Coco Chanel
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Vein of Gold - Panda
Precious panda
you were taken from me with adult persuasion
I was only two
And then we flew to the other side of the world
you weren't recollected with any visit
And with my granny gone
I imagine you lost to some second hand establishment
So tempted till the end, I mention my little red Fiat
and the yellow picture on the back of the door combining black and white
completing us
there was gold in it too but it seemed too scary didn't it
Panda in a pram was just too much.
Mummy and daddy had too much baggage
and somehow I lost my libido like that other Panda
I drive a silver car now and in it my two precious polar bears
You were stripped from me with a nasty gift
a lovely little pram for you to live in
and you must stay at Granny's house till she was too frail
a lovely little pram for you to live in
and you must stay at Granny's house till she was too frail
Babe in a pram, I clearly remember placing you with great tenderness
and being told I must leave you there
my heart was wrenched from me as you were wheeled away
my mother's arms about me and my tears
and being told I must leave you there
my heart was wrenched from me as you were wheeled away
my mother's arms about me and my tears
you were taken from me with adult persuasion
I was only two
My parents just had too much baggage
my Panda, you didn't fit their plan
And then we flew to the other side of the world
you weren't recollected with any visit
you didn't belong to me anymore
how should I have remembered from limited snap shots?
The light was bad. It was Christmas
What a slap of shock to find
my first memory was the uncomprehending grief for you
And with my granny gone
I imagine you lost to some second hand establishment
or to the bin, My mother purging our lives again with every move
and don't I recognise myself.
I forgot and remembered too late
the carry cot, white metal with brown canvas hood
sold for a pittance at an auction among the poor
to raise money for an empty church
Ah,
the vain hope of a fusty attic revealing you safe
pathetic searching through the webs for the precise shape and feel of you
so many lookalikes,
yet I would know you now and hold you tight
You are so lost! I would have to find you in such a precise way
there can be no fakes, there can be no substitutes
I recall an attempt at a paltry copy when I was still a child
too soft, too new, the colours all wrong, the fur too long
and now the transformation for all must return to the vein of gold
I see myself at five,
climbed in to the soft toy shelf at toys r us
it is late at night and my new sister is arrived
I choose Lisa, my favourite girls name
a Siamese cat, stiff and upright, looking at me sideways
but she has the right colour legs and the right colour eyes
I invest all my love in her
and I notice a compensation of cats echoing through my life
and now I know, my mother tells me
you were taken to the empty church for the children to play with
and my Panda
you were eaten by mice
an echo
I have returned from University
my mother in her laundry room
Lisa has been eaten by a dog and can not be mended
like my cake at my first birthday party
Is there is no protection from these animals?
maybe not, but there is compensation if you seek it
A new Lisa, an older sister where there was none before
a snug fit around a broken heart
miraculously met in Kew
Living Lisa and in some way, Panda, you are returned to me
too soft, too new, the colours all wrong, the fur too long
and now the transformation for all must return to the vein of gold
I see myself at five,
climbed in to the soft toy shelf at toys r us
it is late at night and my new sister is arrived
I choose Lisa, my favourite girls name
a Siamese cat, stiff and upright, looking at me sideways
but she has the right colour legs and the right colour eyes
I invest all my love in her
and I notice a compensation of cats echoing through my life
and now I know, my mother tells me
you were taken to the empty church for the children to play with
and my Panda
you were eaten by mice
an echo
I have returned from University
my mother in her laundry room
Lisa has been eaten by a dog and can not be mended
like my cake at my first birthday party
Is there is no protection from these animals?
maybe not, but there is compensation if you seek it
A new Lisa, an older sister where there was none before
a snug fit around a broken heart
miraculously met in Kew
Living Lisa and in some way, Panda, you are returned to me
So tempted till the end, I mention my little red Fiat
and the yellow picture on the back of the door combining black and white
completing us
there was gold in it too but it seemed too scary didn't it
Panda in a pram was just too much.
Mummy and daddy had too much baggage
and somehow I lost my libido like that other Panda
I drive a silver car now and in it my two precious polar bears
Saturday, 28 January 2012
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Comic/Zine proposal
Title - ‘Exquisite Cadaver’
Participants
So, things
are beginning to come together somewhat
The people
who are interested so far are:
- Nick Connor (text only if
needed)
- Olivia Croce
- Pat Cullum
- Rory /Choo Cunningham (TBC)
- Sadie Moisin
- George Murphy
- Chloe Uden
- Naomi Zeiwe Palmer
This is an
outline of how I see this project progressing at the moment and how I think we
should approach and develop the work. It may be unorthodox but at the very
least, I think it’s direct and hopefully should make our lives easier.
