Enfant terrible of the UK art scene, David Shrigley was born in Macclesfield in 1968, and now lives and creates his work in Glasgow. Although he’s been a successful working artist for almost two decades, his popularity has increased wildly in the last few years. His work spans all mediums, though he is most famous for his scrawled line drawings, often accompanied with text. Even if you haven’t seen anything else of his, you’ll probably have seen one of these on a greetings card. Regardless, his sculptures, drawings, photographs, paintings and video installations are all imbued with his uniquely caustic and dark sense of humour.

The Southbank Centre in central London is currently showing Shrigley’s first major retrospective exhibition in the UK, titled Brain Activity. I went along on one of Februarys cold, snowy Sundays. Obviously I’m a David Shrigley fan, but before Brain Activity I’d only seen a few of his pieces in various modern art galleries around the UK. These were mostly his deliberately scruffy line drawings and the odd video piece, so it was great to see in person how varied his output actually is. The animated videos and paintings naturally have a lot in common with his line drawings, both in style and content, and the sculptures (some featuring taxidermy, as below) also display his brand of wit and raw humanity.

His art has great universal appeal, as was obvious from the crowd in the gallery on that Sunday. From tourists in couples and groups, to men in business suits and whole familys, there was a huge range of ages. Small children were physically restrained by their parents from playing with the tactile sculptures as serious art lovers stood back to consider a whole corridor of paintings, entered into by a gateway made by Shrigley himself.

Brain Activity is on at the Hayward Gallery, Southbank, London, until 13th May 2012.

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Who says that art has to be limited to pictures, paintings and other such mediums? There is no reason why furniture, even office furniture London, can’t be an artistic statement as well as a functional piece. There are many designers that will happily create something for you and you can be safe in the knowledge that no-one else will have anything quite like it.

One such designer is I.A.Keer who has produced some amazing mirrors, tables and cabinets. His work takes on a very modern feel with pieces ranging from classical style to pop culture pieces. He has a selection of items that are regular products, as well as being able to design and create custom items to fit the requirements and artistic flair of the client.

Of course you could look to the old and seek out some of the pieces that came from the arts and craft movement, post war designs and so on. Art Furniture sources a great deal of older items from arts and craft writing tables to 1960’s coffee tables and even 1930’s art deco stools. In fact, looking back in time can bring about some wonderful discoveries and can be the spark that fuels the imagination to create a whole new setting, whether it is in the living room or office.

These two examples just show how easy it is to express your inner flair and individuality through the items of furniture you choose to surround yourself with. You can take a trip back in time and transform a living space into a 1960’s den or whoosh yourself forward and commission a piece or range of pieces from a designer that will give your space a totally futuristic look and feel. How you dress the space you live, work or play in is totally up to you, just remember that you don’t have to put up with flat pack faceless furniture.

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Everyone knows when planning a wedding the most important thing is always the dress!!! Finding the ultimate wedding dress is not easy, there are so many shops selling boring and standard wedding dresses that just don’t reflect the true personality of the bride.

Why not try taking a look at some arty wedding websites and blogs for inspiration on finding the perfect dress for you…

www.artcouturebridal.co.uk - brings to you a collection of truly unique and stunning dresses for brides who want something different on their wedding day. Their choice of Bridal Fabrics is out of this world. elabortae lace work, pearls, ruffles and so much more…. you will be sure to find a dress to die for here!!!

www.myvintageparty.co.uk - is another great site that will add something extra to your wedding day. Hire out their vintage crockery and vintage caravan to create a day to really rememeber! They also have a online shop where you can buy cake stands, and candle holders all in a vintage style.

If you want your wedding day to reflect the artiness inside of you then go DIY and design and make your own invitations, place cards, favours the lot!!! You can find loads of great ideas online for these projects and you can really have fun making them, a bit of therapeautic arts and crafts will definately take the stress of the day away.

Plus nothing will make the day more special than the thoughtful and artistic touch of the lovely couple themselves…

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I’m going to use my sketch of Looe Hotel as an example. We stayed there the other month and had some time to kill so I decided to create a kind of how-to drawing which would demonstrate how to use different types of shading to literally illustrate this point.

Imagine I have drawn a large, traditional-looking hotel – like a typical B & B you might find in Bournemouth of Brighton. The hotel stands proud of the other buildings it is next to, but this doesn’t show up well in a regular drawing. So to show the exact way the hotel is, it’s crucial to use shading.

Use your finger to smudge the pencil as much as you like, and this will create a soft effect

In the drawing I have shaded with a 4b pencil on the left hand side, where the shadow comes up sharply against the wall. It is a summer’s day, and the shadow appears very dark. Never be afraid of using a dark shadow because, contrary to popular belief, it will really bring out the light qualities of the piece and make it appear all the richer.

Another shading technique you can use is blurring or smudging. Use your finger to smudge the pencil as much as you like, and this will create a soft effect – perfect for showing bushes in the far distance or a line of trees on a distant horizon, obscured by mist. Using these two techniques alone you should be able to create a lot of perspective that previously wasn’t there at all.

One thing to be mindful of, though, is using too many different types of shading in one piece, which can confuse the entire concept. For example, cross-hatching – with lines going different directions across one another – works well, but may be best for a more analytical illustration as it can appear quite harsh.

