Little Ruins

2012

2012-01-24T10:33:00.004Z

I cannot believe we are three weeks into 2012 already! So far the year has been good to me: my new project is underway, we visited Manchester to see the lovely Sleepingdog and A Winged Victory for the Sullen, took a small trip to Tropical World and snapped this awesome reflection of a crocodile lazing in the water; I worked as a "supporting artiste" on the set of a new BBC TV show (I shan't tell you which, as to be honest, my acting skills are non-existent so they will probably edit me out of all the shots! But I still got paid £75 for the day, hurrah) and tomorrow I shall be visiting Liverpool to see the current exhibitions at the Tate Liverpool and Walker Art Gallery.

I seem to have become increasingly panicked by how quick the days are passing, especially in these dark winter months. To remedy this, I have started trying to get out of bed at 6am (rather than my usual 8.30), and even the extra hour or so (after I have had my obligatory 2 cups of coffee and burned awake my retinas with my macbook) really makes a difference to how much I get done in the day. I have also not drunk any alcohol for almost four weeks, meaning I no longer get that post-drink laziness that I usually suffer from. I am hoping that these new changes can continue, alongside my resolution to read more fiction. I have almost finished my second novel of 2012- I am not sure that I even read one last year. I seem to be more drawn to medical text books, fancy art tomes and biographies, but I have really enjoyed making extra time to get stuck into a story. If you have any good book recommendations, please get in touch!

walk.

2011-11-26T22:40:00.007Z

so much to do. so little time.

2011-11-11T11:42:00.002Z

Thought I would share a few pages of the old medical textbook I am currently using for inspiration for my project. I found it at a book sale; 5 books for £1! Amazing.

2011-11-05T23:15:00.000Z

In the street, Paris

2011-11-05T23:06:00.015Z

Catacombs, Paris

again, I feel restless.

Lotherton Hall

2011-10-27T10:03:00.003+01:00

Yesterday we took a small trip to Lotherton Hall, filled our lungs with fresh air and met many beautiful birds with incredible personalities. Though we did not enter the house itself, we viewed deer in the distance and this little pet cemetery within the grounds. Did you know that the house is reportedly haunted by a big, black poodle called Michael?! No, neither did I.

2011-10-25T09:52:00.001+01:00

this picture was taken last year and yet it still feels like it could be just weeks ago. I cannot believe we are approaching November already. The shops are beginning their hideous Christmas assault and I am still wondering when summer is going to arrive. I guess we just have to make the most of each moment, right?

2011-10-18T10:23:00.000+01:00

Mavis (In Memory)

Part of my recent work... experimenting with UV-reactive emulsions // cyanotypes. still so much to do.

2011-10-12T22:51:00.001+01:00

I do so hope you made it.

2011-10-05T20:49:00.001+01:00

from Tomas Espina's "Ignicion" (2008), shown at Nuit Blanche Paris 2011

2011-10-04T20:31:00.000+01:00

Paris was beautiful.

A few photographs before I go to bed and rest my tired limbs.

2011-09-12T10:50:00.001+01:00

Vivian Maier's bathroom/darkroom

One thing we said we would like to do once we got our own place was to build a home darkroom. Whilst I am at college this is not so much of an issue - they have plenty of equipment to use free of charge & there is always somebody about to give you advice on any issues. But this summer, with college closed & no access to a darkroom, it showed me just how difficult it would be for me to practice after next year. Looking at the prices for having films professionally developed & printed are quite simply extortionate. I don't understand how people can afford between £17 - £35 ... per 120 film (Kodak prices). I would much rather do it myself anyway. So now I have 3 or 4 rolls sitting around, waiting to be developed next week. I really didn't take as many photographs as I had planned to this month. I like to shoot, process & analyse before I move on to the next roll - to see where I am going wrong, figure out any hitches with the camera & so on, before I continue shooting blindly. But from now on I have no time for such cautiousness. So I will read every book I can find on the subject & start saving small bits of money to accrue the necessary equipment

2011-09-09T16:55:00.000+01:00

Last night we attended the Ten // Matthew Collings// Talvihorros gig, hosted by the lovely Hibernate Records at the Royal Park Cellars. Aside from a few technical issues, it was a good night; I was especially enamoured by Matthew Collings' use of bells (& rice, but it was the bells that got me) inside of speakers- just one aspect of his incredible sonic-sculpture set, but it really sounded amazing.

