Frictionality.

     Got a nice fresh brief last week that involves some cross-pathway group work which essentially just means I have to work with some graphic designer types for a while.

     There were three options for what we could do specifically for this project of which I chose the one titled "Fiction & Reality". It's a gapingly wide open brief that calls for concept based experimentation and creativity, which is a far cry from my comfort zone of sipping liquids in the dark and bashing out drawings.

     Over the weekend I've been poking my brains around and hoping some ideas would drip out; unfortunately they all either seemed too small and boring or too big to be achievable in the two weeks we have. Until I had a dream a minute ago and came up with a possibly half-decent one.

     Since I only have contact with one other member of the group at the minute, I'll have to wait til Tuesday to run it by them all, but hopefully there'll be ideas bouncing about all over the shop and we'll be able to get some kind of a show on the road.

Snazzy New Briefs.

     The Art of Protest - got this brief a couple weeks ago to start working on alongside another that we receive tomorrow. The idea for this one is to pick something that you care about enough to have a bit of a protest about and then make/ perform/ draw something that does just that.

     In the end I decided to go with the occasional discrimination people show towards tattooed individuals that results in not getting jobs, having to cover them up or being made redundant etc. Mostly I picked this so I could draw and research tattoo related things and include it as part of my uni work, but also because the more I think about it the more it pisses me off. 

     The idea at the minute is to produce a catalogue/ handbook of sorts, documenting different tattoos and their "meanings" written by an employer of some kind. It sounds more effective in my head than now I've written it down so I'll probably change my mind around sixteen times before the deadline.

     Here's what I've been upto so far:

Dagger heart (Do Not Hire), Pen and watercolour.

Swallow (Non Conducere Haec Persona), Pen

Cockerel (I Steal Things), Pen and watercolour

Bat (Work in Progress), Pen

London: Go there.

      I got back from sunny London town a couple of days ago, tired, sore and hungry; but happy and in one piece. It was awesome in every sense of the word.. Allow me to bore you with semi-meticulous details.

     The first place we visited was the Natural History Museum. After having my bag searched for alcohol by a seemingly blind security lady, we spent the next few hours gawping at the jaw-dropping array of stuffed animals and skeletons as well as the slightly more boring but nonetheless enormous array of rocks.

     At the crack of noon the next day we sped across the city at a frenetic and sweaty pace to find the inconspicuously located Hunterian Museum. It was fantastic! Amongst it's display cases it had everything from horse nipples to human babies: an undeniable plethora of inspiration. I could happily spend a fortnight living between the exhibits drawing and scrutinising and return a week later equally as amazed. Unfortunately photos weren't allowed so I've pinched some from the all-knowing Google for you to enjoy/ be sick at, depending on your disposition.

New born crocodile, Hunterian Gallery (Royal College of Surgeons)

Kangaroo foetuses, Hunterian Gallery (Royal College of Surgeons)

Octopus, Hunterian Gallery (Royal College of Surgeons)

Human foetuses at varying stages of gestation, Hunterian Gallery (Royal College of Surgeons)

     To calm ourselves after all this excitement we ventured to, among other places, the delightful Crobar in Soho where for the next few hours we drank, admired the rather cool decor and drank.

Kick-ass stained glass, Crobar (Soho, London)

Says it all really, Crobar (Soho, London)

     On our final day, after all these lovely, eye-melting sights, we made one last trek across London to meet our favourite illustrator/ tattoo artist Scott Move at The Circle tattoo studio in Soho. We spent about five hours there chatting, browsing, listening to rad music and being tattooed by the man himself. It was bloody brilliant.

Axewound bear belly tattoo, 2012, Scott Move

     Here are five juicy gems of knowledge I gained from our little getaway:

• In London (particularly on the underground) it's perfectly acceptable to push someone out of the way rather than go around them - it's just common sense.
• In the posher areas of London; tattoos, piercings and dressing like a handsome vagrant will get you pointed at by children and stared at by their mothers.
• If you have a railcard and plan to use the rail, put two and two together and don't forget to take it with you.
• Belly tattoos hurt alot, even if you have glistening, rock-hard abs like myself.
• London is awesome; go there with your best friend and do all the things above. Twice if you have time.