There's an elephant in my cup

I don't often get to drink Turkish coffee. However, I find the art of coffee cup reading fascinating. I was on the phone this afternoon, and there it was (in the remains of my hot chocolate) -an elephant. I speedily finished the call, and like a loser grabbed for the camera phone. By this time some of the white gaps had merged a bit, so what you see here isn't as great as what I saw. Not bad though.

So I looked up what this symbol might mean as lets be honest, the internet has a quick answer for everything.

Surprisingly, nothing on elephants, but fish, in general, indicate good fortune, a lump sum of money. The dolphin is a big fish-so a much bigger lump sum of money!

You can also, observe other symbols or signs around it, they are supposedly linked to work, or travel. Consider where it is positioned in a cup. Nearer to the handle your luck may be in sooner. Also, nearer the rim is earlier rather later (away from the handle, or further down the bottom of the cup).

Have a look here, for more symbols and their meanings, and next time delve into the foam remains of your Cappuccino...it's fun.

Yog and I

Let us consider the possibilities...

When at Creamfields

Why Mac sucks

Yes, I'm a Mac owner like most of us 'designers', but I just can't help but agree, especially on a bad day! Have a watch, I guarantee you will too.

There's a load more Mac v Microsoft, so just type anything similar to the title of this post into the famous, Youtube.

Welcome to the cat house

Nice, I thought. (If you like cats, and that kind of thing)

Trafalgar Square Freeze

London, 2008. Quite literally as-if wax work models. Some are much better than others.

Surreal to see Trafalgar caught in a moment.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU

Tremendous.

Put pen to peel

Try it. Stupidly satisfying and time consuming...and addictive

1 Working Space

Her work is based on the theme of the human individual. An exploration of diversity within similarity. As far as I take her work, it glances at construction and interpretation of identity. She clearly combines Post Modern ideas of a single person's visual appearance.

This body of art is in the classical portrait medium of oil paint. For me, it does serve to question the value of a portrait. What is the value of a portrait today in light of new and ever more accessible technologies? Why is this art type still present and why is it necessary?

Shelley Hughes was one of four artists at the MA Fine Art Exhibition I visited in Lancaster at the Peter Scott Gallery during my A-levels (Sept 2006).

The four artists took four lines of enquiry, combining four different disciplines, but, within one working space. They each unavoidably connected with ideas at tangents from their own, enhancing and broadening their practices until a kind of coherence emerged.

One single working space=effective and productive for the subconscious sharing of research and information.

Technical, but true.

Barcelona 3rd-10th June, 2009

Worth sharing

Gaudi

Car boot

If this looks a little junky, it will because it's taken at a car boot. Student. Desperate measures. My sister and I decided to try our luck at selling some of the hundred items of clothing we had discarded over the years. Most were next to perfect, so it seemed silly to leave them cluttering up the house. Off we went with our bags, earrings, shoes, coats etc...it went down well the first time, although it got rained off within the hour, I made £53 and my sister, £48.

After this, it's safe to say we got pretty inspired (most of this you won't see from the image), but our stall expanded across quite a distance. We bagged up all our jewellery into cute little customised sequined transparent bags, with a small tempter description and price label. We made use of everything and anything we were selling to advertise our stock. Then we went all for it, separating clothes into day-wear, evening-wear, retro etc boxes. We let loose on expanses of white card with chunky colourful marker pens. The response was so much better the second time around... I won't mention figures, everyone will think I'm rich.

What I essentially realised, was that even the smallest attempt to employ a design mind, in this case, really helped attract, inform and make money! Immediately people knew prices, what we were selling and where we were. The various signs made the whole process user friendly and inviting. Even adding a simple couple of decorative hand-drawn flowers round the words 'vintage'...brought the buyers flocking. It was if, because of these illustrations, people were instantly convinced -be it impulse buy or not.

Immense fun, keeps your artistic side in check, and ideal for making some quick cash. A summer must-do (if you can get the weather). I'm going back tomorrow!

Thinktank

Appalling pictures, but the general idea's there. They were taken in a bit of a mad rush at the Thinktank at Millenium Point, Birmingham, whilst a few dozen children swamped my space!

...I should have come to expect this really. I realise the place is designed for kids, but it's actually quite fascinating, exploring our past, present and future.

Anyone and everyone is invited to make a comment card, which are then slipped into a letterbox, where the best range are displayed in a glass casing. The above were a couple from the particular weeks selection. It is interesting to consider the age of the individual (in the bottom left corner) in relation to what they have to say.

Fun, we love an opinion.

When in Prague...

Courtesy of my lovely flatmate, Lauren, who took a trip to Prague recently.