After a manic afternoon in my new garage-cum-print-workshop (making around 40 textural prints), I had a small break and found this interesting piece on the Internet:

AION - JACOB KIRKEGAARD

From the website:

"AION (Ancient Greek αιων = “infinity”, “eternity”, a time span beyond human understanding) is a portrait of four abandoned spaces inside the so-called “Zone of Alienation” in Chernobyl, Ukraine; a dripping swimming pool, a ruined concert hall, a mould-infested gymnasium and an old village church. During the days and weeks following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26th, 1986, the local population were evacuated by Soviet military, and they had to leave behind all their belongings. The former homes, meeting places and recreation centres were declared contaminated territory – in fact, they will remain uninhabitable for thousands of years.

Two decades after the disaster, Jacob Kirkegaard visited the exclusion area with his recording equipment. His approach was inspired by Alvin Lucier's work “I am sitting in a room” [1970]. While sitting in a room, Lucier recorded his own voice reciting a text which he then played back in the room. He repeated this process over and over again until the different layers of his voice began to merge into a constant drone. Kirkegaard didn’t record his own voice but the voice of the room itself. He put up a microphone and a speaker, started the recording and left. After ten minutes, he returned, stopped the recording and played it back into the same space. With each new layer, the subtle sounds of the room were enlarged and deepened until they finally turned into one humming sound with many overtones.

For the visual representation of the four rooms, Kirkegaard explored a variety of techniques, working with layers, overexposure and video feedback, that can be understood as analogous to his acoustical method."

How amazing does that sound? UK folks can buy the 50min DVD here.

Find out more at Kirkegaard's website

2011-09-09T16:17:00.000+01:00

Photograph from part of a recent exhibition I attended. Photographer - David Stubbs

a few from the vaults

2011-09-06T20:51:00.002+01:00

1. Scarborough beach, the night I fell in love 2. Catacombs, Paris 3. San Francisco, years ago

2011-09-01T12:27:00.001+01:00

Photograph by Francesca Woodman

Project panic has officially set in. Two weeks left until we return to college; two weeks to find the theme in my pieces that will tie the whole thing together. The brief set for us claims we need no conclusion, but at the same time, I need a path to follow for my brain to work effectively.

Autumn is in the air; our apples are almost ripe (such satisfaction is gained from the simple act of having an apple release itself from the tree into the palm of your hand with no resistance) and pies and chutneys are already being made, our basil is sprouting incredible smelling leaves, the baby corn has grown to past my hip and I just discovered blackberries & raspberries twisting their way through our hedge. Oh, how I love this little house & our garden.

A few of the books I have been reading recently:

Amazon links for reference - buy independent // visit the library ♥

Kiki Smith: Prints, Books & Things

(Ok, so I first mentioned this book months ago, but I can never resist loaning it out again)

Cutting Edges: Contemporary Collage

Photography & Death

Making Handmade Books

2011-08-16T19:31:00.001+01:00

Apologies for my absence. I have spent many days drawing lace, daydreaming and eating pecan pie.

(please bear with me whilst I figure out a few of the new layout niggles. I wanted to be able to post larger images, alas this means figuring out html codes that I do not remotely understand.)

A Mountain Lullaby

2011-07-27T16:13:00.000+01:00

Here are just a few gorgeous illustrations from the new children's book A Mountain Lullaby, published by the We Heart Arts charity and illustrated by the ridiculously talented & nicest-man-ever, Cameron Steward aka twoducksdisco.

view it for free here
or, if you can afford to, buy it here as a book // download (it's for charity!)
check out more of Cameron's amazing work at his blog twoducksdisco

procrastination // motivation

2011-07-27T14:00:00.000+01:00

A Handy Tip for the Easily Distracted.

Miranda July: The Future on Nowness.com.

a cut scene from Miranda July's new film The Future to be released in the UK in November.

After six or so weeks of being completely unsure of what to do for my summer project, I think I finally have two of my three ideas figured out. I won't post about it them just yet- I don't want to jinx it after so much agonizing- but I think it could be really interesting. I love this little scene that was cut from July's new film The Future. In the interview (also over at Nowness) July says of it: "This scene was meant to make it clear that Sophie was struggling against distraction, after losing time on YouTube—we all know how alluring these distractions are, and here we are seeing her attempting to take charge". Before I had my ideas figured out, I found little distractions everywhere: the house needed cleaning (I scrubbed for 7 hours one day), rearranging my bookshelves, CV writing & job hunting (#epicfail), house guests and vets trips and of course, the internet and it's seemingly infinite grip. But now that I am really excited about the possibilities of my project, the small things aren't so distracting anymore.

