Hong Kong Arrival

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After a long flight, where I was bumped into First Class and my own bed – really. I had a bit of a rough time landing and was pleased to get off. The Stewardess saw I was looking a bit pale and had a kind young chap escort me all the way to into the Terminal. I caught a shuttle bus to the Hotel in Kowloon and crashed into my bed. Its funny how Saturday didn’t really happen. I woke up this morning to this great view, with the spa and swimming pools directly under my window. I’ve already started the day with a Tai-Chi session with my instructor William, who was very impressed by my “Waves hands through clouds”. I had to fess up that I was already learning, and he nodded his head wisely. I think he’s got me for the next fortnight.

So, I’ll be posting from Hong Kong over the next couple of weeks and hopefully putting up some photos. My room is its very own Wi-fi spot, which is pretty good. Sorry, I keep being distracted by the view up to Hong Kong Island.

Screen Printing Weekend No.1

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Just returned from a weekend course at The Badger Press which was found in the small ads at Printmaker. This is the first time I’ve printed silk screen since university, and even that seems like a long time ago, so really it felt like another introduction. The workshop has a friendly atmosphere, and we worked well through the weekend to complete a number of prints from two screens. I seem to have come home with a bounty of work, and I feel inspired and creatively refreshed. It was particularly exciting to let the control drift a little and enjoy experimenting with the printing process. I still think my work was a little sterile, and I’m looking forward to visiting again before Christmas and experimenting a little more fluidly. Anyhow, I was really pleased by how much we all got done in the two days at The Badger Press. The image below is a detail from a woodland design I worked on. I’m already thinking about work I’d like to try out for my next visit.

Must mention that there is an open weekend on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st November, where you will be able to visit the workshop and purchase from selection of abstract paintings and prints from our patient instructor for the weekend, Michael Griffith.

John Peel

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So sad to hear the news that John Peel has passed away whilst on holiday with his wife Sheila. His loss will be felt deeply by anyone who has ever listened to him on the radio. Personally, he was always a great comfort to me, a familiar voice when returning from abroad, when driving late through the night, or getting up on a wet saturday morning to listen to ‘Home Truths’. John also gave you a good feeling to know that there is an alternative to the sedate, sterile and souless culture around you, that lurking late night on the radio is a world of mad musicians, lost genius, and bonkers Japanese metal technoheads that can just fill you with all that is good about life. He will be missed.

Kate Sutton

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Kate Sutton is a very talented maker and drawer of things. She kindly spoke to dotsandspaces and donated a lovely banner. Click it and transport yourself to sleepy cow which has much of her work to date, including T-shirt designs for Howies, her own bags,toys, drawings galore and lots more. Kate battled with the dotsandspaces pop quiz. Here are a selection of her answers, including sketch. Pop Quiz Here

kate is currently making felt pigeons with pirate patches and here at dotsandspaces we would encourage this sort of activity. I hope that Kate will keep us up to date with any news which as always, will be a privilege to post.

Early ideas

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Look…I know its early, and I know how much I complain about the Christmas stock being around now -before Halloween and the joys of pumpkin carving. Supermarkets have shelves to fill, and its just so boring when you see wrapping paper, card and strange Christmas themed kitchenware. Give me a break.

So try to remember that there are lots of other places to go – go seek out talented individuals who make things themselves; (look in these pages for ideas) buy items that are made to last a long time; buy from charities and don’t spend stupid money on electronic goods.

Centurians – a short film

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Found whilst leafing through some old work, scripts and notes for a short I was planning to make after Uni. Storyboards by Foz who is an old friend from Cardiff, who’s doing very well and still making films. We all waited to the end of The Bourne Supremacyand cheered his credit, yay! Anyway, finding the drawings made me feel nostalgic and I thought I’d post his drawings with the relevant script sections.

Ext.Wasteland – Day

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From above there is the figure of a young man. He is lying on the ground, surrounded by the mud and dirt of the wasteland. He seems to have fallen from the sky, and unconscious where he landed. There is a presence above him, a flicker of tiny lights, a whoosh sound.

His fingers twitch and his eyes blink, he sees that his hand is sunk in a puddle of black water. The water shivers and a reflection of tiny lights, the water disperses and the lights become more distant.

TWO MEN stand in a doorway.

The 1st MAN gets a small shiny cigarette case out from beneath his coat, opens it and takes a cigarette out. He holds it in his mouth as he pats his pockets for a lighter. The 2nd MAN leans forward, his face obscured, holds up a lighter, lights it with his hand and holds it with a giant, ant- like claw!

The planets slowly revolve. A small Flying Saucer spins its way across space. It is discernible as a white bullet shaped flash of light.

The Flying Saucer spins from view. The stars shine brightly in OUTER SPACE.

There is a huge flash of white and everything dissolves…

Hiromix

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I’ve been a big fan of Hiromix for a while now, ever since I spotted one of her photos in a copy of the now defunct Face Magazine. She was part of a phenomenon of Japanese girl photographers, and shot her snaps using a Konica Big Mini, blowing them up on a colour photocopier. Her images were put together into a number of books, Girls Blue, Japanese Beauty, and Hiromix. There’s a real feel of cinema with Hiromix, the photos are full of life and breath youth and immediacy. You can see some of her photos here at Photoarts, also good look at the books at Photoguide Japan, also some links here She also appears in Lost in translation as herself.

Oh, I found out that Zwemmer in Charing Cross is closing down. I use to pop in and get lots of great photo and graphics books there. Its very sad. I bought my first Hiromix book there, and the second I got during my visit to Tokyo.

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