The Streets are our Canvas

This week I have come accross many inspiring an object....a crisp packet lying on the pavement, a broken window pain, an old torn poster. All abandoned, riddled with their own unique history and full to the brim with potential.

On an Emroidery trip today to the Liverpool Biennial, I noticed some rubbish caught in the metal grid of a window. I imagined how wonderful it would be to turn the grid into my cloth, and the rubbish into my thread, weaving it in and out, to create a recycled piece of public artwork for all to see as they walked past. The people would stop and take note. I think.

My favourite arches have already been transformed into someones' canvas. Grafitti in the right place, is just as special as a painting in the right gallery.

The film set on my doorstep is a constant source of inspiration, ever changing and magically transporting the people of Manchester to another era.

Happiness

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00tt5hq/You_and_Yours_21_09_2010/

"Look at your Cloth and Cut your Coat accordingly"

What a lovely line to follow in life.

An Inspiring Walk...

I had forgotten how much I love these arches, covered in Graffiti. There was a boy sat there today drawing them, so I felt spurred to captured them too.

Glove Love

Embroidery project No.1. Gloves, Gauntlets and Mittens. Do what you will.

I played with the idea of crimainals wearing gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints, thus concealing their identity. What if a pair of gloves, the fingers in particular, did the complete opposite and exposed someone. I chose my best friend to be the culprit and created five little trinkets of information about her, including words, phots and ephemeral paper, all sewn together. I then snipped the ends off a pair of rubber gloves, popped the information in and made little finger ice-cubes.

Each finger is like a finger print, revealing something about her.

Photographed at a crime scene.

I've also included my favourites from the other work on display; Gloves for Lovers, Many Hands make for Light Work and This Little Piggy.....

My Manchester, My New York

What could possibly be more inspirational than to live on the film set of a 1940's New York street scene? This is happening to me. Yes it's actually happening. The street I live on has been utterly transformed by the magical hands of Captain America's set - designers.

Abandoned buildings have been turned into old Cigar shops, Wedding boutiques, Antiques stores and Pharmacy's, with their windows full to the brim of beautiful nostalgic items and awnings flapping in the Manchester wind. The roads are flooded with stunning Vintage cars. The smell of the upholstery, oh god, I nearly fainted with the wonder of it. Wartime posters cover the billboards, which before advertised cheesy drunken club nights for the new freshers in the city.

Such a romantic time.

They start filming today.

I don't care too much for spotting the actors, but I could wonder up and down the street of American history for hours, kicking the New York dust from the pavements, up into the Manchester air.

DIY Shelter

An ideal living situation....

Barbara Jones, My New Hero

This is a lady I have only recently come accross and one whos interests are very much in line with my own. Art of the people. She was a pioneer in the field of popular culture and in 1951 curated an exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery...

Black Eyes and Lemonade

A vast collection of teatowels, china ornaments, posters, toy soldiers, tatoos, souvenirs, crochet tea-cosys, teapots, old paintings, rocking horses, cereal packets and so on.

These were things that were rarely found in galleries, but rather in bedrroms, shops and cinemas. We stare at them blankly on the bus.

Lets consider them for once.

It is the art of everyday, the things that are around us. The things which we buy or make just because we like them. The improvised methods of men who wanted to construct boats, build cathedrals and paint pictures, but lacked the right materials.

American Folk Art Museum

What a discovery! I can't believe I have never come accross this before. A whole museum dedicated to art of the people, those who have taught themselves and produced wondorous pieces as a result. Work done by regular people is what makes me tick. Katie's Buddah painting. My mum's elephant drawing. Art is for everybody don't you know?

Family Portraits

A gift for my brother on his first day to Uni.

A gift for my mum. Just because.

Summer Sentiments

Pen and Paper is all you need.

Bog wonders

It's nice to have something to read whilst on the toilet...especially if it makes you think a little.

This person is right.

Time and Faith

On a bus journey to Edinburgh, I saw time moving in front of me. It's fast. But it's ok.

A Tale of Two Cities: Part 3

And I looked outside and saw the the Mersey dividing two sides of the city. There is a vast amount of water running between the two worlds of this gallery. Old and New, Traditional and Contemporary, Passive and Active.

People change. Art changes with them.

A City of Two Tales: Part 2

DLA PIPER SERIES: THIS IS SCULPTURE, Tate Liverpool

With the first floor curated by Michael Craig Martin, and the second by Hemmingway and Son, this exhibition was bound to demonstrate contemporary sculpture at its best and propel the works on show into the 21st Century at full pelt. And that it did.

As I moved through Craig Martin's space, it was as though I became another object in his 3D wallpaper, which typically consists of multiple bright colours, overlaid with bold outlines of everyday household objects. Those items that we so frequently use and rarely think about the design and beauty of. Throughout the galleries, the objects on display mirrored Craig Martin's 2D pictures in his wallpaper, and set against the background of the vibrant gallery walls, the visitor becomes a moving component within it.

It's interactive. It's exciting.

As I pass through sculptures of doors and walk across sculptures of flooring, I notice how alive the other visitors are in the room. Like the children in DIjkstra's videos, there is conversation, discussion and an abundance of ideas, which is encouraged by Mike Figgis's films intermittently placed around the space. They document the thoughts and ideas of the public, about the sculpture on show.