Theme
Accepting
the limitations of our collaboration (all of us living in different places and
living different and busy lives) and embracing this fact so as not to create a
problem of it, we will base our structure and theme around the drawing game
‘consequences’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picture_consequences
)
Each
participant will be pre-allocated a position in the zine and a broad theme
(which can be interpreted as loosely or tightly as the artist wishes)
In homage
to the surrealists where this game originated, the Zine will be entitled
‘Exquisite Cadaver’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse
(this also has a pleasing yet indirect link to Exeter
The game
was originally designed to entertain and amuse and I hope that this will be at
the heart of our approach.
Audience
Content
should be aimed at ‘like-minded people’ without excluding younger people by
including overly graphic /obscene content and I don't think we need to baby
anybody. (I have deliberately used the word ‘overly’….it is up to you to decide
what level of ‘somewhat’ or ‘slightly’ you think is appropriate).
How to work
Make work
which comes naturally to you
Make work
which you enjoy making and don’t work too much about anyone else
Make work
which you would like to see if you were to buy and look at/read a comic/zine
Technical & time parameters
- You will have a week to decide
whether or not you would like to participate any further in this project
- Following your agreement, you
will be allocated a position in the zine and a few words which may loosely
or tightly inspire your work
- You will have 4 weeks to work
on your idea before submitting a draft by email for feedback (feedback
will consist of anything you want it to – in conversation, you will let me
know what sort of feedback you want, and I will try to oblige! This will
take 2 weeks
- You will then have a further 4
weeks to develop your work further and re-submit it in hard copy.
- Alongside the artwork you
create, you will be asked to submit a short profile piece and a small
image to accompany it
- The work will then be collated
and calibrated so to speak so it can be sent to print.
- You will receive a hard copy of
the final comic/zine two -4 weeks after you have submitted your final
copy.
Each artist
will create 6 pages of work on A4
The final
production will be on A5 (so your work will be shrunk)
You will be
able to work in full colour
Sales, marketing and promotion
Zines sell
for around £2-8 per publication and currently I am proposing that we sell the
work for around £3-4.
I propose
that we produce 1000 copies
The
publication will be available for sale through facebook, ebay & etsy as
well as directly and we will try to find other points of sale
We will
have a launch party where the publication will be on sale and your networks
will be invited and everyone will asked to be there for a signing
We will
have a facebook page.
You will
receive an equal portion of any of the profits from the zine. Which may only
amount to a hundred pounds or so but could be more. – here is how I have
calculated it
£3.50 x 1000
= £3500
Less £750
production costs = £2750
Less £100
promotion costs = £2650
Divided by
6 participants = £442 absolute maximum
All postage
costs would be charged on top so shouldn’t affect the return and for sales
online I will increase it slightly to cover costs of charges.
So, I think
it is completely possible we could sell all 1000, but to err on the safe side,
I think we should assume at the moment that we will only be making pennies
rather than pounds.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Brain limbering or time wasting?
Ethereal places I surf sometimes
http://www.star.me - I find it's all to easy to just ask questions and not to answer them- I think therefore that it's healthy to try practising answering questions sometimes - and without a person to do it for you, it seems that this online 'thing' can help with that!
http://www.zefrank.com/ - all sorts of online toys and participations
http://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon - stuff to think about and stuff to do
http://www.ted.com/
http://www.star.me - I find it's all to easy to just ask questions and not to answer them- I think therefore that it's healthy to try practising answering questions sometimes - and without a person to do it for you, it seems that this online 'thing' can help with that!
http://www.zefrank.com/ - all sorts of online toys and participations
http://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon - stuff to think about and stuff to do
http://www.ted.com/
Develop your own creative practice programme
OVERVIEW
This is a brand new series of sessions designed to stimulate
and support your creative endeavors & enable you to explore and develop
your own creative voice and to participate more fully in Exeter
Drawing on advice and techniques from a wide range of
artists, facilitators and teachers, the program is designed to have a real and
ongoing impact on your creative practice and provide you with a toolkit to help
you overcome your artistic dilemmas.
WHO IS THIS FOR?
It is for
individuals who want to feel more in charge of their arts practice and people
who want to enjoy the company of like-minded people. It is open to people from
any art-form, but will be particularly suited to those working in visual or
written media.
The group size will
be limited to 6-10 people so as everyone is able to participate fully with
maximum attention from the facilitator and maximum opportunity to work
together.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
We will avoid teaching or the expert-knows-all approach.