One last thing to consider is giving the sky perspective; it’s quite possible, in the right hands, to create a sky which has various layers of clouds. You can use the smudging technique here to create a wonderful illusion that will really add depth to the piece.

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The problem with high art, is that no matter how much they try, the promoters are still preaching to the choir. In these tough economic times, getting out to see a work of performance can be more difficult than one imagines. Everybody who is anybody who works at the high end of live performance went to see The Life and Death of Marina Abromovic at the Lowry in Manchester. Robert Wilson used his unique talent of combining striking visual stage images and operatic live music to explore the work and life of the very important, but somewhat obscure to those outside the field, live artist Marina Abromovic.I was not able to make it. I am a struggling working artist and was caught up in sourcing red diesel Manchester in order to fire a particular type of kiln that a visiting ceramic artist needed. This is the inherent contradiction in producing art events that emerging artists cannot hope to attend. With the cuts in funding, most artists are continually trying to find a way to get by. We don’t have administrators on the phone trying to find the best deal in home heating oil, and we don’t have the extra income to see as much performance as we would like to.There is not a clear way forward other than festivals like the Manchester International Festival setting aside a block of free tickets to events like this for emerging and mid career artists that are struggling financially. I am sure the young Marina wouldn’t have been able to afford a Robert Wilson production either.

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1) Are you very logical? Do you like precision? Maybe you’re quite good at practical things and problem solving? A glass-blowing workshop might be just the thing for you. Alternatively, why not try some clay modelling? You need to be precise in these fields, but the rewards are often substantial.

2) Maybe you can’t draw very accurately, but what’s to stop you from creating some abstract work? In abstract work it’s all about the concept and the colour, so maybe this might be right up your street.

3) Are you fastidious? Do you enjoy learning challenging things? Well, then watercolour painting might be ideal. The best part is that you can make still-life out of anything: Lining Fabrics , a bowl of fruit, a dead wasp. Anything. Watercolour demands patience, so if you’re that kind of a person then why not give it a go? And don’t worry, this medium is not just for grannies who love painting churches! It’s also very colourful and you’ll be surprised at the results you can get.

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My friend and I were looking at different styles of pvc banners to use to advertise his business when I asked him if he had a website and how it is to be designed. I suggested CSS and here is why.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) describes the presentation, or the look, of a document that is done using a markup language. CSS is considered a language of its own, a “style sheet language”. Most well-designed, successful websites today utilize CSS.

Most design programs can automatically build CSS for your site, but often, the code is clunky. CSS works most efficiently when it is streamlined. As all code (including CSS) must be parsed before your website can display, it is to your website’s benefit that all code is as efficiently written as possible. This helps your website display faster and improves performance. If you think page loading time is a non-issue as most everyone has broadband access, you’d be wrong. Mobile web access is increasing. People accessing your site on their mobile devices want fast, streamlined pages.

It is imperative that you standardize and simplify CSS coding. This not only results in a more efficient website, but one that is easy to update later. When first mapping a website, determine all the elements you will need. This will help manage the coding and site design. Be sure to format your coding in block form to make it easier to read. Also, annotate thoroughly to help identify code elements and remind yourself of different functions. Single line notation is best as it is quicker to parse and load.

&nb

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I was recently doing some email marketing for my business when a friend of mine declared that they were going to put stained glass windows in the new home. I wasn’t sure about this so I tried to find out a bit more on it.

Almost everyone that is exposed to it loves the stained glass artwork mostly seen in churches and museums. These days apparently it is steady growing as an alternative to regular glass windows in both commercial and residential buildings.

A stained glass project doesn’t involve any glass staining. Colored pieces of glass are used to create a stained glass artwork. There are various companies that make colored glass in various colors, styles and thicknesses.

The main concept of stained glass artwork is to display an object or a person through solid colors or blocks. The pieces of colored glass are arranged in a way that represents a person or an object. Here is the basic idea to creating a piece.

The first step for this process is to finding the perfect pattern. You will find books or pictures on these projects on craft stores or on the internet. Turn the pattern pieces into cut out.

Keep some space between pieces for the metal that will be used to join these glasses. When the pieces are ready, mark them. Now, cut the pieces accordingly. When the pieces are ready, you can use metal foil to join the pieces. Joining them is like a jigsaw puzzle. Soldering iron is used to melt it. The solder will hold the pieces properly once it cools. Your Stained Glass Artwork is ready.

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Creating some of the most original and frankly awe-inspiring acrylic paintings in decades, Alexa has a winning formula: great concept, brilliant execution, excellent results. Nothing in this artist’s world is ordinary, and that makes for a new genre of art that shies away from just being a painting and seems to want to become so much more. Because of this, exhibition stands are set to be full for the years to come, as Alexa revolutionizes what some have said is a dying part of art culture. It’s welcome, and it’s about time says I!

And the paintings really do look like they live and breathe the same air as us. No word of a lie, and certainly no exaggeration. See for yourself by clicking the following link and venturing into Alexa’s strange world where the impossible seems to become reality…

http://thechive.com/2010/09/24/yeah-so-those-paintings-real-people-21-photos/

Another great reason why her paintings work is their interactive nature. Rather than just sitting there being stared at, the paintings seem to stare back and ask questions. This involves the audience, making people not only stop and look but ponder what reality is. Certainly that’s a captivating thing in a world full of going-nowhere modern art and installations that only appear to want to shock.

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