Recently in art Category

I recently discovered FlapperDoodle's illustrations of flappers on Etsy, and they made me smile and made me realise my appreciation of all things 1920s. Some of her illustrations are below, including calendars with her illustrations, an Audrey Hepburn illustration from Breakfast at Tiffanys, Valentine's Day cards, sewn wall decorations, and CDs with 1920s music (Christmas music) with illustrated covers. I love the cute illustrations.

The Olympic Games in London will be here before too long, and the country has been obsessed with the games. Earlier this week, the Design Museum in London released its winners of the 'Design of the Year 2012' award, and the Olympic torch was the winner (http://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/2012/designs-of-the-year-2012). The Olympic torch was designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby. All of the winning designs in the different categories, including the torch, can be seen at the Design Museum until the beginning of July. In addition to this artwork, a series of posters to promote the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were unveiled to the public at the end of last year. These will be on display to the public during the Olympic games.

Martin Creed's poster (No. 1273) represents an extended winner's podium using the Olympic colours. Chris Ofili was inspired by runners and historical vases used to depict the ancient Olympic games for his poster, "For the unknown runner". Bridget Riley's poster of vibrantly-coloured stripes represents swimming lanes. Rachel Whiteread's poster depicts rings in the Olympic colours. Tracey Emin's poster (Birds 2012) shows inspiration and determination. Sarah Morris's poster shows a tribute to London's architecture reminiscent in the angles and shapes used in Big Ben. Patrick Brill's poster shows hand-written text.

These posters are on display at Tate Britain this year as part of a free London cultural festival. The 12-week arts festival in London will run at the same time as the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and other landmarks in the United Kingdom will also display public artwork during this event. The festival starts on June 21st and ends on September 9th, the last day of the Paralympic Games.

Many have criticised the posters and the artists. I do wish that more people had been involved in creating artwork for the games and wish that the public had been involved in selecting winning pieces, instead of selecting the well-known artists to commission artwork. I believe that the output had been better had the design and art community had been asked, as a whole, to create posters. I also think getting the public involved to select the best posters would have been a good idea. I'm not feeling impressed with the posters, overall.

More information about the posters and artists can be read here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2057576/London-2012-Olympics-Arty-posters-launched-Games.html

More information about the art festival can be read here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15596043

I recently discovered the giftware shop, "The Herdy Company", online. I love the cute sheep designs, and the minimal sheep design with a variety of bright colours goes a long way to create a simple and cute product. While visiting Salisbury and walking into the National Trust shop, I was greeted by many adorable merchandise from "The Herdy Company", which I had recognised instantly from another blog, and I bookmarked these. (Unfortunately, there weren't any egg cups, which I find the most adorable, but I really would not have any use for these anyway as I don't care for eggs.) "The Herdy Company" sells mugs, tea towels, postcards, keyrings, egg cups, and many more giftable items with its simple sheep-head design and bright colours. I bought the bright pink towel, which I snapped a photograph of below.

"The Herdy Company" brand was created in England's Lake District, and it is inspired by the Herdwick sheep breed, which is found in the Lake District. A percentage of the cost of products bought from "The Herdy Company" is donated to the community. According to their website (http://www.herdy.co.uk), products are ethically-sourced with natural dyes. The company also has won awards, such as best "small company of the year". They have also done well during problematic economic times.

(The photographs below are from the official website of "The Herdy Company".)

I, like many countless others, have enjoyed and appreciated the eggs across London over the past two months, and it will be sad to see them go. (However, for those enjoying similar events to this may want to try the swans in Wells or cattle in Ireland this summer.) 

With my camera in hand, I made my way to Covent Garden, first stopping off for morning indulgence in cupcakes at my favourite cupcakery, Primrose Bakery. (Perfect cupcakes and a perfect place that is slightly out of the way of the busy Covent Garden, but only a block away from it, with ample opportunity to sit down and watch people walk by its large windows.) I blogged about this here: A Visit to Primrose Bakery in Covent Garden. After stuffing my face full of sweet cupcakes, I made my way to the busy Covent Garden and joined the crowds admiring the eggs.

Here are a few photographs of the eggs that I took at Covent Garden today. The giant eggs will be on display until Monday, so it's the last chance to see them before they are taken away. They are also selling books, postcards, and other items at Covent Garden and have set up a shop in the covered market.

I take a photograph of the reflection in the "Eight ball" egg.

A bird perched on top of one of the eggs.

The staff at Lush were entertaining the children outside of the window by blowing bubbles.

Cute jewellery inspired by sweets and foods is already popular in Japan. I love traditional sweets that remind me of my childhood and bring up memories of the holidays (Valentine's Day and Easter). Conversation candy hearts and Marshmallow Peeps are my favourites, though I personally do not care for the taste of either of them. They are cute to look at. I have added a few cute pieces in this entry.

"Bit of Sugar" crate jewellery inspired by candy, such as cookies and shaved ice, Valentine's Day hearts, and Easter Peeps and gummy bears. I have bought a few items from this shop, and the items are extremely cute and go well with quirky outfits.

To view or buy, you can visit the Bit of Sugar shop online at http://bitofsugar.com. They also have a shop on Etsy here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BitOfSugar

1 & 2) Marang Studios: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MarangStudios

This cream and blue rosette cloth necklace looks beautiful and reminds me of my wedding day; there are many other different colours to choose from.

3) The Polka Dot Magpie: http://www.etsy.com/people/ThePolkadotMagpie

This heart necklace is made out of several different types of wood and painted to achieve a rustic look.

4) Lock and Spoon: http://www.etsy.com/people/LockandSpoon

These vintage-looking rings are made from sterling wire, and each one is unique. Based in New York City, Lock and Spoon also makes several other pieces of jewellery from pieces of wire, and each one is unique.

finestimaginary: http://www.etsy.com/people/finestimaginary

Kim Lawler of finestimaginary creates comic-book-style illustrations and cute imagery for her necklace designs. This comic-book retro 1980's 'geek' look has been popular for a little while now with the revival of popular culture from the era.

The Big Egg Hunt in London (organised by Fabergé and the Elephant Family) was launched at the end of February. Over 200 large egg sculptures/artworks will be on display for forty days and forty nights in various locations across the city. The locations can be discovered by looking at a variety of maps depicting different areas in London, and a cheat sheet is also available to help track down hard-to-locate eggs. I have written a little about the event in my blog already: Fabergé Big Egg Hunt Technology.

The event is attempting to break world record for the largest egg hunt as well as to raise money for charity; the Elephant Family are one of the charities (Action for Children is another), and the Elephant Family charity did work for London a couple of years ago with elephant sculptures, which I blogged about on this website here: Parading Artistic Elephants in London.

I am feeling in the mood for something cute today. Today is the day that my cat was born, and he would have been twenty-four years of age had he still be alive. Sadly, he passed away on May 26 when he was sixteen. After ten years, I still miss him, and I always will. Obviously, I did grow up with him, and at the point when he did pass away, I knew him over half of my own life. He always seemed to know how I felt, and he was more intelligent than most humans on this planet. He was always very content, and he loved to sit in the window for hours and spy on whatever was happening. At some point, I will get another Maine Coon tabby. (Of course, it would never replace him.) These fabric cats are cute, though.