georgina ragazza: collage with a touch of cyanide

5 Reasons Why I Love David Bellairs (aka Widdywoo)

2012-02-10T09:00:00.002Z

Gynaecological Illusions - © David Bellairs

Whimsical: David has a light touch about his artwork that is wholly deceptive of the depths below the quiet and gentle surface, rather like the artist himself. There's a wonderful tension between the whimsy and delicacy of his watercolour painting and the delightful punch of humour and naughty wit in his collage that I find extremely appealing.
Inspiring: Every week I'm delighted that I know such lovely people, but I really am and I really do. David has this way of giving me a gentle nudge every now and then - "Go on - you can do it!" And for this, I am very, very grateful.
Delightful: There really is no other way to respond to his artwork than to be utterly delighted by it, even when you're laughing or have a slight "oo-er!" face on you. He's rather like the biggest cream cake in the window that has you licking your lips for hours afterwards.
Dirty: In the nicest possible sense! Saucy, silly, a little bit naughty around the edges, and guaranteed to make you giggle.
Yearning: even with the naughty sense of humour, there is a lovely yearning below the surface that I also find appealing.

The always delightful and slightly naughty Widdywoo, as David Bellairs is known on deviantART, has a tremendous sixth sense... he always knows when I'm in need of a boost of inspiration or an art cuddle. I hear the rattle of the letterbox, the sound of a gentle thud on the doormat, and there's a parcel covered in his distinctive stamps and full of interesting bits and pieces: original artwork, magazine cuttings, striking words from a book, materials to play with. He is yet another wonderful artist turned dear friend whose eye twinkle, saucy sense of humour and gentle sensibilities have enriched my life and further encouraged me in my own artistic path. He's a gem!

You Can Find David On:

5 Blogs I'm Obsessed With

2012-02-08T11:32:00.000Z

No video today as I have the 'flu (far too much sniffing and coughing and general lurgy going on!), but as I've been keeping company with my Kindle and my Google RSS reader, I thought I'd share my current Tops of the Pops with you. Put the kettle on, and settle in - you may find you spend some time here!

50 Watts - an amazing collection of vintage and retro book cover scans that will have you glued to the screen for hours. This site really is a labour of love and covers the globe and as many different illustration and layout styles as you can think of.
Jenn Ski - Jenn is an artist in her own right who also happens to share my passion for all things Mid-century Modern... there's everything here from art to design to furniture to glassware. She has an Etsy shop too!
Peggy Takes Manhattan - quirky and filled with nuggets of fabness that'll have you salivating... this was one of those links from a link from a link on some blog surfing one evening that proved to be a real gem. Mid-century leanings and very stylish!
Child of the Moon - not strictly art as such... but a fabulous collection of vintage photos and articles, each post based around one person or one theme. If you love retro eye candy and snippets of tasty info, then you will LOVE Child of the Moon.
Cannelle et Vanille - I'm all about sustenance!... again, not an art blog, but for sheer inspirational value, you cannot go far than to gaze and drool over the extraordinarily beautiful food photography on this gorgeous recipe blog. And, artists need to eat too. :)

5 Reasons Why I Love Julie Fordham

2012-02-03T09:00:00.001Z

Lace - © Julie Fordham

Jubilant: despite the fact that Julie never shies away from difficult topics in her work, there is an inherent joy that unites everything she does. Her quiet spirit shines through and provides a beauty and a dignity to her artwork which is both uplifting and compelling.
Unflinching: Julie is an emotion-based artist, tackling subjects like self-harming with honesty. She has tirelessly worked to alleviate the struggles of other artists through Love Yourself For Art (LYFA), an ongoing voluntary project to encourage and support those struggling with self-esteem and mental health issues.
Loving: I am privileged to know a great many talented and generous artists, and Julie ranks among the top - she is supportive and caring above and beyond the call of duty, and will always go out of her way to help a fellow artist both professionally and personally.
Inspiring: Julie has a lot on her plate in a personal sense - a LOT - but has kept on going, producing wonderful artwork and reaching out to the community: mentoring, leading and guiding without judgement and with an open heart.
Effortless: Like a swan, Julie's artwork has a grace about it that belies the sheer amount of effort and work that goes on behind the scenes. Art is her joy and her catharsis.

Julie is another stunning artist I met on deviantART, who has become a valued and treasured friend, limitless in her support, generosity and encouragement, and someone who never fails to make me happy. She has been featured in books and blogs, is highly respected amongst her peers, and deserves every single bit of recognition and more!

You Can Find Julie On:

An Introduction to Altered Books

2012-02-01T09:00:00.002Z

I've been doing altered books for about five years now - initially on deviantArt, and then as a relatively quick and easy way to get some ideas flowing. I tend to use children's board books, which you can pick up for pennies in charity and thrift stores, but I've also used old paperbacks - again from charity and thrift stores.

Here's my introduction to the concept, with more tutorials to follow on how to prepare the surface of the books, and some good background ideas.

Topics: Why I Reject Canvas

2012-01-30T09:00:00.001Z

Regular readers to my blog will know that I formally rejected canvas a while back, in favour of making my own cardboard "canvasses", something I'm happy to do not just from an environmental standpoint, but also because I like to puncture the notion that art is somehow lofty and inaccessable to all but the gifted few. I see no reason why art can't be on walls, pavements, glass, fabric, garbage, books.... I've seen so many artists get hung up on not either having a canvas, or not having "the right one". Creativity is creativity, no matter the surface, and I certainly don't subscribe to the notion of right and wrong as far as creativity is concerned.

This post caught my eye then - 40 artists painting 40 original pieces of artwork on 40 pairs of shoes to be auctioned off for charity at the end of the exhibition in July. I like the idea that you can own a piece of original artwork on an unconventional and more accessible surface, particularly something that you can wear. Paintings in galleries depress me sometimes - it's not like you can see them everyday, and for me, art should be a little bit of daily balm to the soul.

What do you think?

Further Links

Soles4Souls article on Juxtapoz magazine

Amanda Critchlow - Creativity Exercises

2012-01-25T09:00:00.004Z

I found this wonderful online resource for stimulating creativity - a downloadable PDF booklet with 12 amazing exercises from Amanda Critchlow who writes a wonderful blog about her own journey as an artist and also runs workshops and provides free resources for creativity exercises and so on. I've mentioned her lovely blog before, in fact!

The booklet is free to download and the artist mentioned in the video is Fiona Banner. I'm enjoying these exercises and would love to know what you think of them too!

Topics: You Know What You Should Do...

2012-01-23T13:38:00.000Z

I have a great many well-meaning and supportive friends, who periodically ask me how my artwork is going, and like to offer advice from time to time. Their hearts are in the right place and I love them dearly, but any sentence that begins with "You know what would be a really good idea..." or "You know what you should do..." rather misses the essential kernel of a) why I'm an artist, and b) how I'm an artist. This isn't meant to sound churlish or ungrateful, but I really do think that I speak for the vast majority of artist out there when I touch on this.

I'm really not lacking in ideas, although I may say that I have a creative block or I'm a bit stuck or something like that. Usually when I say this, it's because I'm having a low confidence day or week or month or whatever. I know what I want to do, I'm just not entirely sure that I actually can. That's the difference.

In the past, I've likened my creative process partly to a hundred metre dash, and partly to vomiting, and both are equally as valid. I have to noodle and doodle and gaze out of the window and mess up and consume all the wrong things, before that perfect moment of tension when I know that the emotions and the vision and the feeling are absolutely right and what I need to say can be born. And it just comes - whoomp - like a hundred metre dash or vomiting. I don't have very much control over it, nor do I really put much thought into it. I pretty much go with the feeling, and I know that a piece is done when I'm exhausted and need to go and lie down somewhere quietly.

So even though all of my friends and family put tremendously good ideas to me for pieces, they not only aren't what I'm feeling (and I am a very emotion-based artist) or I will completely forget them when I'm in The Zone and purging on to paper. So please don't be offended if I don't put your ideas into practice - it's not that I don't want to, it's just that I physically can't. I'm just not that sort of artist - but I do appreciate and love that you care and support me. xx

Reasons Why I Love Wreck This Box by Keri Smith

2012-01-20T19:03:00.000Z

LOVING this box set of creativity boosting books by Keri Smith - go on, treat yourselves!

Click here to buy it on Amazon :)

Setting Up An Art Studio: Part Two

2012-01-18T09:00:00.000Z

Topics: Art and The Brain Wot's Wired Funny

2012-01-16T09:00:00.001Z

I asked the question, via Twitter, recently: "Do creativity and depression go hand in hand? Are you creative and suffering from a depressive illness - or free from 'the black butterfly'?" It's a topic close to my heart being one of the goodness knows how many percent of people who live with clinical depression. But in the middle of thinking about this and deciding to blog about it as well, I came across a post on 101 Bird Tales with the following Writ Large:

"All of this in amongst fire-fighting the trickiness of Aspergers Syndrome; of understanding it, of living with it, of being an artist, a mother, a carer. Navigating the terrain of LIFE. A life. My life. A real lack of understanding at times. What does it all mean? How does a mind with a form of autism work? Why does it manifest as it does? What causes it? What can I do? How can I protect as a mother? How can I weave the experience and story into my own art? I can barely separate it from my existence, and my existence feeds my art. . . . I think, but not much comes. Many thoughts, but a lack of coherence. Time passes so quickly with each day and minute filled with aspects of surviving, art-ing, fire-fighting and managing. Like I know many of us do. I don't know how we do. Life at times feels way to much."

You can tick the box marked Aspergers for me too - and both that and depression go hand in hand, chicken and egg style. It's a spectrum illness/syndrome, so there are varying degrees of severity depending on the person, but essentially it's all down to buggy wiring in the big grey blob of the brain. In practical terms it means that I find people's faces hard to read so I hate social situations, am not great with crowds, tend to get obsessed with things and forget to eat/sleep/generally be human, don't often feel very human, have the stamina of a robot and then crash like a Led Zeppelin, and have a very left-of-centre way of looking at things. And I ask A LOT of questions.

Does the Aspergers inform the Artist or is it the other way around? If I had a magic wand and could instantly wipe out every depression-bearing neuron from my brain would I stop being an artist? Don't know. Not sure if I actually want to find out. I try and sit down and Do A Piece of Art On Having Aspergers but as Amelia says - how do I separate the experience and the awareness of it? Don't know. Not sure if I want to find out. But I do want to know about you and how you feel about it - I ask a lot of questions, remember? Tell me. Tell me now.

5 Reasons Why I Love Megan Sheldon Murphy

2012-01-13T09:00:00.002Z

ATC Balloon Love 2 of 8 - © Megan Sheldon Murphy

Minutiae: Megan has a way of exploring all the wonderful detail in things and produces lovely, fresh detailed pieces which have such a charm and a beauty about them. Her gorgeous batik work is a joy to behold.
Expressive: all of her pieces are born from creative passion and it shows. She very kindly made me a George Harrison portrait that has so much love and detail in it that it never fails to make me smile whenever I look at it - which is often.
Generous: It is no easy feat to wing things from Australia to the UK, but Megan has both sent me delightful packages by mail and wonderful, supportive messages by email, and she is one of the most approachable artists I know.
Avant Garde: Megan loves to try things out and push herself creatively too. I'd never seen batik used as anything other than textiles or large pieces before so it was quite a revelation to see her miniatures, such as the balloon picture above. And she takes her time to fully explore the medium that she decides to learn, giving it her attention and her care.
New: There is such a freshness about her work, even with ancient arts like the aforementioned batik. There is nothing dated or clunky or obviously "retro" about what she does, but rather a delightful blast of innovation and fresh air about it that I find very appealing.

I first met Megan on deviantART, where we chatted and traded ATCs (Artists Trading Cards) - in fact, she was one of the very first people I ever did that with, and she encouraged me a great deal in being more creative and more courageous as an artist with her general kindness and cheering me on. She keeps art and work separate: "I don’t desire being a poor artist. For the moment its get a ‘’real’’ job to earn enough to fund my passion. I've always done art but its been more a hobby, a natural behaviour than a career goal. I like to do new things if I can. I get bored replicating the same thing. Usually I see another artist's work or get my hands on a new medium and have to do something."