Gizeh Records: Silent Bells Tour

2011-07-22T09:38:00.000+01:00

Three amazing bands on Gizeh Records playing three UK shows, November 2011 ♥

see here for more information & to buy tickets
p.s. you can still listen to the Winter Sampler here
& check out the Gizeh Records SoundCloud where you can find new solo material from Richard Knox's new project Of Thread and Mist along with many more beautiful tracks

2011-07-15T10:47:00.001+01:00

As much as I adore our new house and wouldn't want to leave Alfred whilst he is settling in (he's getting cheekier by the day!), plus the fact that I have no money whatsoever, I really want to go on a little trip. Just a few days out of Leeds- I always feel more refreshed and inspired to work after a small break. I have been finding it difficult to put any of my recent ideas into action & maybe some foreign surroundings would do me some good. I want to go to Amsterdam again and walk down the canals, craning my neck to look up at all the wonky old merchant houses, stopping to take pictures every two minutes. Visit the cat boat sanctuary, where you pay a donation & play with the rescue cats (I really want one of these awesome shirts), visit the Foam photography gallery, spend hours browsing through fancy art books that I can't afford, eat tasty/cheap falafel and Wok to Walk box meals, visit a few of my favourite stores (including & especially this one) and sit in an old bar sipping beer, watching the cyclists fly past, hands free, looking super stylish.

Ah well. Here's to wishing.

Instead I think I will read my books (I have three on the go at once), play with Alfred, learn to make dyes out of onion skins, sew sew sew & make a tasty dinner. Oh, and Paris in September! A break to look forward to.

One of my favourite photographs ever, from our travels last year
my sweetheart, Amsterdam

Sir Alfred

2011-07-14T17:06:00.001+01:00

Sir Alfred, a photo by littleruins on Flickr.
settling in nicely...

Off we go, into the woods.

2011-07-13T15:16:00.001+01:00

dark house, a photo by littleruins on Flickr.

2011-07-11T18:47:00.000+01:00

Say hello to Alfred!

This beautiful tabby cat will be coming to live with us tomorrow. So excited to give such a sweet little cat the life he deserves! Alfie was abandoned by his original owners and left homeless for more than six months, before being fostered & nurtured back to health by the wonderful Ray of Hope animal rescue. We took a little trip to the pet hotel (!) he was staying in today (here he is, on his cat house), and though he was obviously perturbed by the excitable poodles-on-heat in a nearby kennel & therefore a little bit grumpy, we fell in love with him.
Counting down the hours til he arrives!

My Love For You // Lisa Congdon

The ever-inspiring contemporary arts blog my love for you is a stampede of horses, curated by Megan O'Toole, have began recording a series of podcasts, the latest of which features awesome illustrator Lisa Congdon. You can listen to it here & add it to your iTunes library/iPod for free.)

Belly of Flea

More awesome organic/earth-friendly news from Allyson Mellberg Taylor & Jeremy Taylor: The impressively productive sweetheart-duo recently set up an Etsy shop where they are selling their handmade inks & paints, made from materials that won't cost the earth. In their own words:

Here at Belly of Flea Inks & Paints, we are committed to producing sustainable and non-toxic professional grade artist water media. We use organically home grown pigments. We also use organic plant, insect, and genuine earthen and mineral pigments to help fill in the gaps of what we cannot grow in the Belly of Flea mini-farm. We are dedicated to making safe art supplies that have little impact on the earth. We use recycled packing materials whenever possible and print all of our tags/labels on FSC Certified, recycled paper.

Belly of Flea Handmade Watercolor Half-pans
Visit the shop & swoon over their gorgeous packaging & if you can, buy a little something to support them. I have so much respect for what these guys are doing.