Instead we walk the talk of the Japanese proverb: none of us is as smart as all
of us. Each of the techniques will come alive for you through team learning in
which the
knowledge, experience and skills of participants and facilitators
alike create a rich and dynamic learning experience for everyone.
Because we recognise that the arts are skills-led rather
than an academic subject you will be learning actively. We will typically begin
exploring a technique with a brief interactive introduction. This is followed
by a practical hands-on exploration individually, in pairs or threes, then we
will have an interactive review of the technique and its applications.
You will also work together or on your own to produce a
piece or piece of work for display in an event at the Innovation Centre at the
end of the program. This will help you to build your support network and help
you define what sort of work you want to make based on a real experience.
Each week the session will
- Describe a recommended technique for exploring your personal creative practice and explain the reasoning behind it. This will be followed by practical experimentation and discussion
- Give you space and structure to develop in collaboration or alone a piece or pieces of work for display at the end of the program.
PREPARATION
About 14 days in advance of the course we will send you an
email suggesting one or two practical things to do to focus your attention on
the course.
You will be encouraged to keep a journal throughout the
program and there will be a series of suggested tasks and activities for you to
do if you wish between sessions.
WHEN & WHERE
Weekly sessions will be held in the Exeter Phoenix on XXXX
from 6-8pm in the xxx room from xxdate – xxdate
The final event will be held for one evening at the
Innovation Centre in the University
of Exeter
FACILITATORS
Each session will be facilitated by Chloe Uden
Chloe has a masters in cultural management and specialised
in different approaches to creativity in the arts and businesses. She worked
for Puppetcraft as a puppeteer maker and business assistant, Devon Arts in
Schools Initiative (DAISI) supporting artists working in schools and in an
innovative sustainable energy company as a finance and operations manager,
leading the events & communications team and coaching team members through
personal and business development processes. She has produced her own art work
for a number of years and curated a number of exhibitions at the Innovation
Centre in Exeter
FEE
Because this is a new course, it is being discounted by 50%
for the first 10 weeks Program, the training fee is £100 (normal price £200)
(I will aim to get a contribution
towards materials and event from IC or EXAC)
TO TAKE PART
Make a reservation using the attached form and send it along
withy your payment to…..You will receive confirmation and receipt from us
within xx days of your registration.
CONTACT
chloeuden@yahoo.co.uk
07969 487735
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Beastie and the big black cat
Page structure as recommended by how to make comic strips book:
1. Beastie sits on woodshed roof trying to catch birds - fails
2. Beastie notices red paw prints on top of woodshed roof and follows them into the open shed and finds a tin of paint spilled on the floor. Beko sees Beastie in the shed and scolds him
3. Beastie goes home and waits patiently for food, everyone gets fed first and Beastie gets cold meat and biscuits
4. Night time Beastie goes on patrol while everyone's sleeping, he fails to catch a bat and a mouse and he taunts a dog in it's kennel. He is scared by a big black cat, hisses and runs away
5. Morning time, Coco goes and feeds the babes, Beastie monitors Beko's movements trying to trip him up. get out of bed, in bathroom, go downstairs, make tea. Beko gives Beasties cold meat and biscuits and then makes his lunch which Beastie prefers to watch.
6. Cat flap goes and Beastie sees that all his food has gone, he looks out of cat flap and sees black tail going around the corner. Beastie begs for more food but doesn't get any.
7. Disconsolate, Beastie goes upstairs to find nappies being changed. he bites a babies foot and is screamed at by everyone and is kicked out.
8. Over the road, Beastie sees the black cat looking in the window of house opposite. He sees black cat run into tree as woman leaves with a puppy and puts up a sign on the lamppost. Beastie goes over and spooks puppy.
9. Beastie sits on fence terrorising dogs as they go past and then goes home to get fed. When he's about to eat, he looks out of the cat flap and sees the big black cat staring at him Beastie swipes at the black cat and runs away
10. Beastie looks out of the window and sees the black cat sitting on the woodshed roof and sees him catch a bird. Beastie plots black cat's downfall.
11. Beastie goes outside and finds dead bird on the doormat and feels threatened he goes over to gate and sees black cat sitting outside the same house all puffed up. Beastie goes over to have a look and then there is barking from in the house. Puppy throws himself against window and scares black cat who scares Beastie.
12. Beastie goes home and a missing cat poster is put through the door. Beastie tries to tell Beko who thinks he wants food, tries to tell Coco who tells Beko off for not feeding Beastie, tries to tell Bebes who stare blankly back at him.