You Can Find Megan On:

2012 Project Updates and a Look Ahead

2012-01-11T22:46:00.000Z

Pottering about the studio again after a long holiday break - I had the presence of mind to tidy and clean the place before I left for the holiday period so it was all clean and peaceful and welcoming when I got back. I love my studio :)

Topics: Have A Cuppa Tea

2012-01-09T09:00:00.001Z

A while ago, I was reading a post on Michael Nobbs' excellent blog about being creative and navigating your way through a creative life (you can also follow him on Twitter). This particular post considers the early morning cuppa - a great British tradition that is both pause, refreshment and emotional succor, and it really struck a chord with me.

"Ill or well," he says. "creating a quiet oasis to start the day calmly in shouldn’t be underestimated. It provides an opportunity to come to slowly and set our rhythm for the day ahead."

I have this habit of bolting out of bed with a To Do list clutched in my fist, no breakfast, swift cup of coffee, mad dash to get things done, without first reflecting on the day and really taking stock of things that are important, and also things that can wait.

I did a video recently on the importance of preparing yourself mentally for art, and of having art rituals that define both the mental and the physical space, but had not really considered the very first moments of consciousness in a day. For a good long while I used to make myself a cup of green tea first thing in the morning and go sit out on the balcony, taking in the fresh air of the day and letting my mind empty in preparation for the chaos ahead. I am, as it happens, quite obsessed with genmachai - or "popcorn tea" - a rather fabulous blend of green tea and roasted rice.

I was always more productive and much more focused on those days, having given myself some pause and clarity before the maelstrom... and it occurred to me that the woolly headedness that I've been feeling of late can quite simply be banished by a gentle cuppa and a bit of light meditation as the sun starts to come up and the day begins. There's no time like the present...

How do you start your day?

5 Reasons Why I Love Ralph Steadman

2012-01-07T13:43:00.000Z

Raw: I personally adore the kind of art that seems to rise up, unfiltered, unadorned, and unedited from the soul of the artist, and it's a testimony to the genius of Steadman that whilst his technical skill is in absolutely no doubt, none of it looks rehearsed and pre-sketched, but quite literally as if he's vomited emotion and feeling and thought straight on to the page.
Acidic: there is nothing kind or loving or gentle about his work, although it is witty, pithy and born from the sort of twisted love and fascination of the subject that all satirists possess. I really don't like cuddly, safe and nice artwork - I much prefer it when it has a sting or two in the tail.
Lusty: “I must have a feeling that: ‘Oooh I’m really excited about this!’ The most depressed times I have is when I just don’t wanna do anything. A living hell is not being creative, being utterly devoid of any creative impulse whatsoever.” You cannot be that angry, that barbed or that devious without being incredibly passionate at the start.
Perverted: bats and rabid dogs, bleak desert landscapes composed of twisted telegraph poles and infinite perspective lines, bloated bureaucrats with gaping mouths and US matrons with cruel features and monstrous bodies. This isn't Constable, people.
Hunter: There would be no Steadman without Thompson, and probably no Thompson without Steadman - they are so inextricably intertwined in each others' legend, so deliciously doting the others' i's and crossing the t's along the way.

Without Ralph Steadman, I would not have the courage to embrace my inner demons and let them come out to play on the canvas, and I would not delight in the "Oh!" I hear whenever anyone new looks at my artwork. I envy artists who produce beautiful and lyric paintings full of joy and aesthetics - but I don't want to be them. Thanks to Ralph Steadman, I'm more than happy to be me.

A Blustery Delay!

2012-01-04T17:43:00.000Z

Some planet or other seems to have its knickers in a twist as our connection's been all over the place and Google had this weird blackout for about 24 hours - scary stuff! Ironing out the last glitch so the blog is back to normal on Friday, January 6th - hugs until then! x

Davide Di Taranto

2011-12-30T09:00:00.001Z

(Image copyright Davide Di Taranto)

Brighton is famous for its Artists Open Houses, and rightly so. Every year in May and December, artists from every discipline open their homes to the public to exhibit and sell their artwork. Nibbles are laid out, wine is offered and everyone has a jolly good time. Up until recently, I was involved in the open houses, which meant that I couldn't actually follow the trail and see anyone else, which was a major downside or me.

But this year I got to see the extraordinary work of Davide Di Taranto, a conceptual sculptor who produces stunning 3D figures and abstract beings entirely out of cardboard and insulation tape. Readers will know of my fevered experiments with cardboard canvasses, so when my friend and fellow artist Graham Johnstone pointed me in Davide's direction, my curiosity was well and truly and piqued.

"Making sculpture out of cardboard and insulation tape" didn't really give me much to go on, so I was unprepared and pleasantly surprised by just how intricate, powerful and beautiful Davide's work is. Athletic nudes tower over quirky space aliens, and animals mingle with sub-atomic structures. The insulation tape throws the painstaking detail of muscle and facial features into sharp relief and makes for a very profound and engaging display. There's also something very tactile and sensual about his sculptures, and I love the wit inherent in the contrast between the strength of the musculature and the fragility of the cardboard.

This is one of the few exhibitions I've visited where I've loved every single piece, and Davide is such an inspiring and passionate artist as well. We share a belief in found materials and recycling in art and so it was a joy for me to talk shop with a like mind. But the pieces that totally blew my mind were his extraordinary spheroid creatures - a perfect dome on top of sharp, abstract legs covered in dazzling silver insulation tape. The concept of a perfect sphere constructed entirely from cardboard is still breathtaking to me!

For more information about Davide

Davide's website

A Pep Talk - Tell 'Em Georgy Sent You!

2011-12-28T09:00:00.002Z

trust that this is your path and this is what you want and need to do
don't let anyone tell you what you should and shouldn't do - this is your life, not theirs
treat yourself as you would treat a best friend - with love, compassion and total support. The dishes in the sink can wait - you can't
live your own journey with as little compromise as possible - don't hurt anyone on the way or trample over them and their needs, but don't let them hurt you or trample over your needs either
give yourself permission to do this

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-23T18:22:00.000Z

No posts from me until the 28th cos of the holidays, so wherever you are and whatever you're doing, have a fab time! And, if you know someone less fortunate than yourself, make sure to lend them a hand xxx

Happy Holidays!

Coffee, Tea or Me?

2011-12-21T09:00:00.004Z

Whetted your appetite? Nice little space isn't it? :)

How NOT To Start Your Week

2011-12-19T15:05:00.001Z

Moral of the story: ALWAYS have your keys on you. Even in the bath. Especially in the bath.

A Change is Gonna Come

2011-12-16T12:56:00.001Z

December is the month when you start reflecting back over the past year and begin putting things in order ready for the next one. This time last year I never expected to be in a working studio with several successful exhibitions behind me and the prospect of yet more exciting things to come.

With that in mind, I'm doing a bit of tidying and rejigging on the blog - nothing major at this stage, just a tweak here and there, but there will be a blog redesign and overhaul in the not too distant future.

I'm still going to update every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but the structure will be as follows:

Mondays

Links and lists
Hooking up with themes and topics and exploring other bloggers and opinions on a range of topics, trends and news

Wednesdays

Video Day
Tutorials, project updates, tours and so on

Fridays

Interviews
Guest posts
Inspiration

I've temporarily turned off comments just until I get things a bit tidier here, but you can always debate, discuss and pontificate on the YouTube channel, Twitter or the Facebook Page. xx

Setting Up An Art Studio: Part One

2011-12-14T09:00:00.001Z

really useful

The Really Useful Box Company

The Launch of The Loft

2011-12-12T12:04:00.001Z

Yes - we're now officially an up and running arts and community venue! We had our big launch and the public response was truly overwhelming. When I arrived at 9:45am (the main opening time was 10am), expecting to have a quick cuppa, gather my thoughts and so on, the place was packed. And it stayed that way all day, with a steady stream of traffic until we finally closed the doors at 4pm.

It's nice when your friends and colleagues support what you're doing. It's even nicer when the neighbours get it too. It's absolutely jaw-dropping when the local community come out in droves and are excited and pleased that you're there and you're offering them something that they really dig and can get behind. Trust me, I had a massive grin on my face all the way home that day.

Ian McWhirter, our lovely landlord and furniture maker par excellence, took a disused Victorian building and ran with its potential, making a beautiful space for artists' studios, exhibitions, workshops and classes. I've been privileged enough to be there pretty much since the start and have watched it grow and blossom. Do stop by and say hello and have a cuppa!

Further Links

Graham Johnstone - Polaroid Artist Extraordinaire

2011-12-09T14:46:00.001Z

"The soft dreamy quality of a Polaroid is just something that is unmatched by anything."

Graham has been an artist for most of his life, drawing Disney characters at his father's knee, winning prizes at school for his portrait drawing, and painting abstract mixed media seascapes in his adopted home of Brighton.

But it was a chance meeting with a photographer that changed the artistic path of the Scots' native and relaunched his love of the lens.

"In a place like Brighton there was a saturated market for abstract seascape paintings. I have always loved Polaroid, to me it has a sort of instant gratification that is different than digital in that you actually get a tangible picture in your hands.

I would describe my instant film work as complementary textures and colours that make the familiar unfamiliar, and to open your eyes to see things differently.

Next year I will be experimenting with manipulation techniques through instant film and photomontages (a method used by Hockney in his photography days!)"

Graham is also a keen collage artist (we met through our mutual passion for the medium), and has exhibited around Brighton, including a show at Northern Lights. His images have a wonderful timeless quality about them, almost as if you're seeing into someone's thoughts and feelings. Coincidentally, we also share a belief in art as therapy.

"I couldn't live without it. The ability to sketch, paint or take a photograph any time I feel the need is a good feeling. Unlike some therapies, you can derive benefits even without your doctor present."

He currently works from home with plans to move into a studio space at some point next year.

"If I do have any collage/painting related projects on I usually spread myself on the floor with all my materials scattered everywhere! I am quite lucky to have laminate flooring in my flat to clean up any spillages! As for the rest well, that's another story!

My rituals usually consist of a big mug of tea (essential!), some chocolate, surfing the internet, what's trending, artist friends inspirations/new work, blogs. etc. Gives me an insight in what everybody is up to and also it gives me a boost for the day!

Living the life as an artist can be lonely and difficult, especially under the current climate. It's also important to value yourself and your skills. Invest in yourself, your tools and developing your skills. A huge chunk of your time can be spent on networking, particularly on social media (Twitter, Facebook, blog etc) Getting your name and work out there is a major key to having some success."

Graham cites the artists he would most love to hang out with as contemporary Polaroid artists such as Neil Krug, Stephanie Vovas, Jeremy Kost, Mikael Kennedy and Patrick Winfield.

"Each of them are all inspiring to me in their own way. Plenty of stories to be shared from their experiences and our passion for instant film. I can see us all chatting and snapping away for hours on end!"

I think that they'd also be thrilled to share his company as he is a wonderfully talented artist with a keen eye for a stunning picture. Do check out his work!

For More About Graham Visit:

His Facebook Page - Graham Johnstone Polaroid Artist
His inspirations' blog - Instant ♥ Love

Putting a Surface on your Cardboard Canvas - The Final Step

2011-12-07T08:41:00.001Z

Don't worry about the areas of buckling or corrugation that you can see once you've finished fusing your cardboard layers together. These can easily be covered by a variety of surfaces - the only limit is your imagination and resources. Some ideas to try are:

a 50/50 mix of gesso and polyfilla with a touch of glue to make a thin, textured surface
newspaper or butcher's paper
Mod Roc or other embedded plaster covering
tissue paper layers or dressmaking pattern papers
muslin material embedded in a thin coat of polyfilla or gesso

Let me know how you get on and what you come up with - I'm eager to see this spread!

Collage Isn't Really Art - Is It?

2011-12-05T09:00:00.008Z

Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso were reading The Daily Bohemian in a cafe one day.

"Georgie," says Pablo. "Why don't we stick these bits of newspaper on to some other paper and then doodle on it in a Cubist way?"