Belly of Flea Flickr
♥

2011-07-06T19:39:00.000+01:00

This past week I spent a few days at my mums house, sitting out on the veranda in the evenings, drinking rose, having a little dinner party, reading a fascinating Lee Miller biography, catching up on sleep and adoring our beautiful cat. We have ordered some new rolls of 120 film for our upcoming projects, are booking flights to Paris for the upcoming FareWell Poetry album release in September (and it will be my birthday whilst we are there, also!) and pulling weeds out of our little garden.

cupcakes & tea

2011-07-04T23:33:00.000+01:00

Some snaps from our tea-break with Elly & Stu (above) at the lovely Sunshine Bakery. I made myself feel gloriously sick by eating a whiskey & walnut brownie washed down with a big jug of hot chocolate. Next time I know not to be so greedy!

Tasseomancy

2011-06-29T11:20:00.000+01:00

Sari & Romy Lightman -- Tasseomancy

Neo-gothic ladies Tasseomancy- formerly known as Ghost Bees- released a beautifully shot new video this week for "Heavy Sleep", a track from upcoming album "Ulalume". "Heavy Sleep" isn't quite as folky // bare bones as previous releases, but is as ethereal & other-worldy as ever. The album is out in August on Turf Records & available as a limited edition package including a download code, candle and scroll.

Tasseomancy | "Heavy Sleep" | Official Video from A Story Told Well on Vimeo.

"['Heavy Sleep'] is about how terror is extracted from our daily anxieties and [then] manifests into something beautifully surreal in sleep." - Sari

Super talented (and extremely stylish!) ladies.

You can also see some lush Tasseomancy Take Away Shows by La Blogotheque over here.

♥

2011-06-28T10:34:00.000+01:00

as part of our course we are encouraged to visit the degree courses end-of-year shows, as a means of helping us decide which course we ourselves may go on to study and also just to see some interesting pieces. there were so many amazing displays I can't show them all (especially the Printed Textiles & Surface Pattern show- I think I walked around with my mouth hanging open a lot of the time), but here are a few favourites.

Ginger Nut Millinery, bespoke hats by Susanne Guthrie
♥

Rosemary Milner
Printed Textiles & Surface Pattern

Becky Hodgson
Printed Textiles & Surface Pattern

Andy Jones
Visual Communication

Lucy Fudge
Fine Art

Hannah Jordan - FE - sketchbook detail
Fashion

plenty of inspiring pieces! the quality of some of the work really was incredible.

in other news: this week & last I have been baking cupcakes & learning how to make sushi, roasting sunflower, sesame & pumpkin seeds in soy sauce (sooo tasty!), dismantling my exhibition piece & re-painting the walls, itching to take & process some photos - but alas, no darkroom over the summer! (massive disappointment), acquainting ourselves with the neighborhood cats, painting, drinking coffee, listening to the radio & Richard started our small vegetable patch with some baby corns kindly gifted from my dad & his partner. nice times.

orange blossom

2011-06-24T21:25:00.001+01:00

the orange blossom in my fathers garden. they smelt divine.

three new videos // three great bands.

2011-06-22T17:09:00.000+01:00

SISKIYOU - Never Ever Ever Ever Again from Jamie Michael Dagg on Vimeo.

Grouper - I Saw A Ray from Weston Currie on Vimeo.

CONQUERING ANIMAL SOUND - 'Tracer' (official video) from Gizeh Records on Vimeo.

new brief: summer project 2011

2011-06-21T15:25:00.000+01:00

Francesca Woodman - untitled bird study

Now that college is over until September we have been given a small project to complete over the Summer months. This will provide us with background research for our first module in the new term and keep us developing our skills/training our gaze during the break. I thought I would share the basics of the brief here so that if anyone reading this blog feels a little stumped for inspiration/needs a creative-unblock exercise/would like a Summer project but isn't quite sure what, might like to use it too.

Summer Project 2011.
Develop a series of exploratory works and/or test pieces in 2D and 3D form.
The themes to combine for this project are:
1. A piece of text- a passage from a favourite book, poem, lyrics, play or film script etc.
2. At least one piece of 2D or 3D Art/design work from an exhibition, craft fair, fashion show etc to reference/study. Introduce some of it's qualities into your own investigation.
3. A personal/public space or place. Investigate, document and record it.

These sources are spring boards for inspiration; what do they suggest? Make you feel? There is no wrong way of doing this project. We would like to see examples of non-traditional and found materials being used, which may be combined with more traditional artists materials.
Research // Document // Evidence

I am really excited to get a new brief & feel like something really interesting could come of this... yet also feel a little overwhelmed by it. Right now I am just reading it over & over, keeping an eye out and waiting for inspiration to strike.

