“For the offbeat stuff you have to go to sites such as electricsheepmagazine.co.uk. Run by a print magazine, Electric Sheep, it reviews fringe and art-house films that seldom get space in the broadsheet newspapers. The writing is confident and well-informed and the scope encompasses everywhere from Spain to South Korea. I was excited to read about a Mexican new-wave gem, I’m Gonna Explode (also reviewed in the NS by Ryan Gilbey) and to catch up on the latest film noir. Unlike mainstream film sites such as rottentomatoes.com, electricsheepmagazine.co.uk avoids industry chit-chat and cheap abuse. It writes about film for people who like film: a classic approach.”

read the rest of the article on the New Statesman website

How come Twist Collective has so many great patterns each issue?? I already want to cast on two sweaters (Ormolu for me, Tanit’s Jacket for my mum… if anyone with nothing better to do, needed to knit me Sabbatical or Kirigami, I’d be a grateful recipient!*) and I’ve only just skimmed through the Winter issue…

I’m also giving myself (another) last chance at learning how to knit two socks at once; have just signed up for Chrissy’s class at KnitNation in July…  I really want to knit socks, I just can’t bear the thought of doing one at a time – I even get second sleeve syndrome!

*just trying my luck…

Bizarrely this one captured her better than drawing direct from lifel.

The tutor made a good point; looking at the original drawing – and looking to improve it – you had to ask yourself to remember if the models shoulders / weight / hips / arms really were at that angle / length / position etc… ie all the questions you should also be asking your eyes whilst you are drawing in the first place…

Also it was funny everyone started to contort themselves a little bit whilst doing this drawing from memory; without the original model, we used ourselves as reference…

I know mum – who’s an illustrator – does this when drawing expressions of people for her work, so I ought not to be surprised really – it was just funny in a room full of people doing the same thing!

1 hour lifedrawing pose from week 1

Have gone back to lifedrawing class; first time in probably 15 years (eek!). I was fully expecting to freeze up and only be able to scratch out a 2″ high little stick (wo)man, but after 6 poses in the 2 and a half hour session, I was quite pleased with what I’d done…

It’s a strange experience really,  the resulting pics themselves aren’t anything that I like aesthetically or anything, but I really enjoyed the process; don’t think – just draw…

I guess it’s a bit like being a child again when what you’re seeing doesn’t always translate that well onto paper! Anyhow, the class is for another 10 weeks so am keeping a record of how the pics progress…

“lovingly and effectively designed – stylish yet readable – exactly as it should be”
(Richard Bruton, Forbidden Planet Int.)

Some of you know by now that the magazine I’ve been Art Directing has now gone bust in it’s current print format. Richard writes a lovely goodbye piece on the FP blog, mentioning not only the lovely design – ahem! – but of course all the fab content and contributors.

It has been a brilliant, challenging and rewarding experience working with V (Editor) and although it was a sad day to send the last issue to the printers, plans are afoot for new and exciting incarnations of the ‘Sheep and the website is having a much needed tidy up right now (to go live in Feb) so right now we’re feeling pretty positive.

I must thrive under pressure cos the idea of this book, a collaborative novel written in 24 hours*, is dead exciting!

And they’re not just looking for potential authors; illustrators and photographers can get involved too, to contribute images to inspire the writers on the theme – based on a group of city centre allotments, ideas of shared and private space and the real and imaginary barriers between a range of different urban characters – or ultimately to go into the book itself.

On their website they mention to use the Ning community to get involved, but so far it needs an invitation – have written to them to get one… fingers crossed one comes my way!

(There *is* another 24 hours on Sunday in which the CompletelyNovel team get to edit everything; I’m hoping to get involved then as – very appropriately! – I’ll be picking apples in a Sussex orchard on Saturday)

You’ll be in for a big surprise…Treehouses! in Regent’s Park! With loads of artsy / crafty / bonkers stuff going on… for OO.OOp! Have booked myself in to do some woodcut-ing and monoprinting…yay!

The TreeHouse Gallery has set up camp  - some in actual trees! – by the boating lake, and is running workshops, talks and activities all summer… It may actually be aimed at children, but I don’t care .

Go check it out; it’s there until 6th September, when there’s ‘A rambunktious cornucopia of song, dance, games, tree climbing, feasting, sloshing and swilling to celebrate the culmination of 8 weeks of TreeHouse dwelling and activity in Regent’s Park’

As seen in the Londonist:

Matthew Robins makes animated stories and will be presenting his ‘Shadow Operas’ featuring Flyboy.
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New episodes from the series will be shown on Fridays, performed in front of and projected onto the National Theatre Flytower, followed by a double-bill of Robins’ work on Saturdays.

For the double-bill on Saturday 15 August, he needs knitted dinosaurs for a new show scheduled for that night – because the show is about dinosaurs and knitting.

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More information about the shows;  Mathew Robins’ request for Dinos (you might even win a prize!).

Does anyone know a UK manufacturer of eco-friendly artist’s paints? I can find plenty of sources of environmentally friendly house paint, and even natural pigment children’s paints – these Fabio Living Colour ones look amazing, although they don’t seem to be in stock anywhere – but none in the UK specifically aimed at people wanting to replace their acrylic, block printing or watercolours with a more environmentally friendly alternative.(Golden Artist Colors comes the closest in the US)

I’ve found screenprinters in Australia that use sustainable practises and Permaset fabric paints look encouraging (but again, Australian based).

I know a lot of paints use natural pigments or minerals as their foundation, but just being natural doesn’t necessarily mean eco- or person- friendly; just think of the lead used in Chrome Yellow! Hmm, maybe I’ll go along to Cornelissen & Son and pick their brains… If I find out anything, I’ll post on here.

Sad to say that Radio Birdsong is no longer; it soothed any insomnia I had with it's tweetings (and weird noises I thought I may have dreamt; a horse's whinny and trill on a flute) on many a night… There seems to be a bit of cashing in on the channel's popularity as there is another site – Birdsong Radio – where you can buy a CD of the recording, but why bother when you can listen for free via the original recordist's (Quentin Howard) website.. Who knew it was originally recorded for a play of When the Wind Blows?

More aural pleasure

The London-centric Sound Survey website with its area-related recordings, and Favourite London Sounds; I hadn't realised how much I missed the sound of old slam door trains, or how much they conjour up going off on holiday until I listened!

On a more global scale, Audio Vacations sent in to The Quiet American let you travel around the globe with only your ears… Beat that Mr Staycation!