Georgie replies (in French, of course): "Collé? Interesting technique. We could be on to something here, Pablo. Get the wine in, there's a love."

To my mind, if two of the greatest and most famous artists of all time invent a technique, which then gets picked up by such artistic geniuses as Kurt Schwitters, Richard Hamilton, Matisse and the greater part of the Dada movement then it's legit. Discuss.

5 Reasons Why I Love Leigh Bowery

2011-12-02T09:00:00.014Z

Larger Than Life: you could never be in a room with Leigh Bowery and not notice him. The sheer volume of space that he occupied aside, he had enough personality and absolute balls to fill a space the size of the Albert Hall. There are oft-told tales of his extreme physical discomfort wearing costumes so large, so bulky and so unwieldy coupled with his absolute glee at being able to occupy even more physical space and push over anyone who got in his way, that it was worth the agony for him. I saw an exhibition of some of his costumes at the Fabrica Gallery in Brighton many years ago, and although the costumes were extraordinary, they were painfully lifeless and flat without him inside them.
Edgy: you never knew quite where you stood with him and just exactly what he would produce. He would promise you sequins and deliver nails. He would offer you tea and sympathy and then use the information as an anecdote. There was nothing safe or tasteful or twee about him. He was nitroglycerin and lightning and bile all rolled in to one - you might not like what he produced, but you never forgot it.
Involved: from sewing on thousands of sequins, to knowing everyone who was anyone in the art and music scene, Leigh Bowery was right there, present in the moment, engaged, passionate, and soaking everything up like a maverick sponge. He couldn't produce a clothing line for other people, nor could he duplicate anything - even the Michael Clark productions that he designed for featured a troupe of dancers who all looked like Leigh Bowery. He was like an indelible stamp.
Grotesque: the French say jolie laide and the Japanese have wabi-sabi - the beauty in ugliness. He was pleasing enough to look at underneath all the paint and safety pins and latex, but he was uncompromising in his bulk and bumps and drips and dribbles and caricatures that the nth degree became art in and of itself. When you push the boundaries that far and challenge people that much, the sheer weight of the grotesque takes on a strange sort of delicacy and elegance that is quite breath taking.
Hardcore: Leigh Bowery would never produce anything that matched your couch or fitted in with your lifestyle or followed your vision. It was always how he saw things or simply an empty space where he had walked out and left you standing. Even if you were a dyed in the wool fan and loved him without question, he would do something that would make you gasp and recoil. And then you would love him even more. There ws simply no compromising, no dilution, no second guessing.

Every day I try and be a little bit more fearless, a little bit more uncompromising, a little bit more engaged and spirited and loud. Every day I try and be a little bit more like Leigh Bowery, whilst knowing full well that there was only one and can never be anything other than only one. But every day I wear a little bit more of Leigh Bowery's heart on my sleeve.

Cardboard Sandwiches Without The Pickle: A Tutorial

2011-11-30T00:22:00.001Z

Materials Needed

Cardboard - the layered, corrugated kind
PVA or wood glue
Water
Any medium-sized household paintbrush
Weighty objects like boxes, but nothing with sharp edges
Scrap cardboard

Using cardboard for canvasses is a great way to be eco-friendly, reusing resources that would otherwise go to waste or require time, energy and money to recycle. (More details in this post!)

Instructions

Cut out three equal sized layers of cardboard to any shape and size that you want - they don't have to be exact because you can trim them up later once the glue is dry
Mix your chosen glue with water in a ratio of about 60 glue to 40 water until it's at a pouring cream consistency
Apply the glue liberally to the surface of the first layer of cardboard, making sure that you go right up to the edges
Place the second layer of cardboard on top of the glue and press down firmly
Apply a liberal second layer of glue to the surface of the second layer of cardboard, again making sure that you go up to the edges
Place the third layer of cardboard on top of the glue and press down firmly again
Apply weighty objects to the surface of the third layer of cardboard to press everything and give the glue time to bond and dry. If you're worried about indentations or impressions, you can always use scrap pieces of cardboard under the weights. Clamps are also useful at the stage to give extra pressure, particularly if you're working with large pieces of cardboard, but do make sure that you put the scrap pieces of cardboard in between or you will end up with indents and pressure marks
Leave everything for 24 hours to ensure that the glue is completely dry and bonded
Check everything over once the glue is dry and add extra glue as needed to any surfaces that haven't stuck together

It's as simple as that! Do let me know how you get on, or if you have any questions or comments. Next week, I'll be going through some surface ideas and suggestions. :)

How to Set up an Artist Facebook Page

2011-11-28T09:00:00.002Z

Last week, I talked about why a Facebook Page is a good thing to have if you're a working artist. Today, I'll take you step by step through creating your own, so you can start building a fan base quickly and easily.

If you haven't already registered a Facebook account, you'll need to do so here - it's free and quick. Once you have a Facebook account up and running, click here to open up the creation process for your own Artist Page. You'll see six options:

Local business or place
Company, organisation or institution
Brand or product
Artist, band or public figure
Entertainment
Cause or community

Go ahead and choose Artist, band or public figure, and it'll take you to the next screen. From the "Choose a category" drop-down menu, pick Artist, add your name (or the name that you trade under), agree to the Facebook terms and conditions, and click on Get Started - this is the fun part!

Essentials for a Facebook Page

Either a logo or a really good picture of your artwork - this will be your avatar, and the picture that everyone sees when you post, so make it as eye-catching and representative as possible
Include a pithy mission statement in the Info section - for me it's "collage with a touch of cyanide". See this as your introduction and calling card to get people hooked into who you are and what you do
Make sure that you include your website or blog address as prominently as possible - your Facebook page is a way to get information out there and generate traffic
Include any relevant contact details, such as your studio address if it's open to visitors, or a phone contact if you take commissions
Add applications like Twitter, Flickr and Etsy in to the mix - you want your fans to see as much about you as possible, and engage them in your work
Post on a regular basis, and set up a schedule - you build up trust and lasting working relationships if people know that they can rely on you. It doesn't have to be everyday, but if you post on a Monday, keep it up, and people will start coming back for more
Keep an eye on comments and any interaction, and make sure that you respond - it's a two way street!
Add links to your blog or website news in your status update - this keeps people interested in what you're doing
A landing page is a nifty thing to add - it's rather like having a flyer to promote yourself. There are a number of free and easy sites around that help you build a landing page - I went with Pagemodo in the end as it was flexible and fast

Have fun with it, keep up the dialogue, and keep it regular! And don't forget to comment your Facebook Page here, so I can like you. :)

Jasper Johns

2011-11-25T09:00:00.003Z

"Things the mind already knows."

Jasper Johns, the neo-Dada, abstract and Pop artist born in 1930, is also the creator of the most expensive piece of art by a living artist - "False Start", purchased for $80 million in 2006. I'm sure the irony wasn't lost on him...

Neo-Dada, the art movement which loosely pre-dates Pop Art and loosely follows on ideologically from Dada celebrated the social environment, mixing materials and media in a spirit of wit, humour and eccentricity. Through collaboration, experimentation and cross-fertilization, they exalted the ordinary and the popular. Art for them was not about exclusivity or deep meanings - it should be accessible, ambiguous, ordinary and politically engaged.

Johns layered newspapers with thick strokes of encaustic wax and paint, embedded found objects into the mix and created huge works featuring flags, targets, maps, letters and numbers, which touched on our commonality and our shared communication and understanding. There was no subject, only surface, and in that surface is beauty and engagement.

"I tend to like things that already exist."

Johns' "Flag" is simply that - a flag, without comment or interpretation or symbolism. He once said that:

"I have no ideas about what the paintings imply about the world. I don't think that's a painter's business. He just paints paintings without a conscious reason."

and

"I think a painting should include more experience than simply intended statement."

This is what excites me about Jasper Johns, and why he has such a profound influence on me. Merlot-fuelled private views with hushed tones and huge cheque books fill me with a deep sense of discomfort - it's too hallowed and rarified and removed for my tastes. I'm also not a trained artist, so the notion of symbolism and meaning and taste and legacy is completely lost on me. I paint because I'm compelled to with materials and objects that feel right to me... it's about the experience and not the rules and it's a very cathartic process.

I don't understand Renaissance symbols and languages - the meaning of roses and crosses and eggs. I do understand emoticons and icons and brands, and see no reason to exclude them from my art. Newsprint and Letraset have a rhythm for me, and rust is my favourite texture. I certainly don't subscribe to the notion that these are somehow "wrong" or "low art". Art is art - full stop. I would much rather give a painting away to someone who falls passionately in love with it, than sell it for a huge sum to a collector who sees it as an investment. I realise that this is not necessarily a popular or widely held view! What are your thoughts?

Paintings Mentioned

False Start (1959)
Flag (1954-55)

Not Well!

2011-11-23T10:57:00.001Z

Feeling really poorly today... so no proper video updates :( Hope everyone is feeling okay!

xx

How to Use Facebook as an Artist

2011-11-21T10:53:00.001Z

What's your Facebook? is pretty much a standard question now. Launched by Mark Zuckerberg as a Harvard student in February 2004, Facebook now has around 800 million users, and ranks as the most active social network on the Internet. You've probably heard about poking, and sheep, and mafia wars, and status updates, but you're also probably wondering how useful Facebook is to the working artist.

Alongside its popular registered profiles, which give you the ability to add friends and interests and interact via chatting, private messaging and your personal message wall, Facebook also has the option of Pages.

So, What is a Facebook Page?

A Facebook page highlights you, your work and your exhibitions. Fans "like" your page, and then all your updates, via your status update wall, are sent directly to their newsfeed, which they view on a daily basis. You can also set up Events pages to highlight exhibitions and gallery shows, with times and dates and a Google map, and you can send out invitations to these events, which is a great way to mass market interested parties. You can set up photo albums to feature your work or your studio, post videos on your wall, and install applications like Twitter, Etsy and Flickr to further extend your social network and reach a larger audience.

Fans also have the opportunity to share your news, events and photos on their own walls amongst their friends, which spreads your message even further.

The Pros and Cons of a Facebook Page

You can:

target posts and updates
install applications, such as Etsy, Twitter and Flickr
have a vanity URL for ease of memory
have greater Google search engine capability for keywords

You can't:

mass message fans directly in their private Inbox
restrict which fans can like the page
message details of an event directly to fans' private Inboxes

For a working artist, combining a Facebook Page with a Twitter account is a powerful and fast way to build up a base of supporters and potential customers. You can reward your fans with discounts and special events, and get a greater degree of interaction - customers like to know about the process behind a piece of artwork, and they like to ask questions and have a dialogue with you. With a Facebook Page you can do this with surprising ease - and for free.

You can also use your Facebook Page as your profile - if your Facebook username is Joe Bloggs, and you want to send a message to Dave's Art Gallery, you can switch profiles to Josephina Bloggerina, Sculptor, keeping your working life and your private life separate and presenting a more professional profile.

My Facebook Page

You can find me at Georgina Ragazza.

Whetted your appetite? I'll be showing you how to set up a Facebook Page, step by step, with some hints and tips in the next post, so do comment any questions for me!

What a Card!

2011-11-18T11:16:00.001Z

I seem to have created something of a buzz with my cardboard sandwiches, so I thought I'd explore the concept a bit more - let's start a revolution in materials!

According to the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI), only 12% of the UK's total land mass is forested, so our papermaking industry is limited, in comparison to our paper recycling industry, which amounts to 8 million tonnes of recovered paper and cardboard making up 73% of the raw materials. We also export around 4.3 million tonnes of recovered paper and cardboard to other countries for recycling.

Recycled cardboard only takes 75 percent of the energy needed to make new cardboard and lessens the emission of sulfur dioxide that is produced when making pulp from wood trees.
Recycling 1 ton of cardboard saves 9 cubic yards of landfill space and 46 gallons of oil.
Cardboard is safe to dispose of as it has no toxic constituents and is biodegradable.

(figures from earth911.com)

That's the good news.