Exhibition opening night: "vintage" theme inspiration...

2011-06-14T18:20:00.001+01:00

a bit of vintage fashion inspiration from a few stylish female creatives...

Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven
artist/poet

Kiki Montparnasse - in Man Ray's 'Emak Bakia'
artist/singer/actress/writer

Lee Miller
photographer/model

Lola Álvarez Bravo
photographer

Eileen Agar
painter/photographer

Elsa Schiaparelli
fashion designer

Méret Oppenheim
artist/photographer

Frida Kahlo
artist

Romaine Brooks
artist

Tamara de Lempicka
artist

Dora Carrington & cat
artist

fingers crossed...

2011-06-09T17:15:00.001+01:00

fingers crossed, a photo by littleruins on Flickr.
some work from my upcoming exhibition. fingers are firmly crossed in the hopes that the gum takes hold and the images stay put.
find out tomorrow.

2011-06-08T11:13:00.000+01:00

In the process of moving house we found lots of lost treasures, including this print from my first roll of medium format film. It didn't turn out too well, but there is something I like about it (aside from the initial excitement that the roll wasn't entirely blank). Maybe it just seems like the beginning of a new journey.

Christina Bothwell

2011-06-08T10:42:00.000+01:00

I Dreamed I Saw An Angel - glass/clay

When You Sleep - cast glass and raku fired clay

Antlers - cast glass and raku clay

Flightless Woman cast glass, raku fired clay, and mixed media figure

Christina Bothwell creates beautiful/haunting sculptures inspired by the "processes of birth, death, and renewal". There is a short interview on the Glass Quarterly Hot Sheet with Bothwell (it's a little old - 2009) but she talks of her process, taxidermy and what has inspired her recently. I love the quote:
"I was so inspired I couldn’t sleep."

Current Inspirations...

2011-05-26T12:18:00.000+01:00

Ellen Fullman: The Long String Instrument

Other Minds Festival, 2002. Photo: John Fago

Perusing the ever-inspiring Fluid Radio, I stumbled across this gem. Composer, sculptor and sound artist Ellen Fullman began developing her Long String Instrument in the early 80s. With seventy wires running anywhere between 50 and 200 feet long, Fullman's rosin coated fingers bow across the ""walking drone" instrument", creating complex and intriguing resonances with each movement. I am not the best at describing musical endeavors so I will let it speak for itself; watch Fullman's performance at the Berkeley Arts Museum here.

Allyson Mellberg Taylor & Jeremy Taylor

Allyson Melberg & Jeremy Taylor - "Guinea Up" - Walnut ink and egg tempera

Well, perhaps these two shouldn't be listed as a "current" inspiration as they are more of a constant source of inspiration. If you don't already, follow their blog if you are interested in creating homemade dyes, non-toxic artist materials & organic gardening. These are subjects I have become more invested in recently, especially as I stopped painting with my once-adored oils as the turpentine would give me tremendous headaches (years later I still find it hard to be in the same room as an open bottle of the stuff) and suffered a reaction to a household chemical last week where-in a strange rash began creeping up my hands and arms. Luckily for us, Allyson and Jeremy are compiling their invaluable knowledge within a book on the subject of non-toxic & ecologically friendly artists materials, which should hopefully be available at some point soon. The collaborative piece above is currently on show as part of the husband & wife art makers exhibition Happily Ever After, at the Together Gallery in Portland, Oregon.

Kiki Smith - Prints, Books & Things
Another of my favourite artists creeping up again. I saw this book in the Pompidou Centre during our recent trip to Paris but couldn't afford the €50 price tag, instead I immediately searched for it in the library when we returned home and have since renewed it twice already. Often thought (wrongly) as being primarily a sculptor, this book showcases Smith's large body of print work from her first ever screenprint to current works and an 8-page piece created especially for the book. It is easy to spend an afternoon lost in page after page of awe-inspiring, delicate work spanning themes of anatomy, femininity animals and nature. Check out the interactive MoMa site where you can view prints, videos and see Kiki's step-by-step print process.

2011-05-24T14:40:00.000+01:00

Tonight I am going to watch Maya Deren's experimental film collection and try not to worry about the fact that the tiles for my exhibition piece have had oxides added this afternoon and should be getting their final firing later today. I also picked up a copy of Label Ombres "BlackLight ::: Cinematographic Experience". It was the first DVD I picked off the shelf-attracted, no doubt, by the manual typewriter font on the spine- and to my surprise features the lovely Frédéric D. Oberland of FareWell Poetry and The Rustle of The Stars (amongst many other projects), both with records due to be released later this year on Gizeh Records.