You don't have to like Duchamp's Toilet, but at least have an argument about it.

Moving onto Hemmingway's space...in my headphones I collected from the entrance. A silent Disco. Why did nobody ever think of this before!? As I bop along to the sound of the Spicegirls and Cher, I linger longer at Renaissance figurines, mesmerised by multiple sculptures that I wouldn't usually take a second glance at. Young children are doing the same. The music channels through the space and brings the figures to life. The art is, once again, alive.

I only wished had someone to dance with on the 70's style flashing disco floor.

A City of Two Tales

PICASSO: PEACE AND FREEDOM and THIS IS SCULPTURE, Tate Liverpool

The Picasso exhibition was a Picasso exhibition. Wonderful, but seen it all before.

What captured me instead was Rineke Dijkstra's video work done with local children in response to the Picasso's work, in particular, I See a Woman Crying. They are asked to discuss the female figure in the painting and think about her story. What follows is an animated and excitable conversation amongst the youths, as they bounce ideas off one another about what could have happened to make the lady in front of them so incredibly sad. These children see a person, not a painting, for whom they clearly feel deep compassion and whom they want to help. I sit captivated, as wild stories develop and the children bravely speak out amongst their piers, leaning on each other for support and encouragement.

When do we loose this?

Dijkstra's second video, Ruth Drawing Picasso, is pure simple genius. I watch as young Ruth concentrates like never before, biting her bottom lip and just occasionally glancing up to see what her friends are doing, trying to her best possible version of Picasso's painting. As I listen to the pencil gently scratching the paper beneath it, the room literally fills with Ruth's nerves.

She is so scared of getting wrong.

She proudly signs her artwork on completion.

Both videos demonstrate a raw human interaction with art and its is exciting to see. Especially after witnessing the passive adult consumption throughout the rest of the exhibition.

As hoards of people traipsed through the galleries above, umming and ahhing at the framed pieces of history, I remained the only person watching Dijkstra's films, contemporary art at its best, the next generation.

We're Dancing in the Sky

STAIRWELL PROJECT, Richard Wright, Dean Gallery, Edinburgh.

This is what I mean, no one looks up. Even I didn't this time. It takes there being a 'work of art' up there to notice the light, the architecture, the sky, the windows. This is the masterpiece of the gallery. The marks are like thousands of little birds flying around our heads.

Not only do his tiny little flowers bring the traditional architecture of the stairwell into a contemporary artistic context, they emote a historical atmosphere relating to the buildings' original use as an orphanage. Furthermore, they draw attention to the galleries greatest artwork; the windows and the natural world behind the panes of glass.

Follow the dancing flowers and look what's above.

I watched you for hours.

The Gold Threads of Time

PROMENADE, Suzy MacMurray, Kedleston Hall.

This was a magical exhibition not like any I'd visited before.

Being site specific, it was unique to Kedleston Hall and designed specifically for this space, with the intention of heightening peoples' awareness and encouraging them to engage more with their surroundings, thinking about both its past and present.

On a regular day in Kedleston, visitors would pass through the grand hall, perhaps absorbing the framed artwork on the walls, the many sculptures so precisely placed and the lavish chandeliers suspended from the sky high ceilings above. Few would consider the space itself as art, nor would they ponder the original use for the room.

The whole building was built as a show palace, and ladies would literally promenade through the marble hall exhibiting their current fashions to the onlookers. MacMurray in particular considers a magnificent peacock dress worn by lady Curzon in 1903. It was embroidered by Indian craftsmen with metal thread and jewels on gold thread, so that it would glisten in a room lit by electricity. MacMurrays' magical gold thread emulates this by shining at differing points as the sun moves through the day and its rays beam through the grand window at the foot of the hall.

MacMurrays' installation captured mine and my friends' imaginations for over an hour, as we discussed how the threads made us feel. Transported, trapped, elated, mesmerised and involved, were all words that repeatedly cropped up. Katie was captivated by the ways in which the threads crossed over one another, like yarns of time and generations all working together in harmony.

Promenade succeeded in in contributing to an existing work of art. The hall was the cloth, the gold was the thread and MacMurray was the needle. She the creator, the facilitator, the embroidress. She decorated her fabric and made people stop, admire and consider.

I stopped.

Inspiring Music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4HG1_WFTUU

Mikayla's Kitchen

It was quite a priviledge being invited into someones' home and trusted to contribute something to the walls of their living environment. The kitchen is such an important part of any house, the heart of the home if you will and I wanted to create something unique for Mikayla. Something she could be proud to show to her friends and clients when they visited the house.

Before meeting Mikayla, the plan was to go with a 1950's theme, very now, lots of cupcakes and old fashioned teacups and an apron or two. Mama's Bakin'. Within 5 minutes of her collecting me from the train station I knew this was all wrong. She's a strong, confident, independent and out-going ladee. She's pretty hot and knows exactly what she wants in life. Chillis were the only option. No-messing about like.

Hot ones.

My biggest pleasure in life is to create something for a specifc person. What are they like, what do they like, what would they like. Mikayla liked this a lot.