On average, each person in the UK uses over 200 kg of paper per year. 66 % of this is collected for recycling
We use 12.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard every year in the UK
About one fifth of the contents of household dustbins consist of paper and card, of which nearly half is newspapers and magazines. This is equivalent to over 4kg of waste paper and card per household in the UK each week
It takes 24 trees to make 1 ton of newspaper
To grow enough trees to provide the amount of paper that Britain uses each year, you would need a forest the size of Wales.

(figures from greenboxday)

As artists, we consume virgin paper, cotton and linen products in the surfaces that we choose for our art. Recycled products are a step in the right direction, but they still require energy and carbon miles in their manufacture - and beyond a certain point, you have to introduce a proportion of virgin fibre into the mix to strengthen old fibres weakened by the recycling process. Wouldn't it be better to cut out the middle man and reuse what we have first?

Over a period of six months, the builders on site at The Loft were taking away a full van of cardboard and packaging every three days to be burned off site. That's roughly 60 full vans of cardboard, paper and packaging, or approximately 50 tonnes.

That's 50 tonnes of cardboard, paper and packaging that ends up as ash.

It's more cost effective for the material to go up in smoke, as it costs money to have it collected for recycling in such large bulk quantities - your local builders will be more than happy for you to take some of the strain, for free! Shops and
offices also have to pay for collections, and again, they are more than happy for you to take it away for free - so start building up those relationships. :)

In practical terms, your only cash outlay is for the glue, which you can pick up in any 99p or dollar store and mix with water to a 50/50 proportion - that's a fraction of the cost of a prepared canvas. And if you build up a really good
relationship with your local chippies, they'll throw in scrap wood for free as well, and you have your frames. ;)

Next up is a video taking you through the process of turning cardboard into canvasses - have a great weekend!

Tasty Cardboard Sandwiches - A Few Updates

2011-11-16T19:34:00.001Z

I've been soldiering on with the sandwiching together of cardboard layers - using a 50/50 mix of wood glue and water I'm starting to build up a sturdy structure that's reuses resources and can be made to measure. Perfect for large canvasses that you don't want to weigh a tonne!

The Tweet Smell of Success

2011-11-14T16:32:00.002Z

I'll be honest - I came to the tweeting table a little later than most. I was already overloaded with Facebook and MySpace (yes, I had a MySpace...) and Blogger and (briefly) Tumblr and Flickr and LinkedIn and... that's a lot of passwords, for starters. I wasn't sure that I needed any more social networking, or even that this new kid on the block of social networking had anything more to offer me, especially being a visual person rather than a Chatty Cathy.

And you may be wondering the very same thing. Do artists need to tweet? What do artists tweet about? What the hell is a tweet in the first place?

Each tweet is a statement constrained by 140 characters.
You can add a link, attach a photo, reply to other people's tweets, retweet what someone else has just said (or linked, or photographed), or direct message someone.
Everyone on Twitter is linked by a network of followers and those following you.
The people you follow don't necessarily follow you, nor do you necessarily follow the people following you.
Following just means that you can see what that person writes.
There are a lot of celebrities and famous people on Twitter, which means that you can directly ask them something and once in a blue moon they may reply to you, aka The Running Around The Room Screaming Moment.

So, how is it useful for artists?

Twitter is instant and it's to the point. People have organised revolutions, uprisings and protests via Twitter. If I'm standing in an art gallery with a tray of free wine and a 25% off reduction on all my artwork for the next hour, I can tell you via Twitter and you can drop everything and be there in the time it takes you to turn off your laptop and hop on a bus. You can ask me a question which I'll answer in real-time. I can link you to a relevant story in the media about arts funding. I can start a debate and you can join in with something called a hashtag. With Twitter, you're pretty much standing next to me in my studio and we're having a conversation, in real time, but with a lot more information at our fingertips.

When I Love Art set up the Fishing Quarter Gallery last May, I tweeted photos of us curating and getting everything ready as it was happening, and then continued to tweet on the status of artists' stock and any deals that we had on. It's that immediate and that accessible.

I won't lie - it's a lot of hard work. You have to build up relationships and then maintain them, just like in real life, and not overstay your welcome or talk too much. I'm still working on that one. I'd recommend installing something like Tweetdeck, just to keep on top of the flow of information and so that everything is to hand. It's a useful thread in the social networking tapestry which becomes really powerful when you combine it with your Facebook fan page, your Flickr gallery, your blog and your YouTube channel.

Give it a go! Follow me and I'll show you the ropes, or let me know who you are if you're already on there :)

A Thought

2011-11-11T16:04:00.001Z

I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else.
Pablo Picasso

The Famous Five

2011-11-09T17:47:00.001Z

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the artists who inspire me... I don't think YouTube makes provision for a video that long! But these are some of my go-to people when I hit a dry spell, or I don't have my mojo to hand... they collectively kick me up the butt and get me going again. (I already did Saul Bass in the last post!)

Hopefully my cold won't develop into anything nasty and vile - time for tons of tea and sympathy, I think. xx

My Heroes

An old post I did on Ralph Steadman with a whole bunch of links and pictures
Really good archive and resource on Dada with timelines, photos and so on
A very short Wiki entry on Neo-Dada with links to the key artists - not a lot of info on the web, unfortunately :(
The official Peter Max website
An online gallery of selected work from Diane Arbus
Gorgeous Jasper Johns site with tons of images

North by Northwest

2011-11-07T16:59:00.001Z

It took me a long time to pluck up the courage to be an artist. A long time. Despite the fact that every surface I ever came across had my scrawlings, doodlings and noodlings on it, and despite the fact that I collected my own body weight in found objects for collages, I was not deemed An Artist. I used to gaze longingly at my friends going off to art class, and was in a dark mood for weeks when I learned that my friend Gill's art exam was collaging and painting a fridge. I trudged off to my English Lit exam - because I was A Writer.

True - I could write before I could talk. True - I kept a sporadic diary. True - I wrote little plays and short stories. But the scrawling and the doodling and the noodling far outweighed the writing. Yet, I was not An Artist. I couldn't draw accurately from memory and I didn't paint - the fact that I collaged, a medium invented by Picasso no less, was apparently of no importance.

So, I snuck in the back way.

I was born in the early 60s, a time of great artistic expression and experimentation, and my parents were keen on film and books and magazines. Some of my earliest memories are of family film nights when we watched Rat Pack movies and thrillers and Cold War dramas and the like. And one man stuck in my imagination, a noted graphic artist who worked with collage and made the era look quirky and slick and modern.

Saul Bass was born on May 8th 1920, one of the white hot designers from the New York School of graphics. Even if you've never heard of him, you'll know his work from a legion of movie titles - the disjointed jazz stylings of "Man With The Golden Arm", the swirls from "Vertigo", the stylish hip of "Ocean's Eleven". He was also the creative genius behind the AT&T Bell logo, and the shower scene in "Psycho". All those kinetic typography videos you've seen on YouTube owe him a huge debt.

So, I wasn't An Artist, but I could cut and paste up a storm and had a particular affinity with glue and negative space. I became A Graphic Designer first and A Web Designer later and poured all my love of Bass' exuberant use of space and movement into my designs, whilst secretly still doodling on the side.

There were, of course, other influences - Dada and Pop Art and Fluxus - but Saul Bass showed me where the side entrance was where I could sneak in and show them what I could do. And the more I did it, the braver I got. And the braver I got, the more I let myself be An Artist.

I started small, on 3½ inch by 2½ inch artists trading cards - ATCs - moving up to an A6 Moleskine, then an A5 one, and on to an A4 sketch book, and up to an A3 one. And now I'm working on canvasses the size of a domestic door and planning my first free-standing sculpture.

Saul Bass died in 1996, about ten years before I finally came out as An Artist, but wherever he is and whatever he's doing, I hope he knows how much I appreciate what he did for me. I owe you one, Saul :)

Check These Out

title sequence to The Man With The Golden Arm
title sequence to Vertigo
title sequence to Ocean's Eleven
the AT&T Bell logo

Artwork Updates for November 2011

2011-11-04T12:38:00.001Z

Making artwork is a slow process, with lots of experimentation, some challenges along the way, and an end product that may not necessarily be what you started out intending to do - but that's half the fun.

My main focus at the moment is getting large surfaces of cardboard prepared to make big, relatively lightweight, eco-friendly canvasses, so I'm awash with glue and polyfilla, and it's a good job that I have enough space to do it in. My working table has stage one of the gluing process on it, with just about every heavy object I could grab weighing everything down and making sure that the glue sets properly.

I've also been trying to figure out the surface issue, where the cardboard buckles and bubbles under the moisture of the gesso/polyfilla mixture, but I think I've got a solution for that one in the form of some loose-weave material. Next step is to do some experimenting with embedding that into the surface and we'll see how that turns out.

Basically this is a round-up of what I'm up to at The Loft for the moment... things are settling down a bit on the home front, so I'm not feeling quite so shell-shocked. :) We should also have some radiators soon at the studio! Looking forward to that, I can tell you. Have a fab weekend!

YouTube artists to check out for texture work

Playing Catch Up With Cardboard

2011-11-01T21:54:00.001Z

I've had a tiny fallow period this last week artwise - my sleep's been messed up a little bit and we're still all recovering from assorted illnesses and what have you... but I've managed to get the Etsy shop up and running (yay!) and gather together some supplies for the studio later in the week (double yay!).

There are a couple of canvasses still on the go, but once they're done I'm moving on from framed canvasses and getting into the World of Cardboard. Ian, who owns The Loft, introduced me to his friend who owns a cycle shop... and he has a shed FULL of bicycle-sized cardboard boxes. Oh, the possibilities are endless! I had the idea after seeing a number of articles and tutorials on cardboard furniture, and how fusing cardboard sheets together with wood glue makes for a strong and stable surface and buildable material.

Luckily I have a fair sized amount of space in the studio, and with some boxes donated by the builders (thank you guys!), I've been experimenting over the last couple of weeks with depths and ratios for making cardboard canvasses. The structures themselves are strong and huge, and I love the fact that everything is reused and a better environmental option.

So, my next stage is the main surface itself - keeping everything smooth and uniform ready for artwork with no bumps or buckling. Time to break out the polyfilla and the gesso and get experimenting!

Etsy Shop - Grand Opening!

2011-10-31T14:32:00.001Z

I decided to take the plunge and put some of my smaller pieces up for sale at Etsy. For those not familiar with Etsy, it's an e-commerce website for artists and makers to sell their pieces directly to the customer, without the need for galleries or shows. You can also buy vintage items on there as well as food, perfume and makeup, and it has a pretty comprehensive, built-in social network of its own.

There's something like 8 million users on the site, so I need to sharpen my promotional and marketing skills a bit to get my stuff seen! I do like a good challenge ;)

To start off with, I'll be selling my small collage canvasses, working up to handmade sculptures and maybe some larger pieces as time goes on. Time to dip my toe in the water and see what happens, and I'm always happy to take commissions too. :)

The shop launches officially on November 1st at http://www.etsy.com/shop/GeorginaRagazza - do pop by and say hi!

Sunny Shoreham Beach

2011-10-28T12:35:00.001+01:00

It's been a bit of a mixed and fraught week - my partner, James, has epilepsy and suffered a serious Grand Mal seizure this week, so we're all rather shell-shocked and concentrating our efforts in nursing him back to full health.

Obviously, art has slipped down my list of priorities for the last few days, so in lieu of any regular videos, I'm posting one that I shot earlier of the sun on Shoreham Beach, just to give you a taste of where my studio is. It's a gorgeous view of a morning... and to be honest, it's a view that's helping me right now.

Normal service resuming next week!

What Do You Do On Dark Days?

2011-10-26T00:14:00.001+01:00

It's taken me a long time to get to the point of being a professional and productive artist, and I'm still on a journey. The greatest thing in the world for me is to be immersed in my art and be creative, in a space where I can nurture my work and be happy.

But I also suffer from clinical depression.

This means that I get dark days - days when I don't want to move or talk or think or create. I wasn't going to make a video - I've seen so many "How Tos" that say you should never post when you're sad or angry or ill, but that seems dishonest to me. The whole point of this blog was to talk about my life as an artist, and to interact with other artists and art lovers, and in order to do that I need to be honest about everything, the good and the bad.