13. Beastie looks for black cat in the tree, and on the woodshed and in the shed where Beastie finds him big, burly, black and hissing and growling
14. Beastie sees the owners carrying in their shopping and tries to tell them they think Beastie needs to be fed 'poor starving cat'. Beastie steals sausages and they chase him over to the woodshed where they find the black cat and pick him up and hug him.
1. Beastie sits on woodshed roof trying to catch birds - fails
2. Beastie notices red paw prints on top of woodshed roof and follows them into the open shed and finds a tin of paint spilled on the floor. Beko sees Beastie in the shed and scolds him
3. Beastie goes home and waits patiently for food, everyone gets fed first and Beastie gets cold meat and biscuits
4. Night time Beastie goes on patrol while everyone's sleeping, he fails to catch a bat and a mouse and he taunts a dog in it's kennel. He is scared by a big black cat, hisses and runs away
5. Morning time, Coco goes and feeds the babes, Beastie monitors Beko's movements trying to trip him up. get out of bed, in bathroom, go downstairs, make tea. Beko gives Beasties cold meat and biscuits and then makes his lunch which Beastie prefers to watch.
6. Cat flap goes and Beastie sees that all his food has gone, he looks out of cat flap and sees black tail going around the corner. Beastie begs for more food but doesn't get any.
7. Disconsolate, Beastie goes upstairs to find nappies being changed. he bites a babies foot and is screamed at by everyone and is kicked out.
8. Over the road, Beastie sees the black cat looking in the window of house opposite. He sees black cat run into tree as woman leaves with a puppy and puts up a sign on the lamppost. Beastie goes over and spooks puppy.
9. Beastie sits on fence terrorising dogs as they go past and then goes home to get fed. When he's about to eat, he looks out of the cat flap and sees the big black cat staring at him Beastie swipes at the black cat and runs away
10. Beastie looks out of the window and sees the black cat sitting on the woodshed roof and sees him catch a bird. Beastie plots black cat's downfall.
11. Beastie goes outside and finds dead bird on the doormat and feels threatened he goes over to gate and sees black cat sitting outside the same house all puffed up. Beastie goes over to have a look and then there is barking from in the house. Puppy throws himself against window and scares black cat who scares Beastie.
12. Beastie goes home and a missing cat poster is put through the door. Beastie tries to tell Beko who thinks he wants food, tries to tell Coco who tells Beko off for not feeding Beastie, tries to tell Bebes who stare blankly back at him.
13. Beastie looks for black cat in the tree, and on the woodshed and in the shed where Beastie finds him big, burly, black and hissing and growling
14. Beastie sees the owners carrying in their shopping and tries to tell them they think Beastie needs to be fed 'poor starving cat'. Beastie steals sausages and they chase him over to the woodshed where they find the black cat and pick him up and hug him.
Saturday, 7 January 2012
At the gate
"Hello! The city welcomes exceptional candidates! Your bank details before we start, thank you, Okay, so that's processing, how can I help?"
"Yes, I'd like to visit the city, I was told that this was the entrance."
"Yes, this is the first gate, I'm sorry, I don't recognise you, are you meant to be here?"
"Oh, well, I've never been here before, but I've been investing in it for years and I've travelled a long way to get here and I'd like to look around."
"Hmm, well, I'm afraid that unless you have a valid pass, I can't let you in. It would be a security risk"
"Ah, of course, so who do I need to speak to to get a pass?"
"Well, there are scouts that go out regularly to find candidates and they issue passes, or you could apply to get yourself noticed, but, excuse me for saying this, if I may make a suggestion, it would save you wasting your time...."
"Go ahead, of course! Thank you!"
"Well, I've been around here quite a while and I've seen quite a lot, and I can tell you straight out, that you're not going to be issued a pass, so you might as well give up. I just don't think that 'the city' is the right place for you."
"Oh! Wow! well that seems a bit harsh! you've only just met me and you don't know anything about me!"
"Don't be so ungrateful! I'm just trying to help! I can tell by looking at you, you're just not exceptional. Everything about you seems mediocre."
"I'm not mediocre, I have exceptional talents, I'm unique, everyone tells me so, I'm special, I feel it in my bones and I believe that I should be in the city....I've seen it in my dreams."
"No, you're exactly the same as everyone else and the fact that you're even asking for a pass to the city clearly demonstrates how unlikely you are to get one - no one who asks to visit the city is issued a pass to the city. The city comes to you. The city welcomes exceptional candidates."
"But I have so much to offer, I have raw potential, and I want to be play an active part in this world!"
