Art Nouveau

I have always had a soft spot for art Nouveau since i noticed my mum's Mucha mirror. It is a print on a mirror of a poster for a play called La dame Aux Camellias or lady of the Camellias in English. it was an adaptation of a novel by Alexandre Dumas it became a very popular play after its debut in 1852. Alphonse Mucha made this piece there is a heart with thorns around it in one of the corners of the picture which is representing the tragic love. I've always thought this piece is beautifully drawn especially the hand holding the camellias, i can just stare at the detail for ages and often do seeing as our mirror copy is in our bathroom. i have traced this picture with my eyes so many times all the folds in the garment are just exquisite and the starry sky backdrop makes it a timeless piece.

Another Art Nouveaux Artist i really liked was Aubrey Beardsley his works were predominantly black and white illustrations which echoed the Japanese woodblock print style. He was probably the most controversial person to be associated with art nouveax as his drawing although very decorative they had a more dark theme a more perverse appeal. grotesque erotica became more his thing later on in his career before his early death from tuberculosis.

Emilie Strange

There used to be this character called "Emily Strange" back in the days when I was a bit of a goth and I suppose some people might call me strange now, come to think of it. I have purple hair, which I love, although my Grandad thinks I look like a Gypsy and will become a pavement artist hoping people will throw a few pence into my little hat. I used to have a needle phobia for which I had to see a psychologist as I needed to have blood tests regularly for medication I have to take, but I got over that and am now fascinated and have to watch them closely whilst they take my blood. I am so over my phobia that I have also had my lip pierced and wear a lip ring and have recently had my tongue pierced, but am currently talking with a lisp and am unable to eat solid food very well. Had spaghetti bolongnaise tonight for tea which got wrapped around my tongue piercing which is too long for the depth of my tongue, but they have to allow for the swelling which you get for the first few days after having the piercing, but its the dribbling which is most embarrassing. I will be going back soon to have the length of my piercing reduced to a more manageable size and hopefully I will be able to manage a medium rare steak then. I would love a tattoo next, but I am not sure that it might be that I am challenging myself to see how far I have got beyond that initial needle phobia or was it simply a case of medical test vs. fashion accessory?

One 'L' of a driver

My Mum used to be a driving instructor and was teaching me to drive. I say used to be, as she has gone back to working in an office now. I don' t think I was totally the reason she gave it up, but I may have contributed to it. I never got to the stage where I was able to take my driving test as I was too lazy to learn the highway code and take my theory test. I just enjoyed getting into the driving seat and kinda pointing the car in the direction I thought I should go and putting my foot down. I had no fear, I don't know if that was because I was not fully aware of the dangers on the road, or hazard perception as my Mum would keep pointing out to me as she braked on the dual control and forced me to slow down and grabbed hold of the steering wheel in order that I gave additional clearance to the parked vehicle on the left. The other thing that I found annoying about driving is the fact that she insisted I wear my glasses all the time. She said I would not pass my test if I didn't wear them as they would make me read a number plate at a given distance before they would even let me take the test. I'm not cool about wearing glasses all the time which is another reason that I would probably not make a good driver as I don't notice signs much without them and I would probably get lost. Sat nav would obviously help, but it's possible I might miss that one way street sign and go up it the wrong way so I resigned myself, for now, to be a pedestrian, besides, most of my friends drive anyway, so why bother, I can always have that drink when we go out and it's a cheap round for me as they are driving.

Pole Dancing

I am learning pole dancing to keep fit, but I actually love it and have found that I'm pretty good at it. I've tried the gym which I found boring, swimming which bleaches the purple out of my hair and ice skating which is hard on the ankles as a means of keeping fit and although I was not bad at ice skating, despite a couple of fractures, I had trouble with the jumps as I have doggy knees which are too flexible and don't lock in the correct position so had to give that up.

My doggy knees, however, don't prevent me from performing on the pole and in fact, my extra flexibility is an asset. The only problem I have encountered so far, apart from the bruising on my arms and legs, is the blisters I get on my hands. It's ok if the pole is well polished, but last week, I hired an hour at a club to practise with my friend Rosie who comes to classes with me and the pole was a bit rough to say the least. Next week I will have to take some Mr Sheen with me and give it a bit of a rub down first. I've also realised that I need to do a few weights to strengthen my arms, especially when you are trying to do the fan, which is a move where you are upside down on the pole and you fan your legs open, this is not for the faint hearted! However, its always a good thing to have another string to your bow, so if I don't make it as an artist you may well be able to see me perform as an "artist" - Spearmint Rhino - here I come!

Camden

I am unfortunately afflicted with a long term skin condition, eczema, for which I have to be on some serious medication to keep it bearable. I, therefore, have to attend clinics in London, either at St. Thomas' Hospital or Guys. My Mum usually comes along and we make a day of it by either strolling along the South Bank and watching the street performers and then going to either the Tate Modern or the Haywood Gallery. After that we usually head over to Camden Market to get some Indian or Chinese food and do a bit of shopping.

I think Camden is where I want to live when I have independent means. I would love to be able to afford a flat close to Camden High Street as I think it is such an interesting place with so much going on, but also quite peaceful along the river walks down towards Regent Park. I love the diversity of Camden with its many ethnic and high fashion shops, the cheap market stalls and the expensive shoe shops. I very rarely am able to come away from Camden without buying something to wear. Even if I find something that is exactly to my taste in the first or second shop I go in, I feel I must look at all the other shops first before deciding on my purchase and then I normally come away with something entirely different to what I first envisaged I would buy. My last purchase was a pair of boots to die for, expensive, yes, but my birthday was just around the corner, so I phoned Dad and, yes, he agreed to buy them for me. Result!