This too shall pass. I'm not depressed every day. Maybe this will help someone or provide an outlet, and maybe it'll help me too. Tomorrow's another day, whatever happens.

hugs,
Georgy
xx

Coffee Bar Beatnik Style

2011-10-24T11:13:00.001+01:00

The Loft is a former Victorian fireworks factory... and then it was a sail-making workshop... and then it was a boxing club... so not only does it have lots of stories to tell, but it has plenty of space to redecorate and redevelop.I'm in charge of the coffee area upstairs, which was full to the brim with assorted detritus and a smashed up snooker table when I first signed on the dotted line back in the summer.

But I have a vision!

The hardest part was clearing the space - years of plastic bottles, posters, old paint cans and general rubbish, plus that snooker table was not fun to move. Once the space was clear, it was time to get a base coat on - even that has made a significant difference.

It has a semi-official opening for the start of December, when the Adur Arts Collective are hosting an artists and makers fair in the main exhibition space. I'll be on hand to provide tea and coffee for the customers, and sign people up to workshops, so it's full steam ahead!

The short-term plan is to have an area for the artists to relax in, with a view to opening the coffee bar on a part-time basis to members of the public at a later date for refreshments, art evenings and so on. I'm going for a boho 60s theme, all very North Beach and arty, but comfortable and fun. I do like a challenge. ;)

Tales from The Loft: Getting in an Art Mood

2011-10-21T11:44:00.001+01:00

The good thing about getting a studio is that you can finally get down and make some artwork.

The bad thing about getting a studio is that you can finally get down and make some artwork.

We're programmed to succeed, to produce, to be productive, to justify any time that we spend doing anything - this is the best way I know of to kill creativity. Allow yourself time to play and experiment. Allow yourself time to make mistakes - and learn from those mistakes, then move on and do something else.

It's also important to set aside a space to make your art in, and keep that space as sacred for your work. Light a candle or a stick of incense before you begin... put on one special piece of music... focus on a treasured object. It's all about the intention to begin work, and taking a breath before you start.

Art is supposed to be fun! ;)

Tales from The Loft: The Studio Tour

2011-10-19T12:53:00.002+01:00

UPDATE

During the recording and conversion process, the audio on this video was destroyed... so the sound is AWFUL. All fixed for future videos, but for this one it's pretty much visuals only!

Here's a quick tour of my lovely studio at The Loft in Shoreham... I've literally spent the best part of six years looking for a studio space, initially in Brighton - which has proved to be unbelievably expensive and full of waiting lists. I was lucky enough to find this space through my friend Chris, who's on the Adur Art Collective... so the people you know can be a great boon!

I'm tucked away at the back of the building and right next door to the kitchen - always helpful for running water and running cups of tea. ;) There are great plans ahead for the space with provision for workshops and more units to rent - do contact me if you're interested!

You can email me: georginaragazza@gmail.com
Or call me on 0796 394 0912

Tales from The Loft: DIY Art Book

2011-10-17T23:13:00.001+01:00

As promised, here's a quick and cheap tutorial on how to make your own art book for notes, inspiration, sketches and ideas that you can take with you wherever you go and never miss a moment of muse again!

(I really wouldn't bother with the sponge part, as you'll see...)

A Quick Announcement

2011-10-15T21:05:00.001+01:00

New Studio!

2011-10-08T20:12:00.001+01:00

Yep... finally got there and my God how brilliant it is to have *space* and not to have to clean up or schlep around when I'm working on a project. I have the unit and a half at the back of the building (called The Loft) which is a fab old Victorian warehouse in Shoreham.

I'm also in charge of the coffee bar area upstairs, which I'm currently redecorating ready for a Christmas Artists and Makers Fair, so it's all go!

Main project on the boil is for next March - at I Love Art we're staging a 13 woman exhibition for International Women's Day, and I'm doing a series of mixed media collages (HUGE ones) and Goddess totem poles. Good job I've got the space to work in, eh? ;)

And... if that wasn't enough (!!)... I'm starting a series of workshops later in the year: a combination of one day ones and ten week long ones, journaling and collage based. All good stuff!! :)

Random Snippets of Dialogue #3

2011-07-02T14:35:00.002+01:00

Sarah: Have a *break* - I bought you some chocolate, it's... oh. You're allergic to milk.

pause

Sarah: If you get the tobacco out of my purse, I'll roll you a cigarette.

takes tobacco. rolls one cigarette. smokes cigarette while talking.

pause

Sarah: Did I not roll you one?

pause

Sarah: I'll make some coffee. You can have a coffee.

half an hour later

Sarah: SORRY!!!

posted from Bloggeroid

Random Snippets of Dialogue #2

2011-06-17T14:56:00.005+01:00

Sarah: Georgy, you're in the shot
Me: What?
Sarah: You're in the shot, Georgy
Me: What??
Sarah: GEORGY, YOU'RE IN THE F***ING SHOT!!!
Me (not moving): Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

Random Snippets of Dialogue #1

2011-06-17T14:51:00.005+01:00

The Appalling Mobile Network Connection on the Seafront

James: THE FURNITURE'S IN THE VAN
Me: YOU NEED TO DRIVE THE VAN BETWEEN THE BOLLARDS
James: WE'RE DRIVING THE VAN BETWEEN THE BOLLARDS. IS THAT RIGHT?
Me: I CAN'T HEAR YOU
James: CAN YOU HEAR ME?
Me: HAVE YOU GOT THE FURNITURE IN THE VAN?
James: I CAN'T HEAR YOU
Me: I CAN'T HEAR YOU. I'LL CALL YOU BACK
James: I CAN'T HEAR YOU. I'LL CALL YOU BACK

Tweet It!

2011-06-17T14:13:00.008+01:00

9am, April 28th 2011.

The Fanny's of Hanover show is done and dusted. The flyers are designed, printed and delivered. All the listings are out there in cyberspace. We have features pending in the local press. The vans have arrived.

It's show time.

Inspired by an article I'd read about the Guggenheim, I decided to tweet the set up of the show, so in between hanging artwork and generally herding people around the space, I started snapping pictures of the proceedings. The thinking was, that I'd upload a photo about every ten minutes to Twitter, thus letting our lovely followers see us setting up live. Inspired!

I managed to get about two photos up before the reality of being in an arched Victorian space below ground (the arches in Brighton are "underneath" the road) kicked in. There was very little, if any, Internet connection. Technology, eh?

Here then, is what controlled chaos looks like...

Marching On...

2011-06-14T12:33:00.006+01:00

So now it's Spring, and the pile of spreadsheets, emails, templates, graphics, artwork and artists is something akin to a mountain. It was controlled chaos and the coffee flowed freely. This was when it seemed like a jolly good idea to hold a four-day, Easter Bank Holiday art event at Fanny's of Hanover, our rolling venue. It was simple enough, really... just hang a bunch of new artwork, sort out publicity photos, do a mini press campaign, organise invigilation and set up some tables.

This is at the same time as wading through the unwieldy mountain of the above for the Fishing Quarter Gallery. Piece of cake.

Two days of hanging, three days solid putting the press feature in motion (including a massive fight with yet another wayward graphic designer), one photo shoot and a gallon of coffee later... the sun came out for the Bank Holiday weekend and we were ready and waiting.

Traditionally it rains quite heavily of a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK. It's something of a standing joke, so when the sun does show its face, we're all quite surprised. For the Easter Bank Holiday weekend of 2011 - a four day extravaganza normally accompanied by chocolate and DIY - the sun not only came out, but the temperatures went into the record books.

Simultaneously, the Great Brighton Public went to the beach - where they stayed for the next four days.

If you've ever sat in a room full of artwork by yourself you'll know how creepy it is. The eyes in a painting really do follow you around the room, and watching paint dry really is that boring. Over the course of 96 hours we sold... nothing. This is the leap of faith that you take every time you put on a show - if you build it, they won't necessarily come.

So, we took a deep breath and girded our loins for the big show, which was now three weeks away. That's 21 days. Or 504 hours. Or 30,240 minutes. All of them ticking away.

Seriously though - look at the picture above. Seems pretty big in there, doesn't it?

Yer Actual Gallery

2011-05-28T19:57:00.004+01:00

The basic concept with the Artists Open Houses, just to recap, is that you open your home to the general public for four consecutive weekends in December and then in May, and you hang artwork through out said home and mix it in with photography, textiles, sculpture and so on. The general public have a big old brochure to follow, that tells them where all the houses are, and what's on in each of them, entrance is free, but the artwork on display is not.

Some houses serve tea and cake, some serve wine and nibbles, some have an opening private view, some don't, and for 30 years this has been a cornerstone of Brighton artistic and tourist life. At the last count, there are around 300 houses throughout Brighton taking part in the trail. It's a lot of hard work and you just about cover your costs - registration, printing, publicity, fittings, nibbles and so on.

So - gallery within a home. That's the basic concept. Sarah did one open house like that, I helped out with the second one like that, and for lucky number three, we decided to turn the concept on its head and do the home inside the gallery. Home is where the ART is - a two week pop up gallery divided into four "rooms": Drawing Room, Zen Bathroom, Vintage Boudoir and Pop Art Dayroom.

Sarah found the Fishing Quarter Gallery, tucked next to the Fishing Museum on Brighton's seafront sometime during the snow and ice of January and she sent me the photos to drool over. I was impressed, so Home is where the ART is was registered, paid for and it was full steam ahead.

Sarah did a rough sketch, with a cross shape in the middle for a divider, and panels around the sides... add some furniture, some textiles, theme the rooms... all looking good so far. With the registration for Artists Open Houses May 2011 done and dusted, we set a meeting at the Fishing Quarter Gallery and wrapped up warm.

Down to the seafront I went.

It's a lovely gallery, quite literally a stone's throw from the seafront and smack dab between the two piers - so the possibilities for tourist trade come the summer were mouth-watering to say the least. The doors opened and in we went.

It was a lot smaller than it looked in the photos.

"It's a lot smaller than it looks in the photos," I said to Sarah.

Sarah took loads of measurements, signed the contract, showed the artists around, and we trudged back to hers in the snow with me taking notes and making lists. Project managers make lots of lists and take lots of notes. "The good thing about project managers," I read somewhere. "is that they know where the bodies are buried. The bad thing about project managers is that they know where the bodies are buried."

I not only know where said bodies are buried, I'm friends with them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, am connected to them on LinkedIn and have their mobile number.

January became February, and February became March. Artists came on board, money came in, money went out. Sarah kept on going with the scale plan and I kept on going with spreadsheets - organisation, artists' ranges, budget and publicity. Lists upon lists upon lists. Sarah went to a lot of meetings and did a lot of schmoozing - which she's very very good at - and I did lots of organising, which I'm very very good at. We both squeezed in art sessions, which was the hardest part, and a lot of coffee was brewed.

One day a week turned into three days a week. Four hour days turned into 12 hour days. I showed my friend Tam around the gallery.

"It's a lot smaller than it looks in the photos," she said.

One of our artists turned into a psycho, our graphic designer walked out on us, Sarah's car died, then my mobile died, and winter turned into spring proper. We'd racked up 1500 man hours between us, had a roster of 20 artists ready to exhibit and the gallery still was a lot smaller than it looks in the photos...

Whose Bright Idea Was This?

2011-05-25T16:25:00.006+01:00

I first met Sarah on September 14th 2010, initially through a posting on the I Love Art Facebook group asking for new artists - I found the "lovely to meet you" messages the other day and thought about all the spreadsheets and meetings and late-night sessions that have gone on since then.

She liked my work. That was a good start! I'd been noodling about on deviantART, and occasionally showing bits and pieces here and there, but not a huge amount to speak of, so was really looking for A Place To Show My Work. Assuming that people liked my work enough in the first place to stick it somewhere visible.

I knew about the Brighton Open Houses, in the sense that every year I'd pick up the trail brochure, and every year I'd fail miserably at seeing any of them, but I'd look at the Open House banners and sigh and promise myself that I'd see them next year.

