All Things Considered

Dave Gorman
Posted by Simon Lewin

I did a quick Google the other day to find out a bit more about writer/comedian Dave Gorman's recent "America Unchained" film on Channel 4. We'd missed it and I was keen to find out if it was going to repeated.

I've been a fan of Gorman's work since enjoying his 'Googlewhack Adventure' and 'Are You Dave Gorman?' projects.

But I hadn't realised he was a keen photographer. He really is very good.

You can enjoy his photographic output on Flickr.

Posted by Simon Lewin on February 26th, 2008

Bristol fashion
Posted by Simon Lewin

Kate's reference to James Bond and Aston Martins below reminded me of a recent drive past the London showroom of Bristol Cars.

These beautiful cars are hand-built at Filton, near Bristol - and they claim to be the last wholly British-owned luxury car maker.

With no dealers or distributors, the cars are sold direct from their Kensington showroom.

I've never been in one, but would love to have the opportunity at some point.

You'll find plenty of useful information at the Bristol Owners' Club website.

Posted by Simon Lewin on February 24th, 2008

You Only Live Twice…
Posted by Kate Sullivan

Perhaps you need to be a Bond obsessive to have the real desire to stay the night afloat Dutch waters in a bright orange capsule decked out with sheepskin, sleeping bags, disco ball, champagne, DVD player and movies and a chemical loo.

The converted lifeboat, the Capsule Hotel is currently docked in The Hague, a short walk from the city centre.

There may not be a helipad or parking for an Aston Martin, but a bicycle with luggage stand and lock on is available on application.

Posted by Kate Sullivan on February 23rd, 2008

Folk Art and Shelf Appeal
Posted by Kate Sullivan

Since writing about Julie Arkell last month, I have received a number of emails from other admirers of her work, telling me about exhibitions that she is currently involved with.

The Oriel Davies Gallery in Newtown, Powys is currently running a touring exhibition called Folk Art and Fairy Tales, which examines the crossover between craft and other art forms. Work by Julie, Lucy Casson and Cathy Miles amongst other innovative artists, will be showing at various towns and cities across the UK. The show is currently being held at the Harley Gallery, Worksop, Nottinghamshire. Click to find the touring dates and venues.

Jane Audas, the author of the article in Embroidery magazine where I first saw Julie’s work, also got in touch to let me know that you can usually find Julie’s work at the Contemporary Applied Arts shop. Writer and museum curator Jane, also keeps a blog called Shelf Appeal, ‘A blog about things, anything you can put on a shelf’. It’s a fantastic design journal, where Jane documents really interesting observations and quirky finds, where and when she is inspired to do so.

Posted by Kate Sullivan on February 21st, 2008

Newspaper House
Posted by Kate Sullivan

Later this month, a hundred  volunteers will be off gathering newspapers from public places across London so that artist, Sumer Erek can build a 'house' from the collected broadsheets and tabloids.

The reason for this is project, organised by Creative City is to raise awareness to the amount of paper that is strewn and disgarded around our cities on a daily basis. I read that approximately nine and half tonnes of freebie papers were collected off the tubes every day.

Once all the papers have been gathered they will be rolled into tubes, and fixed together to form the newspaper house. The installation will be held at Gillet Square, Hackney from the 3rd - 9th March.

If you'd like to apply for a volunteering paper collection role taking place on February 27th, click here. To follow the projects progress visit www.newspaperhouse.blogspot.com

Posted by Kate Sullivan on February 17th, 2008

Flippin’ Tasty
Posted by Kate Sullivan

Sugar and lemon or Nutella and bananas? I have to admit to having both, twice, and with ice cream.

February can be a little dull after the joys’ of Christmas and January’s smattering of snow which we couldn’t  even fight with, but Shrove Tuesday is a day of glistening sweetness to cheer us up.

Pancake day (Shrove Tuesday) gained its name, as it was the last opportunity for Christians to use up their eggs and fats before embarking on the forty day fast leading up to Ash Wednesday. I’ve no idea where the pancake flipping frolics came from, but if you
are one of those people who relish sports days and Village Fete’s
physical challenges, then you would probably enjoy the race at Old
Truman Brewery, Brick Lane. Click here for an application form to take part although I fear it may be a little too late for this year. Sorry.

Posted by Kate Sullivan on February 4th, 2008

Something for Valentine’s
Posted by Simon Lewin

We've just added details to our gallery site of this latest print by Rob Ryan.

All of Rob's work is the result of painstaking hand-cutting of delicate papers. These intricate works are either sold in the papercut form or developed as limited edition screenprints.

"Can We? Shall We?" has been created and printed by Rob in an edition of 95 copies, screen-printed in red and cream on a heavy weight paper. We have a limited number of the edition here at St. Jude's and you can order a copy online.

We're looking forward to Rob's exhibition with us in November. If you'd like to receive details nearer the time - along with an invitation to our private views - you can join subscribe to our free e-mail newsletter.

Posted by Simon Lewin on February 3rd, 2008

Idiomag
Posted by Kate Sullivan

I've just discovered a relatively new music site, Idiomag.

I gather Idio is a bit like Pandora, a personalised Internet radio station, which sadly now rejects anyone outside the UK from listening (it checks your IP address, not just your imaginary US postcode). 

It’s easy and quick to join and by just adding artists you like,
Idiomag will introduce you to other bands it thinks you will also enjoy
listening to. You need to vote for the music you like and don’t like so it helps feed you with sounds and information that you want to hear and read.

Your daily personalised digital magazine can be sent via RSS, email or Facebook and will provide you with music videos, artist interviews, photo galleries as well as the option for purchasing downloads.

And just like with Facebook, Idio is all about sharing - social networking is unavoidable.

Posted by Kate Sullivan on February 1st, 2008