Cool sandwich, Cool dad

This could be the answer for fretful parents – cool-looking food to tempt even the fussiest of young palates. Everything from Spongebob to Sid the clumsy Ice Age sloth. The innovative idea of father of two Mark Northeast. He was desperate to get his four-year-old son Oscar to eat up his lunch and played around with his sandwiches to make appealing designs.

'He always took forever to eat his lunch so one day I cut his sandwich into the shape of a space rocket and two vegetables into boosters, said Mr Northeast, 36. 'He then wolfed it down in five minutes flat.' He put a photo up on Facebook and pretty soon people were asking what was coming up next.

'I got more and more engrossed in what I could do with sandwiches. I wanted to be able to open the fridge and say what can I do with this – cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and bread.' Now Mr Northeast, a web designer from Littlehampton, West Sussex, is hoping to sign a book deal and his website

My only concern would be to what extent my food had been 'played with', which scares me a little. But I'm guessing kids of 4 and 5 don't worry about these kinds of things. What harm can it do really. Getting creative with food is something adults practice with cooking, so why not encourage the younger ones to spice up the excitement of eating a boring old ham sandwich!

Basia Zarzycka

Anyone that knows me personally is aware of my deep and passionate love of anything that is...a heel. They have to be just right; the right point, the right heel, the right feel. Well, these are just the ultimate from London based, BASIA ZARZYCKA. She is inspired by the carnivals in Venice, Baroque and Rococo paintings, among many many others.

I am only aware of her spectacularly unique designs because a very stylish friend bought me a gorgeous calendar with a huge picture for me to enjoy every month of the year. It was impossible for me to even pick a favourite, so I behaved myself and didn't turn the page early.

Her beautifully decorated shoes are elegant and timeless as fashion accessories. Each pair is hand crafted and 100% exclusive. Zarzycka has created unique pieces of art, using her inspirations to add enchantment and fairytale into her work. She has a clear love for detail, which is expertly applied to each and every pair of shoes.

(Above) Floral Garden Beaded Court Shoes £1695,00

A Romantic colourful pair of fantasy court shoes embellished with sculpted bead flowers and fauna,in an asymmetrical design, using bohemian glass beads Swarovski crystals.

Her signature bridal collection is embellished with tiny silk flowers, silk petals and leaves, ribbon work, pearls, Swarovski crystals and fashion jewellery. These have been meticulously applied by hand. Judith Miller book called ‘Shoes’ feature Basia Zarzycka shoes and her own private collection of antique footwear.

A quote from the website which I particularly remember:

'A kaleidoscope of colours and texture. A luxury rainbow jewel box of fantasy and indulgence"

Lichfield Cathedral

There isn't much I could tell you about this, that wouldn't be more accurate than coming direct from Lichfield Cathedral's own dedicated website. Not being a massive one for History, it was more the stunning craftsmanship and architectural splendor that enthused me. I took a visit to Staffordshire on the train recently whilst my boyfriend was visiting. He studies Civil Engineering, and so the trip was beneficial for the both of us.

There is a lengthy timeline of events that involves this place of worship. Parts of it survived the Civil War, and at present, there are vast restoration projects underway. The detail of the building, were ones that cannot be done justice through photographs. I wanted to step right up to the almost microscopic carvings, and follow the texture of the stone work...but felt a little guilty doing so when the closest person was standing an intentional 3ft gap away.

The choir were singing as we walked round, which was no act or deliberate attempt to show-off, it was a genuine insight into the rituals of this cathedral. As we would expect, the interior was beautiful, absolutely every nook and cranny was packed with character and symbolism.

Admission was free, although the visitor was urged to make a donation on entry or exit. I am christened, but not religious and think of my beliefs as more spiritual. I did spare a thought before I entered, that I may feel slightly uncomfortable or out of place. But inside it was quite different, nothing felt forced. The atmosphere was as you would hope, peaceful and quiet, with individuals acting with respect and dignity.

I will never comprehend quite how they built such masterpieces. How did they erect such a massive structure, how did they manage with such little aid/machinery? This is the base of all my questions, and I guess it is something we all come to wonder. I hope we go on protecting and savouring every last bit of these marvels. They represent our country and our history.

Lovely.

'Dancing Diggers'

You see this all over the place now, but I saw a local Birmingham group who had named themselves, very appropriately, the 'Dancing Diggers', back in 2007. They performed to mark the opening of a local craft centre called Boxtree's, on the outskirts of Solihull, only about 5 miles from me. It was a pleasure to watch, despite the sighs and yawns it gathered from others, but then again I am strangely fascinated by machinery and construction. It has always been an interest to me, one I have integrated into artistic projects and used to direct me in design work. Perhaps it has something to do with my father who is a precision engineer. Seeing his continuous quoting of incredibly-sized, mammoth CAD drawing's, has left it's imprint in me for sure.

Bug backpack

I could definitely take a liking to this...