And so, in 2010, I exhibited at 34 Washington Street as part of I Love Art... one day I was delivering my artwork ready to hang and mentioned that I'd once been a project manager, and Sarah asked if I could help with the invigilation schedule... and then I mentioned that I'd also been a journalist and Sarah asked if I could help with the press and publicity... and I ended up hanging, spreadsheeting, typing, graphicking, making cups of coffee, brainstorming and all points in between and sort of fell into being the project manager.

This has turned out to be the hardest work and the most fun I've ever had. :)

The show was a success! Big smiles all round. One massive bout of winter 'flu later and Sarah said...

"The registration for the May Open House is in about two weeks - ready, partner?"

The Artists Open Houses are a lot like Fashion Weeks. You have an intense flurry of activity, coffee and late nights, then you do the show, have two weeks to gather your thoughts and catch up on your sleep, and then the whole shebang kicks off again. You register about six months before the actual show, which means naming it, addressing it, gathering artists, figuring out a budget (yes, it is expensive), and then designing, planning and figuring out that the human body can just about go without sleep for an extended period of time.

Six months or so, give or take about two weeks.

In the meantime, having decided that yes, we were in this together, and yes, we were going to do the next Open House, we also set up a deal with Fannys Organic Deli to have a more or less permanent exhibition space for the year. And, because sleep really is that overrated, we decided to hold an Easter Show there four days before the big Open House one.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself here.

The second week of January, we registered to take part in Artists Open Houses, May 2011. Except that we weren't going to do it in Sarah's house this time. We were going to do it an actual gallery.

Oh yes.

Let's Recap, Shall We?

2011-05-24T05:31:00.002+01:00

What a whirlwind it's been... I'm beginning to think that the artists open houses are a little like the fashion show seasons - as soon as one ends, you start planning the next one. Hence my almost total silence over the last few months.

For starters, we graduated somewhat with this show. Instead of the traditional open house format of 'gallery in a home', we subverted that into 'home in a gallery'. Simple on the surface, no?

It was one heck of a learning curve! We pretty much started planning it in the second week of January - and there was a LOT of planning, believe me! First of all, you need to register for the May open house in February... dates, times, name, venue etc. That was the easy part. Then there was the budget, coordinating the artists, planning the layout, the publicity, printing... the list goes on.

It was a lot of hard work - it was also a lot of fun. I'm going to blog.this week about the ins and outs of putting on your first gallery show, just in case you might be crazy enough to want to do one!

Time to brew a pot of coffee and start at the beginning - securing a venue.

posted from Bloggeroid

Filthy Lucre

2011-03-21T13:44:00.004Z

Artists are traditionally a threadbare bunch, with the image of the starving artist in a freezing garret looming large in legend. Modern Government cutbacks on funding do nothing to tart up that image either, and the biggest complaint that you'll ever hear from anyone creative (aside from lack of time and studio space) is the general lack of money to get anything done.

I know of dancers who rehearse in bulb-lit basements amidst boxes and rubbish, and visual artists who set up shows in disused buildings - the empty shops movement notwithstanding, this is not always an ideal situation.

I'm currently burning up my phone's battery calling everyone in the country from timber merchants to plumbers, hotels to restaurants, asking that all important question: "Can we have some money/wood/nails/paint/balloons, please?"

Maybe not balloons... although, you never know.

I hate asking for money. I hate the fact that the arts and any creative pursuits are seen as somehow secondary to business or science or maths or... anything other than the arts or creative pursuits. I'm not saying that anything is more important than anything else - I think that they all occupy a niche in improving the value and quality of human life, community and society.

Mainly I just hate asking for money.

A Quick Diversion

2011-03-16T15:07:00.003Z

Hello all! Here's a bit of fun to keep our spirits up.. things have been all too heartbreaking of late and my prayers continue to go out to anyone and everyone who need them in Japan with all my love. xx

My dearest friend Mandi tagged me in a game of posting with the following questions - and I would urge you to check out her fabulous blog at She Means Well But... too! If you feel like taking up the challenge and answering the questions yourself, please do! Put a link in the comments for me as I'd love to read what you've written.

I am...
Essentially kind and sometimes a bit far away in my thoughts but I'm tireless and Trojan in my work ethic. God, I sound dreadfully boring! I make people laugh - does that count?

The bravest thing I've ever done...
Be homeless and get through it - I wouldn't wish it on anyone, and I really do mean anyone. But I survived it.

I feel prettiest when...
I actually don't, to be brutally honest. I never feel pretty in the slightest. Ah well.

My favourite meal is...
Anything involving chocolate. Or pasta. Not together tho.

The way to my heart is...
Kindness and loyalty.

I would like to be...
Relaxed - I'd like to be able to breathe out once in a while or just kick back. I genuinely don't know what that feels like tho.

Gosh. Not exactly fun answers were they?? LOL

Where's Your Head At?

2011-03-10T12:39:00.005Z

Since the pre-Christmas period of last year, it's been a proper whirlwind at Ragazza Towers. What started off as me being an artist at I Love Art UK, has turned into me being an artist at I Love Art UK AND me being the Project Manager. All voluntary at this stage, but documents and applications are in the pipeline for funding, so thumbs up on that one!

So, the door closes on one show, and then the madness begins for setting up the next one. I'm starting to appreciate the craziness of fashion designers going from season to season, and fashion week to fashion week. Maybe not ALL fashion designers, tho... ;)

At the moment I'm getting my own artwork ready for the May Open House, which we're holding in the Fishing Quarter Gallery on Brighton's lovely seafront - a bona fide gallery, no less! In between painting, inking and collaging (which includes multiple finger slicing), Sarah and I are also knee-deep in organisation, and it's a mammoth task. We're also running a mini show for Easter at Fanny's Deli - because, you know, sleep is really overrated. ;)

My week is pretty much divided up into three days planning and paperwork, two days art - in a good week! Expect regular blog posts on that one - I thought it might be fun to show just how much work goes into setting up a gallery show. Toady is Art Day, and I can't wait to get my fingers inky!

Open House, Pop Up Shops and More!

2011-01-20T12:33:00.005Z

Once the December Open House ends, you have about two weeks to catch your breath and then it's time to register, gather and start the process for the May one - if I had a passport, it would say "neo-Dadaist mixed media collage artist and Project Manager for I Love Art - Brighton". Those are my official job titles now. All or nothing ;)

Last night Sarah and I had a three hour, high octane, highly productive meeting and Thunderbirds are definitely go. We're showing at the Fishing Quarter Gallery on Brighton seafront - REALLY excited about that, as it's such a lovely and sought after loction.

But that's not all. We are pitching our caps into the pop up shop arena in a serious and earnest way, so I've been heads down getting all the info I can and setting up meetings with Gurus in the field. This is where Mike Sawdale comes in...

I came across Mike's blog via the Empty Shops Network on Twitter - Mike's setting up shop to sell off his extensive collection of vinyl, blogging as he goes, and there is a wealth of information and contacts on his site. I would urge anyone looking to get into this to check him out.

He was also kind enough to namecheck me this morning at his blog, so I'mchuffed to bits! Thank you, Mike - that was a lovely thing to see as I munched my toast and trie to ease myself into a day of forms and schedules. Huge hugs!

Looking Forward to 2011

2010-12-27T20:12:00.004Z

Now that Christmas is officially over, I'm back to tackling the enormous pile called Projects for 2011, a task I'm diving into with gusto. The Open House, fun and interesting tho' it was, didn't leave me very much time at all to do any artwork, and no artwork production for me means a drain on my sanity, which is Not Good.

But... the New Year is looking tremendous! I have four exhibitions lined up already (three group and one solo), with a small stack of collaborations leading to another, touring exhibition, and the possibility of two more in the works. Not a bad thing to look forward to as 2010 draws to a close.

One of the projects I'm most looking forward to involves Perspex, a great and enduring childhood love and obsession of mine - all collage-based. Plus, I've been rooting through my ever-growing collection of rusty found objects and salivating at the posibilities... all good.

Here's to the New Year!

Giving Back

2010-12-20T09:00:00.001Z

I've been doing a lot of forward thinking lately, and now that I am officially a professional working artist, I'm announcing my intention as from 2011 to put my money where my mouth is. From now on, 10% of the money from every single piece of artwork that I sell will be divided equally as donations to The Trevor Project and To Write Love on Her Arms, two causes very close to my heart. ♥

This is How it Felt

2010-11-01T12:18:00.004Z

One of the exercises in Living the Creative Life is all about making a freeform list of all the things that fascinated you as a child, things that grabbed your imagination and your passion. The thinking behind the exercise is that the things that still pop out at you are bound to be creativity boosts, so it's a useful list to keep on hand for dry moments and pretty much to keep you on track and creatively fired up.

One of my prime obsessions was felt. Even now, the colours just sing to me and I'm going out this week to buy a whole stack and start experimenting with it. I'm thinking of painting on the surface and seeing where that leads me. Bleaching? Could be a goer. I like the notion of stacking different shapes as well, like a grown-up fuzzy felt.

You see how cool this exercise is? What were your childhood fascinations and obsessions? I'd love to know! :)

Check out this felt-obsessed blog: Bugs and Fishes

Ralph Steadman

2010-10-29T09:00:00.001+01:00

Once upon a time a quiet, but slightly mad, Welsh illustrator met a loud, but extremely mad American journalist and a legend was born. One horse race, a drug-fueled drive from Las Vegas to California, several wrecked hotels, many wrecked minds and countless destroyed mimeograph machines forged the lifelong friendship of Ralph Steadman and Hunter S. Thompson.

Steadman’s slightly acerbic satirical doodles at “Punch” and “The Daily Telegraph” in the UK had gained him a respectable, if small, following amongst the liberal readers and critics, but it wasn’t until he snagged a commission from “Scanlan’s” to illustrate Thompson’s piece on the infamous Kentucky Derby in 1970 that his surreal and twisted scratchings came to life.

“This man had an impressive head chiseled from one piece of bone,” recalled Steadman later. “and the top part was covered down to his eyes by a floppy-brimmed sun hat. His top half was draped in a loose-fitting hunting jacket of multi-coloured patchwork. He wore seersucker blue pants, and the whole torso was pivoted on a pair of huge white plimsolls with a fine red trim around the bulkheads. Damn near 6-foot-6 of solid bone and meat holding a beaten-up leather bag across his knee and a loaded cigarette holder between the arthritic fingers of his other hand.”

Thompson’s gonzo style of journalism – putting himself at the heart of any story and relaying his experiences of the moments in a dark stream of consciousness – held a mirror up to Steadman’s crazed artistic sensibilities and made him look ever deeper into his own nightmare visions of the world.

The spray and ink blot style of illustration was not a new thing. From Ronald Searle’s grubby little prep school boys of St. Custard’s to Gerald Scarfe’s cruel caricatures and around Quentin Blake’s whimsical drawings for Roald Dahl, the calculated mistake of splashed black ink had always been a feature of satirical portraiture.

Steadman turned it into an art form with elements of collage and touches of fine art in amongst the savagery. He’s won many prestigious design and illustration awards, worked with other authors, done graphics for companies and records and written his own novels. Yet it’s his work with Thompson that fuels the legend to ever-greater heights: bats and rabid dogs, bleak desert landscapes composed of twisted telegraph poles and infinite perspective lines, bloated bureaucrats with gaping mouths and US matrons with cruel features and monstrous bodies.

And it’s his drive and creative zeal, even at the age of 73, which sets him apart. “I must have a feeling that: ‘Oooh I’m really excited about this!’ The most depressed times I have is when I just don’t wanna do anything. A living hell is not being creative, being utterly devoid of any creative impulse whatsoever.”

(All images copyright Ralph Steadman and Adweek)

Check out the work of Ralph Steadman at his official website
Buy gorgeous Steadman prints
Read his excellent autobiography
Check out more Gonzo art in a coffee table book
Drool over his stunning Alice in Wonderland

Living the Creative Life

2010-10-27T17:54:00.003+01:00

I've been voraciously reading Living the Creative Life by Ricë Freeman Zachery, a fascinating book with scads of exercises which help you to be more creative and have more courage in your convictions as an artist. Let's face it, delicate flowers that we are, artists have an inclination towards self-doubt and tend to be our own harshest critics. I'm up to chapter three, and have completed three of the exercises so far, and already I'm gaining some tremendous insights into how I tick as an artist.

