BEAUTIFUL PERMANENT ART

My second tattoo has been in the planning stages for at least 10 years, what can I say I work better to a deadline and when there is no time limit I can be a little bit of a procrastinator. I am constantly on the look out for symbols, phrases and images that represent my values and outlook on life that I could apply to a tattoo. However every once in a while I'll see a design that takes my breath away and I think maybe that's how the decision should be made.
This happened when I stumbled across the modern art tattoos by the brooklyn based tattooist Amanda Wachob on the art and design blog "Design Milk".
I absolutely love the free and impressionist style of them and definitely think this is the way forward for me.
Check out more examples of her work here ~ www.amandawachob.com

PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS > WEEK 7

I can finally show you the black and white film pictures I took in week 5.
My main aim was to get them in focus but I'm really pleased with how they turned out, my favourites were the close up images of doors, bridges and cobbled streets. The totally beautiful depth that black and white film adds and  the mystery of how they'll turn out made me fall in love with it.

PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS > WEEK 5 & 6

Week 5:
So I thought last week's photography class was excellent and then I discovered film photography and instantly fell in love with it.
Ok so maybe at the start of the class I was like "whaddyamean we won't be able to check our pictures when we've taken them?!?" you know to check they're at least in focus.
It was a great way to test how much technical info you had taken in over the last few weeks so we loaded our B/W film and off we went to the clydeside to take our pics. We only had 36 pics in a roll of film and as we usually take about 136 with a digital camera I did feel a bit restricted but as you're taking twice as long to take the image I found myself on 26 and struggling to finish the roll. When we'd finished we then handed it into the college lab to create our negatives for us to pick up next week. Can't wait to see them!

Week 6:
This week we picked up our negatives and some photographic paper and headed off to the dark room. After 3 hours you're eyes do get used to it but when you leave it you definitely have "mole eyes".
We learnt how to use the light projectors and test how much exposure we should apply through the negative. After processing test strips and washing the prints in the chemical baths we only had time to create 3 prints that we left to dry and will pick up next week.

I can't wait to see what they look like and Ill post them here to let you have a peek too.

www.tooflynyc.com

SKATEBOARD GUITARS

I was a bit of a tomboy when I was little and became totally obsessed with skateboarding, so I fell a little bit in love with these guitars when I saw them.

They are handmade in a Buenos Aires workshop by an argentinian luthier Ezequiel Galasso and the pro skateboarder Gianfranco de Gennaro Gilmour from reclaimed skateboards that are wired up with volume knobs and whammy bars. In the throw away society that we live in these guys definitely show us that you can always find a use for an item and make it even more beautiful.

BOOK REVIEW > WONDER BY R.J PALACIO

To me reading is as important as breathing. I ALWAYS have a book in my bag even if I'm only going on a 10 minute train journey. I would say I'm probably just as big a BookGeek as I am a DeesignGeek. 

A book I have just finished reading is "Wonder" by RJ Palacio after it was recommended in The Metro newspaper.
It is one of those books that you keep thinking about long after you've put it down.
It introduces you to the main character August, nicknamed Auggie, who is 10 and has been home schooled due to the 27 operations he has had to correct severe craniofacial abnormalities. Straight off it sounds like some deep and heavy material to read especially as August introduces himself by saying ~
"I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse" but it is the most uplifting book I have read and instils the belief that human kindness and "good" people will prevail even when situations feel hopeless.

The external characteristics you imagine fade as you read on and his courage and kindness in the face of school bullies and embarrassed siblings shines through.
He is tested as he starts school for the first time, with even his dad stating he'll be like "a lamb to the slaughter", and meets his fellow classmates, some have been briefed on his condition and asked to look after him and some sit and talk to him when they see him sitting on his own and of course the school bully who manages to turn his whole year against him.
The beauty of this book was how it evoked unexpected bouts of sympathy for example the school bully, when his mum speaks to the headmaster about the fact that Auggie should be in a special needs school even though there is nothing mentally or emotionally wrong with him - he just looks different is when you realise he is only acting the way he has been "guided".

It not only looks at how Auggie copes with peoples reaction but how his new friends are affected by just associating with him. Each character narrates their own chapters so you get their take on each situation as well as Auggie's, which put a great spin on the story.

Although they are only ten you can see how the choices the characters make will shape them into the adults they will become. 

PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS > WEEK 4

This weeks photography class was all about panoramic images and how to create this in Photoshop with my favourite "tool" ever; Photomerge! This is where you import 5 or 6 images and click "Photomerge" and it "stitches" all your images together for you.
First of all we had to get the photos so we headed to the Glasgow Necropolis, (a Victorian cemetery) that sits on a hill and has amazing views of the city.
This week was pretty important to get our settings correct to suit the light and objects as next week we are working with black and white FILM!
Yeah that's right no option to flick through the images you've taken and delete the ones that aren't. Eek!
This week I was pretty pleased to finally get my head around setting the right exposure, it helped that the evenings are a lot lighter than they were when we started back March. The last image is actually 6 images stitched together and this was an excellent class.

www.ramaform.com

WAYNE HEMINGWAY - "THE STORY SO FAR"

I might be giving away my age here but I used to love watching Wayne Hemingway in the fashion section on The Big Breakfast (I've mentioned this to younger friends and have been met with blank stare and the question "What was the Big Breakfast?" You know Zig and Zag, Johny and Denise, More Tea Vicar?!?! No? ok I'll move on).
So when my friend asked if I wanted to see him speak at the Old Fruit Market about his 30 years experience in the design industry I was like "Hell yeah"!
He is probably most famous for founding the global fashion label "Red or Dead" where he started on a stall in Camden Market and brought an affordable designer label to the high street and when he sold it he then started the multi discipline design studio Hemingway Design designing everything from clothes to houses.
His down to earth attitude and advice to research your market but then "just go for it" really hit home with me and I loved how even after 30 years as a designer he still wouldn't class himself as one which he feels helps him to remain adaptable moving between architecture, digital and advertising projects. This along with the belief that you make your own luck and to do business with people you like seems to be THEE winning combination for a successful career.
I thought he was great before I went to see him and came away totally inspired and loving him even more after it. 

PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS > WEEK 3

It's week 3 of my photography class already and it was all about composition, oh and exposure as always. We managed to get outside and the aim of this weeks class was to take pictures of objects that looked like letters and to create a word out of the letters we collected.
I created the word "Glasgow" and found that the letter "G" is really hard to find, that's why I had to feature an actual letter "G", well we were on a time limit.It was a really great exercise to get you thinking about making the shot look different and a bit more creative.