor, misc. hardware, pennies (approx. 15 x 19 x 72 inches) 

The minimum wage machine allows anybody to work for minimum wage. Turning the crank will yield one penny every 5.04 seconds, for $7.15 an hour (NY state minimum wage). If the participant stops turning the crank, they stop receiving money. The machine's mechanism and electronics are powered by the hand crank, and pennies are stored in a plexiglas box.

Sebastian Horsley Died :(

So I've only just discovered Sebastian Horsley died this year, I'm a little bit mortified. I only found out because I was planning to write about him in my dissertation, he was fantastic.

Oh, Sebastian, you shall be greatly missed.

Here is where I found out about his death.

Fuze

So I've not used this in a while, but last weekend I had a piece of my work in ArtSway, an art gallery in The New Forest, Dorset.

Here it is, my work in an actual gallery :D

Design crisis.

Also can i just say that design crisis is a pretty fantastic website / blog / what ever it may be

I'm well up for this wall paper

Why can I only locate this wall paper on a whole sale site? I want it, but I don't seem to be able to buy it.

Thug stripe wall paper - the manufacturer is whimsy wall paper and i found it on designer wall coverings.com. oh gosh, how i do want it!

Pretty pretty pretty

http://www.sweet-station.com/blog/?cat=200

Lana linked me to this blog and theres some rather special stuff, im really quite liking Nick Van Woert's busts!!

Oh, tatty, you are so devine.

So I'm just a tad in love with pretty much everything on tatty devine.

They sell hand made kitsch jewellery, some with art references! And combining this with the fact that they are also celebrating their 10th birthday, I think it's only right that i put a link up on here. Also,  if anyone feels the urge to buy me the moustache necklace I will love the forever.

www.tattydevine.com

I've been a busy bunny

I really have! in just under 2 weeks, my friend Lana and I will be setting up shop  in the craft tent of (what i believe is called) Helidays.

It's in Weston SUper Mare - a place I have not been to before - and I'm ever so excited! I've been making bags and purses and jewellery boxes to (hopefully) sell at the event, whilst Lana has been making necklaces and charm bracelets.

Not long to go now! eep!

look what i found

I came across this dino shaped puddle on my way home one day and it cheered me right up! how fantastic is that? :D

consider this a copy right

Other people seem to like and use laurasaurus, laurasaurus rex and there even seems to be a blog named laurasaurus wreck - but no laurasaurus wrecks. i like it. it sounds the same as the name i originally liked, but the connotations to the word 'wrecks' could work nicely.

i want to make things. things like furniture, clothes, bags, purses and soft furnishings. i will label these things with the brand name Laurasaurus Wrecks.

I thank you :)

Listed magazine

Here's a screen print of my first ever bit of media coverage. I  know the images are hard to make out, so here's the url's

http://www.listedmagazine.com/Bournemouth.html

http://www.listedmagazine.com/Bournemouth/News/Free+Art+in+the+Gardens/3173.html

How exciting!

Also, pick 'n' mix opening night is this week :D

Vapid anti-performance.

Its 1 week until opening night, I'm so excited! we still have plenty of work to do, basicly we just have to gather up all of our research to make sure we havent missed anything, do the 7 performances and then we have a few days to make the most mind blowing presentation EVER!

I'm really positive about the presentation, we know exactly what our argument is, all we have to do is translate it fluently. Oh god, not long now :D

Crunch time

It's less than 3 weeks until the gardens pick n mix exhibition, I can't wait for the year to be over but also I am aware I still have a lot of work to do to be ready in time!

Also, as a time saving device, I dyed my hair brown instead of trying to bleach just the roots. another short cut that didn't really work out for the best. plus the dye is non permanent so in a couple of weeks my hair will probably be an odd shade of orange.

Not long now though and I'll have many months where I can spend as much time as I like dying my hair and bombing about in my new car :D

Re: essays are just the worst part of life

Thankfully I opted against the dump in a jiffy bag and entered an actual written essay... and I passed :D yay! now just to do the professional studies portfolio....

God bless easter holidays

Its been a hard term so far, so this 2 week break is very welcome. doesn't feel like I'm half way through it already though :(

But on an artistic note, some friends and I are planning an interactive performance/party with a wedding theme! I will be the bride, Amelia will be the groom and Amber will be the vicar - other friends will be invited and some assigned roles such as father of the bride and best man. We so far plan for the whole thing to be constructed like a wedding, with a service and separate reception with a tiered cake and speeches and the first dance. I'm quite excited!

Oow, shiny!

So I bought some super shiny silver and gold fabrics today for my super hero out fit for the gardens project - my leotard is almost done and it looks wonderfully terrible. its a bit baggy in places but seeing as i made it up as i went along, I'm quite proud of my effort! now all I have to do a is hem the leg holes and make the cape - that can wait until monday :)

It's skinning time

I'm quite upset - after believing that Martin Creed was coming to our art auction I have been told that maybe it's just his work?

What a misleading poster it was.  I'm going to skin who ever made that poster. And their mother.

But on the bright side I have handed in my essay :)

Art auction

What's that you say, Martin Creed? You'd like to have a painting of me giving Jesus a kiss?? Well it's your lucky day!

Martin Creed (amongst others) is coming to my uni tomorrow night for an art auction, and I have submitted this painting to sell!

I call it "He's had a hard life"

Wedgies, chafing and masks, oh my!

It's full steam ahead with the gardens project!

I have silver glittery leggings and shiny gold shoes, now just to make a leotard and cape!

I'm ever so excited, can you tell?

Bournemouth Lower Gardens Project Dilemma

On a high note, as part of a collaboration, myself and 2 others on my course will be taking part in the Bournemouth town centre lower gardens project this year as our proposal has been accepted!

Of course that is brilliant news, but now I have to decide what to do about my studio work - I have some ideas I feel I am actually getting somewhere with but they are going to have to take a very distant back seat to the gardens project work.

Bummer.

I could either save my studio work to continue through the summer and use towards next years work, or I could continue with my studio work and be assessed on it and then not actually work on the lower gardens project but instead just be an actor in the performance and take no credit.

What to do??

Essays are just the worst part of life

To be honest, I think I should save my time and energy and stop writing because it's all nonsense.

I'd probably receive a better mark by shitting in a jiffy bag and handing that in instead.

An anonymous display of affection

In this project so far I've been thinking about idols and icons and idol replacement.

idol replacement is basically something i think i've made up where

you disguise you admiration for one thing with another. for example: if you love

someone you feel you shouldn't you can disguise it as a love for

something else so you can express yourself without being found out.

I'm currently thinking about conjuring up things i have done or experienced

in the past and expressing them through idol replacement with shrine-like

things and short film clips.

My work usually has a humorous

side to it and i want this project to be

quite funny to the audience.

These clips from the film Love Actually

have inspired me to make my work

about an idolised romantic interest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVAda1ZF-3s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enrSE6vRWRY

No one likes landlords

I hate him. He hasn't fixed the tv aerial, fence or guttering, the curtain poles have fallen off the rubbish crumbly walls in 2 rooms and he says the house looks like a squat because theres washing up on the side and I haven't hoovered.

He's coming back again next week. I feel an angry bit of scrubbing coming on.