Last week was a busy one, filled with musical delights: Sleepingdog & Low in Sheffield & Manchester and Conquering Animal Sound supported by Ten in York. It was much fun & many tired bones ensued. Here you can watch a lovely video featuring Ten shot by Boo Said the Goose just last week, in a ramshackle antiques shop in Leeds.

Alongside gigs/project stress, we should (hopefully) be moving house in just over a week's time, meaning our bedroom is cluttered with boxes of beloved possessions and piles of books. My book collection has grown rather enormously recently due to our regular haunt, a nearby charity shop, selling off any 10 books for £1 (!!! and I bagged some real beauties, too) alas this means even more boxes to pack and drag across the city. Fingers crossed we get the place.

2011-04-26T19:32:00.000+01:00

I only just found out that the Countess di Castiglione, Virginia Oldoini (1837–1899, the lady captured here by Pierre-Louis Pierson in Game of Madness), is buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery... right after we got back from Paris. I have long been fascinated by the photographs of her, of which Oldoini and Pierson reportedly took around seven hundred (including more than 400 portraits) over a period of 40 years.

Believed to be one of the most beautiful women of her time, with eyes that would apparently change from green to violet, Oldoini did not take well to the aging of her body. During the later years of her life the Countess became a virtual reclusive, only leaving the house at night, her face hidden by veils; spending her days in rooms decorated black, the blinds permanently drawn. Unwilling to witness her fading beauty, Virginia removed all of the mirrors she had previously admired herself in.

But aside from her sad demise Oldoini should be remembered for her work as a photographer, performer & artist- some have suggested she was "the Cindy Sherman of the nineteenth century"- and one of the world's first fashion models. Pierson often handled the technical aspects of their shoots, yet it was the Countess who planned & directed the frames, sourced the garments, performed for the camera and hand-coloured the photographs to her satisfaction.

I found a really interesting article on my internet travels at Erin Alyssa's blog, exploring Oldoini's work from a critical/feminist perspective, which you can read here.

2011-04-25T11:15:00.000+01:00

A kind friend responded to my plea of needing to borrow a 35mm SLR for a short while to complete my current project (mine need repairs I cannot yet afford); I have since come away with three new cameras to play with: an Olympus OM-10 with macro & telephoto lenses, an Olympus Pen EE half-frame and a medium format Agfa Isolette II. Of course with new cameras there is the joy of all the instruction manuals, this time complete with horses and girls with cute hair and slingshots.

Olympus OM-10

Agfa Isolette II

Olympus-Pen

Click the links to view the manuals in full from their original sources.

p.s. the new sleepingdog record is out today

"Unless you look for it you might never hear the record and that would be a tragedy"
-Rock-a-Rolla

2011-04-22T16:45:00.000+01:00

The view (& film) from Fred and Jayne's Window, Paris

Paris... we slept in & ate pastries everyday for breakfast, walked miles across the city (I ended up with five blister plasters on one foot alone), spent time with some nice people, pored over beautiful Art books and drank lots of beer. I have still to sort through all of my photos, so I will share more later. For now I am trying to keep the inspiration I found in Paris alive back at home, but sometimes it is hard when all I want to do is hide in the library or stay in bed and sleep for hours.

2011-04-12T09:38:00.000+01:00

Vue Lumière No 765 - Loie Fuller's Serpentine Dance, 1896
♥

2011-04-11T09:26:00.000+01:00

Recent times: I have been adoring the work of Eliot Lee Hazel (see above image), developing my first roll of medium format film (8 fuzzy exposures, of a possible 16...but they are there! I was so sure there would be nothing at all), drinking green Duvel at my new favorite bar (favorite because of the good beers & the fact nobody I know other than my sweetheart drinks there), wishing for a new house in a new city & a real, fresh start; visiting the abandoned children's home again, feeling uninspired/unmotivated/ill for a large part of the week, but luckily this has waned with excitement for Paris on Wednesday!

I also developed a roll of 35mm and did a quick print of one of the exposures from my 120 film. I will post it when I have worked on it further; it is most definitely not perfect but for my first attempt I am pretty happy with it.