It's hard work, I'll tell you that! "Know Thyself" is never an easy task, particularly if, like me, you find it hard to remember last Wednesday, let alone your childhood. Having said that, I'm learning a lot as I go along and would highly recommend this book. It's full of tips and chats with reknowned artists like Claudine Hellmuth (I find her stick figure people with collage heads perfectly delicious), and along with the exercises and resources you'd be hard-pressed to come away from this without at least a clearer notion of where you're going as an artist and what needs to be done. Thumbs up!

Living the Creative Life on Amazon

Artists Open Garden

2010-10-26T11:40:00.004+01:00

After an intensive three hour session, Sarah and I managed to put a rota together for willing artists-on-board to get the house and garden ready for the official November/December exhibition. With that in the bag, it was time to get down to work, and yesterday I was on garden duty, luckily during a crisp, sunny Autumn day. The finished plans for the garden space include a gazebo filled with food and local produce nestled alongside art pieces, lots of lights and Christmas hanging baskets and a hand-painted mural for the back garden wall.

Basically yesterday involved clearing, sweeping, painting and cleaning - jolly hard work, but very productive. Needless to say I slept incredibly well last night and woke up with aches in places I didn't even know I had muscles! I can't wait for the finished version, twinkling in the winter twilight :)

My Studio (of Sorts)

2010-10-25T09:00:00.001+01:00

At the moment, this is my studio - and a pretty good reflection of my current state of artistic mind. The truth is, I had such a massive frenzy of activity getting the 30 canvases ready for the Artists Open Houses in November and December, that all thoughts of order and tidiness went out the (grubby) windows. You can't worship the Muse and be a Domestic Goddess simultaneously. I can't anyway. I am building up a collection of Really Useful Boxes in the meantime, tho. They really are called that as well - they come in a million different sizes and assorted colours (I favour the purple, of course), and they are all stackable and best of all, you can see into them. One by one, I'll be replacing the old plastic trays and vegetable racks that I found in a skip with rather more aesthetically pleasing and definitely more functional purpose-built boxes.

I have cast-iron eco principles, but sometimes it's nice to be able to find something without spending five hours looking for it.

So, I'm pretty much sorting as I go, and trying not to lust after all the articles I've seen springing up about other artists' studio spaces... I don't need to feel like a failure before I've even started. The aim is to have a dedicated book unit in the livingroom (which is where I do my art) to put all the boxes and art books on, so that I don't have to keep traipsing in and out of the bedroom (where they currently are) to get things. Because, as I'm sure you all know, you never have absolutely everything you need to hand when inspiration strikes. There is almost a groove in the hallway now made by my not terribly delicate hobbit feet.

What does your studio look like? Are you organised or in a state of semi-organised chaos? I'd love to know how you work!

Really Useful Boxes
Artists Open Houses
A Studio Photo Tour

Charlotte's Web: Terrific

2010-10-18T09:00:00.001+01:00

I've talked before about the subjectivity of art, and also about art's emotional connection and its power to stir memory and thought in the viewer. This news piece caught my eye -

The original 1952 cover art for children's book Charlotte's Web has sold for more than $155,000 (£97,000) at a New York auction.

Charlotte's Web has always been one of my favourite children's books - I love the notion that you can be more than others expect you to be, and I love the illustrations with their scratchy, heartfelt simplicity. My third grade teacher, Mrs. Macleod, read the whole tale aloud to us, with voices and actions and sound effects (courtesy of her food blender). A glimpse of Wilbur's happy face and I feel the same way I did back in Mrs. Macleod's class, watching her hands move in the air and listening to her soft, childlike Wilbur impression, and her motherly take on Charlotte.

I love the notion that I'm not the only one with such happy memories, and so this auction brings a smile to my face. Art has the power to move, to lift, to remind, to inspire. Terrific!

BBC News Online coverage of the auction

Mrs McGinley's Lower School Art

2010-10-08T09:00:00.001+01:00

As artists, we fret and we labour over ideas and inspiration, and we talk about "blocks" and "muses", and how very difficult it all is to get inspired. There is an argument to be made for simply getting on with it - it is our job after all. This is why I chose Mrs. McGinley's Lower Art School as this week's Friday Follow. As with most areas of life, children have this tremendous clarity and focus about things, which adults would do well to consider every now and then. Children don't analyse why they do what they do - they just get on with it.

You only have to look at Monster Painting to totally get this kid's utter enjoyment of the painting palette. He or she put down exactly the colours they wanted to, because they looked good or made them happy or because they were their favourite colours at that particular moment. It does exactly what art is supposed to do - it pleases the eye, it stirs the emotions and it might make you remember one thing or think about something else. There's no labouring or strife or in-depth process involved either. It is, quite simply, pure joy.

You know, as an artist, what paints and colours are, and what a brush or a finger or a comb does, and you know how to transfer the paint onto the paper or the canvas. So, just do it. And be happy about it - you chose to have this much fun! :)

Mrs. McGinley - Lower School Art

November 21st 2010: Christmas Private View

2010-10-07T09:00:00.001+01:00

From the Facebook events page:

"Please come and support us for our launch!!

Lovingly curated artworks in the heart of Hanover themed as VINTAGE, A PIECE OF BRIGHTON and AVANT GARDE. Handmade designer jewellery, affordable gifts & top of the range artwork and prints-Plus incredible surprises too!! I Love Art promotes talented local artists throughout the year. Come and have a handmade luxurious cake, a glass of mulled wine and chat with the artists. We're open ...the Sunday before the festival begins as private-view day - just call Sarah or join I love Art-Brighton on Facebook for more details.

The line up so far........(expect more)

Jacqueline Hammond- Fine Art, Photography and prints.

Simon Taylor- Fine Art & prints.-

Sarah Gillings- Fashion Illustration.-

Louisa Venables- Abstract Contemporary Canvasses.-

Kat Zahran- Gold & Silver Jewellery.-

Darren Calder-Mobiles & textiles

Francesca Selkirk- Fineart Photography.-

Tessa Metcalf- Taxidermist & Jewellery designer

Georgina Ragazza- Mixed Media Collage

Royston Hawley-Seascape Oil Paintings

Ibe Iam- Arty Fripperies.-

Treacle Furniture- Couture Reupholstered chairs.

Smartylamps"

It'll be lovely wintery fun, so come along if you can - I'll be there chatting and schmoozing, too.

Facebook events page: Facebook

Collagista! and Somojo Magazine

2010-10-06T09:00:00.003+01:00

This month, I'm featured in two publications:

Somojo Magazine: online link

Collagista! (available as pdf and print): online link

Both feature predominantly collage pieces, some of which I've used as an inspiration point for the Artist Open House canvases. :) (Bit of a sneak peek there.)

Art Produces Ugly Things

2010-10-04T09:00:00.001+01:00

Art produces ugly things, which frequently become more beautiful with time
Jean Cocteau

I saw this quote on Twitter earlier in the week, and it stuck with me for the better part of the day. I'm guessing that he was talking about Fashion, and the Shock of the New - the universal condemnation of some bold new genre of Art, or a painter's leap into a daring new style. But, as I sifted through my pile of rusty bottle tops - the ones I obsessively collect from the pavement and hoard in an old margarine tub - I had a long, hard thought about why I do what I do.

I have the Artists Open House coming up, with a private viewing on the 21st November, and so I've been conscious of business cards, and potential clients, and the dreaded Artist's Statement. Basically, all the things that artists think they give up when they make the brave decision to Be an Artist. And I thought about the nuts and bolts of what I put on to a canvas - old photographs, faded bits of material and paper, ancient type, bits of rusty junk, found objects, general detritus. In and of themselves, these are not pretty things. They don't speak of the grand sweep of Art, and yet... I see a quiet beauty in them, a faded glamour, a spark of life. When I put them together and collage faces and flowers and words alongside them, I'm attempting to provoke stories and meaning. It's the art of Wabi-sabi:

of beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete

I wonder who the people in the old photos are, and what the crumpled letters meant, and where the bottle tops came from, and why the keys were discarded. I've never been a fan of representative art - I hold my hands up to that - I like art that provokes thought and rumination, even to full-on abstracts, which induce meditative states. I want my art to start cogs turning, or, as The Wonderman put it:

I like the fact that your art makes me start looking at objects differently

I mean to start a new art movement - which will naturally meet with universal condemnation ;) - called Ugly Askew. I envisage a world where people look at rusty objects on the pavement and wonder at old photographs and inspect the faded signs on the sides of buildings. I imagine that we'll all smile a wee bit more, which pleases me greatly. :)

Nicolas Gouny

2010-10-01T09:00:00.002+01:00

I first saw Nicolas Gouny's colourful and wonderful illustrations through a group mailout on deviantART - a cluster of fat birds and charming animals nestled amongst fat autumnal trees in the most marvellous juicy berry reds and pinks. After favouriting the work in question, The Autumn Arboretum, I rushed on over to his blog, where more delights awaited me.

©Nicolas Gouny, The Autumn Arboretum (Artist's Rights Reserved)

Nicolas is currently exhibiting in Limoges, which he details on his blog, and also sells gift cards, jewellery and prints at his etsy site. There is something delightful and whimsical and timeless about his artwork, with quizzical creatures and delicate little girls on vast expanses of colour and shapes. Lots of treasures to explore!

deviantART: ploop26
etsy: Ma Petite Papeterie
blog: La Parenthèse Enchantée

Christmas Open House Art Fair 2010

2010-09-29T09:00:00.003+01:00

I'll be offering 30 mixed media collage canvases (5" x 7") for sale as part of the I Love Art UK Open House in Hanover, at £30 a pop. Affordable art! ♥

November 27th and 28th
December 4th and 5th
December 11th and 12th

Come along for tea and cakes, and mulled wine and snag some last minute Christmas presents! Also on offer: handmade jewellery, fine arts and illustrations. ♥

Google Street map: 34 Washington Street, Brighton, UK
Official Site: Brighton Festival of Artists Open Houses

Tip: How To Care For Artwork

2010-09-28T09:00:00.001+01:00

I use acrylic paint in all my artwork partnered with acrylic mediums as glue and covering - there's a lot of polymer resin in my fine art pieces! Acrylic paints became commercially available to artists in the 1950s, with high viscosity paints following in the early 1960s, hence all those lovely abstract expressionist artworks. Acrylic paint is essentially pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion. It dries quickly, leaving a flexible, insoluble, permanent layer with a greater UV resistance than, say, oil paints.

So, how do you take care of the lovely fresh piece of artwork that you've just purchased? Acrylic paint is flexible, but it's still susceptible to damage, with the main culprits being:

temperature
humidity
direct sunlight
dirt
damp
dust
hands

Top Tips

1. The most important rule is don't touch the painting - not only will skin oils and acids transfer onto the acrylic paint, but objects such as rings and nails can scratch and damage the flexible surface of the paint. If you need to carry it, use the sides of the frame or the canvas, leaving the surface free - or wear gloves.

2. Keep dust off the surface of the artwork. Acrylic paint is a non-conductor, and electro static charges build up over time, attracting dust and debris. Acrylic paint also warms up at room temperature and becomes slightly sticky, which also attracts dust. If you need to dust the surface of the painting, never use feather dusters, cloths or hard bristles. Instead, blow compressed air across the surface of the painting at an angle to dislodge the dust. If the painting is particularly dusty, you can gently dislodge the dust with a soft sable brush.

3. Freezing temperatures will cause the acrylic paint to crack - allow the artwork to warm up at room temperature if this happens. Anything above 60°C/140°F will greatly soften the acrylic paint too, so careful storage is needed when transferring the painting. Room temperature is fine!

4. Keep the painting away from direct sunlight, and out of extreme temperatures and humidity and dampness. Damp causes a particular type of acrylic mould, which is impossible to get rid of.

5. Last, but not least, do not attempt to clean the surface of the painting. Even experts find the cleaning and restoration of acrylic artwork a challenge, as any chemicals have the potential to either dissolve or distort the polymers in the paint. Leave anything you aren't sure about to the experts, and enjoy your artwork!

