Friday 29 November 2013

Lace

Federico Vinciolo, a sixteenth-century lace-maker and pattern designer attached to the court of Henry II of France, defined lace as “the invention of a goddess and the occupation of a queen”.  On the other hand, Lori Howe, a lace maker, states that “lace is as much about the space between the threads as it is about the threads themselves”. The same could be said about the amazing paper artwork delicately created by the fairy hands of Julie Dodd.

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Art Bright as a Button

Think of those magic times spent in family around a huge puzzle. Think of the excitement of finding the right piece to fit the right empty space which was there just waiting to be discovered and covered. Think of all the times when, passing by the table where the puzzle lay under construction, suddenly and quite unexpectedly another piece was spotted and added to the work in project. Think of the pure joy and sheer feeling of achievement when the very last piece was fit into the whole picture! Those are happy memories many of us are lucky enough to have in our minds.

Saturday 16 November 2013

Touching Wood

“In all things of Nature there is something of the marvellous”, said Aristotle and, yet, not everybody has the capacity and/or the sensibility to see that. We have to be grateful for the talent of artists who can help us rise above our limitations to actually see how much beauty there can be in materials we tend to simply ignore.

Thursday 7 November 2013

The Colours of the Rainbow

“I see trees of green, red roses too... I see skies of blue, clouds of white...” and so goes the song made famous by the unique voice of Louis Armstrong which celebrates the beauty of this world. Now that is the kind of Beauty we all take for granted but which some people cannot see in the same way as we do. And yet, that has not prevented Naoki Nishino – nicknamed Yaidunohannji in Twitter – from painting the most amazing, beautiful and colourful canvas for the pleasure of our eyes.

Friday 1 November 2013

Telling Stories with a Twist

Psychedelic images? Klimt-inspired patterns? Egon Schiele’s influence? Let your imagination fly, for what you are about to discover is that stories may come in a completely different package when the creativity of an artist is unbound, unleashed, unlimited.

In fact, the common practice is that stories, especially those meant for children, are illustrated. Right? Now, we challenge you to twist that concept around. Puzzled? Try thinking of an illustration that tells a story. Bingo! That is precisely what Daniel Mackie does with his stunning animal illustrations which seem to manipulate space and time, thereby arresting viewers in the meanders of well crafted stories.