2011-03-31T10:26:00.001+01:00

we went for a really beautiful walk last week, just two photos for now:
(I still haven't sorted through all of them)

nice sounds:
*Le Lendemain- Fires. still so beautiful.
*Sleepingdog- With Our Heads in the Clouds and Our Hearts in the Fields. another simply beautiful album. does something funny inside my chest whenever I listen to it. you can listen to a track & pre-order it here
*Gavin Bryars- The Sinking of the Titanic
*The entire Grouper discography (especially Dragging a Dead Deer up a Hill) in anticipation for the new double release. You can listen to a new track at Pitchfork

& plenty more, but now it is time for more lemsip and gazing at the huge cobwebs accumulating above my bed.

Le Lendemain: Fires

2011-03-25T00:05:00.000Z

really, so incredibly, beautiful

2011-03-23T11:05:00.000Z

Rich with his new toy, an 8mm camera (we originally believed it to be a Super8, but alas it is not; 8mm film is incredibly hard to find, but we live in hope).

Other new additions to the household include a 1930s May Fair box camera and a Coronet Captain (from the 40s or 50s), which we think are all in working order- just have to try them out now. Excitement mixed with a sense of impending doom; the hopes one projects on a roll of film only for it to turn out blank.

2011-03-16T21:02:00.000Z

snow drops // golden acre park

Things I have been doing recently: working like crazy (writing about artists and their applied professional practice mainly), viewing Eva Mileusnic's new show down at East Street Arts, thinking about all of the exciting people I want to interview one day for a zine that's brewing in my brain, visiting the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, casting plaster/wax/clay & bashing aluminum into tiny rib cages, reading too many books at once, looking for a new house to live in, worrying over whether my first film on my Diana F+ will actually have any photos on it and getting excited to go to Paris to see the new Allyson Mellberg show... and now I am tired.

nice people doing nice things

2011-02-25T11:59:00.000Z

Conquering Animal Sound - Live // Leeds // 4.2.11‏

Gizeh Records have kindly used my artwork for an exclusive Conquering Animal Sound live album. Recorded at The Packhorse in Leeds earlier this month, it features a number of tracks from their beautiful debut album Kammerspiel. Exclusive to Gizeh Deluxe Subscribers, join up here if you haven't already (it's free!).

I am not usually a fan of live recordings, but this is really worth a listen, so don't miss out.

2011-02-23T10:22:00.000Z

Allyson Mellberg-Taylor is one of my very favourite contemporary artists, so I cannot put into words how excited I am that her upcoming exhibition Lotus Eaters will be showing at Galerie LJ just as myself and Rich have organized a little trip to Paris.

We have 4 full days in Paris.
I think I could potentially spend four days just staring at her work.

There is a preview page up on Allyson's new website featuring 18 stunning images, go look now!
Lotus Eaters at Galerie LJ, Pari s

In other exciting arty news, I really want to see the new documentary The Woodmans about Francesca Woodman and her family. As far as I'm aware it hasn't been screened in the UK and is also not available on DVD yet.
Here's the trailer:

Looks like it could potentially be really good.

2011-02-22T21:22:00.000Z

amazing video/concept/execution/everything:

visit the origamibiro site

2011-02-21T16:48:00.000Z

path leading to the old Eastmoor Secure Unit

2011-02-21T11:34:00.000Z

A friend from work was kind enough to give me an old Canon FT camera he no longer used. I love old camera manuals... a few of the pages:

Conquering Animal Sound

2011-02-11T11:04:00.000Z

live at The Packhorse 04/02/11

see it here/listen to the album:
Conquering Animal Sound "Kammerspiel"
track-by-track online feature
http://radar.scotsman.com/viewpost.aspx?id=355

2011-02-02T22:38:00.000Z

Kirkstall Abbey
Ilford HP5 Plus 400

2011-01-25T18:50:00.000Z

I've decided that when spring comes and all the cats are back out after their winter hibernation (indoors, lazing by the fire), that my new project will be to photograph all of the kitties in my neighbourhood. These are a few from summer just past.