"All Art is Quite Useless"

2010-09-27T09:00:00.002+01:00

Of course, Oscar Wilde said that. ("Well he would say that, wouldn't he?" replies Mandy Rice-Davies, through the ether.)

In and of itself I would have to agree with him: art is indeed useless. It pretty much sits on a wall looking attractive or intriguing or controversial. It doesn't cure cancer or win wars or make your dinner for you. In practical terms, it is quite useless.

But in terms of balm to the soul for the viewer, and balm to the soul for the artist, and various types of soothers for mental health in between, it serves a very useful purpose indeed. I don't know quite where I'd be if I didn't do art, to be brutally honest with you. Art has a way of soothing my own issues with depression and helping me codify and make sense of the world around me like no other pill, potion or bottle of liquid, medicinal or otherwise. Put bluntly, without art, I would go stark staring insane.

Art has the power to soothe, to inspire, to question and to point fingers. Picasso's Guernica is not just a painting - it is a masterful accusation of man's inhumanity to man. Jean-Honore Fragonard's painting, The Swing, incited hatred and exile during the French Revolution. When you look at a favourite piece of artwork, it starts a unique thought process for you - your fears, your hopes, your dreams and memories combined. One painting can leave you cold, another can bring you to tears.

All art is quite useless - and all art is quite, quite necessary.

Original Artwork for Sale: terracotta

2010-09-20T12:07:00.014+01:00

terracotta is a series of mixed media abstract artworks. I used acrylic, texture, collage and found objects, as I do in all my paintings, to create a highly tactile visual experience. Art buyers (and art lovers) will see the influence of artists such as Jasper Johns and Claes Oldenburg in the layering and bold strokes, as I take some inspiration from their artistic vision through my own art. This series of four paintings is available for sale at Manna Cafe in Brighton, so if you'd like to purchase a piece, please click on one of the contact options on the blog, or contact Manna Cafe in person on 01273 690 540.

terracottaOne
©Georgina Ragazza
12" x 9"
Mixed media canvas (Acrylic, ink, foil and collage)

terracottaTwo
©Georgina Ragazza
12" x 9"
Mixed media canvas (Acrylic, ink, foil and collage)

terracottaThree
©Georgina Ragazza
12" x 9"
Mixed media canvas (Acrylic, ink, foil and collage)

terracottaFour
©Georgina Ragazza
12" x 10"
Mixed media canvas board (Acrylic, ink, foil and collage)

be:spoke:

2010-09-13T15:10:00.005+01:00

Brighton is an incredibly lively city. It has the second largest fringe festival in the United Kingdom, two highly successful Art trails per year, a noted music scene, clubbing, shopping, and a firmly entrenched Bohemian lifestyle. It has more than earned its unofficial title as Party Town. But what fascinates me most about Brighton are the moments when the noise dies down and the lights go dim. In these moments, there is a certain eerie faded glamour about the place, like a blousy old tart who has seen better days.

be:spoke: comes out of my delight for shop fronts at night - the reflection of street lamps on windows full of vintage clothes, boho spectacles and retro knick knacks. Brighton may be sleeping off the night's hangover, but the shop fronts wait, bathed in moonlight and electric amber. Night photography fascinates me too - the patience needed to get the most exposure for the lens, the delicious anticipation of what the flash will reveal from the shadows, the stillness and the quality of the light and the subtle nuances of the landscape.

So, I'm taking elements of night photography, black and white pictures, texture, collage and acrylic washes to create a series of three large scale pieces to showcase the North Laines at night... more to come!

©Georgina Ragazza 2010, mama:san:, digital photo.

sea[side]

2010-09-10T12:44:00.004+01:00

I've started work on a series of canvases for exhibition in October, and this includes digital photography taken in around the North Laines area of Brighton - all very exciting and more details as I start to put the pieces together ;)

In the meantime, I took some fun photos as we had a rare sunny day on the beach! This is a snapshot of that day:

©Georgina Ragazza 2010, sea[side], digital photo.

New Facebook Page

2010-09-04T01:52:00.003+01:00

You can check out my new Facebook fan page here, with more details about events and artworks:

Georgina Ragazza Facebook Page

Today's Art Promotion Tip

2010-08-28T16:09:00.006+01:00

Never underestimate the importance of business cards. The words "business" and "art" don't to go together, you would think... but they do. However creative you may be, you're still ultimately selling a product, and whilst your number one priority is staying in the studio and making that artwork, you also need to schedule time to get out there and network.

A well-finished, well-presented business card that features a piece of artwork and all your contact details is a godsend. Don't reach for Word and make your own, however tempted you might be by time and price - you need to show yourself off in the best light possible. Leave this aspect of your business to the professionals.

In terms of personal preference, I cannot recommend Moo.com highly enough. The turnaround is fast and efficient, their customer service is excellent, and the card quality is really very good indeed. Importantly for the starving artist, they offer a sample service so that you can try their wares out and have something to show for it. I ordered 20 double-sided business cards for free and have managed to secure four concrete deals for exhibiting in the space of two weeks.

All you need is a good scan or photo of a featured piece of artwork and your contact details - log in to the site and the step-by-step tutorial takes you through the process. You can even zoom in on art details, rotate the picture, crop it or flip it, all on the fly. The difference this has made to my business contacts is immeasurable - if you want to be a professional, you need to look like a professional, and every single person I've handed a card to has been visibly impressed.

Go for it! It's free, it's easy, and it makes a difference. I have my full box of paid-for cards on order right now, and the price is competitive, so I know it's a good investment. Try the sample, see how it works out for you, and let me know how it goes!

Zetti Experiment

2010-08-27T21:15:00.005+01:00

Networking and Promotion

2010-08-24T17:04:00.004+01:00

It's been a busy week, including an unwelcome visit from the 'flu part way through, which I did not need. I'm putting the finishing touches to the pieces for Manna cafe, gearing up for a live studio and exhibition at the Open Market later on in Septemnber, and generally getting some smaller pieces out of the way. I also managed to secure a month exhibiting at Starbucks in the North Laines in September 2011 - it pays to plan ahead!

On LinkedIn there have been a lot of discussions about how to price artwork, and I'll be posting an article about that very soon. But mainly this week has been about networking and doing all the kinds that artists don't like doing - marketing, promoting, and all that kind of stuff. I'm much rather be getting my hands messy. ;)

Original Artwork For Sale

2010-08-18T12:26:00.007+01:00

1st September - 1st March 2010
Manna cafe, Brighton

Artworks for sale by Georgina Ragazza
9" x 12"
mixed media and collage
£75 - £80

:cafe review:
:another cafe review:
:google maps:

mon - thurs 11:30am to 7pm
fri 11:30am - 9pm
sat 12:30pm to 9pm
sun closed

Self-Confidence and Fine Art

2010-08-10T18:38:00.005+01:00

That might be a little over-exaggerated... I've been in the middle of an art funk for the last couple of days, whilst simultaneously looking at the list of Things I Have To Do (artwise). That's never a good combination, trust me. I always told myself that art would be for me and me alone, no pressures, no hassles, no deadlines - but the problem with that was that I never got motivated, or at least, I managed to procrastinate a wee bit too much.

But with pressures, hassles and deadlines, I get all weirded out. Ah... artists are such delicate little flowers. In the middle of all of this I'm working out My Style, writ large. Such things always have to be writ large, don't they - like Creeds and Credos and Manifestos. And seeing as I lack an artists' community, I'm having to write the gosh-durned thing myself. Where am I headed? What is my message? What is my style? All that mularkey - and to be honest, I'm not confident enough to know. It'll come. Eventually.

Wabi Sabi

2010-08-08T21:04:00.005+01:00

When I'm not arting (which, let's face it, isn't often!), I'm a passionate vegetable grower, or avant gardener as I like to call it. As far as I'm concerned, you can grow veggies anywhere, and I like to add my art in at the same time - mixing some rust and decay in with the greens.

I’ve always been hugely inspired by the late Derek Jarman’s garden at Dungeness. Set against the imposing backdrop of a nuclear power plant, his garden combines hardy seaside plants, rusted metal and wood sculptures and broken gardening tools. The combined effect is powerful, beautiful and a living testament to the life of a passionate artist.

Acrylic Split Paint Techniques

2010-08-07T21:00:00.007+01:00

The smell of white spirit fumes still pervades my kitchen - on the plus side, something concrete appears to be happening. On the minus side, I'm not sure which combination I prefer.

From left to right: watered down acrylic over white spirit, white spirit over watered down acrylic in a fine mist, white spirit over watered down acrylic on a jet stream setting.

Art Transfer Techniques

2010-08-06T22:36:00.006+01:00

Text - which I now know is Greek, thanks to the ever-lovely Mandi - successfully transferred. I'm liking the way the texture is looking like terracotta, and I'm slowly getting there with some shading. Colour next - the infamous paint splitting ;)

Mixed Media Technique #1

2010-08-05T16:03:00.008+01:00

Note to self - if you're going to watch instructional videos, make sure that you take note of all the directions before you attempt any new techniques. Two rather gelatinous and smelly experiments and a forum post later, I finally know how to do the paint splitting technique I was talking about yesterday. In principle anyway. I haven't gone for a third try yet - I'm still waiting for the white spirit fumes to subside! (And yes, I know I should get low odour. I was a little too over-excited about getting down to business. It's all a learning curve.)

Basically, you take some watered-down acrylic (that was the bit I was missing yesterday, the watered-down part) and you apply it in one straight wash over your canvas. No going back and forth and working the paint in - just a straight one coat. Then, before the paint has a chance to dry - and acrylic tends to dry before you can blink - you spray either turps or white spirit directly on to it in areas (get one of those spray bottles where you can adjust the setting from a fine spray to a jet stream).

When the solvent hits the wet acrylic it separates the water from the pigment and splits it, making interesting pools and bumps of colour. The textured piece I was blogging about yesterday is fine so far, but it needs some additional colour, and I'd like something a little bit more challenging than just a flat stroke, hence the new technique.

In the meantime, I'm transferring some text onto other textured backgrounds that I've laid down - I'm using the water method here. You attach the text via gel medium and let it dry. Once it's completely dry, you spray water onto the paper and gently rub the back layer off so that it leaves the text (now backwards) of the facing page. I realise that this sounds a little confusing just written down. Here's the textured background and the text I'm using - I found a booklet written in something like Greek or Russian in a charity shop. I like the shape of the letters but have absolutely no idea what the text says!

I'll post more pictures as I go along so that you get a better idea of the technique. For now, here are the background piece and the text I'm using - more tomorrow!

The Technique of Mixed Media Texture

2010-08-04T21:23:00.005+01:00

Whilst munching on an olive and houmous bagel and listening to The Residents, I'm also experimenting wildly with molding paste and ink in a never-ending, ravenous search for texture, texture and more texture. So far, so good. I'm getting this rather tremendous baked-clay effect, which is immensely pleasing (and which The Wonderman thinks I should stop at... no no no. I have colourful plans in mind...)

So now I have to practice practice PRACTICE with paint splitting, a technique I first saw on Gary Reef's wonderful YouTube videos. (Subscribe to him, I beg you - he's not only a stunning artist, but a jolly nice chap as well.) The principle is that an applied solvent will repel acrylics, and literally "split" them to give a wonderful organic effect. I tried this with turps first, but ended up with a nasty, sticky mess and a house reeking of the stuff, so now I'm going forth with white spirit instead and seeing how that goes. Anyone else done this?

The "Aha" Moment in Artwork

2010-08-03T20:30:00.002+01:00

How do you know when a piece of artwork is complete? Do you have a pre-conceived idea before you begin, and then the piece is done when you’ve matched the vision in your head? Or, is there a point when your senses decide that you’ve finished?

For me, producing art is very cathartic and it’s almost like running - I get myself ready and then I dash and the artwork is finished when I’ve exhausted myself of the emotions that needed to be put on the paper.

I can almost feel myself taking a run up at the canvas or the page or whatever I’m working on. Things tend to go a bit blurry after that, when I find myself really connecting with what I’m doing, and then the mist clears, I’m empty and the work is done. Different people have different approaches and different connections to their art. I’d love to know what yours is!