Alex Grey

Alex Grey is one of my favourite visionary artists. I found out about his work from listening to the band Tool who he worked with to make album artwork for. I think tool and Alex Grey go so well together because Tool sound very in touch with their spiritual trippy side.

His father was a graphic designer so he encouraged Alex from a young age, Alex's work is of a very high standard. He met his wife at the Boston Museum school where they tripped on LSD. He has studied the human anatomy at Harvard Medical school, he also studied about healing energies.

i like his work because it takes you to another universe that doesn't feel as far away as it looks.

I'd love to go see tool live because not only are they an amazing band but they have massive projections of Greys artwork as a visualizer.

i will most probably have an Alex Grey tattoo one day, on the back of my neck i'd like to have the flaming eye.

Laura Santana

I have been heavily influenced by Laura Santana's art for ages, she is a french tattoo artist who also illustrates and paints, I love the way she draws her pin up girls and I've been drawing girls in that style for some time now. Laura is an amazing tattoo artist but the one thing i love more than anything else is the amount of attitude she can put into a drawing it can be so vibrant and strong there's just no faulting it.

her inspiration is music, movies,travel, street culture, traditional old school tattoos, Eroticism, pin up art, underground and low brow art, street art, graffiti, illustration, Mexican art, Japanese stamps, script /typography/lettering, guns, zombies, Skateboarding, muscle cars,Religious stuff, friends, boxing, shoes and exoticism.

i made a lino print recently which is like laura's artwork.

Tattoo Art

I have always had an interest in this type of art form. I am particularly interested in the old school sailor tattoos, oriental styles, Bio Mechanical tattoos and old rockerbilly tattoos.

i love sailor tattoos because as Samuel O'Reily (a famous tattooist) once said "A sailor without a tattoo is like a ship without a grog, not sea worthy." a sailors tattoos are like a map of where he's been and what he's been up to in his travels.

After captain cook found tattooed natives in the south pacific he brought back the art form as a very exotic souvenir. i love the style of them and they have special meanings: a pig on one foot and a rooster on the other is said to stop the seamen from drowning as barnyard animals cannot swim so it would help him get quickly to shore. an anchor is said to show that the sailor had been to the Atlantic ocean, a dragon means he served on a china station, a full rigged ship means the sailor had sailed round Cape Horn, a shell back turtle means he has passed the equator and so on.

Chinese/ Japanese tattoo art also has alot of meaning behind it whether it means strength or prosperity there are symbolic pictures such as the koi carp which is a common tattoo it symbolizes courage, ability to achieve hard goals and overcoming life's difficulties.

Rockerbilly tattoos started around the 1950's and in those days your were a rebel if you had tattoo's they weren't as widely accepted as they are now, the style is still around today and still has the essence of rebellion about it.

Bio Mechanical tattoos are just cool and clever because they are pretty much an illusion of something else being or living inside the human body that's not really there.

Vincent Castiglia

I have recently discovered the artist Vincent Castiglia. Vincent Castiglia lives and works in New York and is a member of The Society for Art of the Imagination. The medium he uses to produce his art is his own blood. He does this because he believes blood is the most personal thing that you can use and because it symbolises dead tissue. His subject matter normally consists of the human form with certain physical defects. He examines life and death and human experiences portrayed by both living and dead tissue symbolising life and biological decay. His work is not only attractive, but at the same time repulsive. Castiglia is a visionary artist who is not inspired by fantasy or dreams but by a story with an underlying meaning.

Castiglia was the first American artist who was invited to exhibit his work by H. R. Giger in the History of the H. R. Giger Museum Gallery. Castiglia work was entitled Remedy for the Living and it was exhibited for six months from lst November, 2008.

The piece of art I have chosen is entitled "Feeding". I think this image appropriately demonstrates what his style is. This shows new life, nuturing and human development, the decomposition of life, disabilty and ultimately death and decay.

Amsterdam

I turned 21 on the 3rd of April 2010.

For a few months before my birthday, I had been working hard in the evenings in order to save up for my first holiday without parents. My boyfriend and I went to Amsterdam for 5 days and 4 nights. We managed to get a flight on my actual birth day, so we celebrated as soon as we got there. After we checked in to our hotel, we went to explore on foot and one of the first things we noticed was the vast amount of cool street art. We found out that some of the really good artists in this city just decorate the coffee shops. One of the coffee shops that made a big impression on me was the Bulldog which was covered in numerous funny little drawings on the outside of the building. I took lots of photographs which I was intending to download on to my blog, but unfortunately, before I had the chance,

my kid sister borrowed the camera and lost it, together with all my pics. I tried to find some of the street art I had seen on the internet, but unfortunately, they do not have titles and I was unable to locate the pieces I would have liked to have talked about on this blog.

Brighton

I went to Brighton for the first time with my boyfriend Callum. We stayed the weekend with his cousin Claire in her flat near the sea front.
Even tho the weather was terrible i had a really lovely time.
Brighton has a strong relationship with contemporary art, they seem to go happily hand in hand. I'm glad i was able to find things to keep me inspired for uni.
On the first day Claire took us to an open house where the owners were exhibiting their art work and selling it, the houses looked lovely, they were so nicely decorated, like show houses. The work was good but mostly photographs of Brighton, some had special photo shopped effects on them. I was going to buy some postcards of the artwork but i saved my money as it was the first day.
We walked to the sea front after wards where there was some more people selling art. There seemed to be a distinct subject matter tho, the work was again edited photo's but they were of the Palace pier as it was burning down in 2003, they were really cool but sad at the same time. There were loads of other art dealers as we walked past selling contemporary stuff. There were some really nice tranquil pieces of water bubbles and yellow ducks!
The next day we went to the town there was an art shop which sold Banksy stuff among other famous names and also along the alleyways between shops there was a painting on the building of a mermaid which i thought was pretty cute.