2011-01-21T20:55:00.000Z

I forgot to mention a while back that Sleepsound Agency (who have done press & tour booking for the likes of Conquering Animal Sound, Fuzzy Lights, Glissando, The Pattern Theory & a couple other bloody good bands) used one of my photographs as a banner for their webpage...

nice!

visit them at: http://www.sleepsoundagency.com/

2011-01-14T12:41:00.000Z

one day of snow, out of the blue.. we did some film for Richard Knox (Glissando) & Frédéric D. Oberland (FareWell Poetry) 's current project The Rustle of the Stars.
and I fell over.

2011-01-12T20:55:00.000Z

recent work

2011-01-05T18:03:00.000Z

Rich and I made a flyer to be sent out with all upcoming Gizeh shop orders..

I typed out the font on my old typewriter and drew a little banner header for it, along with another banner for the January Sale (grab yourself a bargain! some albums are as cheap as £1!) and printed them onto old Gizeh envelopes that were sitting around & were going to end up in the bin if we didn't use them soon.

photos of our workspace by Rich, I will scan a flyer close-up later.

2010-12-31T12:19:00.000Z

I made a website: littleruins

2010-12-27T14:03:00.000Z

STRIFE

‘Unified through farce and folly’ at East Street Arts (Patrick Studios)

Our professional practice group recently had the chance to visit East Street Arts' Patrick Studios. We were really lucky to get to see some incredible artists studios, and it really made me think about how important it is to have a space that feeds your creativity- some studios were neatly organized with kettles & teabags & cushions; another covered wall to floor in canvas and oil paint, the strong smell of linseed oil lingering about the place; another beautiful little space was absolutely crammed with everything and anything you could imagine- huge religious votives, photographs stuck to every inch of the walls, tea cups, boxes piled high- so much so that about four of you could stand together, touching, and it felt like the air supply would soon run out. It would be a dream to work in a space like that, but for now I would take any old room with a desk, as I am increasingly finding working on a bed is not always conducive to my creativity.

We also got to view the current group exhibition, Strife, by final year Fine Arts undergraduate students from York St John University. It was really interesting to hear a couple of the members of the group talking about collaborative work processes & the problems (of which they experienced many!) that arise when differing ideas and visions are forced to come together in one space.

I took a few photos...

Amy Ward
Hanging Toward
black & white photographs 6" x 4"

Kirsty Boutle
Doing Ones Utmost to Recount the Inexplicable;
Philosophies of Art and Boutle
mixed media on paper

Marianne Warner
Different Class
mounted photograph print approx. 594 x 420mm

Beth Nicholls
GenderFuck
colour photograph 297 x 210cm

Lisa-Marie Ryan

50 Secrets
wood, magnifying glass, cubes 1x1x1 (cm)

I can't find the information for this piece! If you know, please tell me who it was by.
This will teach me not to write information on tiny scraps of paper.

I also found this on East Street Art's Flickr page; our group viewing the exhibition.

to find out more about all the amazing things ESA do, visit their website.

NEW YORK

2010-11-30T22:10:00.000Z

Just found this old photograph in my files;
taken from the top of the Empire State Building around 2005.

2010-10-13T13:18:00.000+01:00

Gizeh Records have kindly used a couple of my images from RAF Nocton Hall for their new winter sampler, catalogue and online player.

GIZEH RECORDS: GIZEH: A SAMPLER

"A label sampler with tracks from current and past Gizeh artists" with songs from lots of lovely bands including Glissando, Fieldhead, Conquering Animal Sound & Sleepingdog.

Follow the link to check it out!

Glissando: The Long Lost / Of Silence

2010-05-18T20:12:00.000+01:00

The bulk of my day so far has been spent making the artwork for Glissando's new release: a limited edition double single The Long Lost / Of Silence with Rich (of Glissando), Sarah (good friend & DIY seamstress) & my beautiful cat. 150 sleeves, booklets & fabric pouches to be cut, folded, punched, stamped and sewn. A very frustrating & time consuming project, but all in all, good times..

The artwork features one of my photographs from RAF Nocton Hall, an abandoned military hospital we visited in March. A very special place.

wonky edges & beer soaked lyric sheets aside, I think the end result looks super sweet.

http://www.myspace.com/glissando
(Their upcoming album is going to be ridiculously good! Due out late next year.)
http://www.gizehrecords.com/Gizeh.html
(Awesome DIY record label based in Leeds. Take a look at their site, discover some new music & spend yr pennies at their shop. Especially recommended are Conquering Animal Sound, Gizeh's latest signing. Their album will be released around February 2011).
http://www.myspace.com/conqueringanimalsound