"Oh, is that all? But of course you can play an active part! Why didn't you say that! you can pay for a 'city experience'. I mean all of us benefit from the existence of the city, so of course you can experience it. You just can't go there!"
"I don't understand, what's a city experience?"
"Well, you can pay to have a makeover to look like a real city dweller and have your photo taken next to models of famous city monuments, We can even produce a personalised sample diary for you of what you would have experienced if you were to have visited the city, and of course, you can pay to have dinner with a host of city dweller look-a-likes....that's just part of it"
"That sounds great, but I really do feel that I would prefer a real pass to the real city. Can you tell me, how do I apply?"
"Hmph, well, you can pay a non-refundable fee for a copy of the application form and additional fee for a copy of the person specification. this changes on a day to day basis, so you can set up a standing order to receive a copy by bulletin at the end of each day. you can pay top meet an advisor who could coach you in your application, but it's very expensive, it's probably 4 times as much as your paying me."
"Yes, I meant to ask about that - I'm not really happy about having to pay just to be turned away. I think I'd like a refund for the charges so far."
"I'm just doing my job, we all benefit from the city and I'm sure you'd agree that it must be protected. you wouldn't want any old riff raff to be let in would you? Besides, I'd be out of a job if I told you how to get in. I've gone out of my way to help you and well you don't expect me to work for nothing do you?"
"Yes, I'd like to visit the city, I was told that this was the entrance."
"Yes, this is the first gate, I'm sorry, I don't recognise you, are you meant to be here?"
"Oh, well, I've never been here before, but I've been investing in it for years and I've travelled a long way to get here and I'd like to look around."
"Hmm, well, I'm afraid that unless you have a valid pass, I can't let you in. It would be a security risk"
"Ah, of course, so who do I need to speak to to get a pass?"
"Well, there are scouts that go out regularly to find candidates and they issue passes, or you could apply to get yourself noticed, but, excuse me for saying this, if I may make a suggestion, it would save you wasting your time...."
"Go ahead, of course! Thank you!"
"Well, I've been around here quite a while and I've seen quite a lot, and I can tell you straight out, that you're not going to be issued a pass, so you might as well give up. I just don't think that 'the city' is the right place for you."
"Oh! Wow! well that seems a bit harsh! you've only just met me and you don't know anything about me!"
"Don't be so ungrateful! I'm just trying to help! I can tell by looking at you, you're just not exceptional. Everything about you seems mediocre."
"I'm not mediocre, I have exceptional talents, I'm unique, everyone tells me so, I'm special, I feel it in my bones and I believe that I should be in the city....I've seen it in my dreams."
"No, you're exactly the same as everyone else and the fact that you're even asking for a pass to the city clearly demonstrates how unlikely you are to get one - no one who asks to visit the city is issued a pass to the city. The city comes to you. The city welcomes exceptional candidates."
"But I have so much to offer, I have raw potential, and I want to be play an active part in this world!"
"Oh, is that all? But of course you can play an active part! Why didn't you say that! you can pay for a 'city experience'. I mean all of us benefit from the existence of the city, so of course you can experience it. You just can't go there!"
"I don't understand, what's a city experience?"
"Well, you can pay to have a makeover to look like a real city dweller and have your photo taken next to models of famous city monuments, We can even produce a personalised sample diary for you of what you would have experienced if you were to have visited the city, and of course, you can pay to have dinner with a host of city dweller look-a-likes....that's just part of it"
"That sounds great, but I really do feel that I would prefer a real pass to the real city. Can you tell me, how do I apply?"
"Hmph, well, you can pay a non-refundable fee for a copy of the application form and additional fee for a copy of the person specification. this changes on a day to day basis, so you can set up a standing order to receive a copy by bulletin at the end of each day. you can pay top meet an advisor who could coach you in your application, but it's very expensive, it's probably 4 times as much as your paying me."
"Yes, I meant to ask about that - I'm not really happy about having to pay just to be turned away. I think I'd like a refund for the charges so far."
"I'm just doing my job, we all benefit from the city and I'm sure you'd agree that it must be protected. you wouldn't want any old riff raff to be let in would you? Besides, I'd be out of a job if I told you how to get in. I've gone out of my way to help you and well you don't expect me to work for nothing do you?"
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Holli Zollinger makes fab designs
I really like Holli Zolliger's work and I also really like Spoonflower!
for someone as picky about fabric as I am, it is really refreshing to find a site which I feel relatively confident I'll find something I like!
for someone as picky about fabric as I am, it is really refreshing to find a site which I feel relatively confident I'll find something I like!
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